Starting a business in a recession is one thing but to launch a new venture when you are expecting a baby would make most women stop and think.

But not Claire Dowdall. Despite being heavily pregnant Claire couldn’t wait to get working on her own business project with her second daughter’s imminent arrival simply proving an extra incentive to get things moving.

She just knew the time was right for all kinds of reasons, including the economic climate, and the tiny matter of a new addition to the family may mean the business is developed in stages but it certainly didn’t get in the way of setting it up.

“I left my full time job at the end of August and started Claire Dowdall Freelance Marketing straight after,” she said.

“My business model is based on the changing needs of businesses due to the recession, where they cannot or can no longer afford to have a dedicated member of staff to look after and drive their marketing activity and are looking for a flexible and affordable alternative. That’s me.”

The 29-year-old has a great deal of experience in the industry having working for a number of well-known firms in the region following a stint at Wolverhampton University where she studied for a BA (Hons) in Marketing and won the Gerry Fowler Prize after coming top of the class.

It’s seeing how the industry works and how the recession has had an impact which helped Claire to move forward with her business plan.

“My inspiration essentially came from my own experience of redundancy in April 2009.

“I have always been passionate that the last area that should suffer in a recession is a company’s marketing department/activity and that businesses have to step up their marketing and keep visible to survive and outperform competitors.

If businesses have to make cuts in all areas, including marketing, then I hope that they’d consider using a resource like me to continue to thrive in difficult times.”

And of course as a soon-to-be mother-of-two Claire knows that this new chapter will make her life-work balance a much easier one to negotiate.

“I have a three-year- old daughter and she’s thrived through being at a fantastic nursery since she was ten months old. I was happy for her to be there when I returned to work part time, but as soon as I took a full time job I felt terrible guilt at not spending that extra day with her, plus a resentment for my job that I had to be there instead.

“I’m really passionate about my profession and didn’t want to fall out of love with it. The career choice I have made has allowed me to make my own rules – when I start and finish work, which days I work and where I work – all whilst continuing to pursue my passion.

“I’m spending a lot of time networking and building up relationships at the moment in preparation for bouncing back next spring at my own pace.”