WORKING mum Natalie Hickey's business success was acknowledged when she scooped up the accolade of Best Start Up at the recent Mumpreneur awards.

The national awards are held each year to recognise the achievements of mums juggling family with running a business.

Precious Parcels was founded in October 2008 by Natalie, form Nottingham.

The business grew from her hobby of making decorated wooden plaques, which she started to do when her little boy turned one.

"I've always enjoyed making things and as I was at home looking after our son, George, I thought it would be an ideal time to get creative," explains Natalie.

"A few friends suggested I listed some of my work on an auction site sand after the first few items sold I continued to make more and more.

"Much to my surprise I sold over 300 items in the first five weeks alone."

Such was the demand for Natalie's handmade gifts, she decided to take the plunge and set up her own business. "I had no budget or business background but what I did have was the determination to give it a go," Natalie explains.

"Within weeks Natalie had single-handedly designed and developed the Precious Parcels website and was ready to go

Natalie contacted EMB Ltd, the economic development company that helps people develop their businesses – and includes the regional Business Link service – for support when she realised that the business was developing at such a fast pace that it could easily become impossible to manage.

"There was only myself to deal with everything, from admin, production, marketing, to developing the website and dispatch," she said. "I knew I wanted to develop the business and that I would need extra help, but wasn't sure how to go about putting everything into place."

EMB put Natalie in touch with a business adviser who sat down with her and discussed how to increase productivity, including getting extra hands involved.

"EMB were able to provide information that helped me to understand how to write and implement contracts for home workers and we also discussed the possibility of me having sales representatives.

"After the meeting I felt I had a much better understanding of how to run my business and shortly after I had set up three contracts with individuals."

Now, Natalie's product range has more than doubled and includes everything from baby gifts and children's keepsakes through to wooden decorative items for the home.

"The growth of the business has been very fast," says Natalie. "I have extra hands helping with production and 14 other businesses selling my products.

"I am delighted with how things have developed and EMB has provided access to some great support. If it wasn't for their help, my business could have failed."

Natalie's top tips:

Have confidence in your business and its products.

Remember there is a great deal of support out there.

Work hard!