The Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast: Recent Episodes
Alexis Kingsbury
Through the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast, we help you to build the startup business of your dreams, whilst having time with the family you love. To do this, we share tips and experiences from successful (and earlier stage) parentpreneurs who know exactly what it's like to have a conference call while changing a nappy, or to write down a customer's email with a crayon while feeding a baby. :-) This podcast is hosted by serial entrepreneur and proud dad, Alexis Kingsbury. After 17+ years and 8+ startups, Alexis knows that building startups is not easy (just like parenting!). So this podcast aims to give you the advice you need to make it easier to create a successful startup business, without having to neglect quality time with your family. For show notes, and to join the Parentpreneur Accelerator community, visit Parentpreneur.com/podcast
The best way for entrepreneurs with kids ("Parentpreneurs") to build the life and business of their dreams... is by utilizing leverage. Leverage allows you to have an exponentially greater outcome or result compared to the level of work or effort. In this episode, I reveal the 6 levers of leverage and give examples of each. This was part of a live 5-day training I did on how Parentpreneurs can generate multiple 5 to 6 figure paydays each and every month, through my Targeted Audience Leveraging System. If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. I'd really appreciate it! And for more free training and resources, or to join a community of over 500 other Parentpreneurs, visit parentpreneur.com. Enjoy the episode and remember, success comes to those who never give up!
On today's episode, I walk you through the 4 levels of value - one of the key concepts you must understand and implement if you want to make more money and live the "semi-retired" life. I originally learned of these 4 levels from Myron Golden - speaker, sales and mindset mentor. As an entrepreneur with kids (Parentpreneur) we must work smarter and not harder... and that means using leverage and moving up these 4 levels of value. If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to Subscribe and leave us a review. If you'd like more training and resources, or to join a community of over 500 other Parentpreneurs, visit parentpreneur.com. Enjoy the episode and remember, success comes to those who never give up!
This is a very special episode as the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast returns... under new leadership. After building a solid foundation, Alexis Kingsbury is handing the reins off to Michael Kittinger. Michael is an entrepreneur and father of 4 and his passion is helping other Parentpreneurs build successful businesses, while still having plenty of time to make memories with their families. To learn more about the Parentpreneur movement, programs and how we can help you build a highly profitable and successful business, visit https://parentpreneur.com. Appreciate you listening. Be sure to subscribe and leave feedback.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Laura Cross who runs a children’s education business ""Inventors & Makers"". Laura originally trained as a lawyer, before leaving the corporate life to retrain as a primary school teacher. After teaching in London for a few years, Laura relocated to San Francisco for her husband’s work. Laura spent three years in California working for an education technology start-up – which she says is the best job of her life! After returning to the UK with her first child in 2017, she briefly went back to teaching in a school before launching her own children’s education business, Inventors & Makers, last year. In this episode, we’ll discuss: Talk about the importance of creating a great team culture for the modern workplace. Discuss what I learnt from my time in San Francisco which influenced me in starting Inventors & Makers. My advice to parentpreneurs about developing 21st century skills in their teams and in their children.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Tory Wagg. Tory is a Chartered Management Accountant who qualified with CIMA in 2006. She grew up in Hampshire and studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Pembroke College, Oxford. She trained whilst working in industry for Nestle Waters and for the University of Oxford, and went on to start Panthera Accounting a few months after her first daughter, Melissa, was born, back in 2006. Panthera has grown from a one-woman band to a team of 8 across two offices. Panthera is on a mission to help small business owners thrive and achieve their goals through the magic combination of great financial processes and a very caring support team. Tory lives in South Oxfordshire with her husband Jake, daughters Melissa and Jasmine, 3 labradors and one very harassed cat. In this episode, we’ll discuss: Why building a support team around you is essential - employees, networks and friendships, Balancing parenting with the demands of running a small business, Mental health demands on business owners.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Amanda Frolich, an award-winning celebrity children’s entertainer and CEO of Amanda’s Action Club, the world’s most fun, physical development concept teaching preschool children how to be healthy and active from an early age. Having spent 28 years working within the early years sector, Amanda was invited by the children’s activity association to become the Children’s First Champion in parliament, encouraging policy-makers to put children first at the heart of all decision-making. Her global animation TV series featuring Action Amanda on different missions to create a world of endless possibilities and adventure, is going to take the world by storm in 2020 and this Wonder Woman is certainly one to watch. In this episode, we’ll be discussing, Amanda’s background in sport and leisure, how to tackle childhood obesity and how to overcome business challenges.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Rachael Coyle, who runs a luxury online baby and childrenswear boutique called Rosie and Lula, which sells clothes and gifts from newborn babies up to 8 years old.Originally an account manager at a digital marketing agency, Rachael fulfilled her dream of becoming a makeup artist, however after having her daughter she decided to have a career break.Having always dreamed of having her own business, particularly an online business, Rachael took the plunge a year after having her second child Lula after the urge became strong.Now Rachael juggles her business and mum life with her 3 children. In this episode, we’ll be discussing; What led Rachael to create Rosie and Lula, How running an online business can be lonely. Why it’s important to connect with other likeminded people.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Claire; the founder of PlayHOORAY. Claire is an early year’s specialist with a passion for encouraging families with young children to play! Claire runs playHOORAY! an online community of parents, carers and educators where she supports, advises and inspires them to play with their babies and young children. Not only for the purpose of supporting child development but also for the benefits of the parent too. Alongside this Claire also has a line of activity cards called playPROMPTS which are sold on her website and a free playPROMPTS app. In this episode, we’ll cover: What is the importance of play? The importance of community on social media and The PlayHOORAY business.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Dr. Shirag Shemmassian; an admissions expert from San Diego, California. Growing up with Tourette Syndrome in a middle-class family, Dr. Shemmassian was often mocked by peers and teachers and discouraged from applying to elite colleges. However, he went on to graduate debt-free with a B.S. in Human Development from Cornell and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA. He has since set up his own business helping thousands of students get into top colleges, medical schools, and other graduate programmes. Dr. Shemmassian has been featured on The Washington Post, US News and NBC, as well as being invited to speak at some of the world’s top universities such as Stanford. He presents on topics including standing out on applications, writing memorable personal statements, and navigating through higher education with a disability. In this episode, we’ll cover: Why Shirag decided to become an entrepreneur. How parenthood changed the way in which he works. How to manage running a business with a growing family.
On this week's episode I am re interviewing Plymouth based dad of two, John Lamerton where we catch up to see how things have moved on for John since our last episode. Labelled as the “King of Routine”, serial entrepreneur John and his business partner Jason set up the Big Idea which is now helping hundreds of business owners improve their businesses or lives using a simple approach. John became a #1 bestseller after launching his first book “Big Ideas for Small Businesses” in 2017. The book outsold authors such as Richard Branson, Alan Sugar and Duncan Bannatyne combined. Since then, it’s sold thousands of copies worldwide, and attracted more than 100 five-star reviews. But more importantly, it’s changed the lives of small business owners all over the world. In this episode, we’ll cover: Routines & how you can tweak them to achieve your goals, one routine that everyone can do to market their business, customising a routine for you, home-schooling — why, and how
In this week's episode I am interviewing Oxford based mum, Jessica Ashley.Jessica worked for a corporate estate agent for 10 years before setting up her own estate agent business Amelie’s Estate Agents when her maternity leave came to an end.In this episode, we’ll cover:What it’s been like to go from estate agent to owner of an estate agent business. The ethos behind Jessica's business, and how she provides an estate agent with a difference. How Jessica manages her time in a demanding industry. Click here to listen in: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-080-jessica-ashley-an-estate-agent-with-a-difference"
On this week's episode I am interviewing Rebecca Cross. Rebecca Cross is a Business Success & Motivational Strategist who works alongside aspiring female entrepreneurs looking to build their dream business and achieve the lifestyle that they deserve, not in the future but now. Rebecca's goal is to help 2 million women ‘Step into their Greatness’ and achieve their dreams, taking it one step at a time. Rebecca has an emotional story that has made her the great woman she is today and although she suffered mental abuse, learning difficulties and more…Rebecca found strength in her dark times and managed to rise from the shadows to shine a light on the women she now mentors every single day. Rebecca has built her own successful business empire within coaching and property, studied motivation, business strategy and mindset so that she can motivate and support other women and enable them to realise that anything is possible. Alongside her busy career she also manages family life with her husband and 3 kids. In this episode, we’ll discuss: How to build a business empire around being a mum / Finding your passion and how you can make this your living / Feeling fear and pushing through it.
