Bump to Business Owner

For our season finale I am joined by the wonderful Jo Woodhurst, Head of Nutrition at Ancient + Brave. And as a special gift to our listeners, Jo has kindly recorded a 10 minute to help us reconnect and recharge during the busiest and most festive time of year. We all need it! This bonus podcast episode is sponsored by Ancient + Brave. If you'd like to try any of their products (I am a big fan of...

For our season finale I am joined by the wonderful Jo Woodhurst, Head of Nutrition at Ancient + Brave. And as a special gift to our listeners, Jo has kindly recorded a 10 minute meditation which is available as a separate bonus episode, out now. We all need it! Jo has been on her own journey in her approach to wellbeing. From burning the candle at both ends as a teacher, she moved into nutrition n...

Pip Black started her business, Frame at 24. She and her co-founder Joan, have navigated huge changes across the fitness industry over the last 15 years. They launched in recession, tag teamed maternity leaves over 4 kids, raised funds, bought back their company and adapted almost overnight to Covid.  But through it all, they have lived the brand, its values, and created a business which puts cust...

What do you think is behind the global falling birthrate? Because social media thinks it's mums' fault (of course). We're not sharing enough about how joyful motherhood is. Of course this is rubbish. But I do think it's so important for mums to connect with their own sense of joy, outside of motherhood, outside of work, just for themselves. Reconnecting with my personal sense of joy has been…a jou...

TRIGGER WARNING: Baby loss, depression and suicidal ideation Grace Carter didn't tell any of her clients when she had her first baby, a year into her business. And no wonder. Working in a male dominated industry, when Grace announced her second pregnancy, she lost £15k in recurring monthly revenue almost overnight. Motherhood and running a business took their toll on Grace's mental health. But ins...

Erika Brodnik is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, angel investor, author and mum of five. She is also super relatable, inspirational and committed to bringing other women and minority founders along on the entrepreneurial journey with her by showing that motherhood and multiple successful businesses are not mutually exclusive. I loved how broad ranging our conversation was, from The Refund Y...

I've been spending too much time on Threads. Over there, I'm seeing more and more the narrative that mums can work from home full time AND be full time carers for their kids. And I just don't think it can work. I'm sharing exactly what childcare and support I had while setting up and running my business, because I don't want anyone to think that I was 'doing it all'. I very much wasn't. I can tota...

Where were Nugget Savings when I was preparing for mat leave?!  After launching a year ago, Nugget Savings has become a vital resource for would-be parents as they save and prepare for leave. If that's you, or someone you know, listen in and share! Stay til the end to hear Harriet and Katie's top 3 tips for self-employed maternity leave. This was a really wide ranging conversation, from how Katie...

A solo episode this week talking about a question I think all service (and probably product?!) business owners can relate to: Do You Take The Sales Call When You Have Your Kids? Obviously we all hope to have rock solid boundaries. But let's face it, there is always a bit of pressure, whether that's internal or external, that this could be our 'only chance' to make the sale. Listen to the episode f...

This week's conversation is with the wonderful Petra Gatto, personal brand strategist, photographer and cancer survivor. If you know someone going through cancer treatment or in recovery, there's some really helpful advice and insights on how we can better support them. Or if you're in the cancer trenches, Petra has some wisdom on taking up space and communicating your needs. From marketeer, to in...

A solo episode from me today, talking about something I think (know?!) that we've all experienced at some point in our lives: imposter syndrome. Does it exist? How to recognise it How to manage it My personal experience of it, and how I distinguish imposter syndrome from other feelings of doubt or nerves. I am a firm believer in owning our successes as a way to bolster against imposter syndrome, b...

It's World Mental Health Day, and so I'm honoured to be talking with the wonderful Dr. Jo Carlile, a clinical psychologist and trauma specialist. Jo shares her experience of neurodivergency, being a new mum in Covid and her transition from a 15 year NHS career to private practice. As well as letting us in on her new role as Tech Founder with her upcoming mental health support platform, The Norm. ...

Vix Meldrew went from overworked and stressed out teacher to content creator, releasing an online membership and courses before that was even a thing.  As a big believer in business mirroring life, Vix took her business next level, while also undergoing IVF. We talk about her experience of IVF, how she planned her business to work around it, and her business planning and content scheduling for mat...

