Special Occasion Maternity Wear Hire

What is the business? Does My Tum Look Big In This is a special occasion maternity wear hire company. We specialise in offering more formal outfits suitable for weddings/christenings/summer balls/black tie functions for hire at realistic prices. We offer a superb selection of special occasion maternity wear including evening dresses, cocktail dresses and ballgowns, many of which aren’t available on the High Street.

Investment required: £1,350 initial investment, £500 returnable deposit at end of agency term (unless extended).

Earning Potential: Earnings are not capped. You can earn as much as you want based on the generous 70% commission rate. The earnings you are likely to achieve depend the number of hires you achieve each month as well as the time you invest in this business.

Is there training? This opportunity is offered on an agency basis, and initial training is provided as well as ongoing support from other agents and our dedicated Agency Operations team.

Best suited to: New mums, mums to be and even grandmas! Best suited to someone that understands the joys and demands of pregnancy and can relate to their customers from that perspective.

For more information: http://www.doesmytumlookbiginthis.com or Contact Does My Tum Look Big In This for an information pack – call 01252 377725 or email sam@doesmytumlookbiginthis.com

Name: Natalie

Location: Farnborough

Family: Husband, three children (ages 12, 11 and 4) and small dog.

How often do you work?
Mon-Sat usually. Average of 1.5-2 hours per day on Does My Tum business.

How does the job fit around your family life?
Very well. I can work around my family commitments. Any appointments I make fit around the day in terms of the school runs and any other commitments I have. I have total flexibility to decide when and how I work, and I can work as many or as few hours as I wish.

How much roughly did the franchise cost you?
Approx £1200 + £500 deposit

What did that investment buy?
Initial stock, marketing and sales materials, shop fittings including garments rails & merchandising equipment, packaging materials, printed materials including tags, letterheads, business cards, compliments slips, business insurance in the first year, full operations manual, in-house training, website programming on corporate website, email address, advertising in Yellow Pages in first year, ongoing support.

Do you get support/training?
Yes, ongoing support as required and initial in-house training. Plus a comprehensive operations manual for day to day use.

Are there on-going costs?
After the first year, you pay £95 a month towards business insurance, local directory advertising, national advertising and secure payment terminal. In addition, from Day 1 you have to allow for monthly expenses such as electricity, telephone, book-keeping (unless you do it yourself), and costs of keeping the product in appropriate condition (in-house laundering or dry cleaning).

How do you make money on your website?
You earn a 70% commission of each hire fee. This includes items hired locally and any items hired via the website and sent directly to Does My Tum Look Big In This head office (commission is earned on hire orders processed by me from my stock). Commission is payable monthly.

How much do you earn?
Variable. There are certain peaks to the year which tends to be the period November through January for Christmas functions, and then May through September for summer balls, weddings and formal events such as Royal Ascot. In December for example it is not unusual to hire 10-12 items per week (01-21 Dec). At an average cost of hire of £64 (based on 2005 figures), this equates to £546 commission in one week ! However – you also need to be realistic – you are unlikely to achieve this week in, week out 52 weeks a year, so you need to allow for some weeks where you may not hire anything. The ideal is to target a realistic three items per week allowing you £540 a month commission. The way I look at it is that any additional hires on top of this are a bonus !

Do you advertise?
Yes. Advertising is essential to ensure that pregnant women know that this service is being offered. We advertise in the local Yellow Pages, children’ nurseries and play-centres, NCT magazines, and on the internet. www.doesmytumlookbiginthis.com features highly in many search engines including yahoo, google, msn, ask, and also on baby, pregnancy & parenting related websites. We are also featured in The Good Web Guide.

What is the best thing about Does My Tum Look Big In This for you?
From a personal perspective it is (genuinely!) the satisfaction of helping pregnant women (that are often very disappointed with the choice of maternity formal wear available to them in the shops) find something in which they look fabulous and feel wonderful! We have lots of letters and cards from women thanking us for the service we offer and that is fantastic to hear ! You also get a great sense of achievement at successfully running Does My Tum Look Big In This – you meet lots of different people, you can earn an income, and you can get a great balance between a work lifestyle without compromising your home life. It's very satisfying being able to say that you run a successful business from home and I know that my family and friends are all proud of my achievements.

Are there any downsides to the job?
Initially it was quite a worry wondering whether or not I had the ability to run this successfully and get the balance right. Its important to always remember that the reason you’re doing this is to get balance in your life. It would be very easy to run a business from home and let is consume your every waking hour. Just always remember why you chose to do this and have the energy and commitment to make a success of it, with you choosing the hours you work to fit your lifestyle.

Would you recommend this franchise opportunity to other Mums?
Absolutely. If you're looking to do something worthwhile from a personal perspective & in your community, this is the job for you! Earning an income, being independent & running your own business from home is an exciting, enjoyable experience.