Parents in Business Magazine

ISSUE 2 • JANUARY 2019

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Gabriela Hersham CEO OF HUCKLETREE

Parents share their productivity habits

changing your mindset as a parentpreneur

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CONTENTS ISSUE 2

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www.parentsinbiz.co.uk

JANUARY 2019

6 NEW YEAR, NEW YOU? Time to get a little bit reflective.

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FREE

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IN CONVERSATION

CELEBRATING MOTHERS DAY

Jacqui Dunkley, owner of Jacqui’s daycare.

Mothers rock.

IN CONVERSATION Gabriela Hersham CEO of Huckletree.

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STARTING UP A BUSINESS?

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10 things to consider.

RELATIONSHIPS Your relationship with yourself.

SELF-SABOTAGING? Playing small? Here’s how to fix it.

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UP YOUR GAME A plan for your business marketing.

PROTEIN PANCAKES Fluffy, delicious pumpkin pancakes

16 SPECIAL FEATURE Habits that increase productivity.

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PARENT ENTREPRENEUR

ONLINE SAFETY

Changing mindset.

Keep your business safe online.

Parents in Business magazine is available in digital and print.

Don’t forget to follow us on social media we love getting to know you!

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CONTRIBUTORS MAXINE KERLEY DIGITAL MARKETING CONSULTANT AND COACH FOR PARENT/FAMILY FOCUSED BUSINESSES Maxine Kerley is a digital marketing consultant and coach for parent/family focused businesses. Launched in Dec 2016 she helps business owners have more fun with their online marketing and less overwhelm through training, confidence building and insight. www.digitalbonbons.com NGOZI WELLER, CO-FOUNDER OF AURORA WELLNESS Aurora Wellness is a company that enables and equips professional women to overcome their self-limiting beliefs and behaviours through their comprehensive three-tier “Pause Think Act” programmes. www.aurorawellness.uk RENATA TREBING, FOUNDER OF NOURISH WITH RENATA AND RECIPE DEVELOPER Renata is a wife, mama, and foodie and loves delicious, healthy food. Renate loves creating good recipes that taste good. She is all about nourishing your body through amazing, healthy, and, most importantly, delicious food. www.nourishwithrenata.com RUTH KUDZI, BUSINESS & MINDSET COACH, BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND BUSINESS MENTOR Ruth Kudzi is a qualified business & mindset coach, bestselling author and business mentor. She has worked with 1000’s of people to help them start and scale their businesses through coaching, courses, programs and her membership. Ruth has written a bestselling book and has been featured on ITV and in Thrive Global, Woman & Home, Psychologies Life Labs, Huffington Post and The Guardian. www.ruthkudzi.com SARA BUSSANDRI , WRITER, AUTHOR & MENTOR Sara Bussandri is a Content Writer and an Author. She helps personal brands and small businesses with their blog content. www.sarabussandri.com VEE ROBERTS, BRAND AND MARKETING CONSULTANT COACH A mother of 4 children Vee is dedicated to serving and empowering business owners developing credible, consistent brands using online and offline strategies. www.vee217.clickfunnels.com/optin BHAVINI LAKHANI , GRAPHIC DESIGNER Bhavini is anindependent graphic designer specialising in branding and design for print, and is a mum of 2. She’s based in Milton Keynes, with a client base that spans global brands such as Conti Espresso, Barclaycard and British Gas, as well as local businesses across the UK. www.b81designs.com

Do you like what we do? Why not become a guest contributor.

Let’s collaborate contact bridget@parentsinbiz.co.uk Magazine designed by B81 Designs www.b81designs.com Disclaimer views expressed in the articles are those strictly of the authors. Every effort is made to ensure that all information given is correct but Parents in Biz limited accepts no liability for inaccuracies, errors or omissions that may occur or their consequences. This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Copyright includes (and not limited to) the content syndication of the RSS feed of this publication. The content and images used in any of the articles of this publication. The Parents in Business Magazine logo and any of its derivatives.

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EDITOR’S WELCOME Welcome to the second issue of the Parents in Business magazine. This issue covers everything to get your 2019 off to the best possible start with articles from upping your marketing game to mindset.

You’ll find valuable pieces of business wisdom with the turn of each page we have a special feature where we get the views from 8 parents on habits they have that increase their productivity, a theme that we see from all of the eight parents is organisation is key.

We have interviews from two parents Gabriela Hersham CEO and founder of Huckletree were she tells us about how she came up with the idea of Huckletree, challenges she faced and about her fairer funding campaign. And Jacqui Dunkley an experienced childcare practitioner who has been running her own daycare for 13 years she tells us how her values show up in the work she does, challenges she has faced and proudest moments.

Happy reading!

Bridget

Bridget Daley Editor

www.parentsinbiz.co.uk

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Book Recommendation

You Are a Badass at Making Money Jen Sincero Having read great reviews about this book, I decided to give it a read it’s a fantastic read Jen Sincero offers practical steps that you can take in each chapter.

You are a badass at making money is the book you need if you've spent too much time watching money land in your bank account and then roll through your fingers.

Jen Sincero went from living in a converted garage to travelling the world in 5-star luxury in a matter of years and knows all too well the layers of BS one can get wrapped up in around money, as well as what it takes to dig your way out.

Available on Amazon.

Frustrated with the state of the children’s rooms? Need help getting them in order?

Child Wellness Experts; MK Kids Interiors designs amazing spaces for children, that have a positive impact on their development and wellbeing. Call us now to book a consultation.

02032873722 | www.mkkidsinteriors.com | info@mkkidsinteriors.com

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G N I M O UPC NTS EVE UR O FOR Y RY DIA First Fridays Networking Group Friday 1st February 2019 Location Space@61 , 10:00 – 13:00 Tickets via Eventbrite

Freelance Mum at St Paul’s February Networking Event Tuesday 12th February 2019 Location Saint Paul’s church, Coronation Rd, Southville, Bristol, BS3 1DG, 10:00 – 12:00 Tickets via Eventbrite

First Fridays Networking Group Friday 1st March 2019 Location Space@61 , 10:00 – 13:00 Tickets via Eventbrite

Lead from Within An exclusive 4-Day Luxury Retreat for Women

Thursday 25th - Sunday 28th April 2019 Location Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa, West Sussex, UK Further information contact www.ninakhoo.com

National Freelancers Day 2019 Thursday 20th June 2019 Location Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG, 10:00 – 17:30 Tickets via Eventbrite

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New Year, New You? Ring all the bells, ring all the bells - 2018 is dead, long live 2019! Or so it goes. At this time of year, after the joy and jubilation of the season’s festivities have simmered down, we all get a little bit reflective.

