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Launch Interview: Motivating Mums Launches their Mumpreneur Mentor Scheme
Clare Oliver, Laura Tenison and Alli Price
After mumsnet hosted live webchats last month with Gordon Brown and David Cameron, it is believed that the site can greatly improve people’s participation in politics. So it seems the Prime Minister has recognised the rising power of geek mums as they work together in communities for the greater business good, and just looking at the wealth of support coming from, and going to mums on the net, he is spot on.
Today Alli Price, Founder of Motivating Mum, launches the Motivating Mum Mentor Scheme for businessmums. Aimed to prevent the reinvention of the wheel, the scheme is amazingly cost effective and has some high-profile mentors already signed up, including Laura Tenison of JoJo Maman Bebe. Here, Alli Price talks to The NextWomen about the potential isolation when starting a business on your own, the importance of mentoring in the 21st century and how people should learn to ask for what they want.
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Tell us about yourself – your background and education
I have a Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management and Catering and initially worked in the marketing department of a 4* hotel in Melbourne, working my way up to Marketing Manager. After a few years, I returned to school to study Film and TV and then worked as a Production Manager in a Production Office, also in Melbourne, making TV commercials, corporate videos and pilots.
After years of talking about wanting to travel, I finally left in 1998 aged 28 for a trip to Sweden to edit a film for a friend. The film didn’t work out but the backpacking bug had well and truly bitten and five years later I had been to much of Western Europe, America, India, Nepal, Fiji, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Slovenia and Poland. Although I had worked a lot in the corporate sector, I realised that I was only truly fulfilled when helping people so trained to be a life coach. I completed my training at the same time as giving birth to my daughter and launched Motivating Mum.
What is Motivating mum? When did you launch and what are your objectives for the next three years?
Initially, Motivating Mum was a coaching service for mums, whatever stage of pregnancy, launched in 2006. However, running a business from home, coupled with looking after my daughter full-time quickly revealed how lonely and isolating it can be, being a Mumpreneur. In the belief there must be other mums out there like me, I launched the Businessmums’ Networking Lunch, a chance for mums to get out of the house, network and rest assured they weren’t the only crazy ones. The first lunch attracted 45 mums!
Following three years of mixing with Businessmums, I recently relaunched my service as a website offering support and advice to Mumpreneurs. The site consists of mentoring with established businessmums, a forum, articles and features and details of events now being held across London.
My objectives for the next three years are to provide Mumpreneurs with a service tailored uniquely to them. This includes providing mentoring and events for an exceptionally good price (as mums in business traditionally don’t have a lot of disposable income), having events offered across the UK (as although online support is great, it doesn’t combat the isolation), developing the forum to a point where mums can connect, network and help each other succeed and have each and every visitor to the site or an event walk away with whatever it is they need: a connection, information, inspiration. Lastly, it is to always be accessible. My pet hate is trying to contact businesspeople and their websites offer plenty for you to buy, but no details for contact.
What is your business model and how do you differ from your competitors?
My business model is to help Mumpreneurs. Everything I have done to date has been a case of trying to help fill a need or offer a service and I have had success with this approach as a result. I feel I differ from my competitors in that I always try to maintain approachability no matter how busy I get, I don’t charge membership fees for my services and I encourage face-to-face meetings in addition to online connections. I like to feel that my site is set up to offer support and advice, first and foremost, not to simply make as much money from people while I sleep.
What were your start-up costs and how were they funded?
My start-up costs were minimal as I only needed a website and business cards. The re-launch of my site and other investments have all been funded through money raised by the business. I am lucky in that the most expensive thing required of me for the success of my business was my time.
You are about to launch your Motivating Mum mentor scheme for businessmums and already have some great names onboard like Laura Tenison of JoJo Maman Bebe. How important do think mentoring is in the 21st century and how have you secured your mentors? Read more
MOTIVATING Mum to Launch Nationwide Mentoring Initiative for Businessmums
It was only last month that we featured an interview with Iveta Tancheva of Mums Like You – a venture geared towards mothers – highlighting the massive draw the internet has for women. In the same vein, a mentoring scheme to support businessmums across the UK is to be launched on March 15, 2010 by Allison Price, founder of Motivating Mum. This exciting new initiative will enable mums already in business, as well as those wanting to start up, to obtain affordable support and advice to help them achieve their dreams.
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Launched three years ago, Motivating Mum was set up by Allison Price, professional life coach, mumpreneur and mother of one, for mums who needed help with the everyday challenges they faced. It now helps mumpreneurs across the UK succeed in achieving their business dreams through the provision of support and advice.
