BusiMums course - connecting Marlborough mothers

By Chris Valli

Being a Mum and juggling children, home life and a small business can be a juggle.

A course run by Business Trust Marlborough is offering a space for mums to come, bring their little ones and spend time with other people in the same position. The venue for the course is at Blenheim’s Little Red Fox Hub and will be run for eight weeks during term time.

The course includes all the knowhow for starting and running a business, including validating a business plan, unique selling points, finances and pricing and covering materials. Other aspects of the course include integrating social media, marketing, health and safety and sustainability.

Business Trust Marlborough Deputy Chair Beth Barnes runs her own business, ‘Button Help’, providing a Help Button to Marlborough businesses with digital marketing, content creation and communication. With having a three and a half years young pre-schooler, she can empathise with the challenges of the Mum and work, life balance.

“I’ve chosen Little Red Fox as the venue which will be able to accommodate for both Mums and kids with activities to be put on for the kids with the playground there,” she says.

Beth says after going to several business networking events the decision to run the course was about servicing a need for Marlborough’s Mums.

“When they are a few months old, it’s fine and you can take them along. But once they start to walk and do what any small toddler does with wanting attention and interrupting, it’s a bit more difficult,” she says. “There’s been a couple of Mums that I have met online and it made me think further that being a Mum is very hard to the business things.”

Beth says from her experience often Mums say they are ‘just doing’ what they think is their little thing or a ‘side hustle’. She says validation of their ideas or creativity needs to be addressed.

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“Their little businesses are just as valid as the big businesses,” she explains. “Sometimes women as Mums don’t always feel that their part-time business around their role in the family is as worthy as big business. It’s about reaching those people and helping make sure they are

Beth says Mums say they are ‘just doing’ what they think is their little thing or a ‘side hustle’. Validation of their creativity needs to be addressed she says.

Sun The

Milestones met on storm-damaged Marlborough Roads

Progress has been made repairing Marlborough’s roads following the 2021 and 2022 weather events. All areas of improved access works have now been completed and a number of committed projects are either finished or underway, Marlborough District Council Transport Recovery Advisor Steve Murrin said.

Council has submitted a request to Waka Kotahi for a further $52.4m to complete repairs for areas outside the Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study area.

For more information on the Initial Recovery Programme go to www. marlborough.govt.nz

Three Waters changes

Mayor Nadine Taylor said the changes announced by Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty are only a minor improvement on the previous proposal and they did not solve any of the key issues around the reform programme.

doing business the right way and connecting those with other Mums who are having the same struggles.”

The cost of the course (with the Business Trust Marlborough subsidy) is $39 and starts on May 2 at Little Red Fox at 4 Alana Street. Spaces are limited. For more information or to register your interest email Beth: communications@businesstrustmarlborough.co.nz

“Marlborough’s voice will be greater with a three-council Top of the South entity than it would have been with the mega-Entity C stretching all the way up the North Island’s East Coast. However this latest proposal is not set in stone. The Three Waters reforms will be a political football in the run-up to the elections in October.”

Mayor Taylor said she would be discussing the latest proposal with the rest of the Council. She would also be talking to Nelson Mayor Nick Smith and Tasman Mayor Tim King.