With the new school term, come new opportunities! The Mumpreneurs Networking Club is back after taking time out for the summer and it seems we are back in business and raring to go! The summer seemed to come and go so quickly and with the children under our feet for six weeks, working in a house full of demanding little ones or transient teenagers coming and going, can prove tricky for Mumpreneurs who are juggling the work/life balance. How do we ever manage to achieve anything when our time is being pulled in so many directions? If you are running a business by yourself, generally working from a home office, then getting the balance right can be a daily struggle.
If you’ve read this far and are still wondering what I meant when I referred to ‘Mumpreneur’ then let me explain. People have tried to define this in many ways and the Wikipedia listing is very revealing in as much as (as I type) it hasn’t yet created the English definition and instead has the American version ‘Mompreneur is a neologism defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to help launch a new venture or enterprise and accept full responsibility for the outcome’.
So it seems that the word Mumpreneur has been coined as a phrase to encapsulate the essence of a mother who is an independent business woman who might have started up her own business, or at least is flying solo in the big old world of business, perhaps as a franchisee or licensee yet combining it with her role as a mum and housekeeper. Quite a task you’d think, but there are millions of us out there doing just that! I was recently at a Business Link workshop when the trainer described JK Rowling as a famous Mumpreneur. I have to say, I initially disagreed because I’m not a Harry Potter enthusiast and didn’t really know her background, and even went as far as to denounce JK as an Entrepreneur at all. I assumed she was just a well educated lady who stumbled upon a good premise for a book at just the right time! Oh how I ate my words when I carried out some research on this amazing lady! Whilst on income support, she would pitch up in cafes to write her book with her daughter sleeping in her pram next to her, and despite stories being told about how she would be in the cafes because her flat had no heating, she cited one of the reasons she wrote in cafés was because taking her baby out for a walk was the best way to make her fall asleep and that she wasn’t stupid enough to rent an unheated flat in Edinburgh in the middle of winter! Despite many knock backs including the twelve publishing houses that rejected her book (oh how can they sleep at night?) she continued with a ‘do or die’ attitude and eventually her book series were a success and within five years she became a multi-millionaire. A Mumpreneur we can all aspire to and certainly worth a doffing of the (sorting) hat!
Personally, my motives go beyond my need to fulfil my role as a parent. Ten years ago before the term ‘Mompreneur’ even reached our shores, a good chunk of my reason for pursuing the path of self employment and entreprenurship was because I wanted the time and freedom to work and be a parent on my own terms, thus keeping my hand in the world of business yet having total control over my time with the children. Therefore, yes, I am proud to call myself a Mumpreneur. It would be lovely to think that I could enjoy a fraction of the success of JK Rowling, but for now I am very happy helping others achieves their goals in business with my work as a Sales Coach and one to one sales trainer for small businesses.
In relation to the Mumpreneurs Networking Club, the word is used to define our core members but it also means the above and a whole lot more. As a networking club with eleven groups running across Sussex and London, we aim to reach women who are out there ‘doing it for themselves’ as well as enabling men and women who might not be micro businesses themselves to reach these ladies to offer their products and services. So if you are working within an accountancy firm or a design agency, then these are services that would prove very useful to a Mumpreneur looking at going it alone.
The purpose of a networking group is not to create a clique of people who meet on a regular basis to chat business, but to create a comfortable and safe environment for likeminded people to swap experiences, ideas, skills and of course referrals. Did you know it can take up to seven times for someone to meet you in a networking environment in order for them to trust you enough to do business? Networking is not a one-hit-wonder, and you really have to commit yourself going on a regular basis. Look for the right group for your particular needs and business/services as one size certainly does not fit all in networking. That’s why there’s so many to choose from! Each group has it’s own style and format, and even huge differences in the time of the day they meet. Some meetings are held very early morning and referred to as ‘breakfast’ meetings which are great for the people who can squeeze in some valuable networking before heading off to work, but not so terrific if for instance you are a Mumpreneur (or Dadpreneur) who still has the school run to do before settling down to some work. My local Chichester Branch of The Mumpreneurs Networking Club meets at a very family friendly time of 10am until 11.30am at the Chichester Premier Inn, Chichester Gate. I carefully selected this venue because it has a lovely restaurant area which they give us exclusive use of, it is very central, lots of free parking and we have lots of members from other groups such as Worthing, Arundel and Brighton who leave their cars at home and hop on the train. The venue is a few minutes’ walk from the train station making it very accessible.
We have such a varied attendee profile – from Virtual Assistants (VA’S) to Bookkeepers, and social media experts to personal trainers. All networking and swapping contacts and cards! If this sounds like something you would like to become involved with, then we welcome first timers to come along as a guest to try it before committing to membership. All the details can be found on www.agoodgossip.co.uk
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