mumpreneur May 2015
Stilleto’s or flats? What to wear, day or night!
Award Winning Websites Mumpreneur 100 We feature some of this years nominees
Anna Kennedy Life after The People’s Strictly
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! on the e d s i e r r a e p p r rise Su ho’s charity ap
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Contents
Contents
Mumpreneur 100 Feature 4 4 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 9 9 10 10 10 11 12 13 14
pg 14
Pop-Up Nurseries Serena Fordham’s PA Services Count The Kicks The Papercup Kitchen Messy Monkeys Charlotte Maddison Photography Blossom Executive Support Ealing Mums in Business Love Your Leisure Treasure Chairs Swim Academy KeriKit Born In Britain Prams With Pizazz Your Executive Secretary French Grey Tales Small Prints Photography FYI Kids
pg 23
pg 6
Fashion 27
Stilettos Vs Flats pg 28
pg 21
Mumpreneur Magazine is designed and produced by Mumpreneur UK Ltd. 94 Bell Lane, Marston Green, Birmingham, B33 0LR
Contents Special Focus: Anna Kennedy 16 17 17 18 19
pg 9
Performance & Creative Arts at Baston House Baston House School Hillingdon Manor School Anna Kennedy - The Peoples Strictly Wear it For Autism pg 5 pg 22
pg 18
Website Awards Feature 21 Bobelles 21 Kids Like Toys 22 Maternity Buyer 22 Puddy Jax 23 Yellow Carousel 23 Mums Warehouse 24 Be Your Own Graphic Designer 24 TendreDeal 25 HypnoBambinos 25 Lucy & Belle 26 KoalaPak 26 Butterfly Occasions
Have a story? Get in touch: magazine@mumpreneuruk.com Advertise with us: advertising@mumpreneuruk.com General enquiries: hello@mumpreneuruk.com
pg 19
Mumpreneur 100
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or the last few years Mumpreneur UK have operated a very popular initiative called Mumpreneur 100.
The original aim was to find the top 100 mum owned business in the UK and get them noticed. Since we first ran this initiative in 2012, we have been astounded by the mums out there that are not only running amazing businesses but achieving incredible things in the process. Our 2015 Mumpreneur 100 is open for nominations right now but time is running out to get your business involved. The deadline for entries is Friday 26th June and the top 100 mumpreneurs will be announced on Moday 24th July. Visit www.mumpreneuruk.com/awards to find out more and submit your entry!
We’ve been in touch with some of our current nominees to find out more about their businesses, read on to find out more about them....
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hatever the event, whatever the venue Pop Up Nurseries can provide Nannies or a Creche facility to help your guests to enjoy your event in the knowledge that their children are safe and happy.
As a mobile service we can pop up at all kinds of events and at all sorts of venues across the Country. We have previously popped up at Weddings, Corporate Events, Executive boxes on match days, Conferences and numerous other events where childcare is needed. We bring fully qualified and DBS checked staff as well as loads of fun activities and toys that the children love. We have numerous packages to suit all our customers needs and our bespoke service can compliment any event.
Hello, I’m Serena, “Admin Super Woman”...
…{a.k.a. VA, PA, Writer & General Administration Whizz}
When I was made redundant while on maternity leave I desperately needed money with an extra mouth to feed, so when a friend approached me to help with his admin I jumped at the chance to earn a few pennies! This progressed and in 2013 Serena Fordham’s PA Services was born! I loved being my own boss and enjoyed assisting others to make their businesses succeed - and the icing on the cake was that I could work around my beautiful daughter, family, friends, parttime job, and charitable commitments, so all was win-win!
0116 367 0025 or 07866597377 www.popupnurseries.co.uk popupnurseries@hotmail.com
PopUpNurseries
popupnurseries
I now offer PA, administrative and writing services in the form of flexible monthly packages or ad-hoc admin on an hourly basis; so if you need a hand with anything admin-related I’m your gal! www.serenafordhamspaservices.com info@serenafordhamspaservices.com Mobile: 07794 542181
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lizabeth Hutton, Chief Executive at Count the Kicks is a single mum to 2 young children. Following the loss of her second baby, Toby, during pregnancy Elizabeth began working with Count the Kicks to ensure more mums did not experience the tragedy of stillbirth. “The pain of losing a baby never ever leaves you. That is what motivates me to drive the charity forward. Whenever I hear of another baby who has been stillborn I am reminded how much further we have to go, but the daily messages we get about babies that have been saved by Count the Kicks remind me how far we’ve come” The charity encourages mums to monitor their baby’s movements and report any changes in order to lower the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths that happen every year in the UK. The number of babies that die in the womb or in the first week of life is more than the number that die from cot death, meningitis and road deaths combined making the UK the second worst in the developed world when it comes to stillbirth rates.
In the last year the charity has grown astronomically and is now well on its way to achieving its goal. Elizabeth has lead the charity to some fantastic achievements including a Guinness world record title, leaflets featured in every mum to be Bounty pack, numerous charity awards, and an enviable social media following among others! The charity’s facebook page alone has grown from 20,000 likers to 250,000 in a matter of months and they even won the Big Break for charity award for Most effective Social Media campaign. The charity uses its facebook page to help raise awareness of fetal movement and ensure their message is spread to their target audience.
