Mothers and entrepreneurs; five women to inspire you

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Even though women outnumber men in the UK population by circa 900,000, according to official figures only one in five small to medium enterprises is run by a woman.  The Alison Rose review of female entrepreneurship concluded that encouraging more female entrepreneurs could boost the UK economy by £250bn. 

Whilst it is important that society as a whole takes responsibility for changing the status quo, it is also incumbent upon women to support, motivate and encourage each other.  When you support mother (and female carer) led businesses, you are directly promoting female empowerment and supporting those who nurture the next generation – without which, there will not be the next generation of anything, product or service! 

To start the process, we have asked five entrepreneurial women who are also mothers to contribute to this blog, sharing their experiences through answering questions about what it is like as a woman and mother to run a business whilst also bringing up a family.  So sit back, take inspiration and be motivated by mothers like you, who have made their mark in business. 

Sometimes all it takes is inspiration from someone relatable, to help us make a start.  We hope that this article encourages and provokes you to pursue your own business success.

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Vicki Broadbent

(award winning lifestyle blogger/author, online business course coming soon) Profession: Blogger, Parenting Expert and Author

Aishah Tatum

Aishah Tatum

Certified Holistic Life Coach and holistic wellness educator

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Katy Flint

Blogger

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Jo Middleton

Blogger and Author

Rachel Di

Web Development and SEO Specialist

Vicki Broadbent

(award winning lifestyle blogger/author - online business course coming soon)

BIO: - Vicki Broadbent is a multi-award winning blogger and author of the bestselling book Mumboss (UK) and The Working Mom (US). She regularly appears on national TV as a parenting expert and a soon to be mother of three.

Blogger, Parenting Expert and Author

Company: Honest mum

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What do you enjoy most about being a working mother / running your own business?

I love the freedom and flexibility being my own boss provides, the fact I have a balanced career working online, which doesn’t compromise my most important job of all: being a mother.

What advice would you offer to other working mothers / mothers who want to start their own business?

To simply start. The imposter syndrome can block dreams but action, however small stops fear in its tracks and productivity breeds productivity.

It’s important to push yourself out of your comfort zone and get used to feeling a little scared. It is important to find what brings you joy and do more of that. Reflect on what made you happy as a child and consider how you can channel that passion into your business. My book Mumboss is a handbook on how to find your voice and grow a personal brand online and has helped thousands of women succeed in the digital space. 

My video online courses business, The Working Mother’s Academy, launches in September too, which will help mothers build and grow fruitful and fulfilling online careers. I’m excited about helping even more women, worldwide!

How did you overcome the challenges of being a mum entrepreneur?

I think challenges exist every day for all of us, that’s life; but learning to work smartly, becoming comfortable with saying ‘no’, leaning on me and me only for self-worth as well as exercising boundaries consistently, has put me in good stead. Working on myself and accessing therapy was a game changer too, so if you can, invest in that. 

Daily meditation (even for 10 minutes) means I am usually in a responsive not reactive state, which helps every aspect of my life. I also don’t let challenges affect me for long. I feel hurt like everyone else when disappointment hits but I don’t let fear or sadness win. I brush myself off, whatever the adversity (after acknowledging the pain) and start again. You can’t keep a good woman down ;)!

How do you start and end your day?

Usually chaotically with kids rushing to school but I never miss breakfast and since I’ve become pregnant (I’m over 20 weeks now), I’m the first up in the house at around 6 a.m. so I tend to do a lot of chores once I’ve eaten. My husband is an incredible cook so since I’ve become pregnant (and tiredness hits by evening), he tends to make dinner and I clean up the following day! I find cleaning is meditative and it’s become my morning ritual.

After school drop off, which is a delightful walk by the river in Eton, I answer emails, write blog posts and work on campaigns.

I only work a 2-3 day week and have for several years now thanks to working smartly; only taking on work that firstly must fit my brand and values and also pays well. I have a great quality of life and never miss my kids’ milestones. This is, I must add, a huge shift to just a few years back where I found myself burnt out juggling everything. I knew there was a smarter way to work and I’m relieved to have found it. It means I have time for passion projects too. I regularly paint and I’ve recently written a children’s book and the first draft of a film screenplay

Aishah Tatum

Certified Holistic Life Coach and holistic wellness educator.

BIO: Aisha Tatum graduated with a B.S in Psychology from The University of Georgia this she followed with an MSc and MBA. She is a certified Holistic Life Coach and an Institute for Integrative Nutrition (New York) Health Coach, as well as being a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Trainer. She consults in Healthcare and Information Technology and has authored and published three books.

Company: Aishah Tatum

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What do you enjoy most about being a working mother / running your own business?

What I enjoy most about being a mompreneur is the flexibility that it brings. I’m able to schedule my day around my family. I love the freedom of being able to express my natural gifts and talents and share them with the world, in a way that inspires and empowers women to walk boldly in their purpose. Being a mompreneur allows me an opportunity to empower my son to follow his dreams. 

Before I was a full time entrepreneur, I spent so much time dreading going to work, doing something that literally felt it was draining the life out of me. It felt like I was in a constant cycle of living the same day over and over again, which was very depressing. What I enjoy about entrepreneurship, is that it is a vehicle for breaking free from the rat race and helps eliminate the stress of spiritual unfulfillment, if you’re doing what you love.

What advice would you offer to other working mothers / mothers who want to start their own business?

The best advice I would offer is to follow your dreams. Sometimes you have to jump before you’re ready. I spent a lot of time living in fear, struggling with my confidence, being depressed and unhappy. I also wasted a lot of time procrastinating and making excuses. All of those years are gone, and I can never get them back. It’s important to know who you are and what you’ve come to the planet to contribute. Until you are fully tapped into that, nothing will truly fulfill you, not even motherhood. 