On this week's episode I am for the very first time interviewing couplepreneurs Joshua Lisec and Judy Shaw, whom together are The Entrepreneur’s Wordsmith LLC.During the first half I interview Joshua and in the second Judy, whilst the other cares for their young son, a real-life example of parentpreneurs. Joshua founded The Entrepreneur’s Wordsmith LLC, as the first Certified Ghostwriter in Ohio, a Forbes Contributor ghostwriter, a TEDx speaker, a leading authority on Author Voice Authenticity, and a two-time published novelist. Since 2011, he has ghostwritten forty books.Judy is the Vice President and Editorial Services Manager of The Entrepreneur's Wordsmith. Alongside husband Joshua, Judy helps business owners, chief executives, coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs write, publish, and market their books.In just the past couple of years, some of Joshua and Judy’s author clients have had phenomenal results which we will discuss on the call.In this episode, we will discuss: What a Certified Professional Ghostwriter is....Ghostpublishing, Being life partners, business partners, and parents
On this week's episode I am interviewing Nicole Clewer.Nicole is the founder of luxury activewear brand Dot Dash Activewear. Prior to this, she was a celebrity trainer with 10 years experience in the fitness industry ranging from Barre, Crossfit, Powerlifitng and Personal Training. After being an ambassador for a renowned fitness brand for five years, she decided to become an ambassador of her own brand and Dot Dash Activewear was born. She started the brand when she was three months pregnant and her son Jago is now one year old. In the first year she was featured in Women’s Health twice alongside other magazines such as ‘Runners World’. As well as running Dot Dash Activewear, she is a qualified personal Trainer and Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes university within the business department. She exercises regularly and in 2014 she broke the squat British record in her weight class.In this episode, we’ll:Juggling parenting and business.Looking after your mental health and wellbeing.Entrepreneurship and taking the plunge.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Jo Bevilacqua. Jo is the Owner of ""Serenity Loves"" & Founder of ""The Unique Mumpreneur"".Serenity Loves is a hair and beauty salon with onsite creche and the Unique Mumpreneur an online and in person community for women (Mothers or Not) who want to take the first steps to starting their own business or grow an existing one. It is designed to support mothers who juggle entrepreneurship with the challenges of raising a family and establishing a work/life balance. Before she launched the Unique Mumpreneur she had many jobs involving customer service and sales and after years of earning amazing money but with no sight of a long term ‘career’ she felt like something was missing. So, she made the decision to retrain and formed a career within childcare, which was another passion. She then founded Hallmark Carpets & Flooring in 2009, in partnership with her husband, whilst on maternity leave. Despite knowing nothing about the industry she still made it a success then whilst pregnant with her second daughter had the idea of a one stop hair and beauty salon with a supervised crèche, which led her to open the doors to Serenity Loves.In this episode, we will discuss: Starting a business whilst on maternity leave, Doing what you love every day. Delegation. Listen in here: https://www.parentpreneur.com/076-jo-bevilacqua-the-benefits-of-working-with-a-sales-coach
In this month's episode I am interviewing Alison Edgar. Alison is the Managing Director of Sales Coaching Solutions, also known as The Entrepreneur’s Godmother. She is one of the UK's Top 10 Business Advisers and #1 in Sales and Marketing.Alison is regularly featured on BBC 1 Breakfast, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian as well as BBC Radio 4 Moneybox and has recently appeared on LBC radio.She has trained thousands of people nationally and internationally. Her client list ranges from start-ups all the way through to multinational conglomerates and includes Dragon's Den and Apprentice winners.A newly published author, book Secrets of Successful Sales, which explains her Four Pillars of Sales has reached #1 on the Amazon best-sellers chart.In this episode, we’ll: Secrets of Successful Sales Book / Sales, intrapreneurship & communications and Benefits of working with a sales coach.
On this week's episode I re-interview James Golden.James was one of our first ever interviewees and featured in one of our first episodes - number 14!After starting his business in 2010, he’s had an incredible journey that included getting a bank grant and later hitting rock bottom, overcoming a cancer diagnosis when he was 26, and building his company into a profitable business that employs 10 staff and has recently raised funds for growth through a crowdfunding campaign.James is fellow Parentpreneur, living with his wife, two daughters (aged 6 and 2) and his son who is 7 months old.14 months on from his original interview a lot has happened in that time. James has now parted ways with his business, is back to being a one man band and now involved in a retreat company called YOLO Retreats.We catch up to find out what's new and next for James.
On this week's episode I re-interview James Golden.James was one of our first ever interviewees and featured in one of our first episodes - number 14!After starting his business in 2010, he’s had an incredible journey that included getting a bank grant and later hitting rock bottom, overcoming a cancer diagnosis when he was 26, and building his company into a profitable business that employs 10 staff and has recently raised funds for growth through a crowdfunding campaign.James is fellow Parentpreneur, living with his wife, two daughters (aged 6 and 2) and his son who is 7 months old.14 months on from his original interview a lot has happened in that time. James has now parted ways with his business, is back to being a one man band and now involved in a retreat company called YOLO Retreats.We catch up to find out what's new and next for James.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Siobhan Murray.Siobhan is a Positive Psychology Success Coach & Psychotherapist and a Family Mediator.Siobhan holds a First-Class Honours B.A. in Counselling and Psychotherapy, a Diploma in Mindfulness and Wellbeing, is a Master NLP Practitioner, a certified Life Coach and a Mediator and is about to embark on a Masters in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. Siobhan’s early career began working in the Entertainment industry where she worked with artists such as Sir Elton John, Goldie and B*Witched...to name a few. In her early 30’s Siobhan established the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity in Ireland and was instrumental in the building of the Ronald House at Crumlin Children’s Hospital.Following the expansion of her family and then subsequently becoming a single mother Siobhan began to view her world differently. It was her passion for understanding how our minds work and how the hectic pace we live our lives is creating an epidemic of burnout that inspired her to change careers and her lifestyle.She established her clinic in 2010 and has been working 1:1 with clients and delivering bespoke workshops on Behavioural Change, how to combat Burnout and Breaking the Glass Ceiling, to companies, conferences and events around the country.Siobhan is regularly interviewed on her view point as a Behavioural Change and Burnout Specialist for newspaper and radio and most recently was commissioned as an expert to work on the TV documentary, Stressed, which aired on RTE1 May 2018. She regularly contributes to podcasts on various different topics and has her first book, The Burnout Solution due for release January 2019.In this episode, we will discuss:The impact of burnout on our lives, How to be self-compassionate and how to become resilient.
In this week's episode I am interviewing Amanda Overend. WARNING: Don’t listen with small children as Amanda talks about delivery of presents at Christmas.Amanda is mum to 3 young boys and the Owner of Books & Pieces, which makes buying books easy for families who want to enjoy books with their children.Amanda's background is in sports PR & Media, and more recently education PR. Whilst pregnant in 2012, she set up Books & Pieces which she ran alongside her day job (and having a third child!). At Christmas 2016 she left her day job to go ‘full time’ with the business.She has been steadily growing Books & Pieces, and this September was a turning point for her because her youngest started school, so she decided to launch her second business, Stocking Fairy (providing wrapped Christmas stocking gifts)!In this episode, we will discuss: Running a business around the family.Standing out in a crowded marketplace.How Amanda found and tested her new business idea before starting it.
This week I am interviewing Lucy Parsons.Lucy is the CEO of Life More Extraordinary and is an academic coach who supports teenagers and their parents through GCSE and A Level exams, teaching them the study skills they need to reach their full academic potential. At the age of nine Lucy decided she would like to study at Cambridge University. She went to comprehensive schools where there wasn’t much help or expertise in helping students achieve things like this, so she worked it out on her own. After her three years at Cambridge she was headhunted for her first job with Tesco.com, but corporate life wasn’t for her. She trained as a teacher and worked in schools for four years. Her business was born out of the desire to continue to work in education but to be at home for her young family and she hasn’t looked back since. She is the author of The Ten Step Guide to Acing Every Exam You Ever Take and the founder of The Extraordinaries Club, an online membership site for families to support them through the exam years. She has been featured in The Telegraph and The Independent and on BBC Radio 5 Live.In this episode, we will discuss: How she supports teens and parents through the exam years.How Lucy originally wrote and launched her book and how this led to getting a publishing contract and the expansion of her business.How her business enables her to work in a flexible way around her health needs and the element of my well-being journey.
