With International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day taking place this week, our sister publication So Magazine spoke to five local mums who are pairing parenthood with their professions…
To read the full article, visit the So Magazine website
Charlotte Wilson-Tompsett is the owner of Hair at 15, a hairdressing salon in Tenterden, and has two children, aged four and 18 months
WHAT WERE THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF SETTING THE SALON UP WHILE BEING A MUM?
Opening any new business is challenging and a risk. Throw in a six-month-old baby, a building that needed a complete makeover, and the fact that I was still working part-time in another salonit was a very tiring, stressful, scary time, but so worth it!
Deborah Richards is the owner of Maddisons Residential, a residential sales and lettings estate agents in Tunbridge Wells. She has three children and started her business five years ago
WHAT ARE THE BEST THINGS ABOUT BEING A MUM IN BUSINESS?
You get to decide your working hours, meaning that if I want to go and watch one of my children in a match, or at a school concert, I can. It’s just not in my make-up to be a full-time at-home mum, and I take my hat off to anyone who does this – it’s the toughest job of all! My children have a better mum because I work and make my time with them really special. None of them have an issue with me working because it’s always been that way. Finally, it’s lovely to be building something that you hope one day might be a legacy for them to take forward – if they want to!
Katie Redfern is the founder of Meaningful Recruitment, and as a career coach, adviser and recruitment expert, she helps clients to realise their true potential. She’s mum to two teenagers
HOW DOES BEING A MUM IMPACT THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Being a mum really does impact the decisions I make; not so much in how I run my business, but more about the clients I work with and the information I spend time researching and passing on. I want to support the organisations that are doing great things to support their community and our world. I’m interested in working with companies that are becoming B Corporation-certified, and those focusing on areas such as sustainability, climate change, helping humanity and easing suffering. I want to help the talent blossom in my generation, so that we generate momentum with positive impact, and make a difference now, so that it will help my children and their generation to support the world and our planet when their time comes.
Vanessa Ferrett runs Bodiam Boating Station, Riverside Cottage Camping and the Lime Wharf Cafe in Newenden. She has two children, aged 14 and 10. Before this business venture, she and her partner Alex ran a tapas restaurant in Bath
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER MUMS THINKING OF STARTING A BUSINESS?
The perfect time to start will never come, so if you’ve made up your mind that you’re going to do it, then just go for it. You’ll always feel guilty about working too much or leaving your team too much – be kind to yourself and remember that you’re just one person, so build a team of good people around you and lean on them. Children are resilient, and ours have first-hand experience of their mum at work; I hope this will teach them that hard work pays off, that women are as strong and capable as men, and that if you enjoy your job, you really don’t need to work a day in your life!
Kerri Sargent runs Logbox Firewood, as well as PR and design company Sweet Creatives. She has three children, aged 15, four and three
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER MUMS THINKING OF STARTING A BUSINESS?
Having kids can be a perfect time to make a change in your career and do something you have a passion for. Starting a business is really hard work, but when you’re in control and your work fits around being a parent the way you want it to, your family’s quality of life can only benefit. Connect with your local business networks for advice and support from people who’ve gone through the same process, and find someone who you really trust for sane advice in those moments when everything is a bit much.