Stillbirth is a massive umbrella and while there isn’t one solution to reducing the rates, a decrease in fetal movement is a key warning sign that a baby is struggling in the womb and early delivery could save nearly a third of stillborn babies. When the baby is being deprived of oxygen he or she will slow their movements to conserve the oxygen. Cord compression, a failing placenta, a high intake of smoke as well as other causes may all lead to a reduction in movements and could be potentially fatal. This is where Count the Kicks comes in! Count the Kicks wants to ensure every pregnant woman is aware of how important her baby’s movements are and to encourage her to report any change in her baby’s regular pattern of movement. A feature on ITV’s Surprise Surprise also saw the charity get the backing of celebrity mums Holly Willoughby and Alesha Dixon with the two featuring on a billboard campaign that was displayed nationwide. With 800,000 pregnant women every year in the UK, Count the Kicks is pulling out all the stops to ensure they reach every single one
www.facebook.com/ukcountthekicks www.twitter.com/countthekicks www.countthekicks.org.uk
Mumpreneur 100
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hree Years ago I decorated my very first “professional� cake and today I am a well known cake designer in my area and owner of Lula, a vintage tea and cake pop-up Cafe. I am turning over a profit and my hobby turned out to be my perfect career. I love what I do and my hunger and will for getting bigger and better is driving me towards my ultimate dream...the keys to my very own Boutique Tea and Cake Shop. Hard work will get you there, determination will see you through the tough times and passion will make you a great success.
Me and Papercup are a small dream with a big ending. And I am so blessed that with this whole journey, I have my loving husband and two amazing kids cheering me on.
07760294636 www.thepapercupkitchen.co.uk thepapercupkitchen@gmail.com www.twitter.com/PaperCupKitchen
www.messy-monkeys.com
Charlotte Maddison Photography is a truly Lincolnshire styled wedding & newborn photographer. Specializing in sunset location photography which encompasses Lincolnshire life you will often find my sessions take place in fields or down on a farm.
The beauty of our Lincolnshire backdrops is matched with my own taste of journalistic styled photography capturing bonds between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons and the most magical moments of family life. Such as wedding photography which tells a story of the day and magic of the Lincolnshire backdrop from Belton Woods near Grantham or the stunning Dower House at Woodhall Spa. Email: hello@charlottemaddison-photography.co.uk Find me on facebook: /CharlotteMaddisonPhotography Call Charlotte 01205 872182
Mumpreneur 100
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ello there I am Charlotte Wibberley, a passionate entrepreneur, wife, mum of two and music lover! I set up my Virtual PA business, Blossom Executive Support, in 2013 having had my son and wanting to create a business and lifestyle that would allow me to follow my dreams whilst also doing the school run. Blossom Executive Support helps entrepreneurs and business owners to beat the overwhelm, get back their time and regain the passion for their businesses all through the power of outsourcing! I have a team of VAs who assist with Traditional PA services events planning, Social Media Management, Email Marketing and much more. Early 2014 I found out I was pregnant again and I began to build the business and team to support my clients through my desired maternity leave and beyond. I am currently planning my return , however, am still juggling being a mum to Evie and Alex with new client consultations and catching up with existing clients. A busy life but one I love and wouldn’t change for the world. Looking ahead, I am launching a Business Management company where I intend to be the ‘Right Hand Woman’ to female entrepreneurs looking to take their businesses to the next step and achieve their goals. This will also include a coaching offering for people like me – mums looking to move from employment to self employment and set up their own businesses and be able to build a life that suits their family life as well as their career needs. I have also taken on the role of Area Manager for South Essex for Mumpreneur UK and am very excited about what the future holds for us!
lottie@blossomsupport.co.uk charlotte@charlottewibberley.co.uk 07712 305064 www.teitter.com/BES Lottie www.twitter.com/CharlotteWibb www.facebook.com/blossomexecutivesupport
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aling Mums in Business was founded in 2010 by Shelley Henderson and Erin Thomas-Wong, two local mums who wanted to help other parents beat the isolation of working for themselves. Five years on, and Erin & Shelley have helped, supported, chatted with and given opportunities to hundreds of mums in their quest to start and run their own businesses. The aim of the company is to provide support, promotion and collaboration for local businesses. Ealing Mums in Business provide mumpreneurs with a variety of essential services including training courses, support, an online local business directory, free local meetups, optional Privileged Membership, networking forums, and a number of fabulous community night market events. The dynamic duo have been featured on London Live TV and have been honoured in Parliament by Angie Bray, MP for Ealing and Acton Central. If you live in London check out the website and get involved now!
www.mums-in-business.co.uk hello@ealingmumsinbusiness.co.uk www.facebook.com/ealingmumsinbusiness www.twitter.com/ealingmumsinbiz
Mumpreneur 100
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atie Salinger is a ‘multipassionate learner’ and founder of recently launched LoveYourLeisure.com, the comprehensive directory website to visit to find out about local classes, recreational activities and hobbies covering every conceivable topic and interest to help you truly love your leisure time. The core message behind LoveYourLeisure is that life is short - we should always seize the moment, try new experiences and make the most of our valuable leisure time. As well as helping people find out more about recreational classes taking place locally and online, LoveYourLeisure enables class instructors to secure maximum exposure for their classes, including on social media. The website allows instructors to connect with others, learn new business skills and grow popular, profitable classes.
When her second daughter Isabelle was born, (having missed out on so much of her eldest daughter Victorias early years) Katie decided that the time was right to quit her full-time corporate position, and return to work part-time after her maternity leave, to better combine the mummy/ worker roles, and to give her time to spend creating her own business to provide the balanced life she desired. Katie hopes that by setting up LoveYourLeisure.com she will be a great role model for her daughters, showing them that you can be, do and have anything you want if you have a vision, sense of purpose, work hard, focus, commit and follow your passion. Katie also has a strong desire to make a difference in the community. Katie has pledged that loveyourleisure.com will ‘pay it forward’, making a difference to local communities by donating 10% of their profits to their charitable trust ‘Educate the World’. Katie comments “education can unlock the untapped potential in all of us. I believe everyone should
have the opportunity to access vital life skills or spend their recreation time doing something that they love.” LoveYourLeisure is driven by the skills and experience Katie developed during her career in banking, sales administration, and as an account manager, as well as several business qualifications - all studied through evening classes as Katie left school at 16. Katie is also a qualified and highly experienced instructor, who has taught successful classes such as Zumba, Piloxing and baby massage to generate the income required to set up her business. Katie says “So often people waste their time in front of the TV engrossed in someone else’s pretend life when there’s so much out there that they could be doing and really enjoying. Love Your Leisure makes it much easier to be more active, try local classes, or even find a new passion. We’ve truly got something for everyone, so whether you’re looking for a class where you can spend some time bonding with your little one to a class that will help you get fit, to a class that gives you the creative outlet you so badly need, we’ve got you covered. Life is short and time is precious — love your leisure time and learn something new today!” www.loveyourleisure.com katie@loveyourleisure.com 0161 883 0915
Special Offer Do you run recreational classes, or know someone who teaches classes? Love Your Leisure are offering our readers & their friends 3 months free promotion for their classes. Simply click this link to take advantage of this offer. Share with your friends, and let those looking for classes find yours
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e believe in exciting children, parents and carers by creating beautifully crafted furniture that will fit in any room and stay in families for generations to come. Not only will these chairs promote good seat posture – which is very important for young children, they will also give them that all important feeling of independence. With a more contemporary take on the classic English wingback chair and a choice of colourful fabrics these chairs are elegant yet comfortable. And because we only want the best for our children, the materials we use make these chairs robust and durable, so it will definitely survive the little knocks from everyday life.
