Christina Toimela asks how do you manage maternity leave being your own boss?

I met Clare Winterson whilst filming Christina’s Verdict for the Latest TV. I quickly realised that I had not only met a talented seamstress, the owner of Helen’s Clothing Alterations, but a self-employed mum of two young children. Her courage having children without paid maternity leave and being able to juggle time between school runs and employing two members of staff fascinated me. I wanted to know how she kept it all together with a big smile on her face.

Clare was so busy that we ended up doing this interview over the phone. I was sat in my car typing away on my laptop and Clare had her in-laws waiting for her to carry on enjoying their evening. Where there is a will there is a way.

Ever since she was a child Clare loved sewing, her grandfather was a pattern cutter and her grandmother did crafts. Clare’s mum also liked sawing clothes. Clare found that in Brighton the only way to put her skills into a good use was by becoming self-employed.

“Because both Clare and her husband are self-employed, she was entitled to state maternity benefit”

Clare has two children – Esme, 5 years, and Dexter, 16 months. When Clare had Esme she took 4.5 months maternity leave and then another 6 months with Dexter. Clare funded her maternity leave, like so many other self-employed women, by working more before the maternity leave. Instead of having paid maternity leave or taking up to 52 weeks leave from work, a self-employed mum in the UK must think of scraping money together before the child is born. Because both Clare and her husband are self-employed, she was entitled to state maternity benefit amounting roughly into £130 per week. Clare worked more and harder for six months both times whilst pregnant, making sure she had enough money to pay the mortgage during her maternity leave.

Clare is lucky to have a supportive husband who, as a gardener and artist, was able to help one day per week with the youngest child. Clare also had Esme in child care one day per week. When they had their second baby, Dexter, Clare’s husband had to start working full time in order to keep the money coming in.

The hardest thing about being a working mum is juggling everything, says Clare. She sometimes feels that she is constantly on the school run, either dropping off or picking up, and there are a lot of things that schools organise and mums need to prepare the children for.

Clare has found that working two consecutive days helps her to organise her time. During those two days she can be prepared for work. She has the same routine – waking up at 7am, getting three people ready, getting to the school gates at ten minutes to nine, nursery ten past nine and then to work at half past nine until half past five. How does Clare relax? “I don’t!” – is her immediate answer, but after having a little think she says that socialising with friends and reading anything from fiction to biographies are her ways to relax.

She also enjoys keeping up her sewing skills by doing slightly different, more creative things like vintage dresses in her free time. This makes a change to doing the alterations that she mainly does at work.

Clare likes looking into the past, going to arts fairs and websites like www.Pinterest.com and www.Etsy.com for inspiration.

Even if you find it scary to leave your children in someone else’s care at nursery or an after school club, Clare’s message to self-employed mums is positive: “This is a better way to work. You get to dictate your work. Even if you don’t get sick pay or full maternity cover you don’t have to worry about picking up your career after having stayed at home like the employed mums have to. That can be really hard, especially if you don’t enjoy what you are doing. As someone self-employed you normally love what you are doing and you keep up your skills during maternity leave because what you do is your hobby as well. Just keep up your skills and never stop!”
www.helensalterations.co.uk
Watch Christina’s Verdict at www.thelatest.tv

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Contact Christina: christina.toimela@gmail.com