Bump to Business Owner

Maria was 6 years into her business when she fell pregnant with her first child. And I can hard relate when she said "I just didn't think anything would change".  Maria didn't take maternity leave until her daughter was 6 months old, and was taking work calls just hours after giving birth! Hear her thoughts on whether it worked for her, and her perspective looking back on it. We talked a lot about...

We are BACK! We're opening Season 2 with a conversation which genuinely at points gave me goosebumps. Alison and Natalie are serial entrepreneurs - March Muses is their third business together - all while holding down full time jobs and raising families. As you can imagine, the question of "how do you do it" definitely came up. Community came up a lot in our conversation - from calling in favours...

This week's conversation, and the season one finale (!) is with Ruth Marsden, founder of The Better Company, a "game-changing" sustainable period products company.  Ruth is an incredibly passionate, purpose led founder, and is really refreshingly honest about the mistakes she's made (hello 1000 unusable micro bags!) and how hard it can be as a product business in a post Brexit world. She really is...

How much have you reflected on your mat leave experience? With 2 wildly different mat leaves under my belt - one employed but only 12 weeks long, and one as a business owner with a NICU baby it's hard to draw parallels. But looking back on my maternity leave as a business owner, there are a few things that I might change. I'm sharing what I would do differently from a practical POV, what I would c...

My guest this week is the wonderful Ali McAleavy, founder of Zig + Star, a sustainable children's footwear brand. An idea that Ali had been "just playing" with while on maternity leave with her third child, Zig + Star launched 2 years ago with the intention of making kids footwear healthier for little feet and parents' bank balances. We chatted about how different maternity leave is for each child...

This week I'm sharing my mat leave as a business owner experience with you. When I was pregnant for the first time, I looked around for positive narratives about maternity leave that weren't horror stories. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places, but I couldn't find anything at the time that told me I was going to be OK! With my second pregnancy I was in a very different situation - self employed...

This week I'm in conversation with fellow ex-performer Dominique Woolf of Woolf's Kitchen and author of Dominique's Kitchen: Easy everyday Asian-inspired food. A singer/songwriter in a previous life, Dominique shared how her experience as a performer, but also as a recruiter and in sales built the skill set she needed to create a successful business. Every part of your experience in some way will...

This week I'm sharing my 3 must dos when you're starting up a business. Bonus: they are all free! Where to start when you're setting up a business?! I was keen to take myself and my business seriously when I was starting up, and I was working to create a business, as opposed to being self employed. These 3 steps were crucial for me to design an ambitious business that potential clients and associa...

In today's episode, I'm talking to the wonderful Rebekah Clark, Founder of Happy Marlo and Chief Operating Officer Joanna Glenn.  Both of them have such interesting journeys up to Happy Marlo and speak really candidly about the struggles they had negotiating their new identities as mothers, trying to find their place in the business world as mothers and the social isolation that can come with preg...

One thing I ask a lot of clients as the founder of a Virtual Assistant agency is: "Are you really the only person who can do this?" Asking for and getting the support you need is what I am ALL about at work. But I'll admit, I find it a lot harder to ask for help when it comes to my home and family life. Being a parent and business owner can be really overwhelming. If you feel like you're failing,...

This week I'm speaking to Danielle Wallington - founder of, count 'em, THREE businesses and mother of two young boys. Danielle's request for flexible working was denied when it was time to return to her work as an events manager after the birth of her first child so she decided to go all in on Milk'N'Fizz, her first business. FLOCKHERE, Danielle's latest venture, an app connecting WFH women to pla...

Another solo episode from me this week. Before I started a business, I had heard a lot about the loneliness of self employment, and having experienced a lot of career and social loneliness in my job and first pregnancy, when I set up my business it was a strong intention of mine NOT to feel lonely. I was lucky - there were so many online networking and learning opportunities when I was building my...

For our third episode I'm speaking to Hollie Grant aka the Pilates PT. Hollie fell in love with Pilates after being burnt as an apprentice pastry chef and working on reception at a studio. From running her own studio, she has grown an empire including an online pilates offering, two books and a podcast, all while raising two children. We talk about how scary it can be being a business owner and na...

The second episode of the podcast is a solo exploration as I discuss what my working week looks like and the 'blend' of business and family time that I've found works for me. It took a lot to get here - lots of failure and learning curves - and it will need to change as my family grows and the business develops. I let you in on my 'Mummy Day' what my weekly non negotiables actually are, and where...

I'm delighted that my guest for this first episode is Steph Douglas, founder of gifting business, Don't Buy Her Flowers. Steph started her business after receiving a whopping eight, well meant bouquets following the birth of her first baby and realising what a terrible gift flowers are for new mums. She has successfully grown her business over the past nine years, alongside raising her three young...

Welcome to the very first episode of the Bump to Business Owner Podcast. The go-to Podcast for mums who run a business, want to start a business, or are simply curious about what makes mums choose the entrepreneur life.  Being a business owner can be hard, being a mum is even harder but both together?! Caroline is on a mission to find out why more and more mums are leaving the employment world for...