A network of business mums is like gold, you can ask them honest open questions, you can share your fears and test your ideas. I was lucky to join a WhatsApp group last year of business mums and it made me realise that joining a network of other mothers striving to launch their own brands was a pretty powerful place to be. I started looking for options and found AMotherBrand. What jumped out to me is the great attitude towards business, connection, collaboration, and support – a real 360 approach so I reached out to founder Nonie C White to find more.
Hi Nonie. Welcome to No Mum Is An Island. I am a great believer that no mum or dad should have to do everything themselves, we can’t possibly know it all, and we need all the support we can get, there is a wealth of information out there to help us upgrade our parenting experience, to make our lives easier and this website is a hub for just that! We love that you have upgraded your life by taking your own business launch failure and using it to create a platform so that other mothers have a better support network when they launch their businesses.
Can you tell us more about AMotherBrand and how it can support mums who want to launch their own business?
Hi Jade, yes of course! AMotherBrand & No Mum Is An Island have many values in common so I’m really delighted to be here & talking to you.
AMotherBrand has been created to empower more mothers to set up and grow businesses that give them the life they want. It’s driven by the idea that we only have one life and we shouldn’t ever have to settle. That we can create a life we love, on our own terms. That we can be the present mothers we want to be and create work we love, that works for us.
When you come up with an idea for a business, it may be that you’ve got an idea for a product that’s missing in the market, or a specific skill you’d love to share with the world on your own terms, but you rarely know everything you need to know to run a successful business. I tried to set up a business around my first child and eventually gave up – I found the whole experience incredibly challenging, lonely and overwhelming. I desperately longed for a co-founder, some guidance and a network of people who understood what it’s like to be a new mother and aspiring entrepreneur, but at that time I couldn’t find any of this. I researched the challenges that hold female entrepreneurs back and came up with the idea of AMotherBrand.
AMotherBrand is a membership platform & social network that connects and supports mothers who want to build and grow businesses that work around their families. It is all about connecting mothers to other like-minded mothers who just ‘get it’ and empowering them with the network, mindset, resources and inspiration they need to succeed and thrive.
Starting up your own business is really hard but it’s never just about business. AMotherBrand provides practical support for entrepreneurship but there is also a strong complementary emphasis on wellbeing and personal development too.
What is your dream for the future of AMotherBrand?
I’d love AMotherBrand to become the go-to place for any mother or expectant mother in the UK who is considering building or growing their own business.
I’d love the success of the members of the AMotherBrand community to inspire more mothers to create a life they love, on their own terms.
I believe many of the notions surrounding what we ‘should’ do in life and how we ‘should’ work are really out-dated. I’d love the success of the AMotherBrand community to demonstrate that there are different ways to live and work.
What would you say is the hardest part for a mother setting up her own business and what advice can you give to support that?
There are a number of challenges for mothers who want to start their own business but I think mindset is the biggest. Finance and time-management are also massive issues but even if you somehow nailed both of those, you’re never going to succeed if you don’t believe you can.
There are two ways to address this:
1.Work out what your limiting beliefs are and address them through consistent action. (Actions might studying self-development texts, listening to podcasts, using positive affirmations, meditating, visualising or talking to a therapist.)
2. Find a support network. Connection and community are absolutely the bedrock of your personal success. Friends & family are fantastic but unless they’re also entrepreneurs they won’t understand what you’re doing or why. You need a community around you who totally gets what you’re going through. You need a support system of people who will encourage you to keep going when things are tough and cheer loudly for you when things are going well.
Time really seems another huge issue for mums launching their own businesses, can you give any tips for getting more done in less time?
It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed with ALL the things that need doing, all the time.
- My first tip is to prioritise.
At the beginning of the week ask yourself, what are the top three things that need doing that week? If you tick them off you can always add some more, but start with three.
At the beginning of each day, ask yourself, what’s the one thing you would like to have achieved by that evening?
- Single focus – We need to put all of our focus on one task at a time. Our brain is like a computer – open too many tabs at once and everything slows down, then nothing works well.
- Time block. Go through your week and create clear blocks of time for specific tasks. Include non-negotiables like exercise too. These are usually the first activities we squeeze out in favour of work, but we need to keep them in order to function well.
How about those who lack confidence or worse suffer from imposter syndrome – how can they take the first step to launch their mother brand?
I think the most important thing to do is get really clear on your WHY. Simon Sinek has written a brilliant book on this, ‘Start with Why’. Most businesses usually focus on WHAT they do and HOW they achieve it. Really inspirational leaders start with WHY – the purpose, cause or belief that powers WHAT is it that they do.
A strong belief in your ‘WHY’ is what’s going to see you through when you doubt your ability to keep going. We all feel wobbly at times but by repeatedly bringing your work back to something bigger than yourself you can find the courage to keep that fear in check.
Finally, what is the greatest piece of business advice that you have been given?
Oooh there are so many! I think it has to be find a strong support network. All other bits of advice are great but if you’re feeling lonely and overwhelmed, they’re meaningless. We need connection and community. Together we are stronger.
Read more from Nonie at www.amotherbrand.com or follow her on Instagram
If you’d like to learn more about what you can do to increase your chances of success as a female entrepreneur, download a free checklist HERE
