MBlog

UK pioneering community, Mpower for mums in business, announced the launch of the Mpower National Business awards to recognise and celebrate what it truly takes to ‘make it’ as a mum in the first four years of starting and growing a business.

Over 100 Mums in business have been nominated for a New National Award launched by Mpower... and there are still 2 more weeks to go!

• April is nominations month for the Mpower National Business Awards, shortlist to be announced on 24 May 2018.
• Finals gala to take place on Saturday 23 June 2018 at the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury in London.

These awards seek out and champion seemingly ordinary women, in the first four years of building a business and raising a family, whose courage, passion, creativity, commitment and vision has helped them to take a leap of faith, overcome obstaclesand start and grow a business facing the unique constraints and challenges of also being a full-time parent.

“There are a lot of awards out there, and...

IMPORTANT CHANGES IN DATA PROTECTION LAW happening in 2018 which relate to us all.

Heard about GDPR? Wondering what it's all about and if it affects you?

There could be big sanctions for business owners who do not comply.

So if you're wondering if this is relevant to you...if you have an email list, then this is something you need to become aware of and make sure you get compliant...

Here's the link to the free GDPR course I refer to in my video - https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/general-data-protection-regulation

And here is the link to the article on the IPO (Information Commissionner's Office) website - https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr

If you were a shape, which shape would you be? I’d probably be a ‘heart’. When it boils down to it, life to me is all about love. Those who know me well and follow me on social media know I put hearts all over the place, it’s a bit of a trademark!

What about if I asked you to pick a shape that represented business? That’s a tricky one…

My business shape would be the yin and yang symbol.

I believe that to be truly successful in business requires both inner resources and external resources.

True business success starts with who you are, not what you do.

How did I come to such a game-changing level of awareness?

When I was 24 years old, I had an American boss, Carolyn Wilson, to whom I will be eternally grateful. I’m not sure even to this day if she understands the profound impact she had on my life. One day she gave me a gift - a book. Reading The Alchemist, by Paulo Cohello, planted a seed which would quickly grow into a lifelong interest in...

A letter the old lady wished someone had written to her when she felt unsure, doubted herself or times got tough!
**************
Dear younger self,

I want to start by saying thank you, and there are so many things I want to thank you for.

Firstly, thank you for being you and for finally believing in yourself. I know the road hasn’t always been easy, but thank you for trusting in your ability to get through the tough bits. It’s only now that we look back, that you can understand how those tough times were also a necessary part of the journey. Only those challenges could help you to become who you needed to become on the inside, in order take on the mission of pursuing and receiving the stuff of your dreams.

I also want to say thank you for seeing the bigger picture of your life and not getting swayed from your own path. I know how easy it would have been to get sucked into living a life based on other people’s expectations and doing things the way others do it, but...

How confident do you feel about marketing and sales?

How do you attract the right clients, people and opportunities to your business?

How can you sell when you hate selling or the idea of being salesy or pushy?

Shine your light
Have you ever sat outside on a summer evening, after the sun goes down, and you’re left to enjoy the warmth of the night and the sparkle of the stars? Our back garden in Cheshire is my favourite place to sit outside and just ‘be’! I love the light cast by the garden lamp - all sorts of wonderful creatures come to dance in its golden glow, a beautiful choreography of attraction and mesmerising movement from so many different creatures drawn from far and wide.

Even if I’d wanted to, there’s no way I could have found this collection of creatures. I could have gone out with nets and exhausted my days scouring the countryside trying to find them. The chances of me spotting, let alone capturing, these same creatures in this big expanse...

Ever feel like you could hit pause?

Do you crave some gaps in your life, some breathing space, a bit of downtime?

In today’s crazy, high-speed world, many of us have transitioned from human beings to human-doings. No matter how many time-saving devices we own, we still managed to feel stretched because of all the things we try to cram into our every waking hour.

What we actually need is balance.

Balance in all areas of life; our health, our relationships, our personal life and our work.

A bit of zig, a bit of zag.

A bit of yin, a bit of yang.

Like a smoothie for breakfast but perhaps a glass of wine with dinner.

Like exercising 3 times a week, but pyjama day on Sunday.

Like quality family time, a regular date night, but a walk alone on the beach too.

Balance keeps us centred, and balance keeps us sane.

Too many late nights = exhausted

Too much work = burnt out

Too much alone time = isolated

Too much electronic stimulation = wired and disconnected…

Too little of what we...

How often have you found your mind wandering when you’re trying to get a job done?

Maybe you’re writing a blog or an email and it occurs to you that you haven’t bought a card for a friend’s birthday, or you need to put some washing on, or book your car in for it’s MOT.

Have you ever started the week with a specific task in mind only to find yourself railroaded by events and having to prioritise more urgent, but less important tasks.

Perhaps you just find it hard to stay focused on one task, preferring the variety of lots of things going on.

I’m sure we can all agree that the ability to remain focused is a valuable tool for anyone and as a mum juggling both a family and a business, it’s an essential skill to have.

Although we may consider ourselves the gentler sex when it comes to running a business we can appreciate that success can take dogged commitment and determination. As Bruce Lee said,“The successful warrior is the average man,...

Life as a business owner has many benefits, we can often work from home and choose our hours around our family commitments, but it also requires a lot of discipline and commitment to keep going, as without us, the business grinds to a halt.

‘Persistence is King’, is one of my favourite sayings and I have often heard it said that ‘90% of success is just showing up’

Even if we accept that persistence is a major factor of success, it still begs the question how do we keep going, consistently? It’s easy when the wind is behind us and things are going our way, but what about in those moments when we experience a challenge, failure or even boredom.

How can we keep going day after day? Here are 8 ways I know to help us keep going.

 1. One of the main tools we can use to keep going is an awareness of our end destination and an understanding that continued efforts will eventually bring results. Just like climbing to the peak of a mountain, you can rest...

If you cringe when you hear the word 'selling', struggle with the idea of selling yourself or hate the thought of being pushy or salesy, then this one is for you!

When it comes to explaining what selling is REALLY about and how to be great at it, and more importantly, how to sell with ease...I can't think of a better person to share the 7 keys to selling than, Graham Wilson.

Graham is not only the love of my life, but also happens to be one of the UK's top Leadership experts.  Over the course of his career, Graham has developed over 70,000 leaders globally, and sold multiple millions of pounds worth of business!

Here's Graham's blog on the 7 keys to selling for mums in business...

When you hear the word ‘SELLING,’ what happens in your head and heart?

What feelings come up?

What thoughts pop into your mind?

I’ve been told that for many mums it isn’t a very good feeling or thought at all!

Why is that?

And what really is selling?

Before I share the seven...

Do you have an amazing idea or vision, but lack clarity about how to turn it into reality?

Do you often feel lost or confused about where to start or what to do next?

Do you find yourself overwhelmed or procrastinating over an ever-growing, never-ending to-dolist?

A gazillion pieces

Have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle?

Imagine being led into a big room with a huge table, just like the ones you see in big corporate boardrooms - it’s enormous and fills the entire space. Now picture this table completely covered in a gazillion jigsaw puzzles, with all the different pieces mixed up.

My mum used to love doing puzzles. Sometimes I’d enjoy helping her. I remember this one puzzle, though, of a field of sunflowers.

I called it the ‘flocking’ puzzle, because the pieces felt fluffy - they had small patches of flocking on them so that when you eventually, and I stress the word ‘eventually’, put the pieces together, the images of the sunflowers had a kind of 3D...