A little bit eager to banish the excesses and inadequacies of the past with hastily made and easily forgotten New Year’s resolutions.

We want this fresh year to be bright and shiny like never before!

We stare at our unblemished desk diaries as if looking into the pure white bliss of our souls; willing for us to make lasting, transformative change. Each of us becomes The Little Engine That Could (“I think I can, I think I can,

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I think I can…”) making demands of our fragile selves that we really have no business making.

And then it happens. The crash and burn, the slip and slide, the inevitable fall from grace.

Whether it comes one week, one month or, as in my case, one day from January 1st (What? The school run can be stressful!), all but the most bloody-minded will waver in their resolve at some point during the month. It’s

inevitable; we are only human after all. It’s a universally acknowledged fact that gyms are busiest in January, full to bursting with optimistic Get-Fit-Quick’ers keen to show off their Christmas Fitbits (or at least, so I’m told, I’m too scared to go back to mine). By February things have settled down again leaving only the true enthusiasts to jostle over the functioning treadmills.

So, what then? Do we allow ourselves this little blip and carry on regardless? Or do we throw the whole thing out as futile and give up altogether? New Year’s resolutions should not be another reason to write yourself off as a failure. They are supposed to inspire you, to encourage you and to challenge you, but that’s it. It is not a measure of success.

You can break your new year’s resolutions and still be #winning.

Some need the framework of a guide, and others don’t. There is no right or wrong way to improve your life, so long as you take it one day at a time. If that is you, then you’re in luck. I have designed a personal planning tool that breaks down your goals into bite-sized, manageable chunks that you can steward along the way. A decade and a half as a project manager in Oil and Gas have taught me a thing or two about project planning, and new year’s resolutions are the ultimate life project plan!

Step One: Goal setting First, you need to identify the goal. Sounds simple enough, this is where the self-reflection comes in. When the midnight hour approached on 31st December 2018, were you pensive? If so, what about? Did you have regrets or were you simply thankful for the victories? The thoughts that

were preoccupying your mind are likely the areas you want to focus on for this year. Career, family, friends, physical and mental health are the typical focus areas people seek to improve.

Choose something in your life that you either want to do or stop doing, rather than something to be (too nebulous). Try to pick only one, as this increases your chance of success. Whatever you choose, do so wisely.

Your goal has to be SMART:

S - specific M - measurable A - attainable R - realistic T - time-based

Once selected, you need to translate that goal into something that resembles a tangible objective. Saying “I am going to eat healthily” is all well and good, but what does it mean? Have you failed if you eat a single packet of crisps? Far better to resolve that “I am going to lose 1 stone by 31st December 2019”. Now you have something to work towards.

Step Two: Break it down Now that you have identified your objective, you need to break it down into bite-sized nuggets.

The prospect of losing 1 stone in 12 months may seem daunting, but when broken down into just

over 1lb per month, it suddenly seems manageable. Slice and dice, however, suits your goal best. It can be broken down chronologically, or into other categories that make sense for you. The important thing is to break this overall goal into smaller targets that are easier to visualise.

Step Three: The devil is in the detail For each of your mini targets, how do you plan to get there?

Failing to plan is planning to fail, or something like that. List the resources that you will need to make it happen; time, people, money - they all matter. For each, think what you need to do to activate those resources and to make them work effectively for you. If your plan is to lose 5lbs in the first quarter of the year and then 1lb a month after that, then you will need to revolutionise my diet and exercise habits to kick-start that weight loss. You will need to brave the gym, take new classes, and factor the additional cost into your monthly budget. You may need to rope in a friend to join you so that you can cheer each other on when things get tough. The point is don’t just dream it, plan it!

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New Year, New You? Step Four: It only counts if you count it They say that a watched pot never boils, but I beg to differ. If you have made a commitment to your resolution, then you have to steward your progression towards it along the way. How else will you keep yourself honest? That is why it helps to have a SMART resolution so that you can find a quantifiable way to monitor your performance throughout the year.

You can easily track that you are on target to lose 5lb by April. It would be much harder to assess whether you ’re still “eating healthily” if you’d wolfed down a discarded hamburger from your kid’s Happy Meal that one time.

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Step Five: Just do it!

Now that all the planning is concluded, it is time for action.

If you said you were going to work out more regularly, don’t wait till Monday to start. Nothing will change unless you actively change it. So, get up and get moving, your time is now!

If this works for you, great, I have translated these steps into a stylish Aurora Wellness 2019 year planner. You will find it on our website www.aurorawellness.uk.

We are also running interactive online productivity and wellbeing workshops that will guide you in achieving your goals, details on the website. If you don’t, then just try to focus on doing

the things that will bring you joy. And remember that you are already fabulous, so just continue to shine! Enjoy this new year, whether you resolve to or not, for it is entirely yours to own.

Ngozi Weller Managing Director Aurora Wellness www.aurorawellness.uk

creative thinking innovative designs

B81 Designs

hello@b81designs.com

www.b81designs.com

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In Conversation with Gabriela Hersham CEO of Huckletree Gabriela Hersham is the CEO and founder of Huckletree. Inspired by New York’s coworking scene, in 2014 she founded Huckletree to bring together London’s most innovative startups, entrepreneurs and businesses. Now counting three workspaces in Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, White City, and a fourth in Dublin, Huckletree is one of London and Dublin’s fastest growing coworking communities.

Gabriela is passionate about startups, technology and design and was a speaker on the Future of Work at TedXMorganStanley. She actively supports female entrepreneurs both in Huckletree’s community and beyond, and serves on the advisory board of several startups.

As Huckletree’s CEO, Gabriela spends the majority of her time recruiting top-level talent to join her team. She believes in the power of creating a strong team culture and takes great pride in seeing her team enjoying their work environment.

She lives in London with her husband, Antoine and son, Jack, who is nearly three.

What’s your career background?

After graduating from Regent’s University in London, I entered the film industry and spent a few years studying acting and filmmaking over in New York.

Where did the idea for Huckletree come from?

Whilst I was working in NYC, I ended up working from a shared office - at the time I didn’t even know it was called ‘coworking’! I was really inspired by how much everyone was learning from and collaborating with each other.

