The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
It hasn’t always been easy and the early days of the pandemic and struggling to keep our families going and supported and our franchisees afloat during those times were the hardest few months of my life. What drives me though is a passion to making a positive impact in the lives of parents and babies. Witnessing the transformative effects of our classes and the joy they bring to families fuels my motivation. I strongly believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life, and empowering parents with knowledge and support is crucial to achieving this goal.
In particular, the recent collaboration with Goldsmiths on The Little Seed Project, which provides classes for underserved families, has been incredibly inspiring and motivating. This initiative has reinforced my dedication to create a nurturing and enriching environment for early childhood development. Guided by scientific research and expertise, we continuously work hard to support our team, improve our business, and ensure that our programs meet the evolving needs of families.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Running Baby College is a journey that comes with both up-sides and challenges. On the positive side, I have the freedom to shape the business according to my values and goals – of course in reality I have a strong group of business women working with me and ignore their goals at my peril! I also get to witness the empowerment and growth of parents and babies, and reading their testimonials makes it all worthwhile. To hear that we were a lifeline during the pandemic for many new parents was humbling. It’s important to acknowledge the less glamorous aspects. The responsibility can be overwhelming – with long hours and high stress levels, there are days when I wish I could walk away (just like the responsibility of being a parent really). Running your own business demands resilience, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to a longer term and bigger goal.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
At Baby College, our primary aim is to become the leading provider of educational and developmental programmes and classes for parents, babies, and young children around the world. Through our focus on “inspiring play together” and “play, move, and learn”, we aim to foster a love of learning and exploration in every child. With that in mind, we also place importance on our collaboration with Goldsmiths on The Little Seed Project (which we aim to launch as a charity at the end of the project), a research initiative focused on exploring the impact of early childhood education on the development and well-being of children and their families. I’d love us to be able to reach a wider audience.
Visit the Baby College website to learn more, and join their communities on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
