How To Start A Business As A Single Mum

For many single parents, traditional employment simply doesn’t offer the flexibility you need to be able to balance work and family life.

Starting a business as a single mum can be an excellent alternative, offering you greater flexibility, independence, and more.

If you’re a single mother looking for guidance on how to start a business, this guide is here to help.

To start a business as a single mum, you will want to consider the following steps:

1. Opt for a flexible business model
2. Create a business plan
3. Join a founder academy
4. Explore financial assistance and support options
5. Set boundaries and build your support system

1. Opt For A Flexible Business Model

When starting a business as a single mum, it’s key to opt for a flexible business model.

When you consider that research has shown ‘single parent business owners were three times as likely to start a business for better work life balance than to make money (44% vs 15%)’, the importance of opting for a flexible model becomes apparent.

You should consider businesses that allow remote work to align with your life as a parent, such as consulting and freelancing, to name a few suggestions.

By opting for a flexible business model, you’ll be better able to balance your business responsibilities with your family life as a single parent.

You should consider businesses that allow remote work to align with your life as a parent, such as consulting and freelancing.

2. Create A Business Plan

Once you’ve come up with a business model, it’s important to create a business plan.

A business plan is key to your success, as it outlines your business, the market it will operate in, and how it will make money. 

What Should You Include In A Business Plan?

Some of the details you should include in a business plan include, but are not limited to:

• An executive summary.
• A description of your business.
• The market it’ll operate in.
• A financial plan.
• An operations plan.
• A marketing strategy.

A well-written business plan will help to guide you throughout every stage of your business journey.

3. Join A Founder Academy

The next step to consider when starting a business as a single mum is to join a Founder Academy.

A Founder Academy is an intensive experience designed for entrepreneurs to launch their startup journey. When you take into account that 90% of startups fail, such programmes can be revolutionary when it comes to navigating starting a business.

During these courses, you’ll be able to access knowledge and develop tools with guidance from mentors within your industry and gain essential skills to build your venture from the ground up.

Are you a tech founder interested in joining a Founder Academy? Look no further than Tramshed Tech.

Our immersive and fully-funded boot camp transforms ambitious entrepreneurs into confident tech founders.

Applications to our Founder Academy close on the 21st of March 2025. Apply today to launch your tech startup. 

Tramshed Tech's immersive and fully-funded Founder Academy transforms ambitious entrepreneurs into confident tech founders.

4. Explore Financial Assistance & Support Options

There are a range of small business grants and loans that you can look into as a single mum.

Business Wales offers various helpful resources, from funding and grants to free mentorship, so it’s always worth doing your research to find out what support is available to you.

For instance, if you’re under 25 and live in or are returning to live in Wales, you could be eligible for a grant of £2000 to start your business.

At Tramshed Tech, we offer a Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme that aims to provide Welsh female tech founders with the skills, mentorship and support required to raise capital.

What’s more, the UK government’s Women in Innovation programme also offers grants and support to female entrepreneurs involved in innovation.

Depending on your own circumstances, you could be eligible for both financial assistance and support, so be sure to do your research.

5. Set Boundaries & Build Your Support System

As a single parent, it can be difficult to find a few minutes to yourself, let alone hours to dedicate to starting a business.

That said, it’s important to be able to communicate your boundaries to your family, friends, and clients. Dedicating time to your work and personal life separately will give your business the best chance of success.

Affordable childcare arrangements worth considering might be seeking support from family and friends or a childcare exchange with other parents.

What’s more, you might want to look into single-parent support groups for advice and encouragement from those going through similar experiences to further build your support system while starting your business.

There are a range of small business grants and loans that you can look into as a single mum.

How We Can Help

Are you looking to start your own tech business as a single mum? Tramshed Tech can help.

From our Founder Academy to our Startup Academy and Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme, we have a range of programmes aimed at providing entrepreneurs with the support they need to start their own businesses.

Our programmes centre around helping startups raise pre-seed funding, develop services and products, build your team, and more.

To learn more about the programmes we offer, get in touch with a member of our team today.

-

We are Tramshed Tech: a startup ecosystem home to various companies ranging from pre-revenue start-ups to scaling businesses.

We’re based in Grangetown, Cardiff Central & Barry, Newport, and Swansea. Discover more about how you can book our spaces and join our community today.

Written by Jemima for Tramshed Tech.