www.treasurechairs.co.uk
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wanted to turn normal mums from my classes into independent Mumpreneurs by sharing the successful business I had built up around my own young children. The franchise route was too costly for the SAH Mums I wanted working with me to buy into, so I trained everyone in the necessary areas, and gave them 50% of my own established classes under license in return for a commission and ongoing business development.
www.petporia.com
absolutely love and don’t feel like I am at work at all! Swim Academy for Babies - you have truly given me the freedom to be both a full time mum, wife and career girl!”
Two of my licensees have summed everything up better than I ever could: Eleanor Jones, Somerset License, “Sarah has given me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of being my own boss whilst meeting the needs of my demanding family situation without compromising either. I can honestly say that she has given me my identity back. I am no longer just ‘Ian’s wife’ or ‘Bonnie’s mummy’ but ‘Ellie’ Swim Instructor and Licensee.” Debbie Mynne, North Cornwall License, “Swim Academy has enabled me to be there for my family and enjoy life to the full yet still be financially stable. I have so much more time to spend with my daughter, I feel like I am always there for her yet still have a fantastic and very worthy career, which I
Image courtesy of Khalile Siddiqui Photography
www.swimacademyforbabies.com/contact Text: 07595 744082 (I will call back as I can’t answer the phone in the water)
Designed with the modern parent in mind, Born In Britain, are a true luxury baby changing and accessories company.
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ith my first child Jasper I went in search of a changing bag. But, having scoured the market I couldn’t find anything that was functional whilst still fashionable. I gave up, used an ordinary black bag and went back to work. Then the twins showed up! Again I went on the hunt for a suitable (and this time larger) changing bag but was left frustrated and uninspired. I wanted a bag big enough to keep everything I needed for Jasper, Charlie and Aryella. However I did not want to lose my identity. I wanted a bag on my arm that represented me as an individual. This led me to launch KeriKit. Using my wealth of knowledge and understanding of the market, I have worked hard to create beautiful, luxurious, Italian leather handbags that are functional, and fashionable, using the finest workmanship and leathers available.
Founded in the UK, we value British heritage and design. Using the finest raw materials to create stylish yet functional pieces that every parent will desire. A Born In Britain changing bag discretely allows a stress free and easy baby change when out and about, taking parents from play to work in effortless style.
For more information on the range or to become a stockist, please see contact details below:
www.borninbritain.com hello@borninbritain.com 07717 696 776
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um of 5, Carolyn Frew, launched Prams with Pizazz and so far is soaring for the skies!
Kerikit bags change with you as you go through life thanks to the handy removable organiser lining, and numerous internal pockets. Kerkit caters for mothers, fathers and business professionals, who want to be organised and make a statement at the same time.
Before launching the business Carolyn was an Aeronautical Engineer then she stepped into full time motherhood to have five children, who have now since grown up enough to allow her to shift some of her focus to all things business.
Kerikit bags get you from A2B stress free - looking fabulous!
Keeping the prams in line with their original classic and iconic look, Prams with Pizazz pride themselves on only restoring prams these British heritage prams to a level which even the Royal Family would be proud to use.
The first very limited edition range of 50pcs per style launches Fall 2015 To pre order please visit the website!
Prams with Pizazz offer a bespoke restoration design service for all coach built prams; they have had customers across the whole of the UK and even Belgium! Carolyn prides herself on the high quality level of service and end result which she delivers to her customers.
We can supply and make a bespoke designed pram and also sell prams fully restored and ready to go!
www.kerikit.com contact@kerkit.com www.twitter.com/kerikitbags www.facebook.com/kerikit
www.pramswithpizazz.com 01292 281 283
Virtual Assistants
Helping Make YOUR Business Stronger
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o matter what type of business you’re in, whether you’re a solo-preneur or large company, you cannot do everything yourself. Not only are there not enough hours in the day to do so, there’s also the stress and pressure you’ll be putting yourself under, just trying to do it all on your own! In large companies it’s an easier concept to understand. You have a sales team, administration team, marketing team etc. In a smaller company however, the lines can often get crossed, leading to even more stress and overwhelm – and this is where a Virtual Assistant can be worth their weight in gold. From the Navy to dry land! I wasn’t always a VA. Prior to running Your Executive Secretary Limited I was a Logistics Officer with the Royal Navy! After a life changing event in 2008, I reevaluated life and realised that it was too short – and it was during this time that I thought I’d created a new industry of “pay as you go, ad-hoc admin support”. On researching this “new” innovative business idea, I learnt it had actually been around for about 15 years and had a name – Virtual Assistant – and I hadn’t created the next big entrepreneurial revolution! Your Executive Secretary – Y-E-S! Although you don’t need a formal qualification to be a VA, I did decide to go and train with the VACT (Virtual Assistant Coaching & Training Company, a company I now own). During this training I learnt the importance of having a team of associates to support you – providing back up support in the event of an emergency, sickness, work overload etc. This was the start of my team of VA’s joining Your Executive Secretary.
