MBlog*

Claire Taylor shares her story of how just taking part in the Mpower National Business Awards changed everything...

Learn more about the awards - www.mpowerawards.com

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...

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!
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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...