I headed back to London, did a lot of market research and in 2014, launched the very first Huckletree. Based in an amazing heritage building in Clerkenwell, it quickly became home to a thriving community of early-stage startups, freelancers and creative

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thinkers… and it all grew swiftly from there.

How do your values show up in your work?

The values that probably come across most in my work are a belief in hard work, belief in treating people the way you’d like to be treated yourself, coaching others to keep going when it seems their events may not book out, & supporting other people to achieve their dreams.

What makes Huckletree different from other co-working spaces?

We initially curate our members on business fit to make sure we’re building organic, engaged communities of entrepreneurs working in relevant fields.

For example, our White City workspace is digital lifestyle

themed, and we’ve curated a really strong community of VR/ AR gaming studios, fashion and lifestyle brands, digital

media agencies and ParentTech scaleups. We also curate our members based on what we feel they’ll personally bring to our existing community, too. We’re not a serviced office. Everything we do aims to help our members grow their business, whether that’s expert advice from our network of Ambassadors in the tech and creative industries or intros to the most hands-on VCs in the UK and Ireland. We’re really proud of the Alpha Programme, our 12week accelerator programme for pre-seed startups in London and Dublin. We don’t charge fees or take equity - it’s about bringing the most exciting, renegade founders into the community and helping them supercharge their businesses. Our existing

communities love the opportunity to get involved and mentor the up and coming startups, and it’s really inspiring to see them grow (and continue to afterwards most tend to end up becoming fully fledged members!).

How do your values show up in the work you do?

Our values are literally spelt out in neon on the walls at every single Huckletree! The first is ‘Stay Curious’. We’re constantly striving for greater knowledge in the world of tech and beyond. Practically, it informs our community curation and cultural programming especially. We’re proud to host world class events for our members, from how to embark on international expansion with

Uber to goddess meditation in our in-house Meditation Yurt!

The second is ‘Be Renegade’.

We live to challenge the norm, and we pursue the unexpected with our new hires, content, interior design and beyond.

What are some challenges you faced early on and how did you overcome them?

When I was raising my first big round of fundraising, I was seven months pregnant, which became a bit of a challenge when meeting investors. I was visibly pregnant and more than once would-be investors would pass over me and engage with my Co-Founder, Andrew instead.

It’s sadly not unusual, as many female founders have had their dedication to their business questioned, just because they’re having a child. In the end, we just kept pushing to find investors who got Huckletree - and got us, too. It’s just as much you vetting them as them vetting you!

Now, one of our biggest challenges is finding incredible

locations for future Huckletrees.

Every building we’re based in has a strong cultural legacy.

Huckletree D2 over in Dublin is based in a historic Irish setting, The Academy, which hosted poetry readings by Yeats and is name checked in Joyce’s Ulysses. For us, it’s never about taking a floor in just any building that’s available. It needs to have a special energy that inspires our members as they build their businesses.

Would you like to tell us about your fairer funding now campaign?

Over the last few years, we’ve heard many anecdotes across our communities, and personal networks about some of the struggles founders are facing and have faced

when seeking investment. Earlier this year, we surveyed 200 entrepreneurs in the UK and Ireland about their experiences - and the results were shocking.

For example, 28% of female founders had experienced discrimination when seeking funding, whilst only 17% of BAME founders felt there are equal opportunities for all founders.

Based on those findings, our Fairer Funding Now campaign is calling for greater diversity in the startups receiving funding.

We believe all founders, regardless of their background, age, race, gender and sexuality, deserve a fair opportunity to raise funding. We kicked off the discussion in London with a panel debate featuring leading initiatives ColorinTech, Accelerate-Her, Mums in Technology and Crowdcube.

Last week, we took the conversation to Dublin where we invited the VC community to debate how investors can expand their pipeline and encourage underrepresented founders to seek VC funding. We’ll be hosting more events and sessions for underrepresented founders in our community and beyond in 2019, so keep a look out!

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What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

and The Family’s Co-Founder and CEO, Alice Zagury.

I’m a secret adrenalin junkie!

I love sky diving, cliff jumping, anything that gets my blood pumping and me away from my laptop screen.

Can you share one piece of advice you would give to a parent who is starting a business?

How do you manage your time between family and business?

Try not to feel guilty about dividing your time between your business and your family. You’re building something amazing, and ultimately, it’s for them, too.

Currently, balancing work and home life is my biggest challenge.

It’s really important to me to spend quality time with my son, Jack and husband, Antoine.

That can be really hard as Huckletree is growing incredibly quickly and demands a lot of my focus. Right now, it’s all about making sure I’m home in time for Jack’s bath and bedtime.

When it comes to practical solutions, we have a Kids Studio at Huckletree West, which is really helpful when I need to bring Jack along with me. I can get work done, whilst he plays happily alongside me. Knowing that I (and our members) have that flexibility is really important.

Who inspires you?

I’ve always surrounded myself with people from all walks of life, who are building incredible things. I get a lot of inspiration from my friends who are building their own businesses, and within our communities, there are so many entrepreneurs and thought leaders including The Collective UK’s Amelia Harvey, Dream Reality Interactive’s Dr Dave Ranyard

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3 Ways You May Be Self-sabotaging in Your Business and How to Fix It “There is no passion to be found in playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living - Nelson Mandela”.

Playing small and self-sabotaging. You may have come across these phrases before. But when it comes to running your business, what do they mean and why do they matter? Being your own boss means you don’t have a board of directors to answer to. You make your own decisions day in, day out. But often it means that unless you become intentional and strategic about the targets you set for your business, you may lack direction, underachieve, or not progress as fast as you’d like to.

If you’ve ever felt that way, just know you’re not alone. We all tend to make decisions that keep us well within the confines of our comfort zones. We often hold ourselves back, even though we’re capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for. Whether we do it subconsciously and unknowingly, or whether we’re aware of it, we’re playing small and, often, self-sabotaging for fear of failure and fear of success.

So let’s look at some of the ways you may be inadvertently doing this in your business, and how you may be able to fix it.

You are undercharging Do you charge an hourly rate? Or do you charge for the value your product or service provides to your client? Setting your prices is one of the first things you’ll do when starting your business. And it’s something that you certainly need to continuously monitor and review. Undercharging is something a lot of first-time entrepreneurs can be guilty of, especially if you come from a corporate environment where pricing decisions were out of your remit.