It doesn’t matter how big (or small!) your business is Virtual Assistants (or VA’s) can help you save hours of time, whilst helping your business to run smoothly. They give you the chance to have an additional team member, working remotely for your company, on a self-employed basis. VA’s can cover a range of tasks, as they neatly slot into your business as secretary, office administrator and/or PA. An example of some of the common tasks we are often asked to perform are: •Social media management •Business administration •Event and special occasion planning, to ensure your special event runs smoothly and hassle-free! •Call answering service. •Personal assistant-type work •Lifestyle management An opportunity to train with an award winning Virtual Assistant. Having achieved success in my own VA business and having an amazing team to support my clients, I wanted to spend more time training, coaching and mentoring VA’s. I’m passionate about creating exceptional VA’s – and I do this through inspiring, challenging and supporting them. My own core values underpin everything I do; commitment, open and clear communication, honesty, loyalty and integrity, and I apply these attributes, not only to my own business, but also to those of my clients, all my VA’s and their businesses. Award winning Virtual Assistant, Amanda Johnson provides remote solutions for small to medium sized businesses through her company Your Executive Secretary. Their dedicated and bespoke service offers you access to a broad range of secretarial, administrative and organizational skills as and when you need them. As part of the Virtual Assistant Coaching and Training Company, Amanda offers training to those wanting to become a VA. You can contact Amanda by telephoning 01202 872061 or through her website at www.y-e-s.co.uk or www. vact.co.uk . On social media, Amanda can be found tweeting as @Execsecamanda or @ VATrainingpro
Mumpreneur 100
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e are French Grey Tales in Morpeth Northumberland. FGT started its life in May 2012.
Back in 2009 we started our family. Our first born child Daisy Welsh was born very early she was a 24 weeker, born 2 hours past the abortion limit and weighed just 1lb 7oz. She won her fight for life and came home to us in December 2009. We then had baby number two a bit of a shock we had little George a 31 weeks and I had two babies and a 11 month age gap, not for the faint hearted! After such an traumatic experience came Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, after being advised to take medication from our family GP I had another idea and began painting for our home. After finding Chalk Paint and being so impressed with the results I soon got the bug and when my husband came in from work I would hand over two babies and take my paint a brush and audio book into the garage and paint. It was so therapeutic that it began to heal all the stress that I had been carrying around. There was something so lovely about taking something tired and old and making it pretty again and giving it a new lease of life. I remember laying in bed one night and saying to my husband I think I could do something with this and asked for £100 and I would spend £50 on furniture and £50 on paint and I would start a little business. There was me and one other lady painting professionally in the north east and that was it really and I LOVED doing it. That was it really I started a little Facebook page and that was it I began talking to my Facebook page like a mini online blog and it grew and grew and grew.
I also wanted to offer other workshops so I started off offering Lampshades, crochet and of course painting workshops. I really wanted to be different from the other business doing similar and decided very early on that we would offer chairs to paint as part of the workshop. That way people would get something to take home and use as a reference also its very different painting a piece of furniture rather than a board flat on a table. French Grey Tales is now the top selling paint stockist in the UK and with our own tinting machine we are able to offer the full Autentico paint range to our customers. How do we sell so much? …. Well everything we do is around the paint, it’s the absolute centre of what we do, we have a team of 6 and in that team, we all paint (allot) and are able to give advice and help because we all paint. The other thing we talk allot about is colour. We try to avoid painting with the whites and creams and work with as much colour as possible and everything is painted with Autentico from the outside to the walls floors and even the stairs, so that when people visit they can see and feel the different finishes and see lots of different colours. As well as painting we have added to our workshop list all sorts of thing from candle making to dress making. We are a making shop, whenever you come into FGT you will find someone painting down stairs and Sewing upstairs in our FGTSTUDIO our knowledge is a shared and open thing. At FGT you can come in and buy a lampshade or painted piece of furniture or you can come on a workshop and we will show you how to make it yourself, or you can come along and pick up all the bits and pieces to make it yourself and we will help you do this if needed on the phone or our Facebook group. FGT making things pretty. FGT motto is “she believed she could so she did” and that’s in everything we do and when you come to FGT you should feel like you can too.
It became so busy that I had a put the children into nursery one day per week and the business seemed to grow as the children grew. In August 2013 I found the perfect little shop and decided to take the jump to take on my own shop. It was at this point I became an Autentico stockist and after deliberating over my first order I became a Autentico Chalk Paint stockist. I had always been very open with my knowledge and skills and had always encouraged others to paint themselves so workshops were a natural progression and as well as paint
www.frenchgreytales.com
Mumpreneur 100
Mumpreneur 100
Sara Pritchard When Sara and her friends realised what a problem it was to find fun and interesting events for their children, she decided it was time to provide a solution!
Mumpreneur 100 products and services to support children with additional needs, and a Daddy Days section, as well as reviews and recommendations from other parents. Plus we’ve teamed up with businesses all over the UK to bring you amazing vouchers and discounts to help you save money while keeping the kids entertained. Not got the FYI Kids app yet? Download it now for great ideas to keep the kids entertained anytime and anywhere!