Also as Moms, we need more than one income stream if we want to create wealth for our families. A traditional job will never make us wealthy but starting a side business opens up the channel for more money and wealth, and if structured correctly, time freedom, which is what we all desire. One of the biggest gifts we can give to our children and our families is the gift of happiness and health. If we are unfulfilled, unhappy, miserable and always stressed due to a job that has a negative impact on our children. Think about what type of lifestyle you want for your and your children and create it.

How did you overcome the challenges of being a mum entrepreneur?

One of the biggest things that helped me was to stop comparing my life and my journey to other mompreneurs. Some mompreneurs were able to work more on and in their business than I was, because I did not have the support structure I needed. I also still traveled as an IT consultant working 84 hours a week, so it was very stressful and overwhelming for me, because I wasn’t able to focus on my business as much as I wanted. 

Once COVID came, I had the opportunity to really focus more on my dreams. Although my son was home with me, I would use his two hour nap times to work on my dreams. Two hours is not a lot of time, but you use what you have with where you are. 

Trying to balance motherhood, family life and owning a business is very stressful. Having a schedule, structuring my day based on my priorities and my goals has been essential to my success as a mompreneur.

How do you start and end your day?

I always start my day with foundational, spiritual, emotional, mental and physical nourishment. I wake up around 5 a.m. and pray, read the Quran, talk to God, express my gratitude and practice breathwork and meditation. I always read a book on spiritual/personal  development before I get started on my physical health, which consists of working out and doing yoga.  I usually end my day with reading, prayer and expressing gratitude to God.

Katy Flint

Blogger

BIO: Katy Flint is a well known parenting blogger and content creator who has built up a significant community of followers since starting in 2014. Katy founded her blog ‘What Katy Said’ after the birth of her second child and has since built up followings on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Over the last 12 months she has extended her reach, having developed a successful podcast. Katy ranks in the top five parent blogs in the UK and has worked with some of the world’s largest brands.

Company: Whatkatysaid

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What do you enjoy most about being a working mother / running your own business?

I love running my own business as it gives me the freedom to choose my hours to suit family life and not have to ask permission for days off if the kids get sick. Working for myself allows me to follow my creative passions and means I enjoy my work each and every day.’

What advice would you offer to other working mothers / mothers who want to start their own business?

My advice to other mums wanting to start their own business is to ask yourself what people always ask you about – what are you known for? Choose the thing that lights you up and that’s the path you need to take.

How did you overcome the challenges of being a mum entrepreneur?

It isn’t easy, it takes a lot of long hours balanced around naps and bedtimes but making a long term plan, broken down into smaller goals, will help make it more manageable.

How do you start and end your day?

I start each day by writing a list of what needs to be done and it keeps me on track and focused on my goals.

Jo Middleton

Blogger and Author

BIO: Jo Middleton is a mother and grandmother who has a background in journalism and copywriting. She is an award winning blogger (including Best UK Blogger and Best Parent Blog) and has also authored her first book, published by Ebury Press. She started her blog back in 2009, a blog with broad ranging content from parenting to food, travel and even pension planning.

Company/blog: Slummy single mummy

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What do you enjoy most about being a working mother / running your own business?

I have been working for myself for about 12 years now, since my kids were 6 and 13. As a single mum I was just sick of having to take a low paid, part time job that I was totally over qualified for, just to fit around childcare. I love the flexibility that self-employment gives me, it allows me to prioritise my own lifestyle rather than fitting in with someone else’s idea of what work should look like.

How did you overcome the challenges of being a mum entrepreneur?

I’m not sure I would define myself as a ‘mum entrepreneur’ – I think it minimises the work that we do as women to be honest. Would we call a man a ‘dad entrepreneur’ just because he happened to have children? I don’t think we would. I think we would allow him to be a business owner in his own right; undefined by whether or not he happens to be a parent. Obviously juggling childcare and work is an issue, especially as a single parent, but the challenges of being self employed – time management, cashflow, creativity, self-discipline and motivation – they are challenges for any business owner.

Rachel Di

Web Development and SEO Specialist

BIO: Rachel Di is the owner of Geek Unicorn a web design company she formed in 2017, in Toronto Canada. Rachel has been building websites for more than 20 years and has worked in design and digital communications since 2011. Rachel’s company provides services that include search engine optimization (SEO), web development, logo design, email automation/marketing and social media.

Company: Geek Unicorn

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How do you start and end your day?

I start my day with 10-20 minutes of exercise while listening to a non-fiction audio book, followed by 20 minutes of meditation and reflection on my goals. Then I spend 90 minutes on my top earning tasks or projects. All before opening emails or checking social media/news. To end my day, I take about 15 minutes to reflect on the day and review my meetings and tasks for the next day. Then I imagine and write out how I want to feel at the end of tomorrow. That has been a real game changer for me!

What do you enjoy most about being a working mother/running your own business?

I run my own business from a home office. I love that I don’t have to ask permission to take my kids to an appointment or head out to the park for the afternoon.

What advice would you offer to other working mothers/mothers who want to start their own business?

Take as much off your plate as possible from your role as CEO of Childcare and Domestic Duties to free up time to focus on your business. Even if you’re cash strapped, there are many free or low cost solutions. Consider having your groceries delivered, or getting a neighbourhood teen to play with your kids a few hours per week, or quit laundry duty and let individuals in your house fend for themselves. Get creative and release the idea that you “need” to be the one to do these things.

How did you overcome the challenges of being an entrepreneur?

It starts with a mindset shift by being really aware of your own thoughts, feelings and actions. I find I’m most successful at overcoming any challenge when I understand my own internal blocks that are preventing me from making a decision or taking action.

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