In this week's episode I am re-interviewing Vicky Warr.I originally interviewed Vicky 3 months ago and we want so deep into talking about her fitness business that we didn't get chance to cover childcare and how her business is growing.As a reminder, Vicky is the Founder and CEO of Bump and Beyond providing Online Exercise Fitness Video and Healthy Eats for Mums/Moms and Mums to be (online, global).She is a pregnancy and postnatal fitness specialist and nutrition coach, with over 17 years’ experience in the fitness industry.As a mum of two herself, Vicky helps Mums to be and New mums be fit, healthy and happy during pregnancy and beyond with her online exercise videos and healthy, quick family friendly recipes.She also helps businesses retain their female talent with her health and wellness interactive healthy eating and fun exercise workshops. She is fitness expert for Gurgle Magazine, the UK’s baby magazine and contributor to BBC radio and consultant to Mothercare.In this episode we discuss:The importance of consumer research, how to hire for values, get referrals and compare people to work out who is the right fit
On this week's episode I am interviewing Graham Harris. Graham is the Managing Director of Tech-ni-Fold, which he founded in 1999 whilst balancing a young family at home. As a print finisher at the time he saw the need to eliminate the problem of fibre cracking, which had been a problem that had plagued the printing industry. Since then over 70,000 Tri-Creasers have been sold worldwide, which is renowned for its speed, running costs and quality.Through Graham's knowledge and expertise, Tech-ni-Fold is fast emerging as the world's leading authority in the field of creasing.Graham's children are now grown up but I am looking forward to hearing more about Grahams business / family journey and how he found things in the beginning against how things are now.In this episode, we discuss: His expertise is in bringing ideas to life and creating a business to sell them, how the world / media and inventors have all contributed to how inventors are perceived and how he came a Best-Selling author by using marketing strategies he relied on when inventing.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Igor Bekker. Igor is a former retail executive who is now a co-founder of a direct-to-consumer ecommerce business ""MADE OF"". ""MADE OF"" provides new parents with simple, organic-first and safe everyday baby products, whilst creating consistent shopping experience without exploiting their pockets and time. Historically, he has worked with high profile brands such as Swatch, ALEX AND ANI, Bauer Hockey and Serta Simmons. He is currently trying to disrupt the baby product industry by being the only brand that is truly non-GMO and certified by the government. He has found that there is no regulation over the term ""natural"" and ""organic"" in this space and he is trying to raise awareness in terms of the actual location of where the ingredients come from and its manufacturing. The product line is already winning national awards and is set to do some amazing things. In this episode, we will discuss: The current personal care/beauty industry and its regulation or lack of. Emerging startups in the personal care/beauty industry. The new generation of consumer demand.
Kelly is a Soulmate Strategist and Love Mentor, helping you to find connected love in a disconnected world. She teaches intuitively with a number of methods including but not limited to Positive Psychology, Meditation, NLP, deep reflective work and mentoring. Kelly is an expert in the personal development industry and has been a major contributor at The Best You EXPO, Psychologies, The Metro, Alternatives and The Mindful Living Show. She currently helps women around the world to create their dream relationship. After a decade of disastrous relationships Kelly turned to meditation and met her soulmate inspiring her to help others connect to their truth and power within. In 2017, she quit her Country Manager job and moved from Scotland to England to be with her partner. Throughout this time, she has juggled starting and scaling her business along with becoming a stepmother. This has been challenging at times but she hopes to help people with what she has learnt so far and how she has grown into both roles.
Over the last year I have interviewed over 50 amazing entrepreneurs about how they’ve built businesses whilst having time with their family, I’ve gone back through the last year of episodes to identify the top things I’ve learned. So in this episode, I share my top 5 lessons learned, and exactly which episodes go deeper into these topics to help you put them into practice.
In this week's episode I am interviewing Martin Majlund, who is the founder of Sky.Garden, an SaaS e-commerce platform built for African retailers. Martin graduated with a Masters in Economic Science in 2006 and then spent 5 years working agency side (advertising) before shifting over to the corporate side in 2011 heading up global tech at Carlsberg Breweries. He founded Sky.Garden with Christian Grubak in 2015, quit his job at Carlsberg in September 2016, launched Sky.Garden in Kenya in May 2017, and today has 4,500+ businesses in Kenya using the platform. The next funding round aims at scaling Sky.Garden to more East African territories and eventually they intend to become the preferred online sales channel in Africa. Martin is married and has his hands well and truly full with 4 kids. In this episode, we’ll discuss: His decision to quit a well-paid corporate job to build a tech company in Kenya, despite only having visited Africa once over 20 years ago. How tech can solve real global problems. How the mix of parenting and being an entrepreneur makes you a better parent and a better entrepreneur. How Martin has embraced a failure culture after initially struggling with this.
In this week’s episode, we talk about how starting a new business can be so SCARY! There are a million questions you ask yourself as an entrepreneur starting out in business…What if you fail? What if you never make any money? What if it’s all a waste of time? What if you never get any customers? What if you spend all your savings? What if you get copied? What if you never even try? But then… a new business could bring you the life you want: Time with your family, free from financial worries, interesting challenges, doing something meaningful. Every single successful business owner you know had to ‘get started’ once so listen in to find out how to get moving when you feel so stuck.
On this week's episode I am interviewing Gwendoline Alderton. Gwendoline is a professional interior designer creating stylish, elegant and healthy homes for residential clients. Her designs have been published in national interior design magazines. She is also a professional speaker, sought after for radio, conference and private events to speak on her specialist topic of interior design trends. Gwendoline transitioned from a senior I.T. expert to a creative interior designer and she now shares her personal stories in her new book, Memories To Cherish (How To Create Your Stylish, Healthy and Happy Home) to be published later this year. In this episode, we’ll cover:How to become an interior designer, what the challenges for businesses like these are, and what’s worked well, how to combine style, health and mindfulness within interior design and Gwendoline’s upcoming book ‘Memories to Cherish’ and what it’s been like to write a book.
In this week’s episode, I am interviewing Vicky Warr, who is Founder and CEO of The Beez Kneez (www.beezkneezhive.com) and Fitness and Healthy Eats for Mums/Moms and Mums to be (online, global). Vicky is a pregnancy and postnatal fitness specialist and nutrition coach, with over 17 years’ experience in the fitness industry. As a mum of two herself, Vicky helps Mums to be and New mums be fit, healthy and happy during pregnancy and beyond with her online exercise videos and healthy, quick family friendly recipes. She also helps businesses retain their female talent with her health and wellness interactive healthy eating and fun exercise workshops. She is fitness expert for Gurgle Magazine, the UK's baby magazine and contributor to BBC radio and consultant to Mothercare. In this episode, we discuss: • The brain changing effects of exercise. • How entrepreneurial parents can easily fit in exercise. • Healthier eating in the busy life of running a business and family. • How to improve ‘Baby brain’. • How to unlock your brain’s potential to be super productive.
Welcome to episode 61 of the Parentpreneur Podcast. This week is slightly different to usual, because you are invited to listen to one of my live group coaching calls. These are normally part of my Parentpreneur Accelerator program, in which we do a weekly coaching call. However, this coaching call was extra special as I opened it up to individuals outside of the program but to those that are within our Facebook community. We had people joining, posing their questions and sharing where they are with their businesses and I gave support and advice on what they need to do to move forward based on my experience of working with other Parentpreneurs. The feedback from the session was amazing so I thought I would share it with you via the podcast.