However, not charging your worth can be really detrimental to the success of your business.

Not only do your prices have a direct impact on the bottom line, but they can influence your brand positioning too. Are your

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prices in line with what your ideal clients are expecting to pay for the products or services you offer? If your prices are too low, your offering may be perceived as low value. Can you see how by undercharging you may be inadvertently self-sabotaging in your business?

How to fix this?

If you feel you may be undercharging, ensure you review your prices frequently. Benchmark yourself against your competitors, and consider charging for the value you offer and the solutions you provide, rather than an hourly rate or a small mark up. Remember that you are a professional in your field, and your clients are happy to pay for your experience and expertise.

You are procrastinating “Now it’s not the right time - maybe I’ll do it next year”. Or “I’m not ready for this - perhaps later”. Have you ever used these ‘excuses’ or ‘delaying tactics’ to talk yourself out of doing something in your business? Sometimes not doing something may be the right call.

If it doesn’t help you achieve your targets or goals, then stay focused and don’t let anything side-track you. But if you’re often talking yourself out of brilliant ideas that would move your business forward, then you may be self-sabotaging.

Pushing yourself out of our comfort zone and attempting something new is scary. It’s risky.

When we’re stepping into the unknown, our brains don’t have

any data to fall back on. We can’t rely on previous experience to know if something is going to work out or not. Will we fail? Will we (metaphorically) fall flat on our faces and embarrass ourselves?

How to fix this?

Pushing the boat out in your business can feel scary, but it can also lead to amazing growth, both personally and professionally.

So by all means, look at the pros and cons of a situation, and analyse the risks before making a decision. Going out of your comfort zone doesn’t mean you have to be reckless! But if you’ve done your due diligence and something feels as exciting as it feels scary, it’s probably right.

You don’t want to spend money If you’re just starting out in business, it’s only natural that you’ll want to be cautious and keep your costs down. When we’re strapped for cash, we tend to go for the cheapest or free options available. We pick free content over paid-for training and courses. We choose the free software over more expensive solutions. The list can go on.

But while that can sometimes work out, ‘free’ or ‘cheap’ have their downsides. Often the free solutions are the ones that take the most time to implement. If you want to get up to speed with

accounting for your business, for example, you can either spend your evenings trawling the internet looking for free advice, or you can hire an accountant. You may just find that in a couple of hours they’ll be able to tell you everything you need to know and more!

How to fix this?

While you have to budget carefully, especially in the early days, paying for products or services can help accelerate your business success. Investing in yourself through training or coaching, for example, can feel scary. But if it helps you to repay your initial investment a lot quicker, or if it saves you a considerable amount of time that you could use in more efficient ways, isn’t it worth it? Bear this in mind next time your first reaction is not to invest in something.

Only you can make it happen Remember, when it comes to your own business, only you can determine what happens and how fast you develop and grow. Your thoughts and actions influence the decisions you make and the direction you take. So, will you start keeping a close eye on situations and scenarios where you may be self-sabotaging in your business?

Suggested books The Big Leap,

by Gay Hendricks She Means Business,

by Carrie Green Playing Small,

by Tara Mohr Sara Bussandri Content Writer and an Author www.sarabussandri.com

When it comes to your own business, only you can determine what happens and how fast you develop 15

8 Parents Share Their Habits That Increase Their Productivity We can all get days where we feel like there simply are not enough hours to get everything done. How many times have you sent up a silent prayer for the children to sleep a little later than usual or wondered if you could get away with putting them to bed just a little earlier so you can get things finished? Being a self-employed parent is a real juggling act, so we have got some awesome views on habits that increase productivity from eight parents who have been there too.

Organisation is Key A theme that we see from all of our parent pros is organisation. It pays dividends to stay on top of the to-do-list, and there are some great free tools available that

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make organising and planning a breeze. One of our parents extols the virtues of Asana, and this is just one of a myriad of online tools, that can be tried and tested for free, with extra functionality on offer if you feel you need it.

Plan blocks of your day and look for the opportunity to multi-task.

Can you listen to podcasts while you go for a run, or catch up on emails while waiting at the school gate. If you set aside time to do each specific task you will be less worried when things get busy. You can safely ignore emails until their allotted time arrives because you have allowed for that in your day.

Prioritise Your Life All of it, from business to home life, decide how to give everything a priority level and stick to it. That means that homework, bedtime routines and other children activities that will soon slip away forever as they grow up need to have a high priority. There will be business tasks that need to sit at the most important end of the scale but avoid thinking that everything has to be done right now. Sometimes it is ok to put something to the side with a lower priority. You can organise your software to show tasks in priority order just remember to add the home and family tasks in there too.

Productivity Has Many Rewards Apart from the obvious side effects of having more time and less stress, being able to function more productively will bring you benefits you could only have imagined. The more productive you are, the more business revenue you will see, whether it comes as a result of having more time to secure new contracts and customers or whether it comes as a result of impressing your clients with your speed and accuracy, more work will follow.

At home things will feel calmer, your family will be happier, and you will probably sleep better too. An organised mind has a lot less to worry about because everything will suddenly have a time and place of its own. But don’t take our word for it, do have a look at what our fantastic eight have to say and see if you can learn a thing or two.

SPECIAL FEATURE Melanie Taal Prambibs www.prambibs.co.uk Techniques Melanie uses for increased productivity are structured multi-tasking and working into the early hours during which she focuses on marketing her business, while during the day Melanie commits her time to product development in between the school runs.

Dr Rosie Knowles Sling spot & Sling surgery www.sling-spot.co.uk www.sheffieldslingsurgery.co.uk 1. I use a project management app- asana, which is really helpful.

2. I have email and messenger on my phone but make use of the “away� messages so I can see things come in and decide whether or not I need to respond immediately or if it can wait. The away messages mean client doesn’t feel forgotten.

All of it, from business to home life, decide how to give everything a priority level and stick to it.

3. I am very committed to ensuring parents feel listened to so quick initial responses matter; that buys time.

4. I am good at sorting tasks into urgent and important, urgent but not important, important but not urgent, and not urgent and not important; this helps to decide what I need to do now, what I can delegate and what can be left for now.

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Abbie Coleman Founder of MMB Magazine www.mmbmagazine.co.uk

of qualifying coffee meetings can save you so much time and give you that 45min coffee meeting of a wasted 45 minutes to work with people genuinely interested in your business and who value your services.

