Jo and James Pibworth don’t take their work home with them – it’s already there.
The Wolverhampton couple wanted to spend more time with their young children and came up with an ideal solution – running a business from the comfort of their own home.
They admit it’s a bit of a risk, but find they now have the best of both worlds.
The Pibworths are among more than four million people who are regular home-based workers.
And there are obvious advantages – being able to work when you want, not having to be too concerned about business attire and saying goodbye to expense and time spent travelling.
For Joanne and James, setting up and running a website business from their home in Finchfield provided them with the opportunity to spend more time with their two sons, three-year-old Eddie and Alex, one.
Jo, aged 35, was already at home, having left her job in human resources when she went on maternity leave with Eddie. And so it was car technician James, 37, who felt he was missing out.
“James worked long hours as a technician carrying out roadside recovery and felt that he was missing out spending time with the children when they at such a young age.
“And when told that his shifts would be changing, which would have been for the worse, he decided to leave an we looked into working for ourselves from home,” said Jo.
With the rise in popularity of internet shopping the husband and wife team decided to set up their own website boutique business, www.pickleandboo.co.uk, selling funky and vintage inspired gifts for babies and mothers.
The business is affectionately named after Eddie & Alex.
“Boo has been Eddie’s nickname since he was a few weeks old, and Pickle is Alex’s nickname, so it seems the perfect name for our family business,” said Jo.
“It was shopping around on the internet for the boys and for gifts for friends that sparked the idea for the web boutique. The seeds were sown as I came across so many fabulous baby items on international websites, and often found myself frustrated at not being able to buy them here in the UK.”
So the couple’s website was created and it now stocks a wide range of baby clothing, hats and shoes in unusual silks and knits, as well as a range of contemporary christening gifts and toys from suppliers across the globe. Items range from £8 to £110 in price.
“We’ve got the best of both worlds. We can work when we want to – and more often than not it’s at night when the boys are asleep.
“And during the day one of us may be taking care of the deliveries while the other takes care of the boys.”
James said it had been quite a role reversal for him. “We wanted to work together from home as a family while the boys are so young,” he said.
“It is a risk, but we’ve done our homework and feel sure that the business will be a success. I’ve become a much more hands-on daddy – I love it,” he said.
And what do the boys think of the new business venture?
“When the new stock arrives, they love it. It’s like Christmas every day for them when they are surrounded by toys. And they love having their dad at home,” said Jo.
By Maria Cusine.
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