In this week's episode, I talk to Sue Atkins, an internationally recognised Parenting Expert, Broadcaster, Speaker and Author of the Amazon best-selling books “Parenting Made Easy – How to Raise Happy Children” and “Raising Happy Children for Dummies". She has just launched her new Parenting Club and produces ‘The Sue Atkins Parenting Show’ a free weekly podcast. She regularly appears on the award-winning flagship ITV show This Morning, Sky News, Good Morning Britain and has a weekly ‘Parenting Round Up’ on Eammon Holmes Drive Time Show on TalkRADIO every Tuesday. She also appears on The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and is the parenting expert for many BBC Radio Stations around the UK. In this episode, we discuss Sue's parenting expertise – from birth to teens and beyond, how to give children the gift of self-esteem and empowerment to become creative, innovative, independent, resourceful, resilient and confident in their own abilities, how Sue supports families through divorce, and how the juggle of work-life balance works in practice.
This week I interview Karolina Barnes, the creative director and editor in chief of ESTILA Studio and Bookazine, with over 150,000 visitors/month. Karolina has been involved in business from her teens when her parents started a family distribution business, building it from zero to 8 million euros per year. After gaining her degree in economics and business studies, she started her own businesses in various industries. In 2013, after closing down her business and going through radiotherapy for treating meningioma (benign brain tumour), she retrained as an interior designer and two years later founded ESTILA with a mission to empower creatives to share their business stories while highlighting British design, craftsmanship and innovation within creative industries. Apart from ESTILA, she also runs a community of creative business founders where she teaches them on how to approach branding, PR and marketing through the power of storytelling and is a speaker and charity ambassador. In this episode, we discuss how Karolina found her purpose, the power of storytelling within a business, he importance of diversification and partnerships / and building businesses with solid foundations for tomorrow, and her work with the Brain Tumour Charity after her own diagnosis and treatment.
Today, I am joined by Siam Kidd, who is a full-time investor and trader, owns many businesses and learned how to trade simply through trial and error. Siam became an RAF Pilot fresh from school and began trading and investing in 2004. Siam is the founder of The Realistic Trader, which is a community of thousands of positive like-minded Crypto investors/traders. Siam has accurately predicted many Crypto currency moves which have made his community profits. The one he is most proud of to date is the 2015 Black Monday crash where he managed to make over £422k in 30 minutes. Siam openly admits he struggled with trading for 6 years, making many losses. It took him a long time to get consistent, but when he did he went from strength to strength with remarkable triumphs. He now uses his knowledge and experience to help others to achieve quicker and not go through the same pains that he did. Witnessing the sea of trading scams online, Siam made it his mission to teach good, proper, responsible and realistic trading, and that’s how The Realistic Trader was born. Siam now aims to demystify the financial markets and show people how trading can be one of the most important life skills that one can develop and that it's not that hard if trained correctly.
In this episode, I speak with Natasha Freidus, Founder and CEO of the Needslist, which connects the needs of refugee aid communities quickly and efficiently with those who want to help. Natasha has fifteen years of experience applying human centered design for social good and a long-standing commitment to refugee and migration related issues. She believes strongly in the potential of technology to solve global challenges, when developed in partnership with affected communities. With experience in the public, non-profit, and private sector, Natasha is comfortable in a wide range of contexts. She is currently spearheading an initiative to leverage technology resources to support people displaced by conflict and climate change. In this episode, we’ll discuss how business can be used as a tool for social change, the expectations for startup founders, and how Natasha has balanced her business alongside her family life.
This week I am interviewing Sarah Haran, who is the Founder of Sarah Haran Luxury Accessories. After 19 years within the Technology Industry, Sarah decided to follow her passion - handbags and accessories. She was inspired to start her own business because she had struggled to find a stylish, high quality functional handbag, so decided to create her own. What started as a hobby became an opportunity to take a total leap of faith as she moved from IT to Fashion, whilst looking after her family. In this episode, we’ll discuss Sarah's giant leap from IT to Fashion, the obstacles faced when making such a change in role, how she managed her family alongside a start-up business, how she marketed her handbags to some of the World’s leading women, and how she was able to feature in such high-profile publications as The Guardian, The Scotsman and Marie Claire.
In this episode, I welcome Richy K. Chandler. Richy is the creative force behind Tempo Lush, which produces comics and illustrations. Richy's comic publisher business has gone on to produce several highly rated comics. Richy is also the author of "When Are You Going to Get a Proper Job?" and the children’s picture book 'You Make Your Parents SUPER HAPPY!' amongst many others. In this episode we talk about creativity, coping when things get tough, and various other issues for creative business owners.
Today I am joined by Mariessa Devlin, Managing Director of Enchanted Forest Nurseries and One Cove Road Coffee House. Enchanted Forest Nurseries employ over 110 people across their 5 sites and promote the very highest quality of care, whilst adding value to the families whose children attend. In this episode, we discuss what it was like to co-found a business with her husband, how she has grown her business to over 100 staff, and how she keeps staff engaged. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-054-mariessa-devlin-see-your-business-through-the-eyes-of-a-parent
Today I am joined by Katie Massie-Taylor, one of the two founders of Mush, the Number 1 app designed for mums to connect with one another and become part of their local mum community. Katie previously worked as a derivatives broker in the City of London. Whilst on maternity leave with her second baby, she randomly chatted to another mum in a playground. Their life-changing friendship led them to wonder why there wasn’t a digital platform for mums looking for local friends (particularly considering 80% of new mums admit to feeling lonely), and so Mush was born in April 2016. Sometimes described as 'Tinder for mums', Mush helps local mums connect with each other for friendship. It also includes a messaging feature and advice sections. In the first few weeks of the free app's launch, more than 5,000 London mothers signed up. Mush has had loads of media attention. Katie and her co-founder Sarah, were featured on BBC News talking about their product with The Duchess of Cambridge. Since then, Mush has raised over £3 million in investment, and has hundreds of thousands of users. In this episode we will discuss, the rise of loneliness amongst parents, the importance of a real life social network and maternal mental health. We will also get lots of advice and tips from Katie on how she and her co-founder transformed an amazing idea into a real life working app.
In this episode I’m talking to Pragya Agarwal, a mother of three and owner of two businesses. Before starting her businesses, Pragya worked in academia, completing a PhD and training as an architect while raising her first child as a single parent. She later went on to found her businesses, and now has baby twins too! One business makes wood carvings and prints, which she sells on notonthehighstreet and her own site: hedgeandhogprints.com, and was approached by John Lewis to stock her products too! Her other business, the art tiffin.co.uk is a social enterprise that sends art packs for adults and children to support creativity and mental wellbeing. The business also promotes vegan and cruelty free products. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-052-pragya-agarwal-building-a-socially-responsible-business
In this episode I’m talking to Steve Folland, a father, and owner of Creative Video and Content company Foll and Co. Alongside his business, Steve produces and presents Being Freelance, a weekly podcast helping freelancers learn from one another's skills and experience. He also creates weekly vlogs documenting his freelance business and lifestyle on YouTube. Steve resigned from his job (of 12 years) in radio at the end of 2013, to become a self-employed, work-from-home dad. In true Parentpreneur style Steve was able to take care of the kids, one just about to start school at that time and became a freelancer writing scripts, editing and doing voiceovers for video and audio production. Since then, Steve's entrepreneurial spirit unintentionally thrived, as he organically developed his freelance work into a business. He now hires a team of freelance writers, voiceover artists, animators and designers to provide videos for big organisations (including a major food manufacturer and global bank) via a partnership with a learning and development company. In this episode we discuss building business from freelancing to hiring freelancers around the world as a business, the challenges of delegation and the process of delegating tasks, how Steve copes when projects are busy and kids go sick, why Steve takes so much time off during school holidays, and how he grew his business beyond a few freelancing projects through a partnership.
Note: Sorry about the noise during the intro, it stops when we get into the episode. We've since changed the way we record to address this.
