Enterprising parents running start-ups from home

Greg Stockdale and his wife Julie consider themselves fortunate parents. They get to have regular meals with their two-year-old daughter Kelly, and take her to the park and swimming pool almost every day. This became possible only after the couple turned their backs on conventional work to run an online business from home last November.

Stockdale, a technology consultant and former IT director for the Shangri-La Group, recognises the new venture has its risks but says the time he gets to spend with Kelly makes it worthwhile.

"With a corporate job, you have a salary and incremental benefits … The trade-off is you have to give the company your hours and have long quality time with your child only on weekends. Now I don't need to wake up [at a fixed time] and put on a suit. I can eat with my family three times a day. I play with Kelly in the afternoon and let Julie take a break and do the grocery shopping and her own things."

Busy working couples often wish they spent more time with their children. Some parents - mothers especially - decide to put their careers on hold while the youngsters are growing up. But a few enterprising types, such as Stockdale, have made the most of IT advances to start online business that give them the flexibility to combine parental duties with work.

"As parents, we need to be aware of the financial risk in what we are doing. But after working [in the corporate world] for 20 years, we are able to buy our own flat in Hong Kong. So the risks are managed risks. Before, I got only two weeks holiday a year but now we can take a month off for Christmas. It's a really good trade-off."