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y name is Sara Pritchard and like most, I’m a busy mum who juggles work life with family life. One day, my friends and I got talking about how fed up we were of trying to find up-to-date information about what to do with our kids locally, where to go, and what products and services would make family life easier. With nine children between us, ranging from age 2 to 19, we were always looking for ideas and recommendations to help us cope with the mammoth task of keeping everyone happy and entertained (just imagine - no more cries of “I’m bored!” or “This is for little kids!”). For parents, word of mouth is incredibly important when it comes to finding things for our kids to do. A recommendation from a friend is priceless, a rubber stamp on trying new events or activities. But how do you find up-to-date information if your friends aren’t passing on recommendations, if you’re trying to keep different age ranges happy or if you have a different budget to your friends? I then realised there had to be a better way. So I created FYI Kids. FYI Kids is your solution! FYI Kids is an information service for parents and carers of children, age 0 to teens. Our easy-to-use website and FYI Kids app brings you up-to-date information about what to do and where to gowith your family. You can search by age, activity, region, radius, or even keywords. There’s also information about family-friendly products and services, keeping your kids safe, dedicated pages for events,
FYI KIDS is about supporting small to medium size businesses reach parents across the UK. Most of clients I have spoke to are juggling family and work just like me, they are working really hard and find it incredibly frustrating that a lot of the time they pay out for advertising which quite frankly does not deliver. Well those days are gone! FYI KIDS ensures that it reaches parents and allows companies to change their adverts to suit their business needs. So if you have an advert for Halloween, Bonfire Night and Xmas well you can have all three for the price of one advert! No more out of date adverts! Its been a long time coming and I have encountered several hurdles, learnt a lot along the way and shred a lot of tears. However I honestly would not change a thing, I had a dream that I could support parents and businesses across the UK and FYI KIDS allows me to do that. We have huge plans for 2016 and all I can say is watch this place. If you have a company that market to parent then please sign up for your FREE listing now by visiting our website, www.fyikids.co.uk.
www.fyikids.co.uk
Performance & Creative Arts at Baston House It’s been two years since Fiona Treadaway started teaching at Baston House School. When she joined, the school had little provision for the Arts and she knew that championing this area could benefit the pupils and the school as a whole. Fiona teaches children who are on the autistic spectrum and she tailors her lessons to each individual pupil to help them benefit from – and engage with – the Arts. Through doing this, she has seen her learners blossom and grow in confidence. The first step of her mission was setting up a ‘wake and shake’ session at the start of the school day to introduce the pupils to dance. Since then, this has developed into choreographing routines for school shows which the pupils and staff take part in together. In the last two years, Fiona has choreographed, written, directed and produced six productions including 50 Years of Doctor Who, The Time Machine and A Baston House Carol. The next one is currently in production. Fiona believes that when the pupils take on the roles of characters for the shows, it can help them to step outside the challenges they are facing in real life. This is an important skill she encourages to help learners try out in everyday scenarios to help them cope with difficult situations. The productions also help pupils to work better as a team and, when the big day arrives, it’s always a busy but rewarding occasion where everyone works together. The learners build and paint the props and, on production days, the whole school – pupils and staff – come together on stage, behind the scenes, showing the guests to their seats and preparing and serving food afterwards.
POSITIVE ABOUT AUTISM In 2014 Fiona promoted the great work of Baston House School’s learners when she took pupils’ artwork and photography to Autism’s Got Talent and she is planning a bigger and better exhibition for this year’s show at the Mermaid Theatre in May. She is also hoping to take a group of pupils to show their work at Artists for Autism UK in Wakefield, Yorkshire, where learners will have the chance to use the skills they have learned through the school productions to perform a short speech about their work. Every week, Fiona runs Tank Club where learners build and paint toy tanks from kits. Attendees have been building a set of tanks and developing rules for a game with them that uses a wide variety of skills from across the curriculum, including art, DT, history and maths. The pupils involved are planning to display the game to 7,000 people from across the world at Salute, a war gaming show held at Excel in May.
As a result of Fiona’s vision and leadership, Baston House School is now a registered Arts Awards and Arts Mark School with great plans and ambition for the future. Fiona said: “I have performed and taught all of my life and having encountered some young people in my private work who were on the spectrum – whether they realised it or not – I wanted to move away from the mainstream and involve myself more in that area. “I could see from the difficulties that such children can have interacting with society as a whole that they needed help and that I could facilitate with that. On that basis, having decided that I had more to offer those young people who need to relate to the world in a way that most take for granted, I set out to use my particular skill set of dance, drama, art, Reiki, relaxation and therapy techniques, complemented by my other areas of interest (cooking, travelling and speaking Mandarin), to see if I could help those young learners for whom our big world can seem such a challenge. “Although the work can be hard, tiring and stressful, working at Baston House is one of the most exciting, challenging and worthwhile things I have ever done. “Baston House School provides an amazing safe and caring learning environment where our learners are nurtured and encouraged to flourish. I am very fortunate to be working with such a great team and some wonderful children and young people.”
Visit www.bastonhouseschool.org.uk for more information about Baston House School
Opportunity of a Lifetime for Strictly Super fan...
Anna Kennedy
A
nna Kennedy OBE was given the chance of a lifetime earlier this year when she was chosen to take part in the first ever version of Strictly Come Dancing open to members of the public. Although she wasn’t the overall winner, taking part in the show meant that Anna raised awareness about autism – which both of her two sons were diagnosed with as small children – and had the time of her life as a self-confessed Strictly addict. The six contestants on this very special Comic Relief version of Strictly were all everyday heroes and heroines who have worked tirelessly to help others. Anna, who was nominated by her family, was chosen from thousands of nominees which is testament to the lengths to which she has gone to raise awareness for autism. Anna and her husband re-mortgaged their house to enable them to set up a school for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and they now run two schools, a college and a support website. She also helped to raise money for Comic Relief to support vulnerable children in the UK and Africa. Anna, who has had tap dancing lessons but hasn’t found time to dance for a while due to her busy lifestyle, found out she was going to be a contestant when she was surprised by one of the show’s pro-dancers – Robin Windsor – during
Photo courtesy of Fiona Whyte Photography
OBE
a spectacular flash mob dance. Once her name had been officially confirmed, she received a huge swell of support through social media. During the four-part series, each of the exceptional contestants was given a pro-dance partner from the show’s talented line-up. Robin became Anna’s mentor throughout her time on The People’s Strictly which included several weeks of training time to learn the dance routines before the show aired. They travelled around the UK and Europe to find out about the history of their individual dances to help them connect to the dance and really bring it to life. The shows themselves were presented by Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman and the final result was decided as part of the night of entertainment for Comic Relief. Although the well-known panel of Strictly judges gave scores, these were for guidance only and the winner was in the hands of the public. Anna wowed the judges with her Charleston and was given a perfect score of 40 but missed out on the glitterball trophy which went to Cassidy Little, a former Royal Marine who lost his leg in a tour of Afghanistan, due to public votes. Anna said that being part of The People’s Strictly was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that it was an even better experience than becoming an OBE.
