The beauty of creating this group is that it’s allowed me to bring in the most wonderful guest speakers, most of whom are small business owners and mothers. No one gets it better and sees the absolute value in improving postpartum support than another mother and I am absolutely all about supporting other mums and their small business ventures.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Feedback from other mums when they hear about my business confirms that postpartum support is overlooked and so needed. The encouragement from other mothers has been wonderful and fuelled my passion further. I have had so many mums share their experience, with an overwhelming number stating how lonely they found the early months and how they wished that they had the opportunity to attend a similar mothers’ group. I remember those early weeks and months after my first was born. How overwhelmed I felt, and being so far away from family and friends in the UK, I felt isolated and alone. How could this be though? I had this beautiful new baby who I adored, but had no real clue what I was doing. Was I doing it right? Why wasn’t breastfeeding going smoothly? Was I a good enough mum? Is it normal for baby to wake and feed 6 times a night? These are questions and doubts many mothers had and once I started to share the idea of creating my own group, so many mums I met reiterated the shared feelings, in particular loneliness and isolation, and wishing they had a support network of mum friends around them.
For me, this reinforced the why and has made me even more determined to get several weekly groups off the ground.
Booking out my first mothers’ group was massive. I was in absolute disbelief that this happened so early on in business and am excited to see groups grow, friendships be formed and my village blossom. Connecting and empowering women is at the core of my business values and helping as many women as possible on their journey into motherhood is absolutely my purpose in my heart and for Mothers Connected.
Yin and yang: How do you balance work and family?
The juggle is real most days and balance is not always consistent. It is a work in progress and something I don’t always achieve, but I’m learning to be kind with myself and know with practice it will improve.
My family and wanting to be more available in those early school years as my little ones grow made leaving a 9-5 gig with long travel a no brainer really.
I am grateful I get to do school drop off and pick up every day. These little things make such a big difference.
Working from home and my business set up being underneath our main living area can be tricky in the way that there’s no separation sometimes.
I’ve made sure to set boundaries around prioritising time for myself. Providing time for reflection, space to clear my head and to do things I enjoy for me. This allows for creativity to flow. Having this time ensures that whatever is happening in the family or how chaotic the work/ life juggle may be, I am able to approach things with a mostly clear, calm head and am a much better mum and person for it.
Hope and dreams: What next?
I have had many small business owners tell me that I should expect it to take up to two years to build and grow my business from the ground up. I am hoping by that time I’ll have multiple groups running every single week. That is the goal. Until then, I will hustle and put my heart and soul into every aspect of making this business a go-to hub for new local mums. A place to gather, connect, receive support and form lasting friendships, and by the end of the 8-week program have their own village as a support to continue on their journey through motherhood.
Find out more by visiting the Mothers Connected website and joining their supportive communities on Facebook and Instagram.
