A growing band of women, dubbed 'mumpreneurs', are discovering a new way of working that strikes a better balance between family and business life.

Ask any mum about the challenges to be faced on a daily basis and somewhere there will be a desire for more time to be spent with their children.

Often financial constraints mean the only option after having a baby is to return to work - Angela Steward understands. Already the proud mother of two boys, William, now 10 and Harry, six, Alison faced returning to work four years ago after the birth of Lauren.

"I really wanted to work from home and spend more time with the children," says Angela, who had spent 15 years working as a PA for Birmingham City Council.

"I knew I wasn't going to have any more children and I didn't want to miss out on so many things that I had done. I had missed out on seeing them learn to walk and so much more and I wasn't prepared to do it again."

Angela had already begun to see a niche in the market for traditional clothes for babies and from this a new enterprise was born - an online fashion outlet for children, Daisykaties.

Angela explains: "I had already got two boys and when it came to dressing little girls there was nowhere I could buy traditional clothes. I didn't want to dress her in jeans or denim, which is fine if you like that sort of thing. I wanted to find dresses with traditional smocking and let her look feminine and like a little girl."

The original enterprise was set up on ebay, the Internet marketplace, but Angela soon took the decision to set up her own website.

"A lot of mums do go down the ebay route but it can become costly the more you do, so I started off my own website," explains Angela, who has ongoing support from husband, Neil.

"I have always said that if it didn't work out I could go temping but luckily it has gone really well - better then I really ever envisaged."

There is no denying that commitment and hard work are key components but, says Angela: "I would say to anyone thinking about setting up their own business that they should give it a go. It can be very rewarding."

It will be Angela's first time exhibiting at The Baby Show (May 16-18) - an opportunity to showcase the different collections. She works with designers creating traditional clothes from premature babies to boys and girls around eight years old.

Angela is, she admits, 'chief cook and bottle washer' for Daisykaties, named after her grandmother who died before the launch of the business.

"She would be thrilled by how Daisykaties is going," says Angela, who has plans to extend the range, even looking at the possibilities of having her own brand name.

"I started by selling the clothes for special occasions but soon realised there were other people who wanted traditional, well-made outfits for their children."

One mumpreneur who has discovered it is possible to get the best of both worlds.

* www.daisykaties.co.uk