Giving up your career to spend time with the kids can be a daunting prospect for new mothers but it doesn’t have to be. If you find new challenges in interesting pursuits, you can keep your sanity, sense of self and perhaps even earn some income. One Australian mum has found just that in her home-based online art sales business.

After resigning from work in the IT Training industry, Katherine Jankaus wanted to avoid losing herself completely to mothering and house keeping. Through self-directed learning she kept in touch with her industry and in the process found real satisfaction in creating a website, lollytree.com.au, herself from scratch.

Having only spent $165 to register and host her website, Katherine challenged herself to start an online business for less than $500. ‘My aim was to enjoy the experience of starting a business without fear and the boring stuff. So I set my limit at $500 because that is how much I might spend on other entertainment like retail therapy, craft supplies or beauty treatments,’ she said.

Luckily Katherine didn’t have to look far for a product to sell. Her husband is a talented commercial designer who is happy for her to sell his inspiring designs as canvas prints. Katherine decided to sell art appealing to children and requested a series of designs suitable for kids’ bedrooms. ‘I want my boys to love their room and enjoy hanging out there. Room décor including art has to be enticing with complementary colours and simple designs which will engage their minds and inspire creativity. I find canvas wall prints are a cheap and easy way to achieve this.’

Katherine’s skills and experience helped keep costs down. She was trained, as a photographer, to recognise good design composition and worked in the industry for 10 years. Working for ninemsn gave her understanding of the Internet and she has learnt to use many software applications through her work as a trainer. Her two boys, aged two and five, readily pass on their opinions.

Much of Katherine’s time was spent researching reputable canvas printers to find the best quality at a reasonable price. ‘Our designs are printed using fade resistant inks on heavy weight canvas. Then they are stretched over a ready to hang frame and given two coats of protective lacquer,’ Katherine said. “I wanted to use an Australian printer to reduce delivery waiting times but also to support local business.”

There are many shopping cart options available. Katherine wanted one that was safe and easy to use. Best of all, she found one that was free and works in conjunction with PayPal to collect secure online payments via credit card, bank transfer or BPay. ‘Nowadays people are more comfortable with purchasing online but I wanted to use PayPal to give my customers payment options and extra peace of mind.’

A desire to hold on to her identity through motherhood was the initial driving force behind starting her online business, Lollytree. However Katherine is quick to add ‘The challenge is what kept me interested. I wanted to see if I could successfully start a business for less than $500 and I did.’ For more information or to view available designs please visit lollytree.com.au.

About the Author:
Katherine is a Technology Trainer on extended maternity leave who is currently running her own online art store.