Sam Farmer www.samfarmer.co

Lisa Borrie So... Visualise www.sovisualise.co.uk Say no to coffee!

I know this almost sounds counter-productive after all you are trying to get your brand out there and attract more business so surely you want to meet everyone, surely taking a coffee meeting is productive?

Well, in short, no it’s not, it could be one of the biggest drains on your productivity.

You get a call/email from someone who loves what you do and would love to meet up for coffee to discuss, off you go for a coffee only to find out what they really want is your services for free with some vague offer of support in the future. You leave feeling annoyed that yet again another coffee has been a waste of time, sound familiar?

Make sure you ask why they would like to meet what are they interested in discussing, any genuine contact will answer honestly and openly, and from there you can make your decision. This simple habit

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Getting up early is the stereotypical response, but it genuinely helps to start the day without any interruptions.

Using a list App like Clear keeps business ‘to do’s’ separate from personal and keeps me focussed on what needs to be done.

Lisa’s productivity is increased by creating a work plan for each client. Lisa co-ordinates a team of artisan creators and keeps in constant contact with them and the client, so communication is as clear as possible. There’s no such thing as a working day, as Lisa’s flexible approach is key to the success of her business.

Also not watching TV/YouTube/Netflix frees so much time.

Dani Attard

Kate Campbell

Comgem

Kate Campbell Fitness

www.comgem.com

www.katecampbellfitness.com

6. Use my fitbit to monitor sleep (this is a must) 7. Combine a coffee date with networking 8. Use buffer and Plan for scheduling posts

I have to work flexible hours to fit childcare duties around running the business. I find compartmentalising my work helps, as when looking after kids you can keep their attention for bursts of time, so I find planning my tasks around this is a real benefit and means I can get a lot of small admin tasks out of the way before my working day has properly started. I also find using my mobile and tablet has helped with this as I don’t need to boot up my laptop to return to an important email I can fit it in when my kids are doing something else.

I’m also very honest with my customers if I need to work from home, I tell them I’m happy to take a call or do a demo, but they may hear a child screaming in the background. This has become much more of an accepted thing over recent years, and to date, I’ve never had a customer complain in fact I think it shows you go the extra mile and just like everyone else balancing your work and family life.

9. Use mail chimp for letting people know about my services.

1. I run with my dog Marley with a special running harness we both exercise at the same time plus I listen to Audible usually fabulous business and wellbeing books like life leverage Rob Moore or Kick ass by Mel Robins or chimp paradox Prof Steven Peters 2. Food prepping is a must Sunday’s are my prep days plus internet shop 3. Have an admin day every week 4. Book in the diary a fun family activity with the girls and Dad - could be going to a garden centre or shopping 5. Always sit down every Sunday to catch up with family

Leah Ryz www.leahryz.com

Having worked in technology for several years now, I have come to realise that being able to switch off is vital to not just my overall well-being but my productivity levels. It is possible to have too much of a good thing, and so I do my very best to ensure that I limit my screen time in the evening so that I can get a decent night’s sleep. This isn’t always easy to do, though.

An organised mind has a lot less to worry about because everything will suddenly have a time and place of its own.

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In Conversation with Jacqui Dunkley owner of Jacqui’s Daycare Jacqui Dunkley is a childcare practitioner she has 5 children aged 26, 24, 22, 16 and 12. Jacqui has 5 grandchildren.

Jacqui studied a nursery nurse diploma and qualified in 1991. She went on to work in schools and day nurseries across Haringey. Jacqui has also worked in private nurseries and played a vital role in becoming a parent governor in a local school.

Jacqui runs her own daycare and is registered to care for up to 12 children from 0-18 years old Jacqui employs a full-time childminders assistant.

How did you come up with the idea of Jacqui’s Daycare?

Some of my daycare values are respect for everyone and to value and care for others feelings.

I have always wanted to own my own business in childcare since I qualified as a nursery nurse in 1991. My first job was in a house that had been converted into a nursery downstairs I always liked the idea of that. 13 years ago when I had my last child, good quality childcare was getting harder to find, and a friend suggested that I set up as a childminder and Jacqui’s Daycare was born.

I used all my experience to set it up in my home with a nursery feel and family values.

My childminder assistant and I are continually updating our skills we go on various courses which enables us to help the children achieve.

We follow the development matters which consists of the primary areas personal social and emotional, physical and communication development.

How do your values show up in the work you do with children?

I teach the children manners, and I encourage manners, my daycare has a family feel, and a majority of the children call me aunty Jacqui it’s not compulsory.

I promote healthy eating, and meals are freshly cooked daily.

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As the majority of the children on the register are in the early year’s foundation stage (under 5), we concentrate on the primary areas which are split into stages birth to 11 months, 8 to 20 months, 16 to 26 months, 22 to 36 months, 30 to 50 months and 40 to 60 months.

We make sure the children are reaching their targets by planning and assessments.

Each child leaves daycare with a scrapbook filled with activities photos and reports from their time at Jacqui’s daycare.

What are some of the challenges you have faced?

Some of the challenges I have faced have been late fee payments from parents and constant late pickups.

How do you spread the word about what you do?

I have distributed leaflets and business cards, but I have found that the biggest advert is word of mouth and recommendations from previous and past parents.

I also attend local children’s centres where parents may visit with their children looking for potential childcare providers.

What have been your proudest moments?

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

1. Is caring for children that were once shy leave confident and ready to attend school achieving all their targets and more for their age.

I enjoy reading, writing, going to different types of events, I have recently started writing poems.

I also like to go for walks.

2. When I hear how highly past parents have spoken of me and my services.

Do you have a self-care routine?

3. Receiving thank you cards and notes.

4. Seeing a card that I made shown on CBeebies.

How do you manage your time between family and business?

I work 7:30 – 5: 30 Monday to Friday only. My evenings and weekends are strictly for the family where I will take my son to events, activities and cinema and spend time together.

If you could go back, what would you change about how you did things?

I would have been more firm and not so lenient with bad payers. I would have changed my working hours earlier I previously worked 7:30 – 6:30 which had an impact on the time spent with my family.

Yes, I do each morning I do various stretches and say positive affirmations shower and get dressed this ensures my day start positively. I recently signed back up to the gym, and I attend 2 to 3 times a week, I prefer the classes as they tend to be more fun.

How do you keep yourself motivated?

I set myself goals and do yearly and a five-year plan, which I check on monthly intervals. I do a personal and a business plan. My children also keep me motivated.

