Sarah O’Connell was inspired by her own children to create learning resources to support them through preschool, kindergarten and the early primary years, and is passionate about helping children become effective communicators and confident, involved learners. She created Milestones and Mayhem to provide a range of modern, high quality educational resources to support The Early Years Learning Framework. Partnering with leading therapy professionals, educators and parents, they have developed educational resources to support learning outcomes for children engaging in education within school and home-learning environments.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I am inspired by little growing minds, and initially, Milestones & Mayhem started creating learning resources that were needed to support my own children as they progressed throughout preschool, into kindergarten and on to early primary school. I soon realised these resources were also needed in the wider community.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
We started out small in our local community, growing our customer base before expanding Australia wide and internationally.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
My biggest breakthrough was partnering with leading therapy professionals, educators and parents to expand my knowledge and continue to develop educational resources that support learning outcomes for children engaging in education within the school and home-learning environment.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
This is always a challenge isn’t it? My most important role is as a solo mum to my two children, and running a business as a sole trader is always a time-consuming venture. I strive every day to keep work inside of regular business hours, spending weekends enjoying my children’s sport and activities, along with time spent among family and friends.
