You're listening to the life friendly business podcast. I'm your host, Erin Thomas Wong, business coach, mentor, author and founder of the cocoon VIP membership, empowering women around the world to build businesses on their terms. If you want to grow and scale a business that works in harmony with your family and your life, this podcast is for you.
Little did I know five years ago when I launched the making mumpreneurs Facebook group that I would find myself in a storm of controversy around the term mumpreneur do I think it's a dirty word? Let's discuss on today's episode. Back in 2018, the BBC published an article saying that the term mumpreneur was patronising. And it was really interesting seeing how much emotion came up in this debate about the term mumpreneur people got really angry people were saying that being a mum has nothing to do with being a business owner, and that it keeps women small, the term keeps women small, and that it implies that people are just running a hobby rather than a business. People also talked about the fact that you wouldn't call a man who decided to work around the kids a dadpreneur. Well, actually, they do. And we will be talking about that in a future episode. But I was fortunate to be invited on to BBC Radio fours woman's hour to debate the term mumpreneur. And it was really interesting because I did actually gain quite a few followers of women who resonated with what I said during that interview. So I thought today, I would just share my views on the term.
Firstly, mompreneur is not a job title, I don't introduce myself as Hi, I'm Erin. I'm a mumpreneur. I'm a business owner. For me, the term mumpreneur allows people to find their community. That's the benefit for me, it allows people to find their community. The definition that I work with is that a mumpreneur is a woman who has chosen to combine motherhood and business. So they work side by side. And for many me included, becoming a mum was actually the catalyst for why I started my own business, I would not be doing what I am doing if I hadn't become a mum, because when I started having children, my perception had changed. My goals changed, my values changed, I actually changed quite a lot. And it made me reassess how I was living my life. And I know that I am not the only one who goes through this transitional period.
I also know that I'm not the only one who wasn't interested in exchanging a 60 hour a week workweek for a 60 hour a week business. What I wanted at that way back then 13 years ago, I wanted to run a business that worked around my family that I could earn good money on, that meant that I was in control of my time. And that, you know, it wasn't dictated by someone else when I had to be in the office. But I also wanted to be doing something that I loved. So it's about flexibility, and fulfilment. For me, the term mumpreneur is actually really empowering. Because we are making the decision that we're not going to follow the trodden path that we're actually going to create our own, that we're going to build a business that we love that makes impact that also works around our family and our family schedule.
I speak to women all the time who've actually left the corporate world because they felt shamed about the fact that they had to leave early, for example, to pick kids up from school, and that they just got to the point where it just felt so uncomfortable being the person that had to leave at 2:30 every day. These women have made a decision to do something differently, because they now have children. And that has changed the way that they are living their lives. It's really interesting as well, the idea about being shamed about having to work part time hours. And it reminds me of a very professional, successful businesswoman that I spoke to one time he told me that she was in the playground picking up her daughter and her phone rang and it was a really important call. She had to answer it. And before she could even think about it she found herself so Oh, I'm at Waterloo, sorry. It's really noisy. I hope you can hear me. And she said to me, I put the phone down. And I was so cross it myself. Why didn't I say I was picking my child up from school. And we all know the reason why she didn't because she was worried that she wouldn't be taken seriously. If she had admitted to that. I do think that lockdown with COVID-19 has improved awareness to employers most definitely about the multiple responsibilities that we have when we have a family. And I think that's hopefully only a positive thing that may change in the future. But the rose review of female entrepreneurship also states that for female entrepreneurs with children, that the primary care responsibilities that they have are the number one barrier to further success.
We all know how ridiculous the cost of childcare is in the UK. And that's one of the reasons why it didn't make any sense for me to go back to my television job. Even though it was a well paid job in London, with London waiting, the cost of childcare in London, far outweighed, and I literally would have taken home a few 100 pounds a month after the childcare costs. The other challenge that came up in the Rose review was about a lack of relatable mentors for these women. And I know that when I started my business 13 years ago, if I wanted to go to a business advisor, it was a man in a suit, you know, the kind to work with accountants and lawyers and go for those breakfast meetings that we can never make as women with children.
And so it's really important for me that I stand up and visible as a relatable mentor. So I know what it's like to be ambitious, and to be wanting to build a successful business, but also wanting to be mum, and wanting to be there at the school gates to pick up your kids and wanting to work more flexibly during school holidays, I get that. And using the term mumpreneur allows those that resonate with that to find me. Now, as you will know, now, I have rebranded recently to life friendly business to go in line with my podcast. And I haven't rebranded away from mumpreneur, to run away from the term or anything like that, I still think that the term mumpreneur is very useful for people to find their community. But the reality is, is that my community is not exclusive to mums. And I'm having more and more women who are coming to me because they resonate with my messages about building a life friendly business, because they want to take control of their career and do it on their own terms and, you know, allows themselves the freedom to pursue other things that make themselves happy. And the more I prepared for the launch of this podcast and thinking about the topics I wanted to talk about, the more I realised that everything that I talk about is really about creating that vision of having a life friendly business. And so it made sense for me to rebrand my business to that.
So do I think mumpreneur is a dirty word? No, I don't. And it is my mission to reclaim it as a positive word. Because the idea that mompreneurs are hobbyists do not reflect the 1000s of women in my community, who are building impactful businesses who are contributing to the economy and raising amazing humans simultaneously. These are incredible women. And this is why I decided to publish my book last year mumpreneur evolution on our terms, which is available on Amazon. And it's a collection of inspiring interviews with the women in my community, who are all building businesses around raising their children.
I wanted to do this because I know so many women feel isolated and alone in their challenges. And I want to let you know that you are not alone. And I also want you to know that it is possible to build a successful business without the stress around your family. And I think the best way to know that and to be sure of that is to surround yourself with other women who get it.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about the term mumpreneur please do reach out on social @lifefriendlybiz, and let me know. But I've just got one last thought to share with you. Is it actually society's perception of motherhood? That's actually under fire here when we're talking about the term mumpreneur. Is the only me that feels like we're some how as women are seen as less than we are before we have children. Somehow we're supposed to be less serious business women, less professional, less ambitious, because we're moms. Have you been in situations where you felt like you've had to hide the fact that you're a mum, in order to be taken seriously, it's just some food for thought. But I think there really is something in there about how we as society, see mothers that is impacting the perception of the term mumpreneur. But I'd love to hear your thoughts. So please do reach out. And I look forward to speaking to you next week.
You've been listening to the life friendly business podcast, which is all about carving your own path and doing it at your own pace. But I know that's not easy to do. So to help you decide what a life friendly business looks like for you, and help you to stick to the boundaries and commitments needed to create that I've created the life friendly business prescription. download this free workbook and spend 30 to 60 minutes reflecting on what life friendly means to you and the changes you may need to make in order to achieve the work life balance you desire. Once you've made these decisions, you can add them to your own printable life friendly business prescription that you can put on your wall to remind yourself that you have the power to design your very own life friendly business. Download yours now at lifefriendlybusiness.com/prescription
Transcribed by https://otter.ai