Debbie Walker owns Merry Maids of Croydon. She set up the business in 2003 just one year after having her first child, Anna.  
 
Debbie worked for Centrica for ten years as a business sales manager, working long hours and travelling around the country.  After the birth of Anna, Debbie decided that she couldn't carry on with her job as she had so little time to spend at home being a Mum. So she took voluntary redundancy and put the money into starting up her own business running the Croydon Merry Maids franchise. 
 
She says that owning her own business has been hard work but knowing that the money is for her and her family, not a big corporation, is 100% more rewarding.  She now has time for her family and to be a real Mum, which she says is the most important thing to her. 
 
Debbie has been able to employ more staff to lessen her own work load and now has a second child, Jack. She is able to do the school run and fit work in between, so her children never have to take second place.  Debbie now has 14 members of staff and really believes in a team atmosphere. She is happy to help out and be flexible if a member of staff has a sick child and needs some time off as she can remember how hard this would have been in her previous job.