Bump to Business Owner is BACK! Caroline opens Season 4 with a solo episode talking about burnout. We all experience it, especially as business owners and mums, and here Caroline unpacks her previous run in with extreme burnout, and how she was able to step back from the brink after a total stranger flagged that she might be in danger of burning out again. Caroline reflects on the signs of burnout...

Bump to Business Owner is the go-to podcast for mums who don't want to compromise on their careers but know that traditional full time employment just isn't compatible with family life. It's a space for female entrepreneurs and future founders creating autonomy and a deeper sense of purpose for themselves, their business and their children. Join your host, Caroline Marshall, founder of award winni...

"If I can buy lawn mowers and hedge trimmers, why can't I buy vibrators" Season 3 is going out with a bang! Mikaela Jones went from buyer at Homebase to launching her own sexual wellness brand, Pleasure Gap. Knowing that she wanted to start her own business, Mikaela did an inventory of what she was passionate about, and sexual wellness for women came out on top (pun intended). For Mikaela, her bus...

Gemma Bray started cleaning obsessively as a way to manage her anxiety after the birth of her first child. Some years later, when Gemma was a stay at home mum, he dared her to take her cleaning onto Instagram and The Organised Mum was born!   I can really relate to Gemma's need to control something in the early days of motherhood. For me, it was my red lipstick and my business, for her, it was her...

For Claire Gleave, running was a way of getting some headspace, away from being a full time mum. It also gave her a business idea: activewear for pregnancy and beyond. Having taken voluntary redundancy after her second mat leave, Claire was focused on her family. I think we can all relate to her feeling of 'being sold a lie' when it comes to working and raising a family and 'having it all'. But wh...

How will I feel about this situation in 5 years time? I love this question from Kate Kurdziej, founder of Olivier Consultancy. Whether it was deciding to leave a toxic job in the early days of pregnancy, or leaving behind the lifelong dream of moving to France, it guided her to where she is now.  Kate had a difficult birth, and found the transition to motherhood uncomfortable, for a long time, she...

Trigger warning: this episode discusses endometriosis, fertility, IVF, miscarriage, birth trauma and PTSD, so if it's not the right time for you, please listen to an episode from the archive. Martha Keith founded Martha Brook two years into her fertility journey, having decided a stressful unfulfilling corporate career was perhaps not conducive to starting a family. Her award winning stationery bu...

Catherine Ann Reid founded her business, Doqit, because she found herself with a problem, and she wasn't the only one. But it took Covid for Doqit to become a viable business and a full time job.  As a single mum, Catherine Ann has an amazing approach to work and fitting it around parenthood: quality over quantity. Balls were dropped, but tomorrow is always a new day. Catherine Ann's daughter has...

Like me, and a lot of mums I know, Charlie's transition from 'ambitious career woman' to 'mum' wasn't easy. And for both of us, maybe you too, it meant that we didn't enjoy those early mum days as much as we could have. We were too worried about other people's perceptions about our commitment and drive. Now, Charlie has really leant into motherhood - she says that it was 'owning' motherhood, inves...

Rachel Carrell is an impressive woman: 3 kids, raised £14 million in funding rounds, and on a world changing mission to change the face of childcare. Something that Rachel has found, which I've heard a lot on the podcast, is the advantage of being a 'newbie' in an industry. I think we can often dismiss ideas because we don't have enough experience in the field, but that could be our strength. Rach...

Becoming a mother is the ultimate creative act, and yet, when we become mothers our identities as creators, as individuals is often lost. Louise Webster is on a mission to connect mums, not only to themselves, but to the community and inspiration to drive us. For Louise, parenthood has not just been about raising kids, but about raising herself; uncovering new things and unlocking parts of herself...

Lauren Armes' plan was never to build a wildly successful business and then exit. But motherhood (and Covid!) was a catalyst for change. Not only did Lauren's definition of success change, but how she wanted to build her life did too. So Lauren sold WellToDo to focus on motherhood, yes, but also on building her purpose-led coaching business around her family. A night and day difference between her...