Has your life been affected by Autism or do you know someone whose has? Do you know someone who is always putting others before themselves and deserves an extra-special treat? Nominate them now and they could be part of Wear It For Autism. Wear It For Autism is looking for mums, dads, grandparents children and carers – who either have autism themselves or care for those living with the condition – to have a full makeover and take centre-stage in a super-stylish fashion event at London’s Millennium Hotel, Knightsbridge on October 6th 2014. Nominations are open now until the end of June 2015. Celebrity judges will select winners from across five categories; mums, dads, young carers, children with autism and adults with autism. All the winners will be treated to a top-to-toe makeover by styling experts and take part in the Wear It for Autism catwalk show. Anna Kennedy said: “The idea behind Wear It For Autism was to spoil those who usually never get a chance to treat – or even think – of themselves. Living with autism can be challenging and extremely demanding so we wanted to create a special event, that would be fun for all involved – as well as raise vital funds to campaign for the rights of those with this disability.”
If you know a parent, carer or child affected by autism, or if you want to take part in Wear It For Autism, nominate now at Send in your entries lisa.robins@thevines.org.uk
Award Winning Websites
Like many of our peers, Mumpreneur UK is predominantly an online organisation. We don’t have a high street store for people to walk into and browse around.
On 27th August 2013, a little Squidge was born.. Olivia Summer weighed a whopping 9lbs and was delivered by my partner Oliver, in our house at the bottom of the stairs! A few weeks later, Supermum Surrey was born.
Even those who do take the leap into bricks and mortar businesses have to Speaking to like-minded mums it soon became apparent have a strong online presence. that there were very little places for mums to advertise their small business.
Our websites are our online shop windows and as such we need to With the help from my partner, we created a Facebook page ensure that they are kept updated, and started networking with mums with small businesses regularly, cleaned, polished and all across Surrey. made attractive to allw ho see them.
The aim of Supermums is to provide some exposure for all you hard working mums. I strongly believe that if we all help each other and recommend each others activities, products and services, then everyone will benefit.
That’s what the Mumpreneur UK website Awards are all about rewarding those who’se online presence is a credit to them and their Supermumuk Ltd is a website where small and work from home businesses in Surrey can advertise in our directory, businesses. Take a look at some of last months Website Award Winners and find out all about them!
we launched just under a year ago and have come on leaps and bounds! We
are
so
proud
You can enter your business for a to have won a website award here! Mumpreneur award for our website!
We really look forward to launching Oxfordshire & Sussex in 2015 and on the look out for reps to launch in other counties. Please do get in touch if you would like to get involved!
www.supermum.org
Website Award Winners
Hi my name is Claudine Marshall and I set up OurKidsLikeToys.com in September 2014. This was after my youngest son went to school, and 9 years after leaving my full time career as a senior chemical engineer, to raise our children myself. Now with my children at school, I had some spare time, and felt ready to have just a little bit of the career thing back and so ourkidsliketoys.com was born... my third child.
I
started hand stamping as a hobby when my children started school and nursery, I made little gifts for family and friends and the feedback was fantastic, with many people asking me if I had a website that they could order from. So taking that as a very good sign I decided to start with a Facebook business page and Bo Belles was born! The page was very popular so the next step was naturally to create a website. My aim was to offer great quality, long lasting personalised gifts and keepsakes that people can treasure for years but at affordable prices. My main mediums used in my products are stainless steel (jewellery grade for the jewellery) and aluminium, but I am also now venturing down the sterling silver route which is very exciting for me!
My background before this was customer service which I hope is something that shines through and sets Bo Belles apart from other HS companies, I genuinely do pride myself in providing great customer service, and feel extremely thankful to be able to have turned what I love doing into a way of helping pop some money in the family pot!�
www.bobelles.co.uk
We are a small online business, that offers toys that are just a bit unusual. Style and design is the core value to each and every item we sell. We offer a small selection of unique and robust toys to get kids playing, such as balance bikes, rockers, toddler ride-ons and swimming aids. These are all from outstanding New Zealand, European and UK brands such as Wishbone and Early Rider, that children (and parents) love. We look for gifts not widely available on the high street, and that add real value to play time. That is why you will never find the latest electronic craze with us. We love outdoor play and so initially most of our products are based on this.
There are so many products to add to our range of toys and we are only now in a position to do this. We are delighted with the response we have gotten over the past few months and plan to just keep growing and growing and having fun!
www.ourkidsliketoys.com
Website Award Winners
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y name is Liz Pilgrim, I’m a mum with 2 kids – I had the idea for MaternityBuyer.com having launched a maternity & baby shop, babye in 2003, to fit in with kids after a marketing career.The business was really successful despite the economic downturn and we launched online.
W
e are Puddy Jax, a little childrens gift shop based in Lancashire.
Puddy Jax was created by myself ‘Lisa’ in 2013, a business with family at its very heart.
Disaster struck in 2011 when my lovely shop was destroyed in the Ealing riots which was heartbreaking and although we reopened, with rising rent & rates it just wasn’t viable. I was approached by two brands I sold to represent them as their Agent (Boob Design, Babylonia). As both a Retail Buyer and Agent, I noticed it was difficult to find trade B2B information on maternity brands, and decided to launch a trade website/magazine: MaternityBuyer having built up a valuable database of UK retail buyers. MaternityBuyer connects maternity brands with maternity retail buyers with articles, features and a trade directory. I sell advertising website & newsletter banners & ads. I also offer training and consultancy & hope I inspire other mums to launch their own businesses. I love what I do and love that being my own boss allows me to be the mum I want to be – a strong role model for both my son and daughter.
