As a wife and mother of two teenage children, I have had to constantly juggle family, work and social life. I often wish there were another 12 hours in the day. I often feel guilty when I forget to do something or call someone because I haven’t had the time. 

I think that every mother is a juggler. Women are the masters of multi-tasking. In fact, the logo for my first business “North West Childcare” which I started in March 1999, used to be two hands with juggling balls.

I am fortunate in that, being my own boss, I have been able to be there for my children. I can stop work for a bit when they come home from school or working shorter hours during school holidays. Life’s also made easier by the fact that my office is at the side of my house.

The downside of working from home is that it is very hard to switch off and work frequently cross over onto family and social time. I can often be found checking emails on my I Phone and making calls while I’m making dinner and working in my office during the evenings or on weekends.

I have always worked full time and my children have never known it to be any different. Do I wish that I didn’t have to work such long hours and have the stress of managing staff and running a business? Yes of course I do. However, I really hope that my family are aware and are proud of what I have built up and accomplished with my business.

I am lucky to have a very supportive and patient husband. From day one, when I decided to start a nanny agency, he has always been there for me and is a great sounding board. I don’t think it is possible for both parents to work successfully unless they fully encourage each other.

I am often asked to recommend the best type of childcare for a family’s needs as each person’s requirements can vary enormously. As we are able to offer our clients all types of help in the home, we can advise you on what best suits you, not just what we can offer you, from a sole charge nanny to a full time housekeeper or cleaner.

I liken my company to a ‘domestic head-hunting business’ because we are able to offer such a wide variety of different types of help in the home.

All candidates are interviewed personally by myself and my team and are judged for their suitability by a mother or daughter’s instinct, rather than just through an evaluation through their credentials. I believe, this is what makes the company so unique. If we wouldn’t trust the employee with our own children or parents, we will not represent the individual. Most of our clientele come from recommendations; we have worked with celebrities and even members of the Royal Family. We are here to help and look at building long term relationships with our clients.

I am a passionate advocate for families’ rights to quality and flexible childcare and I am actively involved working with colleagues within the childcare industry.

I first set up North West Childcare, the first division of The Childcare Recruitment Company Ltd, in 1999 when, following a successful career as a sales director in the luxury packaging industry, I was made redundant on maternity leave. After looking for a nanny for my own children, I was not satisfied with the standard of help that was out there and decided I could do it better myself, as I knew what I was looking for in a nanny. Although I had previous recruitment experience, my passion and understanding for childcare came mostly from being a mother of two and this spurred on the direction of my new company.

A couple of years later, I went on to launch The Housekeeper Company, which specialises in providing housekeepers to discerning, exacting clients nationwide.

After widespread demand from delighted Housekeeper Company clients, I subsequently launched The Carer Company, which specialises in placing carers in private households.

As I am always looking at new ways to keep my ideas fresh, in 2013 I have founded a new division of The Childcare Recruitment Company Ltd, called Harris Recruitment. I have recently incorporated North West Childcare into Harris Recruitment, so we are able to offer childcare Nationwide. Harris Recruitment also offers ‘Bespoke Recruitment’, where we will try to find clients exactly what they want, from a mandarin speaking housekeeper/nanny, a nanny/PA, nursery manager, a domestic security person, to a housekeeper/dog nanny – anything is possible!

Over the past 15 + years The Childcare Recruitment Company Ltd has grown into an incredibly prestigious company that provides clients Nationwide with nannies & PAs  through Harris Recruitment, housekeepers, mother’s helps, cooks, drivers & couples through The Housekeeper Company, as well as carers and help for the elderly through The Carer Company, and much more.

I often compare working parents to a tight rope circus act: as long as everything is going well, there are no children off sick and you have no childcare problems you are able to walk the tight rope without a problem, however it can all change in a flash and you can fall off the tight rope, when your youngest is running a temperature and can’t go to school and you have an important meeting that you can’t miss. That’s when you need your safety net, who can be your spouse, another family member or a friend who can step in and help you.

I have been fortunate through my work to have been involved in some interesting opportunities, including advising Granada Media on a Coronation Street storyline involving nannies.

We also took part in a BBC documentary entitled “Streets of Slavery”, which looked at the abuse within the domestic service industries. We helped to promote the importance of acknowledging abuse within the industry. BBC1’s Britain’s Streets of Slavery puts the spotlight on unpaid carers, migrant workers, domestic servants and human trafficking in the streets of modern Britain and shows our agency as the type of establishment that people should want to use.

I have talked directly with members of the Government advising on childcare strategy and various related issues and I was also involved in lobbying the Home Office regarding changes to the domestic worker visa. In October 2011, I presented a talk at a parliamentary meeting to launch a pamphlet entitled “Service not Servitude”, which concerned abuse and slavery within the domestic field and the human rights of the workers involved.

In January 2014, I was also asked to give evidence to the Joint Committee for the Anti Slavery Billl and I was thrilled that my suggestions have actually been included in the Report from the Joint Committee.

Going back to the apparently never ending debate about whether you are a better parent if you work or don’t work, many of my friends don’t work and the conclusion I have arrived at is that it really doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you are happy with whatever choice you make. A happy parent breeds contented, fulfilled children.

I don’t think there are any wrong choices. It is such a personal decision to make and no one should judge anyone else for deciding to stay at home and be with their family and go out to work. The truth is we also do not know people’s personal circumstances: why they make their choice to go to work or be at home. I have found that some of my friends have decided to go back to work now that their children are older and are more independent.

It is not black and white, whether you work or don’t work. There are so many shades of grey (no pun on the book intended), as an increasing number of women work part time or do voluntary or charity work that also takes them away from their children.

I think it is human nature to look at others and think that they seem to have it all, wishing you had their life, but the reality is that they are probably looking at your life and thinking the same about you.

What does “having it all” really mean though? To my mind, you only live once and if you are content with the way your life is going, you and all your family are happy, healthy and content and you wake up smiling because you enjoy what you do, then that is as close to “having it all” as you can get.