Who inspires you?

Michelle Obama and Maya Angelou

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10 Things to consider when starting up a business When we start up in business, we can be soooo excited to just ‘get started’!

And, aside from having a business plan (if you have one), there are a few things you should consider as basics ahead of getting your business game on. These are listed below, in no particular order.

1.

A professional photo or at least a headshot no head tilted, not pouting, not in a summer top off the shoulder or swimwear. A headshot and if you don’t want a headshot, use a logo as an interim solution.

2.

Talking of logos invest in some kind of visual identity for your business. Consider colours and also font choices and tone before you work on the design.

3.

A website or webpage: Now this could be a landing page or a website it may even be a social media page. For example, I used a Facebook page for a while before my actual website was ready. So consider this as an idea you can personalise your Facebook business page.

4.

9.

5.

10.

A Facebook business page: What is it you want to promote?

A Facebook Business Page is a good idea for that.

A LinkedIn profile will enable you to stay connected with news and updates via company pages, influencers in your industry, other business owners and potential clients and staff members.

6.

A social media scheduling tool I recommend Tweetdeck, Buffer, Hootsuite or Facebook pages manager to get you started.

7.

A business email address (and domain name advised). Try and avoid using Hotmail, and Yahoo email addresses.

8.

Analytical tools for monitoring purposes its advisable to have tools to monitor your online and offline campaigns as a starter Google Analytics and social media analytic tools.

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A business phone is needed you don’t want people calling you outside of working hours, on your personal line.

Set up email for marketing purposes using Mailchimp, Salesforce, Dotmailer, Constant Contact etc.

Email is a cost-effective way to engage and communicate.

Vee Roberts Branding & Marketing consultant coach Insight 2 Marketing www.vee217.clickfunnels.com

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How to Up Your Marketing Game in 2019 We’re here, in yet another year. Hello, 2019. Have you got a plan together yet for your business marketing? No? Well, don’t worry. I don’t think anyone is ever that organised that they have everything in place before 1st Jan and too right too as we should be having some quality family time anyway.

But if you’re keen to get started now so that you have ideas and plans to put into action, I want to take you through how you can get started with that. I think before starting to plan the year ahead you need to take some time to look back at how things have gone and the best place to start with is the positives.

When you’re a juggling parent and business owner it is so easy to go straight to the list of things that we just haven’t done, see it as a failure, fret about how we’ve spent too much time on the business and not enough being a present parent. We give ourselves a really hard time sometimes, and that’s got to stop.

This is why when you start planning your digital marketing for 2019 I want you to start from a good place.

#1 Focus on the Great!

When it comes to starting your planning, I want you to think about and most importantly list everything that you have achieved this year. Think about the amazing collaborations you might have had, the PR that came your way or guest blog posts.

Perhaps a big influencer has formed a relationship with you, and you’re now seeing sales flood in. Think about everything from

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the small to the big because that list is going to surprise you and you are going to feel so good afterwards. Maybe you hit an all-time record for website traffic in June? Maybe one of your Pins went viral? You launched your email newsletter and have grown an engaged list? What has gone well – make a note?

#2 Time to get analytical For your marketing, you want to dive into the stats. You want to see how your activities have actually performed and look for patterns too. Maybe you were particularly active on social media in August, and you can see how your website traffic zoomed up, and sales were huge. This shows that August was a good month for you, maybe your content was stronger, your sales message was clearer, maybe you showed up in your business? Ask yourself these questions and look for the connections of what you did.

Your stats are going to give you clues on how to move forward with your marketing. By spending some time looking at traffic and how people found your site is going to help you make better decisions than just looking at how many followers you’ve got.

#3 Pay attention to the numbers that matter This ties in with the point above.

We can often fall into a trap with Social Media where we want the numbers. To us numbers mean popularity, they mean you’ve made it. This isn’t the case. There is no point have 10K followers if you have an engaged audience of about 500. That 500 is the number that matters, those are your people, your customers.

They are the ones who comment and reply to your stories or pop you a DM. Better yet, they share your content. An engaged following is better than a huge following. When GDPR kicked in back in May this year a lot of small business were worried about there huge email lists disappearing and how re-opting people in was scary because it meant their lists went from 2,000 to 600. However, if you look at your reporting who in your list has opened your last 6 campaigns who has bought from your emails?

GDPR made us do a house clean, and you don’t want people who don’t open and click on your list – what is the point?

None. You want people who love what you do.

Take some time to look back at how things have gone and the best place to start with is the positives. up with another question and ask yourself why you do. What does it mean, what will it lead to as you might just have the right audience there already.

Maxine Kerley

#4 Have fun

www.digitalbonbons.com

Digital marketing consultant and coach for parent/family focused businesses Digital Bon Bons

I love nothing more than getting a big piece of paper and scribbling all my plans down. Get them all out of your head, and then you can start forming them into more of a target plan of action. The most important thing is that you want to have fun with this, it’s your business, your marketing – enjoy it.

Get excited about what you want to achieve. Think realistic – think fun – dream BIG!

This is why it is so important to focus on the people who matter and not huge numbers. When you say “you want to grow your audience” always follow

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Your mindset as a parent entrepreneur When you start your business, you often consider all of the practical elements – your business plan, your strategy, how you are going to get clients, your finances. BUT you don’t always realise that the biggest thing that will determine how successful you are is your mind.

When you run your own business, you are more exposed than when you are an employee. You have to self- motivate, you have to sell, and you have to make decisions that will impact your personal finances as well as the organisational ones. All of these can impact the way that you think and feel about yourself and ultimately how successful you are.

Mindset is one of those words that has seeped into entrepreneurial speak. I, like many, knew it from Carol Dweck’s book (if you haven’t read it I highly recommend it) where she talks about a growth and fixed mindset.

It has a wider meaning in that it is the thoughts that we have about ourselves and these impact our perceived ability to do things.

So what can you do to change your mindset? On a basic level if we are feeding ourselves negative thoughts every day we are unlikely to take positive action. If we don’t address our fears around visibility, we are going to find selling problematic and if we don’t change our belief structure, so we start to think we are good enough to be successful no-one else is likely to want to invest in us.

perceived and real barriers, their relationships. Unless your mindset is in a good place, you are going to find it hard to implement strategies which will make you successful.

We all know that when we feel good about something we get better reactions, confidence is contagious. It is the same in your business – people want to buy from and work with people who know what they are doing.

