WHEN Sharon McLean had her second baby, it dawned on her that holding down a full-time job and bringing up a child was going to get a bit too much.
She decided the answer would be to use her business expertise to start up her own venture.
Sharon, now 43, had a background in business, with a degree in business studies and a stint working in marketing for a midwifery company behind her.
And it was those marketing skills which led to the idea of setting up her own company offering business support.
The result was the foundation of Business with Excellence, which has been operating in Croydon now for 13 years.
Sharon said she found there were a lot of women who, like her, wanted to get back into work but needed to combine family life with the job.
She said: "At the time there was not much business support for women who wanted to start their own business."
So she set about filling that gap by taking training courses, information from which, combined with her own skills, she could pass on to other women.
Sharon said: "Networking groups then usually met in the early mornings and it was often not possible for women who had to do the school runs to get along to them."
Her answer was to run her own networking sessions on Saturday mornings when, she said, dads were around to spend a couple of hours looking after the children.
The response to the sessions was enough to convince Sharon she could do more and Business with Excellence began to expand into what is now a core part of its proposition, running seminars and training courses.
With the growth in the business has come a move away from a mainly-women base, and the opportunities to get support and mentoring are now available to anyone who is looking to start-up a business or grow their small enterprise.
And while most of Sharon's events, which now also include running exhibitions at which firms can showcase their goods and services, were originally based in Croydon, her company has spread its wings and is working across London.
She said: "We also do work in schools raising business awareness among Year 10 and 11 pupils and getting them to think about being involved in business and enterprise.
"Starting up was very hard at first because you have to do everything yourself, from being the cleaner to the computer technician."
But the journey, she said, had been worth it and she believes her company is now in a position to deal with what is a growing need.
She said: "A lot of people have been made redundant or have ended up working part-time and are looking to use their skills to help generate additional income."
Sharon is looking to continue to grow her own businesses, with the next step being a plan to have some of its operations online, offering courses and training videos she will present herself via the internet and Skype.
Next month, Sharon will also release a book, about her 13 years with the company.