In our 50th episode, I'm going to share something a little different... I recently ran a live workshop at a Mastermind event run for business owners with revenues between £500k and £5m, run by my friends and mentors Dan Bradbury and Kevin Hall. In the workshop I shared an approach that has helped my software business catch, diagnose and solve 95% of all the issues in my business (including people issues). This is the power of an awesome meeting rhythm. In this episode you will learn what an awesome meeting rhythm is, how you can use it to address your issues, what meeting rhythm I use at my software business, and how you can adapt this for your business. I've provided a workbook that accompanies the episode to help you put this into practice. You can find this at parentpreneur.com/podcast-050
In this episode I’m interviewing John Lamerton, a father of two, bestselling author, entrepreneur and mentor to small businesses. John describes himself as just an average bloke who has gone from being an unhealthy civil servant to living the dream. He says he has transitioned from life as a clock watcher in a stressful work environment, to leaving his career and running his own business with hustle and grind, to his breakthrough moment soon after the birth of his first child. He now lives a very different life, working 20-25 hours a week on his business and getting plenty of time to raise his kids. John’s story started in the early 2000s, when he saw others making millions from business ideas and taking them on the internet in the height of the Dot.Com years. John has since run more than 60 small businesses making millions of pounds and made thousands of mistakes along the way. He now coaches small businesses to think bigger, work less and design their business around the lifestyle they want, through his Amazon number 1 best-selling book, his podcast and coaching programs. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-049-john-lamerton-coaching-to-think-bigger
In this week’s episode of the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast I am pleased to introduce Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive & Director at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce. Liz is an amazing business leader with expertise encompassing all aspects of entrepreneurship. Hailing from bonny Scotland, Liz’s career spans three decades during which she has founded and run a series of businesses. Liz's love for business in Scotland comes from the heart, she takes a personal interest in promoting Scotland internationally, from Europe to China to India. Liz is included in the Scottish Business Insider’s Top 10 Women of Influence in Scotland, she was shortlisted as Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2013 Scottish Business Awards and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List 2014 for her outstanding services to business and commerce. Throughout her career, Liz has served in a number of organisations in Scotland and the USA, where she is able to add value from her business expertise and knowledge of policy formation. These include Director for WEVOLUTION, a Scottish charity promoting entrepreneurship as a route to better life chances, being on the Brain Trust of TEDx Glasgow and ex-Vice Chair of the Scottish National Lottery Fund. Liz is passionate about advocating the importance of Mentoring, especially for women and under-represented groups. She's made it her mission to encourage more women to have or become mentors and to help support and create more female business owners. Liz has also championed the need to bring the world of business and education together and has promoted the importance of business employing and nurturing young people and developing future talent. In this interview, we explore Liz's incredible career and being recognised as an authority on business, strategic leadership, creativity and entrepreneurialism. We also discuss Liz being awarded an OBE, her involvement with The Women’s Business Mentoring Programme, and her top advice for women who want to succeed in business.
In this episode I talk to Jeannette Washington, founder of Bearly Articulating, empowering parents to bear their entrepreneurial voices, based in Detroit, Michigan, USA. After relocating to Detroit, Michigan, Jeanette started a collective co-working space where parents can work at a desk, and their kids are cared for by guides, with activities like coding workshops. In this interview, we explore how her business has evolved to suit the needs of her audience, and what life is like for entrepreneur parents in her area and the USA as a whole. We discuss how building her business led to divorce with her husband, and whether her divorce could have been avoided. Jeannette also shared some tips on how to beat imposter syndrome and create a healthy business-life balance. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-047-jeannette-washington-barely-articulating
In today's episode we are meeting Julie Creffield, mother (of a 5 year-old daughter) and founder of The Fat Girls' Guide to Running. The world's only resource specifically designed for plus size runners. Julie ran her first marathon back in 2005 weighing 20 stone and unable to run to the top of her road. Since then, she's ran 4 marathons and a 40 mile ultra marathon! Julie has inspired and coached thousands of women across the planet to survive and thrive in the world of long distance running. She's appeared on TV, been featured in national media publications, and written several books including "The Fat Girls' Guide to Marathon Running". Her award winning blog The Fat Girls Guide to Running has challenged social norms and transformed the landscape of plus size running. Julie is now working as a life coach on more broader health and happiness topics with women. In this interview, we’ll explore where the idea for The Fat Girls Guide to Running came from, how she built her audience, how she's monetised her mission, and how she's raised so much media attention. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-046-julie-creffield-the-fat-girls-guide-to-running/
Childcare is a massive issue for parentpreneurs. In this latest episode I interview London-based Rachel Carrell, founder of Koru Kids a childcare service that provides nanny shares and after school childcare. Before entrepreneurship, Rachel worked at McKinsey – one of the world’s most esteemed management consultancies. She became a mother, and soon noticed the many childcare challenges experienced by her and her friends. This widely spread problem inspired her to start Koru Kids in 2016. In our chat, you’ll hear us discussing how Rachel transitioned from corporate career to startup trailblazer and how she raised £600,000 of funding some of which was given by Gumtree’s founder. We will also discuss why her business is being compared to Airbnb, after being touted as ‘Airbnb for Nannies’ by The Evening Standard. In line with our steadfast Parentpreneur values, we will ask Rachel her tips and solutions to consider in addressing the tribulations of modern-day childcare, and how she balances work with family life! Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-045-rachel-carrell-airbnb-for-nannies
In this episode I am proud to present Liane Katz, the CEO and founder of mama codes. Liane is on a mega mission to get children into coding from a young age. She does this by making coding simple, fun and appealing to youngsters. Liane’s background in digital products and becoming a mother inspired her innovative approach to teaching coding. She has taken a concept which may have once seemed a too complex for children, and made it digestible for kids as young as three. Educating children, even those before preschool age, about coding is guaranteed to demystify the skill and produce confident young learners. In our chat we talk about how Liane’s business has flourished in local areas, as well as her being listed in the #BIMA100 2017 and recognised as a leading influencer of the UK’s digital industry. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-044-liane-katz-teaching-kids-to-code/
Raising teenagers can be a HUGE test for parents! Equally surviving being a teenager can be difficult for kids. But fear not, in the latest episode of the podcast I interview family coach and parentpreneur Cai Graham. After a varied career, Cai started her business The Mind Model. She focused on coaching Mums wanting to get back into the workplace and enjoy a healthy work-life balance. It soon struck Cai that a large area for concern within her target audience, was parenting through the teenage years. Drawing on her own experiences raising her family, plenty of study, research and self-development, Cai developed an app, launched a book and created coaching programmes all aimed at helping families navigate these changeable times. Cai's content also pays special attention to methods families can use to live better whilst faced with the negative impacts of modern day pressures and technology. It's a slightly different topic to our normal interviews, though I believe you'll find it really useful. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-043-cai-graham-tools-to-navigate-adolescence
From jewellery and thrifting to tea shops, and now a monthly subscription of fun! My guest this week has enjoyed a colourful career in the entrepreneurial world. Let me introduce you to Leona Baker, founder of the Lucky Dip Club who deliver a monthly confetti cannon of colour and entertainment to letterboxes around the world. Leona lives her passion through her business by creating wicked products that bring out the playful in adults and children alike. Leona has 1,000s of women subscribing as part of her Girl Planet community, and by sharing her incredible imagination has built a following of over 60,000 Instagram followers. Listen up to learn more on how she runs a creative startup, grows and engages her following, gets to spend quality time with her daughter Lola, and how she made some extreme changes in her business when things got too tough. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-042-leona-baker-a-winning-subscription-startup
In this episode, I interviewed Lucy Bartlett, founder of Bundlebeds, which provides a brand new type of roll-out camping bed, that aims to provide the comfort of your own bed, but can be rolled out in seconds. She founded Bundlebeds with her co-founder, James Clark, in 2016 - which they started via a kickstarter campaign that aimed to raise £25,000. The campaign was hugely successful, raising over £65,000. In this interview we'll explore Lucy's experiences of designing her product, getting her first sales via the kickstarter, and how she has balanced building her startup alongside her family. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-040-lucy-bartlett-how-to-run-a-hugely-successful-kickstarter-campaign
