Tell us about the first steps you took in starting your business?

The first steps involved in starting 3 Little Crowns were researching popular children's decor items. I have 3 sons (hence the name ‘3 Little Crowns), 2 of which are ‘Superhero' crazy. I wanted to re do their room for their Birthday's with a ‘Superhero' theme and give it a complete make over. It still has a way to go and it'll probably never be complete as I'm forever finding more and more new things to add haha. I started that in May and then developed a real obsession for kids rooms, little interiors, styling and decor.

Instagram was a real starting point for me as I was finding myself browsing children's decor, fashion and interior styling for hours at a time. One thing led to another and I thought I'd combine all my favourites into one online children's boutique. 3 Little Crowns was then launched on the 1st of July 2015.

What is a personal habit that you believe contributes to your success?

I genuinely love re-decorating and styling when it comes to children's rooms and having 3 of my own is a bonus!! Although they are all boys and I see so many beautiful girl things so I just order them in to stock for others instead ;)Before having my 2nd son I was a fulltime Beauty Therapist, once I had him I became a stay at home mum to give my kids the best possible upbringing i could. 3 Little Crowns has been a good side gig that I'm absolutely loving.We still have a very limited variety of items available but I cannot wait for my brand to grow and eventually have a home wares section also. I have so many big plans for my little store and I cannot wait to grow it.

There's a lot involved in having an online store. What things present the biggest challenge and what advice do you have to overcome these?

Obviously being a stay at home mum to 3 is a challenge. I think the best advise I can give is to balance mum, wife and work life. I keep as much weekend time free from work as possible to spend with my family and I usually do all my emails, invoicing and ordering at night once the kids are in bed and i can focus properly. The hardest part is probably trying to do all my packaging of orders which sometimes can take hours on end, I have a baby crawling all over my wrapping paper, a toddler putting sticky tape everywhere and a 5 year old wanting to ‘help' me stick address labels on and bag them up while meanwhile the toddler is removing everything from the bag and the baby is trying to eat it!! But i assure everything is presented beautifully in the end haha!

How do you balance #mumlife and business life?

We spend the mornings together and go for a walk or a play on the beach or the park, they have loads of energy to burn to that helps. My 5 year old is also in Kinder twice a week so I try to catch up on as much as possible on those days while the other 2 nap. (Thank goodness for kindy days and school next year) and I will admit that I should give them my undivided attention a little more than what I do now. Life is definitely a lot busier since launching 3 Little Crowns. But weekends are always full of adventures and fun 🙂

What one piece of actionable advice would you give someone just starting out?

I'm honestly still learning myself. 3 Little Crowns has been operating now for a little over 3 months which really isn't that long at all. I think however, it is very important to always look for ways to improve your business and to make it stand out from the competition. Look for ways to expand your audience (in my case ‘followers on Instagram and Facebook', because I do solely rely on that market at the moment) and be open to new ideas and new approaches. But mainly stay focused and present.

A Mum with Hustle you admire and why

Wow so many but my number one would be Stacie Franklin, the creator of Dudes N Dolls which is the one and only (FOR NOW) hehe children's clothing line I stock. She's amazing and her designs are amazing. I was her first ever stockist and they were 3 Little Crowns first ever items in 🙂 I love seeing her brand grow.

Connect up with 3 Little Crowns at:

Instagram – Facebook – 3 Little Crowns Website

Special deal for the MWH Tribe:

3 Little Crowns is offering 10% off for 1 week using the code MUMSWITHHUSTLE on checkout (finishes on the 02/12/2015) – 3 Little Crowns Website