Increasing Numberss of Mumpreneurs
An increasing number of mothers are setting up their own businesses, however many of them lack knowledge and/or experience and face difficult challenges right from the start. The Motivating Mum mentoring service will connect mums needing professional guidance to mums who are experts in their field. It will cover all areas of business from law and accountancy to marketing and PR, in addition to getting ideas off the ground.
The Who’s Who of Business-mums
High profile business-mums already signed up as mentors for the launch include Laura Tenison, MD at JoJo Maman Bebe, Rachel Jones, inventor of Totseat and Wendy Shand, founder of Tots to Travel.
When talking about the launch, founder Alli Price said: Read more
Launch of Mentoring Program for Female Entrepreneurs
This week will see the launch of the second Annual Mentoring Program for Female Entrepreneurs. Just like last year’s matches, a number of experienced female entrepreneurs will be matched with already selected start-up entrepreneurs, who will assist them in getting things done. If you want to be a part of the launch event on December 3rd, you can buy a ticket with the TheNextWomen discount.
The Mentor Program of Freshideas Events means that for a period of 6 months, 6 starting female entrepreneurs will have 6 face to face monthly meetings and occasional phone\email contact as agreed with their mentor. Once the couple is matched objectives are set by the mentoring team. At the end of the program the most successful partnership will be chosen.
Among the mentors are the following female internet heroes: Polly Gowers of Everyclick, who was successful with the Aspire Fund and Andrea Cockerton of Mudhut Communications, one of The NextWomen’s experts.
As a change from conventional mentoring, one nominated entrepreneur will be mentored by a young social media expert from the Generation Y, Jenny Lau, community manager of Freshnetworks.
Applications to be part of the Mentor Program are closed, but tickets to the launch event, with speaker Charlie Osmond, UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year are still for sale. For further enquiries into mentoring, please contact TheNextWomen.
The NextWomen’s Highlights of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 – Part 1
As Global Entrepreneurship Week draws to a close, The NextWomen reflect on the week’s events:
Wednesday 18th November – The NextWomen BIG Kitchen Dinner
Organised to coincide with Women’s Enterprise Day, the Big Kitchen Dinner saw 83 women and men leading and investing in web 2.0 ventures enjoy a keynote from Stephanie Phair of theOutNet.com. To get a taste of the evening, read the detailed coverage of Stephanie Phair’s speech and have a look at the complete set of photographs taken on the evening.
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Monday 16th November – Pitch 2009
The Pitch 2009, which has seen five regional heats over the past six months, came to its conclusion with the grand final at the Institute of Directors on Pall Mall, where Tony Lau and Cyclehoop were declared overall winners and bagging themselves £50,000 worth of business services.
A great collection of T-shirts from The NextWomen and Pitch 2009 Winner Tony Lau
A day of free seminars included a success story from Karen Darby who gave her ‘top tips on founding and running a business: Read more
Businesses Meet CSR Requirements whilst Helping Teenagers
Jo Roberts (wild.org)
Through Corporate Social Responsibility, businesses with both large and small turnovers can make a sustainable difference to project and charitable work both locally and nationally.
A project winning awards in Essex – twice winning an award from the High Sherriff of Essex, and last year the eastern region Nationwide Community and Heritage Award for community volunteering – is TurnAround, which works with vulnerable youth and community mentors.
TurnAround is the brainchild of CEO Jo Roberts, a South African who has now been living as long in Britain as in South Africa, and who has captured the heart of some remarkable projects from the developing world, that have been freshly innovative in the field of working with young people at risk.
The project works with youth who are excluded from school, in trouble with the police and simply not coping with life. Most have chronic anger management issues as a result of high personal frustration levels and little self control, which can lead to more of the same in their adult lives.
Working with these young people for two years, Jo says,
‘It is always incredible to see the fast track progress these young people make, given the simplest of support which is endless time and attention, a genuine affection for their age group and a keenness to understand their issues and perspectives. This costs almost nothing but personal time, and yet is worth its weight in gold bars if one considers the cost of these young people having to be put in Youth Offending Institutes or going into care. Just one year in an Institute costs a minimum of £47,000 to the tax payer.’
The focus of the programme is wilderness therapy, led by psychotherapists, wilderness guides and the mentoring team. Two extended wilderness trails take place on the programme at the beginning and the end, with community mentors taking part in the first. This is a challenging experience heading up into the Scottish highlands for ten days with simply a pack on their backs, all their food and equipment for that period, and the young people!
TurnAround is a project that believes young people need the support of a community, particularly when parents, for whatever reason, seem unable to cope. This is found through community volunteer mentors who work with individual youth for a year initially and then by choice, into the future.
Mentors seem to get as much from the programme as the youth. One mentor, Zoe Cranley an artist working in the film industry said:
“I just feel so privileged being trusted by these youngsters, many who have no reason to trust anyone at all after their life experiences. It humbles me to see how well they have coped with their life issues and it puts mine into perspective! I am now doing my second year with TurnAround because I love the work.’
Another mentor, Ali Moran, an employment law specialist was heard to say: Read more
Bindi Karia – Female Hero of the Month
Guest writer Lopa Patel, writes about our Female Hero of the Month – Bindi Karia.
How many technology startups have you been involved with? One, maybe two? How about 600, in just six months! This is the astonishing feat that Asian woman Bindi Karia, VC/Emerging Business lead for Microsoft UK, has achieved since the launch of the company’s UK BizSpark program in November 2008. Karia attributes her success in the field to being “in the right place at the right time”, although she acknowledges that working for the leading software company in the world helps.
Thirteen years in the UK, Karia’s formative years were spent in Canada leading the kind of diaspora life familiar to most Asians although she says it gave her the “global outlook” necessary for her current role. Now based in the UK, she loves London for being geographically central to her uncles in Kenya, where one runs a leading advertising agency, and her family in Canada. But life wasn’t always so easy.
Her work as a Senior Business Analyst at Data Monitor was followed by a stint as a Management Consultant at Coopers and Lybrand that then became PWC. Redundancy from PWC came as a major blow, one that she was careful to hide from her family for as long as possible. “I think the thing about redundancy is not to take it personally. It is not about you, it is about the role within the organisation. So have some confidence in yourself and look to your network for support”. Read more
Karen Darby to Launch Social Enterprise Call Britannia
Serial entrepreneur, speaker and mentor, Karen Darby is set to launch a new social enterprise (aptly named) Call Britannia. Based in the UK, the company will set up 10 call centres in the most deprived areas of the UK, from which jobs will be given in favour of the unemployed. Working with companies across private and public sectors, Call Britannia will handle both in and outbound calls.
Talking recently to FreshIdeas Events, Karen said:
“Every single one of the jobs in those contact centres will go to people who are out of work, particularly the long term unemployed, lone parents, or people with barriers to work, because I know it can be done.”
Over the years, British consumers have become increasingly frustrated by the out-sourcing of call centres to countries halfway across the globe. Not least of all as meaning is frequently lost in translation, but also as it has taken valuable jobs away from the UK. As the economy tumbles deeper into the recession it is unlikely that the company – that aims to create 10 000 jobs over the next 5-7 years – will have a problem sourcing staff or renewing customer confidence whilst also making money. Read more
Women in Business International Connects UK Business to Businesswomen in the Middle East and North Africa
Women in Business International is a B2B programme with a difference. Established as part of a UK Government Initiative to connect businesswomen and invited businessmen in the UK with influential businesswomen in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Iran, it is a non-for profit company run by volunteers to promote women’s economic empowerment. By exchanging and sharing knowledge and skills, WiB seek to provide premier business networking throughout the world for investment and trade opportunities whilst altering the views of women held by international leaders and decision makers.
Designed to appeal to both ends of the business spectrum, the initiative welcomes those at the very top of large scale global companies to lone founders of ethical commerce. The site provides a platform for women to read about relevant news and events from across the world, whilst providing a one-stop shop for business resources including how to start a business, e-mentoring, workshops and scholarships. Read more
The Quality Living Network seeks mentor
Mirjam Spronk, founder of the Quality Living Network
Whenever we can, thenextwomen tries to bring together entrepreneurs so they can meet, match or work together.
A while ago, Mirjam Spronk got in touch with us, an aspiring entrepreneur who had the original idea to create her own yellow pages for professionals and tradesmen in New Zealand. Her business the Quality Living Network launched a year ago but now Mirjam is looking to grow and expand it. To help her do that, she is looking for mentors, which is why we interviewed her to find out a bit more about her business and why she is looking for mentorship.
Can you offer her useful advice, do you want tot tell her about your experiences with a similar business? Are you her mentor? let us know and we will put you in touch!
How did you come up with the idea of your start-up? Read more
Freshideasevents: Submit for the Mentor competition!
jackie brennan of the mentor competition
What do Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and Batman and Robin have in common? They have all benefited from a successful mentor-mentee relationship, says Jackie Brennan. In a bid to encourage female entrepreneurs, her company FRESHIDEAS EVENTS has launched The Mentor Competition. It will give women the opportunity to have some of the UK’s most high profile and successful businesswomen work with them to help them achieve their goals, offering invaluable insights from their own business experiences. Mentors include female internet heroes Karen Darby and Karen Hanton. Closing date is Friday 17 October 2008. Read more
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