In this episode, I'm talking all about delegation! I used to find delegation a real pain. I knew it was vital that I share my workload in order for me to concentrate on pressing matters. However, I found the process of handing over tasks slow and time consuming due to the amount of training and questions to be answered. The work I got back was often of a lower quality than I produced and I ended up doing everything all over again. 'Delegating' became counterproductive for me, so I struggled on bearing the lion's share of duties. It brings me great pleasure to say, this is no longer the case! I have now found an effective and speedy ways of delegating work, whilst maintaining high standards. In this podcast, I go into detail on what I now do differently that makes delegation simple and pain free. You'll hear how to get better quality results, more efficient performance, and how to ensure the task never comes back to be redone. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-040-how-to-make-delegation-easy
In this episode, I am proud to present Colleen Wong the brains behind Gator Watch, a watch, phone and tracker for kids. The high-tech yet easy to use safety device allows parents to track their children via GPS and Wifi, and enables phone calls between parent and child. The watch is produced by Colleen’s company Techsixtyfour. In the interview we discuss how Colleen has managed to get such great PR, with Colleen becoming a finalist for New Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016, being listed as one of the 50 most inspiring female influencers and entrepreneur across Europe in 2017, and being invited to 10 Downing Street to showcase the Gator Watch. We also explore Colleen’s journey from leaving investment banking, becoming a mum, starting her tech business and building it up into a team of 8 people. We’ll learn how exactly how she gained so much traction with her startup in a short amount of time, how she balances her business and her family life (and some of the challenges she has with finding time with her partner), and what advice she has for other parentpreneurs. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/039-colleen-wong-selling-tech-safety-devices-for-children/
In this episode, we are joined by London-based father of two, Somesh Selvachandran. After working for ten years as an Executive Director in the technology department of a global investment bank Somesh took the leap to co-found a startup. In this interview we explore what has and hasn't helped him along the way. As well as, why he describes himself as a feminist, life on the silicon roundabout as a parent and what Parentpreneurs can do to improve equality. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-038-somesh-selvachandran-feminism-equality-and-the-silicon-roundabout
In this 37th episode, I am honoured to be joined by fellow Parentpreneur, Poonam Gupta OBE, founder of PG Paper. After emigrating from India to Scotland, Poonam opened her startup in 2003. The paper company has since grown into a multi-million-pound enterprise, exporting paper globally and proudly standing as one of Scotland’s biggest exporters. Poonam has achieved great successes, whilst raising two children, and undergoing a lot of personal trauma. Between 2006 and 2008, Poonam suffered from a rare form of bone tuberculosis which left her in a wheelchair for 18 months and she was faced with the possibility that each day could have been her last. Despite this heartache and stress on the family, she never gave up, survived, and being cured, doubled her business in the following year. Poonam was awarded an OBE for her contributions to business and charity. She supports many charities, including Action For Children, Elephant Family, Virat Kohli, The Scottish Circle, and Oxfam. Poonam has also formed Women’s Business Mentoring, which strives to help Scottish Women to become successful. In this interview, we discuss how Poonam built her highly successful international paper business, how Poonam managed to keep her business afloat during some very challenging times, what it has been like to run her business as part of a married couple, and her experiences of the challenges faced by women when starting and building businesses. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-037-poonam-gupta-obe-building-a-one-of-scotlands-biggest-exporters-whilst-raising-two-children/
In episode 036 of the podcast I chat with fellow Parentpreneur and friend Dr Caroline Purkhardt. In this interview, we cover Caroline’s captivating story of how she moved to France from the UK as a 'trailing spouse', then later left her husband and found her new identify as an entrepreneur running a holiday lodge in the Alps. We also explore some of the concepts and techniques from Caroline’s book, ‘Stillness in Action’ including a technique for enjoying your work by engaging both left and right brains. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-036-dr-caroline-purkhardt-running-a-business-abroad
Its the start of a new year, which is a great time to reflect on the previous year, and lay out your plans for the year ahead. In this episode I'm going to help you to accelerate your progress towards your goals, regardless of what they are, to help you make the next 12 months your best year ever! Specifically, we'll cover how to set objectives that inspire and motivate you, how to develop a plan that will help you progress quickly towards your objectives, and how to set up daily rituals that help keep you on track.
In episode 034 I am very proud to be interviewing Juliette Toop, a Parentpreneur who I’ve been working with through my accelerator program. Through the program she has been exploring and developing her product market fit, but already has had a lot of experiences that I’m looking forward to sharing with you. This interview will be especially valuable for those of you considering taking the leap to becoming an entrepreneur, or perhaps in the primary stages while still trying to find the right customer, product or business model for you. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-034-juliette-toop-taking-the-leap-to-becoming-an-entrepreneur/
In this episode, I speak to Bryony Thomas, entrepreneur and author of award-winning book Watertight Marketing, a fantastic book that helps small business owners get calm control of their business growth. Before founding Watertight Marketing, Bryony held a series of Marketing roles including 3 years as Director of Marketing Operations at Experian. She’s been running her own businesses since 2008, and now uses her public speaking and coaching programmes to show businesses and entrepreneurs how to make marketing pay. In this episode we discuss ‘how to really understand what your customers want and need'. Specifically, we cover what questions we need to ask, how to ensure we collect sufficient input from our target customers, and how we should be using what we learn. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-033-bryony-thomas-how-to-understand-what-your-customers-want-and-need
Dan is one of the finest business minds I know, with incredible critical thinking and a wealth of knowledge built up through a level of personal development that few can match. For just one example, I believe he is currently aiming to read a book PER DAY this year, and was at one time one of the fastest speed readers in the world. Dan also uses his expertise to buy and turn around businesses, often changing their business model to turn a floundering business into one that turns a healthy profit. So, Dan is the perfect person to join me on this podcast, where we'll be discussing ‘how to find the right business model for your business'. Specifically, we'll discuss some of the different ways in which a business can make money, what we need to know to pick the right model, and which business models work particularly well for startups. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-032-dan-bradbury-how-to-find-the-right-business-model-for-your-business/
In this episode, I talk to fellow parentpreneur, Erin Thomas Wong. After the birth of her first son in 2008, Erin left her career in television production and became a jewellery franchisee. After a couple of years enjoying the freedom that self-employment gave her through the franchise, Erin started a series of her own companies. First, Pitter Patter Hub, that provides events and classes for parents with young children in Ealing, in West London.Then she started Ealing Mums in Business with her co-founder Shelley Henderson, providing courses and classes for local businesses. Most recently, Erin has launched an online community for Mumpreneurs to support them in networking with each other and sharing advice. Erin and a her co-founder have been awarded a Mumpreneur Top 100 award, and been recognised by their local MP for their efforts in supporting local businesses. In this interview we discuss what it’s like to build businesses whilst also bringing up 2 kids, how Erin started business as a franchisee, how she handles the challenges of running multiple businesses at the same time. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-031-erin-wong-franchisee-to-serial-entrepreneur/
In this episode I’m going deep into a topic that I know is a big one for many of you… how to find the right idea for your new business. I know some of you have been hesitating to get started with a new business, perhaps because you feel you’ve not found the right idea… so this episode for you! Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-030-how-to-find-the-right-idea-for-your-new-business
In this episode, I speak with Catherine Watkin, an entrepreneur and sales expert with over 19 years of experience getting clients to say Yes, without being over salesy. Catherine and I discuss how be authentic to your own values and get amazing results. Catherine now passionately teaches entrepreneurs how to ‘sell from the heart’ - structuring their offer in so that it is irresistible, yet leaves the buyer feeling respected and like they made their own mind up rather than pushed into a decision. Many entrepreneurs, me included, struggle with sales so I'm delighted to share Catherine’s interview containing lots of useful tips to put in to practice immediately. If you are keen to improve your selling techniques, this episode if for you. Show notes: https://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-029-catherine-watkin-selling-from-the-heart
Starting a new business, or even just continuing with an existing startup business, can be very tough on you emotionally and put a lot of pressure on your family. Building a new business can have risks that you are not used to, and often has short-term pain for long-term gain. As a result, your partner needs to be on-board with your decision to start a business and needs to provide continued support as you attempt to grow it. So, in this episode. I’m going to share how you can get the support you need from your partner, even if you’d previously had a failed business. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-028-how-to-get-the-support-you-need-from-your-partner-even-after-a-business-failure/