Facebook: maternitybuyer Pinterest: maternitybuyer Instagram: maternitybuyer Linkedin: lizpilgrim Lizpilgrim.com Twitter @maternitybuyer.com
www.maternitybuyer.com
Why Puddy Jax, i hear you say. Well Puddy Jax comes from the combined nicknames of my 2 little boys. I myself have a background in accountancy and fashion but with being a mummy to my 2 boys found i was constantly trying to find ‘The perfect gift’ for them and gifts for our family and friends children so this was when i created Puddy Jax. My Sons are my constant inspiration behind the range and many of the products have been tried and tested on them as well as my nieces and nephews!
All of our products are specially chosen with love in the hope that they will bring happiness to the children they are bought for. We have Tooth fairies and Rag dolls, Cuddly Teddy bears and Cheeky pirates all meant as companions to take on special adventures, becoming your little ones new best friend. Puddy Jax is still a very small business but keeps me busy around family life, my crazy boys, football and being a mummy, we hope you might pop by and visit us sometime www.puddyjax.com
www.puddyjax.com
Website Award Winners
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ellow Carousel children’s store was launched when the arrival of a new baby triggered a career change and a passion for seeking out special gifts for a young family. We take great care over selecting our beautiful collection of toys and children’s products. With so much choice out there for parents we found our niche in focusing on products that either shine because of their great design or that deliver luxury quality and an ethical focus. Much of our range is made from traditional, sustainable materials such as wood and bamboo, manufactured with care and creativity and often handmade. We also stock many Fairtrade and organic cotton products. We particularly love to search for both British and Danish design as this results in some really cool, fun products for children. A browse through our website will return a mixture of traditional, classic toys and modern quirky treasures. We are delighted to display a Mumpreneur award on our homepage as it provides reassurance to anyone visiting our website that we really do care about the customer experience that we offer. We want our customers to love Yellow Carousel as much as we do and to keep coming back for more!
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ums Warehouse is a gift website, launched by two Oxfordshire Mums Jacqui and Sarah who have sourced lots of unique and original gifts especially for you. Mums Warehouse mission is to bring the hundreds of original and unique high quality gifts we have found in small craft fairs and local markets up and down the country to you under one roof, inspiring you to browse. Many are handmade and a lot can be personalised giving a very unique gift! Mums Warehouse has personally handpicked lots of ideas from talented mums throughout the UK. Immortalise your family by using Scrabble Art, one of our best sellers creating a bespoke and timeless picture. Or capture fingerprints of your loved ones set into a solid silver charm, which can then either be used as a necklace, charm bracelet or cufflinks.
Mums Warehouse, to help entertain your little ones, have sourced from Sweden a range of funky, portable play tents and tool kicks, which are great to inspire imaginative, play for your children. We also have a great selection of hand knitted booties for the babies. Mums Warehouse does the thinking for you, providing gift ideas and cards made be hand for every occasion. For Valentine’s Day, why not treat someone to a Lucky Silver Heart Locket, for Mother’s Day why not gives your Mum our original Silver Spring earrings. For Father’s Day we recommend the Rugby Stamp Picture, if the occasion is a Birthday we have a wide selection of ideas for all age groups including teenagers! We also have a fantastic range of oven to tableware, which is another one of our best sellers and would make a great wedding or anniversary gift. Take a look at our feature in the Oxford Mail.
www.yellowcarousel.co.uk
www.mumswarehouse.com
Website Award Winners
W
hen Sammy Teather left her full-time teaching job last year, she decided to set up her own business and return to her roots as a professional graphic designer. She wanted to help mumpreneurs and small business owners build their own successful businesses. However, she soon realised that the businesses she wanted to help could not afford to hire a design and marketing agency, often becoming prey to cheap, off-the-peg solutions. Working with her business partner Kim, a digital and social media marketing expert, the idea for www.BeYourOwnGraphicDesigner. co.uk was born. They tracked down the best free-access design software, creating a unique package of design and marketing tutorials and videos accessible online either as complete packages or for just £10 per month. Mumpreneurs can now learn how to take control of their own visual presence. Because all the training is online, you can learn step by step how to design your own professionallooking marketing materials at your own pace and at a time which suits you. Advice and support is included through a members-only Facebook group.
In October 2014, I launched Tendre Deal, the UK’s first members-only online children’s boutique 100% Kids and French designers (on clothing, toys and small decoration). Tendre Deal brings mainly independent French brands via regular sales events to British parents who are keen to add a ‘French touch’ to their children’s style. I am a French mother of two young girls who couldn’t help but dress them in French clothing brands. As I did this, I realised from discussions with other British mothers that there was a real hunger and interest in ‘French style’. I knew there was a real business opportunity to reflect the UK’s wonderful mix of cultures and combine the two aspects of my children’s national identities. Tendre Deal was born out of this awareness and my passion for the ‘French touch’. Tendre Deal presents carefully selected French brands to members on www.tendredeal.co.uk where once signed up have access to ‘chic’ children’s brands at affordable prices (with discounts up to 70% off). I also tell the story of the brands and establish the dialogue on my blog. All of the brands showcased are offered in small quantities, for a limited period of time, so parents get very personal boutique experience, with the added benefits of the big discounts.”
Enter the exclusive competition on www. b e yourow ng raphicdesig ner.co.u k/mumpreneurcompetition to win the special Mumpreneur beginner and business package, and join the Be Your Own Graphic Designer Community!
www.beyourowngraphicdesigner.co.uk
www.tendredeal.co.uk
Website Award Winners
Do you want an easier, safer birth experience? Hypnobirthing is a proven method that is easy to learn and has a number of potential benefits including: • Empowered parents • Less pain and medical intervention. • Calmer babies At Hypnobambinos we understand just how important decisions about your pregnancy and parenting are, and we want to give you the tools to enjoy this journey. The essential skills and knowledge we teach will help you feel more confident and in control, any fears or anxieties can be eliminated and leave you feeling ready to embrace birth.
