When I was suddenly made redundant in Autumn 2016 I took it as a sign it was time to try and make those daydreams a reality! We often talk about taking a leap into self-employment but redundancy was more of a push. It was scary starting from scratch with no work lined up but I drew inspiration from women admired online who were pathing the way and generously sharing their journey and expertise.

Fortunately, my love of connecting with fellow creatives across the city served as some accidental networking and before long I had my first few clients. I worked with some wonderful indie business owners, bloggers and designer-makers in my first year of business as a freelance social media manager. But away from my core offering, I noticed that my favourite part of the work were my monthly check-ins with client’s goals, the brainstorming of creative ideas and the chats about their bigger picture that went far beyond the social media plan. It became clear to me that rather than managing things for clients I was being called to support creative business owners in a different way.

From the off, my motherhood and business journey have been closely linked. I became self employed in winter 2016 and by the following Springtime I was pregnant with my first baby.

Knowing I wanted to shift the focus of my business, I took maternity leave as an opportunity to take a proper break. I set the intention to really surrender to new motherhood without putting any pressure on when I would return to work and I was privileged and grateful to be able to do so.

Fast forward to today, I’m now a mother of two – my second child is 3 years old. I have been working as a business and marketing mentor for the last four years, and these days I specifically focus on supporting fellow mothers to figure out ways they can run their businesses joyfully and sustainably alongside raising their families.

I know that motherhood changes everything – it’s beautiful, raw, wonderful, lonely, draining, exhilarating and undoubtedly all-consuming. Something I know something many of us can struggle with the most is having just so little time. Time to focus on our own well-being, our creativity and our businesses is in short supply and can sometimes feel altogether nonexistent. 

But over the last few years, I have found ways to carve out that time, to make prioritising my work and my passions a part of my rhythm. Leaning into practices that keep me grounded, I’ve learnt that a life of intention is more important than one of balance.

It is my hope, that through both my mentoring work and the things I create to share, that I can help fellow creative mamas to feel less alone in their own journeys.

A little more about me…

My husband and I raise our two little long-haired boys in Bristol. Although we love to make the most of city life, we do hope to start a new chapter somewhere more rural in the not too distant future. We dream of finding a patch of land to call our own, somewhere we can put down roots and stretch our wings.

In 2018 I launched a creative business podcast with my cohost and business bestie Franky Shanahan of Love Audrey. We have been ‘co-mentoring’ each other for over 4 years; meeting up regularly to discuss our goals, dreams, struggles and wins. Our podcast Friends with Business Benefits is a continuation of our conversations and is for anyone craving a little solidarity in their business journey.

I’m a typical Pisces, an Enneagram 4, an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs, a ‘Rebel’ tendency, oh and my Love Language is ‘acts of service’. Ok, I may be a tad addicted to personality tests but I believe that self-awareness (not self-improvement) is key to living intentionally and a vital skill in business, parenting, relationships and life.

Some of my favourite (not so) guilty pleasures include listing to the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat, binge-watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer and eating a vast amount of peanut butter every week!