In this episode we meet Jo Dodds, founder of Power To Live More, and host of a podcast with the same name. Jo is a coach, trainer, speaker and consultant with immense expertise in productivity organisation, wellbeing, energy and resilience. She is passionate about developing these elements in other entrepreneurs. She has a background of 18 years in corporate HR and has also worked consulting in marketing and social media. She started her first business in 2005 when she had a baby so that she could spend more time at home and avoid the commute. I’ve been fortunate to know Jo for quite a few years, sharing tools and techniques that help us to be more productive with our various projects and businesses. In this interview, we discuss how to set goals and achieve them. Specifically, we’ll go deep into how to define our really big goals, how to work backwards from these to smaller goals, and what we can learn from the book by Jay Papasan, The ONE Thing (including how to get balance with family life too!). Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-027-jo-dodds-harnessing-the-power-to-live-more
Today I'm speaking to Gabriella Lynn, entrepreneur and sales expert, who provides support to women who want to learn how to improve their sales skills without being too ’salesy'. Before becoming known as 'the Sales Stylist', Gabriella developed a wealth of experience in sales and marketing, including through supporting and promoting celebrity dancers from BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. Gabriella is one of those lovely friendly people who are a joy to talk to, and really easy to get on with. She genuinely cares about people and helping them to get great results…. which, thinking about it, is probably one of the reasons that she has been top of the sales board at previous jobs, and now helps others to do the same!! So I'm really glad that Gabriella is joining me on this podcast, where we'll be discussing ‘how to help customers make a decision to buy your product'. Specifically, we'll discuss the questions we need to ask our customers, how we should structure our time with them, how to avoid coming across as salesy, and how to deal with rejection. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-026-gabriella-lynn-how-to-help-customers-make-a-decision-to-buy-your-product
In episode 25 of the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast I take you through a series of 5 quick steps that will help you achieve a better equilibrium between your work or business, and your home life. There are very few Parentpreneurs who haven’t encountered feelings of stress, overwhelm and guilt whilst trying to run or start a business. So from my own experience and work with numerous entrepreneurs I have designed 5 steps which will allow you to progress with your work or business whilst not sacrificing special time with loves ones. The media often talk about balance, though I prefer to think about this subject in terms of ‘switching’ our focus, like a switch controlling where we are sending our mental energy. In this episode, you’ll learn more about how you can effectively switch between work and home life and learn to switch-off from one when you are focusing on another. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-025-5-steps-to-get-better-work-life-balance
In this episode, I interview Arfa Iqbal - a digital marketing expert with more than 7 years of experience in direct response copywriting and digital marketing, as well as being a published author and single mother of two boys aged 13 and 8. Arfa is currently the Global Project Manager for Pure Matrimony - a niche matrimonial service which helps practising Muslims get together and stay together. Her primary role is in the marketing and operational side of the business where she manages a team of 10 all from the comfort of her home office. In this interview we delve deep into how to write great copy that engages your target audience and gets your ideal customers to take action. We’ll also explore Arfa’s experience of balancing looking after her two boys whilst freelancing, how she moved from being a 'freelancer' to being an entrepreneur, and how she got through a difficult time in her life after her divorce when her social circle turned their back on her. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-024-arfa-iqbal-coping-with-divorce-and-switching-from-freelancer-to-entrepreneur/
In this episode, I talk with Elliott King, Founder of MintTwist, a digital agency based in London that helps businesses create more value from their online channels, by improving their digital assets and activities. Elliott is a fellow parentpreneur, having grown this business whilst ensuring he gets quality time with his wife, Aleksandra, and their 3 children. In this interview we explore how Elliott manages this, and how he’s grown from nothing to a 26-strong team, doing work for great clients like City University, The Discovery Channel, Hyatt, and Superdrug. We also talk about how Elliott merged with another friend's business to become co-owners, and how Elliott has needed to make big changes in his business over time. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-023-elliott-king-growing-a-business-up-to-26-staff-whilst-getting-quality-time-with-his-3-children
In this episode of the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast I am excited to introduce Uta de Veer, co-founder of One Scream - a new hands-free voice activated safety app for women and teenage girls. A panicked scream activates the app and triggers an automated call to 999, helping women in danger with no viable option to call for help. This is likely one of the few apps for your phone which you hope you’ll never have to use, yet it serves a very important purpose. In the interview we explore how Uta began this business in 2015, how it has progressed has been since then, what she’s learned along the way (including from parting from a co-founder), and her advice for other parentpreneurs. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-022-uta-de-veer-using-technology-to-keep-women-safe/
Lu Li is founder of Blooming Founders, and a new co-working space and member’s club called ‘Blooms’ that provides a nurturing space for female entrepreneurs and a crèche facility! Lu is passionate about supporting women in entrepreneurship, and has supported 1,000s of women on their journey, through her online community, in-person events, weekly e-newsletter and her book, 'Dear Female Founder', which collates 66 letters of advice from women entrepreneurs who have made $1billion in revenue. In this interview, we explore what it’s like for women setting out in businesses, what is out there to help women open startups, and how Lu has built a large engaged community and great network in a relatively short period of time. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-021-lu-li-creating-the-right-environment-for-female-entrepreneurs-to-bloom/
In this 20th episode of the podcast I chat with parentpreneur Lucy Whittington author of ‘Find your Thing', and founder of ‘Being a Business Celebrity'. Lucy is passionate about helping business owners to find the Thing they do that's brilliant, and create a business upon it. In her book “Find your Thing”, Lucy explains why business owners who find their ‘Thing’ can build a business doing what they find easy, and enjoy. She shares how to get known for your Thing, and her take on Marketing it. Lucy practices what she preaches too, and has been featured by the BBC, The Guardian, and Red magazine as a result. Having read Lucy’s excellent book, mailshots and blog at lucylovesbusiness.com I was delighted when Lucy agreed to this interview about what it means for an entrepreneur to discover what you do outstandingly, what you love, how to grow a business around it and how to get known for it. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-020-lucy-whittington-find-the-thing-you-do-best-and-enjoy-then-build-a-successful-business-around-it
In this episode, I talked to James Lavers - fellow parentpreneur, online marketing genius, and selling-through-video expert, and founder of Lazy Coach. We discussed why it’s important to confirm there is demand for your product before creating it, how to get that confirmation as quickly and easily as possible, and what we can do to get sales for our product before it even exists. Listen to this interview to get some awesome advice on how to get started with a new business or product, and reflect on how you 'get in your own way' when it comes to getting your first sales. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-019-james-lavers-why-you-should-sell-first-create-later
In the 18th episode of the podcast we meet Parentpreneur Steph Douglas, the creative founder of gift-box company Don't Buy Her Flowers. Considering that the typical gift for new mums (flowers) is something else to care for alongside a new-born, Steph realised there should be another option. So she created a company who create packages aimed at encouraging the recipient to take a bit of time and indulgence for themselves whether that's with a hot cuppa, a cold gin or a good book. Since then Steph’s company has flourished, growing 180% from year one to year two, she has been featured across the media and now employs her brother as Head of Operations. Tune in to hear Steph’s experience of starting her business alongside a part-time job and getting time with her two children, how she coped with the upsetting experience of getting hate mail from florists, what’s helped her quickly turn the startup from an idea into a growing business, and how she’s managing that growth. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-018-steph-douglas-coping-with-hate-mail-from-florists-and-growing-an-amazing-gift-business
In the 17th podcast interview I chat with Hermione Way about her entrepreneurial career in various tech startups and how she now consults other business on how to get their product visible and remembered. Not only has Hermione been an entrepreneur and CEO, she also boasts experience as a blogger, TV-show creator, presenter... and parent. She recently left her job as the Head of European Comms at Tinder to follow her passion for branding start her own consulting business. In this episode, we learn more about Hermione’s story and ambitions for the future as well as gaining her expertise on how to get your company in front of your target audience. Warning: Hermione is a passionate person, and uses the occasional swear word that may not be appropriate for younger listeners. (So you might want to put some headphones on!) Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-017-hermione-way-from-head-of-european-comms-at-tinder-and-high-tech-vibrators-to-brand-consulting-for-start-ups
In this episode I speak to fellow Parentpreneur, Lucy Chaplin. Lucy is a co-founder of the Mums Enterprise Roadshow which hosts events in the UK to help Mums explore alternatives to returning to their 9-5 jobs, including building startup businesses, becoming franchisees, freelancing, and working remotely. With her background in graphic design, Lucy initially started in the business as Creative Director, but after her amazing contributions early on, quickly became an official business partner, alongside her co-founder, Lindsey. Lucy and Lindsey will be hosting 3 Mums Enterprise Roadshows in the next 6 months... In this interview we explore Lucy’s experiences of moving from freelancing to running a startup business, what she’s learned about combining being a parent alongside being an entrepreneur from her own events, and how she’s been able to grow Mums Enterprise Roadshow so quickly.
