After 15 years slogging her guts out in the corporate jungle, mum-of-two Mrs Pickles (as she is known here) has decided to take her career in a whole new direction. From the conception of a bright idea to making a living out of it, Mrs Pickles invites you to follow her story as a fledgling Mumpreneur navigating the minefield that is setting up your own new business from scratch.
Lights, camera, say cheese!
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So, having developed five party themes and all the stock now in my lounge, my next job was to organise a photoshoot to bring to life not only my concept but also the lifestyle I am trying to sell.
In order to keep costs down, I decided that I would need to hold the shoot at my house and turn different sections of the house and the garden into mini parties!
I took a trip to Country Baskets to buy some props which I hoped would help accentuate each theme. Things like buckets, fake flowers, jam jars for sweets and floppy hats for the vintage tea party. I had prepared everything as much as I could and had a clear picture in my head of how I wanted each theme to be represented on camera. The only thing missing was the kids!
The advice I have had most so far in my journey to setting up a new business has been to utilise my contacts and ask for help! Well, as a mother of two and now a lot more visible at the school gates, I asked some school mums if they would let me borrow their children! I had a super response from them, as well as from my dear close friends who rearranged schedules and jumped hoops to help me out!! I had a lovely mix of babies, 3-5 years olds, 8 year olds and 10 year olds - a brilliant cross-section of ages to represent each party theme.
As this was a shoot for a party, I had to make sure that that was exactly what the kids got! Whilst there was an element of stopping their fun at certain points to ensure we got the right shot, there is no doubt that my house became the party house for 15 kids and was completely trashed in the process!
The boys were understandably not interested in a photoshoot and escaped regularly to play football, promptly muddying their beautifully put together ‘little man’ outfits. So much for the future generation gentlemen!! The girls on the other hand loved wearing the floppy hats and were so natural when posing for the camera; they certainly didn’t need much direction! At the end of a long, exhausting day we captured some stunning shots of some bonny children having fun at a party or five!! The clear up was mammoth but slightly more tolerable with the consumption of a few left over cupcakes and a couple of glasses of wine!
With the photoshoot now done, the stock here, Party Pickles boxes and stickers for packaging on their way and a website nearly finished, I am now not far from the launch of my very own business! From a concept cemented over a glass of wine at the kitchen table only a few months ago I can’t quite believe how my life has changed and how happy I have become in the process. I know that the journey ahead will have its challenges but, you know what....bring them on!!!
My life’s a party!!
Some pics from the photoshoot:
