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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
Female Internet Hero: Audio Interview with Caterina Fake of Hunch and Flickr
As part of our Female Internet Heroes series, and in conjunction with NCWIT (the National Center for Women & Information Technology), The NextWomen are publishing audio interviews highlighting a diverse group of women innovators from small companies, larger corporations, and non-profits, whose ideas and products are changing the way we think, work, play, and communicate. Listen as these women discuss how they first became involved with tech, why they chose to be entrepreneurs and what advice they would give to young people interested in IT or entrepreneurship.
Caterina Fake, Co-Founder of Hunch and Flickr and TNW Female Internet Hero
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Listen to the NCWIT Entrepreneurial Interview with Caterina Fake. |
Caterina Fake
Caterina Fake is a NextWomen Female Internet Hero and co-founder of Flickr, the popular photo-sharing site that helped transform the web into the participatory environment it is today. Flickr was launched early 2004, but Caterina’s love affair with the net and web development started as early as 1994 when she worked as an art director at Salon.com and on the development of online communities, social networks and personal publishing.
Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Fake graduated from Vassar College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. In 2001 she cofounded Ludicorp which in 2004 launched Flickr, later acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. While there, she worked on MyWeb and Yahoo! Answers and ran Yahoo’s Technology Development group, known for its Hack Yahoo! program, designed to stimulate innovation and creativity, and Brickhouse, a rapid development environment for new products.
In March 2009 her new company, Hunch.com which helps people make decisions and Read more
The Ladies go Gaga for Music Entrepreneurs
Here The NextWomen Events Editor, Misae Richwoods, waxes lyrical about Music4point5.
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Misae Richwoods (flickr cc: pevijo)
When it comes to the old sing-a-long, two girls who’ve been backing many an act are Petra Johansson and Rassami Hok Ljungberg, whose duo performances are made under the stage name of 2 Pears. Better known for their encore performances staging Tech Crunch Europe’s regular events, 2 Pears noticed that tech was starting to rock the music industry and put out a ballad called Music 4.5 to serenade the two together. Would it be an A-ha moment, INXS of expectations or Simply Red?
Panels
Held at Central London’s Cavendish Conference Centre near Harley Street, the line up was equally plush. An opening panel was made by The Guardian’s Jemima Kiss interviewing the head of The Performing Rights Society, Fergal Sharkey. Whilst half expecting him to break into a medley of ‘a good right these days is heart to find’, successive panels focussed on key topic areas and played a percussive chorus of music being a strong industry.
“Let’s get this clear,”
said Jeremy Silver of the FAC,
“all this talk of music being an industry in crisis is media hype. Look at the facts. Live music is massively on the up. Merchandising is on the up. The only area that technology has affected is recorded music and that’s the area that technology created in the first place.”
This was backed up by Chris Corey of the PRS
“From £1.3bn to £1.4bn last year in recorded, music is a growing industry and a great industry to be in”.
“The issue,” continued Jeremy, “is simply of an industry trying to modernise itself. And like the Post Office, it’s messy!” Read more
The NextWomen Invite Female Entrepreneurs to Dine with Michelle Dewberry and Chiconomise
Continuing with their ever popular series of Kitchen Dinners, The NextWomen are excited to announce their newest feast – Dine with Chiconmise on Wednesday March 24th, 2010 in London. Join Michelle Dewberry in The NextWomen’s very own kitchen for an intimate dinner and learn more about the ‘act of living stylishly for less’ from the founding Chiconomist herself. Enjoy peer-to-peer networking with successful online female entrepreneurs, a three course meal, speed mentoring and a fascinating keynote.
BOOK NOW
For more details visit our kitchen dinner and upcoming events pages and watch the video from our hugely successful Big Kitchen Dinner and photos.
MICHELLE DEWBERRY
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Head Hunted by a Major Internet Service Provider
After leaving school in Hull aged 16 with no qualifications, Michelle Dewberry started her career with a modern apprenticeship in business. Alongside this, she studied IT in her spare time and quickly moved up the corporate ladder. Aged just 22, Michelle was head-hunted by a major Internet Service Provider to manage one of their biggest international projects. Following the successful delivery of this project, Dewberry established herself as a self employed consultant, managing multi-million pound projects spanning across Europe and Asia. She was just 23 years old.
Winner of The Apprentice
Aged 24, Michelle seized the opportunity to apply for the second series of BBC’s The Apprentice and beat over 15,000 people to become the first female and youngest winner of the show.
Founder of Michelle Dewberry ltd and Chiconomise Read more
Startup Interview: Esra Young of The Ragtrader, The Freelance Site for Fashion Designers
Fashion recruitment agenices, whilst well established, often charge dearly for their services. Co-founded by Esra Young, The Ragtrader is an online service for freelancers in the fashion industry which enable designers from anywhere in the world to work on projects half-way across the Globe. Here, Esra talks to The NextWomen about recognising a niche in the market, their heavy reliance on social media and the slow move online by players within the industry.
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From Freelance Fashion Designer to Female Entrepreneur
I graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in womenswear fashion design in 1999 and worked as a freelance designer for numerous UK companies. Freelancing is tough at the best of times as it is not consistent, but I found it increasingly difficult to fit work around my two young children & so came up with the idea of The Ragtrader as an answer to the problem.
What is The Ragtrader? When did you launch and what are your objectives for the next three years?
The Ragtrader is an online service which enables international fashion companies to use freelance fashion and graphic designers based anywhere in the world. We launched in December 08 & are in the process of recruiting agents around the world in order to grow globally. China is proving to be one of our strongest markets. Our aim is to become the “go-to” place for companies looking for freelance fashion or graphic designers.
Who makes up The Ragtrader team and what do you all bring to the table?
The team compromises of me and my husband Steven who has also worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years. We have a few interns, a technical team that manage the site and business advisors and investors.
What is your business model and how do you differ from your competitors?
We are unique in the fashion industry. Read more
Forbes Woman: Empower Women Entrepreneurs to Grow Their Businesses
Investing in women business owners is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, according to an interesting article by Forbes author Maria Pinelli. She says: “Another idea that deserves attention is empowering women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.” In the article she says that to help women-owned businesses grow and create jobs, we need to improve their access in three key areas currently not being met:
- access to capital,
- the global supply chain and
- business networks that can help them scale.
Read the full article at Forbes Woman.
Female Internet Hero: Audio Interview with Dina Kaplan of Blip.tv
As part of our Female Internet Heroes series, and in conjunction with NCWIT (the National Center for Women & Information Technology), The NextWomen will be publishing audio interviews highlighting a diverse group of women innovators from small companies, larger corporations, and non-profits, whose ideas and products are changing the way we think, work, play, and communicate. Listen as these women discuss how they first became involved with tech, why they chose to be entrepreneurs and what advice they would give to young people interested in IT or entrepreneurship.
Dina Kaplan, Co-Founder of Blip.tv
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Listen to the NCWIT Entrepreneurial Interview with Dina Kaplan. |
Dina Kaplan
Dina Kaplan is the co-founder of blip.tv, overseeing business operations for the company, including media partnerships, advertising and sponsorship deals, distribution deals, PR, marketing and investor relations.
Blip.tv is the double Webby-award winning video sharing site focused on shows. It enables independent producers to create their own TV shows for the Internet, from scripted sitcoms and dramas, to journalists covering the war in Baghdad. In writing about online video sites, Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal recently wrote:
“My favorite is blip.tv.”
In 2008 Business 2.0 named blip.tv in a cover story as one of “25 start-ups to watch.”
Before blip.tv Read more
The NextWomen Announce their 2010 Pitching Day
Join female entrepreneurs, managers and consultants of the Web at The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day, Tuesday 16th March 2010, in group Workshops and 1:1 Clinics to learn the art & science of pitching skills for convincing investors, customers and partners to do business with you.
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The event, which consists of two morning workshops run in tandem, followed by an afternoon 1:1 business clinic in which entrepreneurs can tackle any business dilemma – large or small – with a selection of industry experts, allows entrepreneurs to optimise their pitching skills with a day designed to their own specific needs.
BOOK NOW
Tickets start from £75 for early bird – workshop only – and go up to £150 for full day tickets (morning Workshop + afternoon 1:1 Clinic).
Entrepreneurs can pick from one of two workshops:
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Workshop Option 1 – When, Where and How to Pitch to Investors
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How to find the Fastest Route to Funding
Learn how to:
- Choose the right financing approach for your business
- Pitch to different types of investors
- Make sure potential investors take note of your business plan
- Retain a majority stake of your business
For more information visit The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day page
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Workshop Option 2 – The Art & Science of Pitching to Customers and Partners
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What your Body is Saying Behind your Back
Learn:
- The power to influence, present and communicate your value proposition
- How we influence and communicate our business ideas to other people
- How to influence people more effectively by developing and extending your range of non-verbal skills
- How to read and adapt your style to achieve the greatest impact.
- The art & science of non verbal communication
For more information visit The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day page
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1:1 Business Clinic
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Building on knowledge gained in the previous workshops, entrepreneurs will get in-depth 1:1 help and support on issues of their choice, tailored exactly to their needs through the use of exercises and advice from an expert of their choice.
For more information on the experts in attendance, possible topics for help and how it works, visit The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day page.
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DETAILS
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| Date: | Tuesday 16th March 2010 |
| Location: | Sun Microsystems, Regis House, 45 King William Street, London, EC4R 9AN |
| Workshops: | £75 Early bird – Before March 1st (Includes drinks and refreshments) |
| £100 Full price – After March 1st (Includes drinks and refreshments) | |
| Full Day: | £150 (Includes workshop, 1:1 time with 2 experts, lunch, two snacks and drinks) |
Interview: Marion Carrette, Co-Founder and CMO of Zilok
Businesses that thrive in times when people want to watch their pennies are clearly evident during a recession. People flock to rental sites such as Girl Meets Dress, handbagsfromheaven and LOVEFiLM as they look for ways to continue living life in a way they enjoy, but with a more affordable pricetag. With Zilok, rather than buying a power drill to put up your shelf, or a fondue set for your ski-inspired birthday party, individuals and professionals can rent them. Here, Co-founder and CMO of Zilok, Marion Carrette, talks to guest writer – Pamela Poole, founder of Francophilia – about her love affair with the web, the strike of good luck she had in finding her business partner and how she wishes she had founded Leboncoin.fr – the French Craigslist.
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Tell us about yourself – your background and education
I went to ESSEC (business school) and graduated in 1996. Since leaving, I’ve always worked on the Web. I initially spent three years at a web agency before creating my own web content agency – ECRITO – which I sold to a PR firm so I could launch ZILOK.
What is Zilok? When did you launch and what is your mission?
Zilok is the number one site where people can rent and offer for rent all kinds of objects. It’s a kind of eBay, but instead of buying things, people can rent items from each other or from a company.
The site was launched in late 2007 with the goal to promote renting as a new way of consuming and one that is more sustainable.
How did you choose your partners? Looking back, would you have done it differently?
It was purely by chance. We actually had our own separate projects going on at the same time, and met when an investor let something slip. We hit it off right away, we’re very complementary, and our projects were also at about the same stage, so we decided to join forces rather than fighting for the same market. And it was the right move. I would do it exactly the same way if I had to do it over again.
What were your start-up costs, and how did you fund them? How would you rate crowd funding in France? Did it work for you? Read more
Bespoke Shoe Design Site, Upper Street, to Launch March 2010
Having the option and ability to design your own little piece of fashion is becoming ever more popular. Nike began the craze with their Nike ID range, enabling sport lovers to personalise their trainers. More recently, companies are taking the concept online, and it seems the competition is building.
Due to launch March 1st 2010, Upper Street is:
‘The made-to-order footwear label that lets you create your ultimate pair of designer shoes. Choose the style, all the detailing and the finish, then sit back while our craftsmen create your one-of-a-kind pair, delivered right to your door. Upperstreet.com – the perfect way to unleash your creative streak or simply create the shoes you’ve always searched for.’
Co-founded by sisters Julia and Katy Grinham, the site has the potential to be very slick and already has a sneak preview of the immense options to come on its facebook page. With sizes ranging from a UK 2 – 10 (I know a lot of women that will be excited by such broad offerings), there is reported to be hundreds of materials, colours and embellishments – including Swarovski gems – that can only signal shoe heaven for those of us who just cannot resist. With seven basic style choices – including courts, sandals, gladiator heels and round toe platforms – users can design a shoe for any occasion, even for their wedding day.
Bridal Shoes (all pictures from upperstreet Facebook page)
The site already gives a written teaser for what is to come. ‘The Rise of The Killer Heel’ talks about ‘delicate pieces’ and ‘foot confection’ which only strengthens the notion that women and shoes are like children in a sweet shop. It goes beyond providing a platform for simply designing shoes, however, presenting fashion trends and celebrity inspiration: Read more
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