Pictured above: Amanda Farren
An entrepreneur, Amanda Farren, who runs her business from home
in Coventry, West Midlands has been short listed in The Remote
Worker Awards for The BT Home Business Award and now stands a
chance of national recognition if she wins.
Award winning website, Remote Employment, Google's No 1 job site
for flexible and home based jobs, launched The Remote Worker Awards
in association with BT Business to highlight how home working and
remote working benefits the British public and their working
life.
Along with the honour of winning The BT Home Business Award,
Amanda is in the running to win the fantastic array of prizes to
improve her 'home business' as well as the penthouse eco garden
office up for grabs in the Vivid Green Award.
The Remote Worker Awards will culminate in a winning ceremony at
the stunning Cliveden House in Berkshire on 10th September.
Ella Announcements was launched in early 2007 when young mum,
Amanda, was looking for a way to stay at home with her children,
yet be involved in more than just baby-talk. She had spent the
previous year teaching herself graphic and web design, and
realising she had a passionate for this line of work, her hobby
soon progressed into a business.
Ella Announcements is an online business, offering unique
announcements and invitations for any occasion. The ranges mainly
focusing on babies and young children, driven forward by Amanda
having three children of her own and therefore being able to
understand the market and relate to the customers.
Every customer is provided with a completely unique design.
Using their own photographs and information, as well as a design
specification, Amanda creates every announcement from scratch to
ensure the finished product is as unique as the child featured on
it.
If three children aged 5 and under, and a stationery business
wasn't enough, Amanda has recently started organizing local Baby
Fairs. The first of these, held in Coventry this June, was a great
success. Not only did this provide local families with a fun, free
family day out, but it gave a fantastic marketing opportunity to
small local businesses.
The biggest challenge Amanda has had to overcome to move forward
in the business world is her age. She was a teenage mum when
starting up Ella Announcements. She feels that being a mum in
business is tough and being a teenager in business is even worse,
yet Amanda had to battle with both.
The 22 year old runs the business from home in what was once the
dining room, although the professional quality of the website,
products and service says otherwise. From the products to the
website, Amanda has created everything herself, being self-taught
in both graphic and web design.
Crushing the teenage mum stereotype, Amanda has challenged many
people's perceptions on young parents, being featured in both local
and national newspapers highlighting her success. This young woman
has proved an inspiration to many people, and has created a
fantastic life for her family already with an exciting future to
look forward to.
Amanda said: "I can barely contain my excitement at making the
finals. I am truly honoured, and blown away that I have been chosen
alongside such fantastic individuals. What an amazing
achievement!"
Full details of the shortlisted winners can be found at BT Home
Business Shortlisted Winners