Being a mother is a full-time job in itself. But some enterprising mothers with young families are juggling their parental duties with running their own companies.

Somehow they are finding enough free time outside the demands of household chores and childcare commitments to set up their own businesses.

Determined to make use of their skills and not to let motherhood spell the end of their careers, dozens of mums across Sussex are taking the leap. But with children at your heels and 101 other things to do, starting up a new business can be an extremely daunting prospect.

One woman keen to help out is business advisor Nicky Chisholm, who has set up her own company, Mums In Biz, to help other mothers in a similar situation. Nicky hosts a series of seminars on how to maintain a work-life balance while running a successful business.

Nicky explained that the aim is to build the business around family life to make it a successful partnership. She said: “It’s very hard to run a business without a support network but for mothers with young children and limited time, it is even harder.

“They come to the seminars and we give them resources to help them run their business from home and plan how to make their business work. There are several tricks, such as having someone to answer the phones when you are out and getting a virtual assistant to do some of the work for you.

“Lots of mothers who are very skilled have moved down from London from top jobs and are wasted talent. About 90% of the mums who come to us want to spend more time with their children so we try to maximise that for them while helping them plan the best way to launch and maintain their business.”

Among the women already benefiting from her network are time management consultant Clare Evans, from Telscombe Cliffs, business and personal coach Anna Golawski, from Brighton, and small business and marketing expert Rebecca Murfitt, from Saltdean.

And Galia Orme has used her family’s South American roots as an inspiration for her business Choc Chick.

Galia, from Peacehaven, sells all the ingredients to make chocolate through her internetbased company. Her two daughters, Maia, 13, and Ella, nine, are at school, which gives her more time than some mothers to concentrate on the business.

She said: “If you can’t do at least two things at once then you can’t run a business and have a family. The main thing is that you need to be realistic about what you can achieve and set goals accordingly.

“Mums In Biz has been amazing. The networking opportunities are fantastic and there is so much support available.”

Sam Mackley’s company, Mummy Looks Fab, sells breastfeeding and maternity clothes online. She was full of praise for the guidance Mums In Biz has provided.

She said: “It has been fantastic. Mums don’t go into business to have less time with their family and Nicky understands that it is all about putting the family at the centre and building around it.”

Michelle Marcar knows all about blending together family and business. Her children love spending time at her toy shop, Cheeky Monkeys, in Rottingdean. She said: “It’s great to have the kids at the shop because I don’t have to pay for childcare and we get to play together.

“They play shop and not house , so I hope they will have their own businesses one day. If there are any other mums out there who want to start their own business, I would say go for it.

“There are too many people who say, I’d love to do what you do but they never bother to try.”

Inevitably, when trying to do two things instead of one, sacrifices have to be made. Limiting them is the aim of Mums In Biz.

Suzanne Borrell, from Hove, said she felt guilty about starting her events company SMB Events while still looking after her two young children. She said: “It was very hard at first but I knew that I was doing it for them as much as for me, even though they were losing out on some of my attention.

“But Mums In Biz has been great. It has given me the confidence to launch the company and helped me to hold successful events.

“The main thing people need to do is market research. As one of the dragons on Dragons Den said, Just because there’s a gap in the market doesn’t mean that there’s a market in the gap.

“They must also be brave and network as much as possible. Ask for favours and ask for help because people are keen to help, especially other mothers.”