Lucy and Belle is a one stop shop selling luxury gifts for little people and their mummies too. Lucy and Belle was established after the arrival of my identical twin daughters, Lucette and Annabelle. I had always wanted to run my own business and their arrival was my light bulb moment. They helped me appreciate what is out there for little people and, more importantly, what is not there. It was seeing such a gap for luxury baby gifts and accessories at affordable prices that led me to start Lucy and Belle.
We recognise that every family is different and our antenatal courses are designed to help you discover your own personal path to parenthood – with fully qualified Hypnobirthing instructors offering information and strategies to empower you throughout your pregnancy and the birth of your baby.
At Lucy and Belle HQ we pride ourselves on providing a wonderful online shopping experience and going the extra mile for our customers. We are a family run business and we truly care. We strive to deliver first class customer service and, as standard, we wrap every purchase and supply a gift card which may be personalised, a perfect service for busy shoppers! Our antenatal hypnobirthing courses are the first step towards a fun and fear-free journey into parenthood so join us for a free taster session at a time convenient for you!
“Thanks to HypnoBambinos, my husband was an amazing support through my labour and my daughter was born into a beautiful and calm environment”
www.hypnobambinos.co.uk
We stock a handpicked selection of products from a range of fabulous well known and more unique cutting edge brands so if you are looking for something special for a baby, little person or mummy do take a peak in our online store, you won’t be disappointed.
www.lucyandbelle.com
Website Award Winners
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oalapak delivers arts, crafts and science projects for children aged 3-8 straight to your door. The company was founded by Georgina, a mother of two, after struggling for a while to find the time to come up with ideas for projects as well as source the materials needed to engage in hands-on activities with her children. She then spoke to other busy parents who thought it was a good idea and would make it easy for them to provide fun, hands-on learning opportunities for their kids as well as spend quality time together. From there, Georgina started putting together activity packs for friends and family and soon enough word spread and Koalapak was born. Koalapak wants to make it easy for you to access creative activities that spark your children’s imagination and curiosity, encourage hands-on learning as well as enable you to spend time discovering, making and playing together. Each Koalapak is personalised with your child’s name and includes an exciting new theme, 1-4 activities plus all the materials required to complete the projects. In addition, all of the activities are linked to the EYFS framework and the KS1 and 2 National Curriculum.
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y journey into entrepreneurship started as simply an enjoyable hobby, as I loved to search online for unique and unusual items for my children’s bedrooms. I have two little boys aged 3 and aged 5 years old, and like many mothers, I had ideas of the quality and designs I wanted but often couldn’t find them on the high street or from mainstream retailers. Soon, I realised that I was pretty good at researching and collating ideas, and decided to share them with friends and family. After receiving positive feedback about my choices of toys and furniture, I decided to take the plunge and turn my hobby into a fully-fledged business! The result is ButterflyOccasions.co.uk, which provides a collection of some of the finest ideas for children, including toys, gifts, furniture and even wallpaper, from the UK and beyond. It is designed to provide the more discerning parent with a one-stop shop for great ideas that aren’t available on the high street and most of the items I stock aren’t available from the big online retailers either. Most of the furniture is designed by smaller manufacturers and talented individual designers. The furniture in particular, has been chosen for its innovative designs and quality materials, with many items offering fabulous space saving or multi-usage benefits too.
Mumpreneurs are invited to try Koalapak for 50% Off.
I only handpick the highest quality toys and gifts. To provide additional help for parents, the items can also be categorised by their educational and developmental benefits, as I particularly wanted to help people to better understand which types of toys stimulate different aspects of their child’s development.
www.koalapak.com
www.butterflyoccasions.co.uk
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t is frightening how many parents and grandparents don’t know basic baby and child first aid.
Working as a trainer for 10 years in the corporate world Kate placed huge energy on making her training classes engaging, relaxed and a great learning experience. It is after all so important to remember what we have been taught. Kate decided to give up work to spend more time with her young children and see less of the motorway. Transferring her skills as a trainer to develop a memorable class to share the essential skill of baby and child first aid was Kate’s middle of the night idea. Kate launched Mini First Aid to provide two hour affordable classes, teaching parents, grandparents and carers in a relaxed and informal way to know what to do if that first aid emergency every arose. Kate class is specifically designed for those who have attended her classes to feel confident to carry out CPR, deal with Choking, Bumps, Breaks, Bleeding and Burns and have an awareness of Childhood illnesses. The response has been over whelming and Kate is now planning to open franchises across the UK. Kate loves what she does, the feedback and job satisfaction is amazing and she gets to hang out with her children too. The Mini People in Kate’s life are most important and they are to all the Mums, Dads & Grandparents who come to her classes. For more information on what Mini First Aid do and for franchise information please see www.minifirstaid. co.uk or email info@minifirstaid.co.uk
www. minifirstaid.co.uk
www.EcoToyStore.co.uk
Fashion
stilettos flats versus
We all love a good heel for a night out and we all love a good flat for the day but we’re sure that there’s been some confusion... heels and flats shouldn’t be pigeon holed for specific occasions! We’ve been searching for heels that are great for the day and flats that work for the night - and who said women can’t compromise?
Fashion
GLITTER STILETTO £14.00 Primark
stilettos
UP ALL NIGHT £115.00 CJG
WE LOVE PARISIAN £70.00 Office
PHANTOM £55.00 Office BROOKS £85.00 Dune
flats Fashion
STYLISTPICK £9.99
FLOOZIE BY FROST FRENCH Debenhams £20.00
WE LOVE KNEE HIGH GLADIATOR SANDAL Dorothy Perkins £45.00
KNOT TOE POST MULE SANDAL F&F £10.00
FREEMONT LATTICE SANDAL Miss Selfridge £25.00