Reading

In my work as a business coach I spend time working on the strategy and the person – their thoughts, their beliefs, their

On a basic level if we are feeding ourselves negative thoughts every day we are unlikely to take positive action.

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If we don’t explore our thoughts about ourselves and our perceived abilities we may well end up playing small. So, how do we address these? These are some ideas:

Self-development is a growing genre, and there are many great books ranging in subjects from positive psychology to spirituality to money to business to mindset.

Consider what you want to learn about and then buy some of the recommended books to start getting different perspectives.

I recommend: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, Start with Why

by Simon Sinek, Playing Big by Tara Mohr, Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, The 4-hour workweek by Tim Ferris.

Podcasts

Coaching

Ruth Kudzi

Another great source of inspiration and a way to widen your horizons is to listen to podcasts. These can be about specific business topics or wider mindset and personal issues.

A coach can help you achieve your goals more quickly and improve your mindset through practical activities as well as relational coaching which helps you to get to the root cause of negative beliefs and thoughts.

Coaching as a new business owner can seem like a luxury, but it can help you overcome real and perceived obstacles and get clarity and confidence to reach your goals more quickly.

Qualified business & mindset coach, best selling author and business mentor

I recommend: The Brendon Show, The School of Greatness, Amy Porterfield.

Events Events and talks help you to meet other people who are interested in self-development (and often great places to meet likeminded people). What are you interested in? Book up these events.

www.ruthkudzi.com

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Celebrating Mother's Day Mothers rock, I mean let’s face it, they really are a special breed.

When it comes to celebrating all they do then Mother’s Day is one time when you can make sure your mother, a good friend or your significant other gets how much you think they do help the world keep turning.

Multitasking as Standard Now, we are not saying that multitasking is an exclusive mum skill, but it really is one they have to nail, and if you are a self-employed mother then circus juggler could well describe your daily life. From home to the business, school to shopping, cooking, taxi driving, let's face it the list of tasks is pretty exhausting, and yet somehow mothers make them all come together in one neat package we like to call life.

Guys we are not knocking you, but honestly, who is the one that

remembers the dentist needs booking, the cat needs worming and, usually at around the same time, your middle child needs collecting from a friend’s birthday party across town? As Annette Densham, Publicity Genie, www.publicitygenie.com so rightly says: “Mother's Day is a reminder of all the things mums do not only for their kids but the family as a whole. There is not a lot of appreciation for the mental load women carry - we typically the ones who remember to fill in the school excursion forms, make doctors appointment, buy the gifts etc. It is nice to be the focus for the day.”

A Simple Plan So, how can we make sure that mums know just how valuable they are? Planning an awesome Mother’s Day is actually really simple because generally mums expect very little in return and will be totally blown away by the little gestures. Getting up to let the dog out and returning with her cup of tea is an impressive start. Making sure the dishes are done, and the rubbish is out, starts to put you up into the big leagues. Of course, a nice gift is a great gesture but remember it is love and time that makes

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our world go round. Mother’s Day falls on a Sunday, and this means many mums will be able to take a break from work, so having the chance to relax is possibly worth more than perfume and flowers. Arrange a family movie afternoon with popcorn and sweets, take the dog for a long walk and treat her to lunch, the gestures really do not need to be grand to help someone understand that you really do care and appreciate what they do, even if on a daily, chaotic, basis that message might get missed.

When asked for her take on Mother’s Day Rachel Boros, SB Creations, www.sbcreations.com.au had this to say: “Mother's Day is a special day, and I love it when my kids get so excited to surprise me (even though there are usually no surprises because they are so bad at keeping secrets!) It is a day to reflect on all the love we have in our family and to appreciate all the 1001 things that us Mum's do every day/week/month that go unnoticed. I love being able to show my kids every day how hard I work in my business and to teach them the life skills and morals that will hopefully help shape them into good people.

And I guess Mother's Day is a day for me to stop and breathe

and appreciate what I have.

However, while Mother's Day is special, I also feel that my love for my family is unconditional and I don't 'need' a day just for me.

But tea and toast in bed followed by a day of fun is always nice.”

your mother exactly how much she means to you, and if your children are a bit young to tell her themselves then find a way to get their message across too.

Time Means so Much The takeaway here is that time away from the kids and chaos is not what is needed, busy mums do what they do for the love of those special people.

Time to enjoy them while not racing from here to there to get everything done, and a bit of time to allow the mental processes to stop running means so much. So, this Mother’s Day take a few moments from your own busy time to remind

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The Most Important Relationship You Will Have is With Yourself So while you are rushing here and there, you might be aware that Valentine’s Day is looming on the horizon. Now, this can be a day of mixed emotions, for those in a relationship you might be planning a special treat or hoping for a surprise proposal. For those currently single you might wonder why you are even going to get out of bed, except for the obvious task of running your business of course.

Love the Skin You Are In

You Are Enough

How many times have you heard someone say: love yourself, and brushed it off as a trite saying with little meaning?

It is essential, no vital, that you take control of the inner critic and turn his volume level right down. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being aware of areas for self-improvement but these must come with a considerable dollop of love.

Well, as Cupid draws back his bow and hopefully hits all those that want to be loved up straight in the heart, let’s look at why this might possibly be the best piece of advice you can ever heed. Running a business and combining that with all the other demands a busy life places on you can be tough.

Daily life can seem like a balancing act, and you might find yourself wondering why you are not better at everything.

How come you cannot organise your time more effectively, how come you cannot land a significant contract, how come you continually let people down.

STOP! Blaming yourself for things that go wrong is such a common thing, and yet it really is quite damaging.

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Married, single, dating, whatever your current relationship status is, you have been in the most important relationship of your life since the day you were born.

How you treat you, how you think about you, how you punish you, are all reflections you push out into the world.

Those in relationships might find that things are tricky when you are not treating yourself well, you just might not have made the connection yet.

Those who are single and wishing they weren’t, ditto. How you treat yourself, and the relationship you have with yourself resonates into every single area of your life.

Treat Yourself Right So, before we reach February 14th here is a challenge for you.

Spend some time working on your relationship with you.

Being in a bad place with yourself can make you short-tempered, negative, stressed and even sad. All of these traits rub off onto every interaction you have. All of our interpersonal relationships can be so strongly influenced by the relationship we have with ourselves, you could be inadvertently coming across as unapproachable, or

leaving a partner wondering what on earth they did to offend you and wishing they could get near you again.

