She also knew there'd be families at her destination with houses brimming with gear she could instead borrow, but she needed a way to connect with them.

In mid-2017 this idea became Kindershare, an online platform enabling parents to list anything from travel prams to baby snowsuits for other parents to rent, starting from a few dollars a week.

Nazarian, from Sydney, says reducing families' need to make unnecessary purchases saves money and contributes to sustainability. "The most common comment we get is, 'I wish you were around when my kids were younger"."

The platform was a finalist in the 2017 Inner West Council Business Environment Awards and South Australia’s Collaborative Economy Challenge, quite a feat for a woman who had vowed never to start a business after watching her father work long hours running his own.

And the former chartered accountant says that despite popular opinion, running a business as a mother doesn't afford much flexibility.

"You and your customers are always setting your daily priorities, but it’s not free rein ... As someone said to me, you have the flexibility to choose which 18 hours of the day you work."

And while it was motherhood that prompted her business idea, Nazarian rejects the idea of being called a "mumpreneur".

"I’m a strong feminist and always have been, and my view on the mumpreneur tag is that it’s a lesser class of entrepreneur," she says.

"Just because I don’t wear a suit doesn’t mean I’m not working a 50-hour week."

Long hours are also the norm for Perth’s Meg Burrage, who works full-time in logistics while running her start-up, BubDesk.

BubDesk links into established childcare centres to provide quiet desk space where parents can work while their child is cared for in the centre.

Burrage says it's an ideal transition back to work after parental leave, as "educators will just let parents know if their baby's due for a feed or if they're really unsettled and need a cuddle".

The idea was conceived after Burrage's own return to work was made more stressful when suitable childcare wasn't available for her baby son.

"And I thought, why can't I just take my child to work?"

BubDesk has expanded from its Perth origins into selected childcare centres in Sydney, the Sunshine Coast and Hobart.

Burrage says it's important that parents can return to work "when they’re ready", and hopes more large businesses will embrace flexible working conditions as part of their diversity strategy and return-to-work programs.

Ironically, during the early days of BubDesk, Burrage saw even less of her own child.

"I wanted to achieve the elusive work-life balance, but I think the BubDesk business model gave that work-life balance to everyone but me."

The positive response from parents using the service encouraged her to persevere, but ultimately her driving force was her passion to see the business succeed.

"If you don’t have a 300 per cent commitment, don't do it," she says.

"I’ve always had random [business] ideas but I’ve never been as in love with them as this one ... This was the one where I couldn't sleep at night."