An enterprising Belfast woman has taken a brave step into the unknown in a determined bid to strike a comfortable work/life balance which eludes so many working mums.

Mum-of-two Debra McVicker gave up a successful career as Training and Events Co-ordinator with a major local charity to launch an online gift shop which would allow her to control when she worked, freeing her to spend more time with her children.

Although it has meant working late into the night after daughter Nia, eight and son Luan, two have gone to bed, Debra is dedicated to making her new business venture work.

It is a bold move given that website hamptonblue.co.uk — an online boutique selling jewellery, accessories and gifts — has been set up in the middle of a recession by a 38-year-old who confesses to having no experience of e-commerce.

Said Debra: “Going back to work seemed harder after I had my son and there was also the prospect of having to pay childcare costs for two children.

“I loved my job but I wanted to have the freedom of working from home so that I could bring my daughter to her after-school clubs and pick her up again and be there for my son.

“I knew this would be difficult with any employer and the childcare costs were so high that it would have meant most of my wage would be going on them and that just didn’t add up for me.

“I racked my brain to try and come up with something that would allow me to work from home and be there for the children as much as possible.

“I lived in New York for a while and I used to love going round all the little gift boutiques in Soho.

“I thought ‘could I do that from home?’ and then it hit me that I could set up a similar shop online.

“Even though it would be a struggle financially, I knew if I didn’t try it now I never would.

“My husband Matt was very supportive and so I decided to go for it.”

Excited by the possibility of realising her dream, Debra spent months researching online business and looking at what her prospective competitors was offering.

She also managed to talk her sister Tracey Houston into coming on board.

Debra said: “Tracey has kept her job but helps me as much as she can.

“There is a huge amount of work and long hours involved in setting up any business and it is not for the faint hearted.

“Neither one of us has worked in retail, except for part-time jobs when we were younger, so it has been a steep learning curve.

“The whole domain of e-commerce is something we have had to learn from scratch. We know our limitations and we realised we needed to bring in the professionals so we hired a graphic designer and web designer to design our logo and our website.

“We knew it was extremely important to project ourselves and our business in a

very professional manner at all times and this begins with what people see on screen – the Hampton Blue website.

“The main challenge of online retailing is getting people to the site and impressing them enough to want to buy and come back again and again for repeat orders.

“It’s not like a bricks and mortar shop, where you have an immediate passing trade. We realised we needed to raise our profile and let people know we exist.

“Also potential customers can’t touch and feel the products, so it was imperative that our photos were clear and our descriptions as accurate as possible.

“It was also important to install secure measures on our website to help instil confidence.”

Hampton Blue went live in June and it has allowed Debra to work weekends and evenings so she can achieve her aim of spending quality time during the day with her children.

Having juggled a career and family, she hopes her website will make life a little easier for other busy parents.

She said: “Because I know firsthand how hard it is to manage everything on a daily basis, work, family life, social events, etc, I hope that we have made life a little bit easier for the busy consumer.

“We stock everything from costume and semi-precious jewellery to occasion bags, scarves, photo albums, candles, gifts for children, soft toys – the list goes on.

“It is a one-stop shop for self-indulgent treats and all those gifts for family and friends.

“We want to build on our product line and bring new and innovative gifts to the consumer. It’s a work in progress and we hope to add gifts for men, a wedding gift and baby gift section, as well as offering gift vouchers very soon.

“We also hope to add more Fairtrade products to our website and source local artisans for more individual and locally crafted products.

“There are many other ideas in the pipeline, but as a start-up business, funds are limited, so we have to take it one step at a time!”

Although business has been slow in the first few months as the site becomes more firmly establish, this young entrepreneur has no regrets.

She added: “Looking back at how much we have achieved in such a short space of time, I am extremely proud and would encourage anyone with a business idea to take the plunge – after doing their research off course!”