When the relationship you have with yourself isn’t right, you wear a massive suit of negatively charged armour. If you want people to see the real you, first accept that you are utterly brilliant, absolutely amazing and definitely more than enough.

Then sit back and watch those love hearts bubbling around your newfound positive persona.

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Pumpkin Protein Pancakes These Pumpkin Protein Pancakes are a breeze to make with only 4 ingredients. Plus, they are so fluffy and light! They are also the perfect meal prep breakfast. Make a batch of these and portion them out to have as a quick breakfast during the week.

Ingredients • 2 eggs, separated • 1/3 cup pumpkin puree • 1 tsp ground cinnamon • 1/3 cup vanilla flavoured protein powder, (your favourite protein powder)

Prep time Cook time 10 mins 15 mins

Total time 25 mins

Instructions 1. In a medium-sized bowl, add the pumpkin puree, ground cinnamon and the vanilla flavoured protein powder. Stir well till no lumps remain.

2. In a small sized bowl, separate the eggs so that the egg whites are in the new bowl, and the egg yolks go into the bowl used in step 1.

3. Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form. You can do this using a handheld whisk or an electric mixer.

4. Mix the egg yolks into the pumpkin batter in the medium-sized bowl used in step 1.

5. Fold the beaten egg whites into the pumpkin batter. At first, scoop about 1/3 of the beaten egg white into the batter and mix well - don't worry about deflating the eggs at this time.

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6. Add the second batch of the beaten egg whites and gently fold into the mixture. Repeat with the third batch of egg whites. The batter should be light and fluffy 7. Preheat a non-stick pan over a low to medium low heat. Spray with cooking oil spray or butter.

8. Spoon large tablespoons of the batter onto the heated non-stick pan.

9. Cook the pancakes till the underside is golden brown, and the inside is cooking through. Flip the pancakes and continue to cook on the other side.

Recipe notes 1. Beating the egg whites will incorporate a lot of air, which gives the pancakes a super fluffy and light texture. Ensure that the egg whites are beaten till firm peaks form. This will help the pancakes keep their height.

Renata is a wife, mama, and foodie with a love of delicious, healthy food! Eating good food, that happens to be good for you, is my passion in life.

2. Mix the egg whites into the rest of the batter in thirds. When mixing in the first third of the egg whites, don’t worry too much about over-beating the mixture and deflating the batter. For the second and third batches, be more careful and gently fold in the egg whites.

3.

Cook the pancakes on a low to medium-low heat.

For most other pancakes, you generally cook them on medium-high heat. For these pancakes, lower heat will ensure that the middle of the pancake cooks before the outside burns, and the pancake will keep their light and fluffy texture. It might take a few trials to get the temperature right, but once you find that sweet spot, the pancakes will be fluffy, cooked through and delicious.

Renata Trebing, Nourish with Renata www.nourishwithrenata.com/

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How To Keep Your Business Safe Online Internet security is a vital element of daily life these days; it doesn’t matter whether you are at home or work, the consequences of not staying safe online can be dire. In business you are also responsible for the data you hold about customers and contacts, so breaches in security could spell serious trouble. Here are some great ways to keep your business safe online.

“First, we secure all equipment with encryptions and passwords, including USB devices. Although these aren't used frequently, we are aware that they are still susceptible to viruses, especially when staff members work from home or at weekends.”

William Dobson, IT Support Manager Blinds Direct www.blindsdirect.co.uk Passwords should be random, making them hard to hack. A good password will not contain actual words but rather be a series of letters, both lower and upper case, numbers and characters in order to keep security as high as possible.

Discourage employees from using things like children’s name, memorable dates and other personal details, and certainly do not be tempted to use anything that identifies the company.

“My second tip is to update all computers and web browsers regularly. Finally, I ensure that all members of staff are trained up on our internet security policies and keep an open line of communication with myself."

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William Dobson, IT Support Manager Blinds Direct www.blindsdirect.co.uk Updates are a crucial part of the manufactures responsibility, but if the end user prevents them from running, they are pretty useless. Updates contain security patches, virus defence and other essential elements. Having an internet policy is actually another must-have part of business, all employees should have read and signed up to it before they start work.

“Encrypt your files on Windows and Macs. Search how-to instructions to put this simple right-click in place to protect your data. Avoid browsing plugins tracking you online because it reveals a lot about your activities that can be used against you in a cyber attack. Chrome and Explorer have do-not-track options in their Settings."

John Catibog, Cyber Insurance Specialist, Indagard Insurance Services, www.indagard.com.au Encryption may sound scary

and a bit Hollywood, but it is a very valid point. Even in a small company things like plugins can be disabled before the computer is handed out to the user. It pays to routinely check these things by bringing computers back in for an audit. This gives you a chance to see what has been happening and if needed you can spend some more time to educate staff in how you need them to operate in order to play their part in supporting the security of your data.

“One of the top tips for keeping your business safe online is not to allow remote workers too much freedom in how and where they access the internet.

Of course, having remote staff is great for online businesses as they are able to operate with a flexible, mobile workforce to reduce overheads and boost productivity but it isn’t without risk. Connecting to enterprise and client data over unsecured Wi-Fi networks, and from poorly secured devices, can bring major threats to the security of your business.

www.tigermobiles.com

spaces can be a bad idea in terms of maintaining security, so there use should be discouraged. If you are going to have remote workers, they must have dedicated IT equipment that enables them to do the job. While it might be nice to use their own phone you are leaving a wide open space in your cyber wall where breaches could occur.

Remote workers are an absolute boon to small business as they do not need office space, and they are often happier because they enjoy the lifestyle. However, unsecured networks found in coffee shops and other public

While it might seem quite dramatic and sound over the top, best practices in security are there for a good reason.

They have been developed over time and will be reissued as technology moves on and

There's also an increasing tendency to use your own devices like phones and laptops for both professional and private tasks too when you couple that with using public networks it creates a gaping hole in your cybersecurity."

Brandon Ackroyd, Founder, Tiger Mobiles

updates. The advice above comes from the horse’s mouth as it were, from experts in the field and is designed to help you save time and money. If your data was to form part of a cyberattack and customer details are leaked into the public domain you could face fines or worse.

Financial information about the company could also cause a large headache if it were stolen and improperly used. It takes less time and effort to set up a good security practice than it does to fix the damage caused by a cyber-attack.

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