MBlog*

Quite often I see the question being asked about what it really means to be empowered.

I asked my own community a while back, after all my whole personal mission and the Mpower brand is about empowering mums in business...it's so much more than just being 'powerful' or 'successful'!

I got a whole range of wonderful answers, so here's a selection of what came back from the Mpower community, and I'll also share my own personal definition of an empowered woman based on the empowered women I am blessed to be surrounded by...

For me 'empower' means I have the confidence and clarity to claim the life I choose to live on my own terms ~ Rayah

I feel empowered when I am in my "groove". Everything is free flowing and easy! What does this give me? Peace, happiness, makes my family and personal relationships easier. I feel more excited about my work and then I am able to offer a better quality service. Ultimately, I think it might be a feeling of achievement and the glow I get from that, in an...

A few months ago, The Independant, Indy/Best took on the task of reviewing the best books for new entrepreneurs, Jenna Farmer says "my search was overwhelmed by the staggering ratio of books written by men in this sphere compared to women. Whilst I did discover some gems, they were few and far between. Indeed, as I look at Amazon’s business books bestseller list, only three of the top 20 business books are authored by females.

There’s no doubt the male-authored books I discovered still made a great read, but they lacked many aspects of business that are important to women: yes, we are all about progression and leadership; but what about alternative careers, passion projects, maternity leave, flexible working, working from home, juggling motherhood, dealing with male-dominated workplaces and making yourself heard?"  says Jenna.

"With that in mind, I took on the challenge to discover the best business books written by women. The books that go beyond the traditional sphere and provide a...

Where do I begin?

It's the morning-after-the-day-before and my head and heart are still in a spin after yesterday's whirlwind VIP book launch party in London, where Graham and I launched our new books together!

They say a picture speaks a thousands words, so here's our day told in pictures, taken by the talented London-based photographer Morgana Secco, who specialises in family photography. 

You can see all of the pictures taken that day (and there are loads) in our Book launch gallery.    Can't wait to share the book launch film, once the amazing Kai Zammit has worked his magic!

So here is our day in pictures...

Arriving early at the venue, before the doors opened to receive our first guests, the day started with Graham being able to go and have a breakfast meeting with clients and my Event Manager, the lovely Amanda Flanders founder of Butterflies Business Events , here she is...

... inviting me to go and sit down and put my feet up, eat my toast and drink my coffee, while...

The story that changed my life forever

In 2002, at the age of 29, I heard a simple story about a piece of ribbon that would change my life forever.

Before I share this life-changing story, let me take you back, ten years earlier, where, as a university student, I’d already met the first love of my life - business!

I knew what I wanted, or rather I knew what I didn’t want.

I didn’t want to get married.

I didn’t want children.

I wanted a career.

‘Children? No! There’s no way I can have the sort of career I want and have children’. I was so convinced, I bet my university girlfriends dinner at the Ritz -the most extravagant thing I could imagine then as a poor student!

When we graduated, all my friends took a year out travelling.

But not me - I had a wonderful job all lined up and I dived straight into my career.

A meteoric rise

I started work in marketing, in a high-tech company in the South of France, based in Sophia Antipolis – often referred to as the ‘French Silicon Valley’....