In this episode, I interview Annie Ridout, founder and editor of The Early Hour; a fantastic online parenting and lifestyle magazine, with articles and interviews published daily at 5am. Her articles are honest, touching, and include interviews with many great parentpreneurs including Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post) and Paul Lindley (Ella’s Kitchen). In this interview, we explore how Annie started The Early Hour, and delve into the times when things got so tough she nearly stopped the project. We learn how Annie balances work and family life when she's having to work to tight deadlines, and what's helped her the most to build her new business whilst freelancing to pay the bills. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-015-annie-ridout-launching-the-early-hour-and-keeping-going-when-things-get-hard
In this interview, I talk to James Golden, founder of Target Training Club, a fitness boutique club in Amersham, Bucks and a creator of a series of fitness retreats which recently featured in the Sunday Times top 12 fitness experiences in the UK. After starting his business in 2010, he’s had an incredible journey that has included getting a bank grant and later hitting rock bottom, overcoming a cancer diagnosis when he was 26, and building his company into a profitable business that employs 10 staff and has recently raised funds for growth through a crowdfunding campaign. James is fellow Parentpreneur, living with his wife, two daughters (aged 6 and 2) and his son who is 7 months old. I’m looking forward to sharing James’s story with you, by exploring some of the decisions that have enabled him to overcome the obstacles and get his business to where it is today, and how he’s managed to achieve this whilst still get time with his family. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-014-james-golden-building-a-successful-fitness-business-whilst-overcoming-incredible-obstacles
In episode 013, I interview Cara Sayer, the inventor and founder of Snoozeshade, to explore her journey as a Parentpreneur. This includes how she survived post-natal depression and a nervous breakdown, made her first sales to Jojo Maman Bebe, divorced her husband, and built an impressive business selling her products all over the world. Since starting her business in 2010, Cara has received over 60 awards for her products which are now stocked by Amazon, Tesco, Mamas and Papas, John Lewis, Bloom and Grow, and many more. In this interview Cara shares her experiences and tips for growing a business, and surviving the difficulties presented by her divorce, and the silver linings she didn't expect. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-013-cara-sayer-from-nervous-breakdown-to-booming-business
In episode 012, I speak to Neil Sheth, fellow parentpreneur, and SEO wizard. Neil is the founder of Your Brand Found, which provides training, coaching and support in establishing an online presence, identifying opportunities to drive new leads and customers, and using best practices when it comes to SEO, content marketing and social media. In this podcast, we talk about what SEO is and how its evolved, when SEO is something you should consider for your business, and how to overcome some common roadblocks in this area. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-012-neil-sheth-using-seo-to-get-your-brand-found-online
In episode 011, I’m joined by fellow Parentpreneur, Sophie Edginton, founder of the Dinner Set. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sophie through my startup accelerator program to help her find product-market fit, and am now helping her to prepare to scale her business. She's had a lot of useful experiences that I’m looking forward to sharing with you. In this interview, we cover how Sophie completely changed her product and suddenly got customers a result, Why you need to get super specific on your target customer and why for Sophie that meant busy social women who love the recipes of Ottolenghi. We also cover how to cope when kids go sick, and how to move your business forward even when you have very little time. This episode will be particularly useful of you if you are considering making the leap to become an entrepreneur, or perhaps in the early stages while trying to find the right customer, product or business model for you. Show notes: http://www.parentpreneur.com/podcast-011-sophie-edginton-the-power-of-getting-specific-on-your-target-customer-and-what-you-help-them-to-do
In episode 010, I interview Josh Pigford, the founder of baremetrics - a software business that helps other subscription businesses to analyse their growth and churn data. He has grown his business from nothing in 2013 to over $80,000 revenue per month. Josh also writes one of my favourite blogs in which he is super-transparent about his experiences as an entrepreneur, including how he 'escaped the startup rat race', by no longer supporting growth through funding but instead doing it by becoming profitable. In our discussion, we discuss how to define your own success, the common misconceptions around subscription business model, the easiest way to increase revenue growth, and how to build a network of other entrepreneurs who can help you to succeed.
In episode 009, I interview Wendy Shand, founder of Tots To Travel, a multi-award winning holiday provider, who specialise in providing parents with young children and babies a stress free holiday experience.
Through this interview at Wendy's home, we go deep into what it takes to be successful as a Parentpreneur, discuss how Wendy has balanced business and family, why self-nurture is the starting point for success, and where the biggest leaps in progress come from.
In episode 008, I talk to fellow Parentpreneur Francesca Tortora, a Freelance Graphic designer who works with individuals, small businesses and established brands across the arts, media and charitable sectors.
Alongside her graphic design work, in 2016 Francesca set up 'Doing It For the Kids.net' - a site that compiles stories from other Freelancing Parents. This includes her own story of how she played the long game when she retrained as a graphic designer so that she could work from home with her (at the time), non-existent kids.
In a short time, Francesca’s Instagram profile has now got over 4,000 followers and individual stories spark many comments amongst her highly engaged community.
In the interview I explore Francesca’s experiences as a Freelancer, how she manages this alongside spending time with her 22-month-old son, and how she’s growing an online community alongside her day-job.
In episode 007, I interview David Walker, a Parentpreneur who I’ve been working with through my accelerator program. David is in the early stages of growing a new business that helps entrepreneurs to protect their brand using an online toolkit that takes you through the steps to ensure you have a significant amount of legal protection without having to hire a lawyer by the hour to do so! Through his law practice, previous startups, and this business, he has had a lot of experiences that I’m looking forward to sharing with you. If you currently have a business in which you are 'trading your time for money', or if you are struggling to set up a scalable business… particularly if you've found yourself often 'going back to the drawing board'…. this episode contains some absolute gold for you.
In episode 006 of the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast, I interview Olga Shoraka, Google Campus London Ambassador for Women@Campus community. Olga has been a long-time advocate for closing a gender achievement gap, having served in executive roles on multiple boards, and is also a parent. I’m passionate about supporting more equal opportunities and representation in the home and at work so I was delighted to talk to Olga about the challenges women face when setting up businesses, and how they can overcome these.
If you are a Parentpreneur with an early stage startup (that hasn’t got sales yet), or are planning to start a new business, then you’ve just struck gold. In episode 005, I talk about the most common cause of startup failure, and explain why focusing on getting your first sale is the antidote. I then walk you through the six steps to get your first sales in a way that build a business you love whilst having time with the family you care about. This approach has saved many Parentpreneurs months of their life and thousands of dollars/pounds. Do not miss it. :-)
In episode 004 of the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast, I talk to Aleksandra King, a fellow Parentpreneur with a business specialising in a communication - helping her clients to communicate their message to their target audience. She was recently a contestant on the 12th series of the 'The Apprentice’, in which she surprised contestants and viewers in the 4th episode by leaving the process before the task had started. In this interview we go deep into the concept of work-life balance, the importance of “Designing your Life” and why this must be done at the very start of building a business, before anything else.
In episode 003 of the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast, Alexis interviews Steve Bolton, dad of 4 and founder of Platinum Property Partners, one of the UK's fastest growing franchises. In this interview Steve shares some great tips on how to spend more of your journey being successful, and provides one particularly amazing suggestion on how to be more happy and content with your progress.
In episode 002 of the Parentpreneur Accelerator Podcast, I share what I think a 'Parentpreneur' is, why I think we need this term, why being a Parentpreneur can make you a better entrepreneur, why you should consider be proud of being a parentpreneur, and why parentpreneurs matter to the world! (OK, so I got a bit 'rant-y' on my soapbox in this episode... but that's only because I care about lovely Parentpreneurs like you. Who can blame me? You are fantastic!)
In our first ever episode, I'd like to tell you a bit about who the Parentpreneur Accelerator podcast is for, why I created this podcast, what we've got coming up in the next few episodes, and the key lessons I've learned from 17+ years as an entrepreneur and conversations with over 100 other Parentpreneurs.