Parents in Business Magazine

ISSUE 6 • NOVEMBER 2019

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Shannon Reed

HANDMADE ARTIST

Tips on coping with Christmas as a single parent in business

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Why do we need PR when we have social media

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5 Creative Businesses

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CONTENTS ISSUE 6

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www.parentsinbiz.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2019

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OUTSOURCING

FOOD

It can help both your family and business.

6 PR Why do we need PR when we have social media

9 SPOTLIGHT Small business spotlight on journolink.

10 IN CONVERSATION Shannon Reed, handmade artist

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2020 Does written content still matter in 2020?

2020 Busienss tips for 2020

Festive recipes for everyone.

Parents in Business magazine is available in

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IN CONVERSATION Serena Nalty-Coombs, Project Management Consultant

SPOTLIGHT

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FESTIVE SEASON First aid for the festive season

BUSINESS TIPS Coping with Christmas as a single parent in business

digital and print.

Small business spotlight on Imagine Me Stories.

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SPECIAL FEATURE 5 Creative businesses

IN CONVERSATION Cynthia Lawrence-John and Rae Sims, Werkhaus Margate

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

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CONTRIBUTORS

SARA BUSSANDRI , WRITER, AUTHOR & MENTOR Sara is a Digital Content Writer who specialises in helping small business owners and podcasters with blogging and repurposing audio and video content into standalone blog posts. She’s a mum of three boys who works around school runs, laundry loads, and football matches. www.sarabussandri.com

NELLA FOULDS, CONSULTANT NUTRITIONIST, MNU CERTIFIED The founder of The Lean Cook and Nella Nutrition as well as co-founder of Pace To Race app. Originally from Surrey, Nella lives in Leicestershire with her husband and twin sons who’ve just started school. She is a qualified MNU Certified Nutritionist. www.nellanutrition.com JULIE HAWKINS, FOUNDER OF SINGLE MUMS BUSINESS NETWORK Julie is Director of KIH Products Ltd and Founder of the Single Mums Business Network. Julie has been a single parent since her pregnancy, and she and her daughter live in the Wye Valley with their dog Tara and cat Pip. www.singlemumsbusinessnetwork.com COLETTE MACHADO, PR AND CONTENT Colette Machado is a former BBC journalist and ex-newspaper editor who now helps business owners to get featured in traditional and online media by positioning themselves as an expert in their field or through their brand story. She has successfully secured media coverage for clients in the UK and internationally in media outlets such as BBC TV Radio, BBC Radio, GMTV (former ITV breakfast television programme), Telegraph Online, Soul & Spirit magazine, Women in Business Radio Show, Huffington Post, Talented Ladies Club, and many local newspapers, blogs and online sites. www.colettemachado.co.uk LEANNE PERRY, PERSONALISED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Leanne Parry created Werk Lifestyle Management she recognised the fine line between business and personal needs, so she formulated a service that can seamlessly transition across both areas, allowing you to have all your requirements met by one person, in one place. A service for businesses, entrepreneurs or anyone who finds themselves needing business support. www.work-werk.com JODIE WEBBER, THE BUSINESSES COMMUNITY Jodie Webber has had a long career gaining valuable experience in Marketing, Print Management and Customer Service.

Following a short career break for some family time, she decided to take the plunge and utilise her skills and experiences to help other local businesses. So in 2017, with a newborn daughter in one hand and a laptop in the other, Jodie started Enfield Businesses (now The Businesses Community Enfield – TBC Enfield). They currently have a thriving Facebook group, regular co-working monthly Jellies and are growing a good social audience as a platform to help their members. www.thebusinessescommunity.com LOUISE WORSLEY, FIRST AID TRAINER Worsley Training is owned and run by Louise Worsley, a professional teacher with an instinctive ability to make learning First Aid enjoyable. Louise Worsley is an ex-geography teacher who has been delivering First Aid courses since 2007. She is qualified through and regulated by Remote Emergency Care and Nuco Training and is, therefore, part of a global network of professional first aid trainers. www.worsleytraining.co.uk BHAVINI LAKHANI, GRAPHIC DESIGNER Bhavini is an independent 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 6th issue of the Parents in Business magazine. The festive season is upon us, and many of us are looking forward to magical family fun, friendly frolics, lots of great food and hopefully some presents! This issue shines the spotlight on parents who are creatives on page 10 we interview Shannon Reed Handmade Artist at Mockingbird Makes we have a special feature on page 26 featuring 5 parents with creatives businesses.

We also interviewed Serena Nalty-Coombs Project Management Consultant, who sparked her daughter's entrepreneurial flair. And Cynthia Lawrence-John and Rae Sims who own WerkHaus Margate.

In this bumper issue, we have two business spotlights Peter Ibbetson, Co-Founder and Director of JournoLink, shares why he and his daughter set up JournoLink and the service they provide to small business owners. And Keisha Ehigie who founded Imagine Me Stories addressing the gap in representation in children’s books for black children.

And continuing with a Christmas theme - would you know what to do if you were faced with a common festive period first aid problem Louise Worsley a first aid trainer covers what to do if an emergency happens. If you’re a single parent, Julie shares tips on coping with Christmas as a single parent in business on page 40.

And looking to 2020 Sara Bussandri, a digital content writer explores what 2020 holds for written content.

Colette Machado, a former BBC journalist and ex-newspaper editor, writes why do we need PR when we have social media?

www.parentsinbiz.co.uk

Bridget

Bridget Daley Editor

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How outsourcing at Christmas can help both your family and Business It can be tough as both a parent and an entrepreneur at the best of times, but add to that, your little darlings being at home and the busiest seasonal time of the year and this can send many of us into overwhelm.

Christmas brings a whole new set of demands on your time as a business owner and parent.

For many businesses this can mean an increase in demand for your products and services, but along with that comes the extra need for resources and time. Having to make those choices between ensuring your business is running smoothly and preparing everything needed for your family to enjoy the festive season is not easy. What should be a joyful time can quickly turn into a nightmare without the correct resources or time.

This is where outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant (VA) can become invaluable to you and your business. A VA can assist with an endless list of business support tasks to assist you in

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meeting that increased demand by acting as an extra pair of hands. A Lifestyle VA can even assist with your Christmas home tasks such as purchasing gifts, ordering food deliveries or

helping with accommodation logistics for visiting family.

Often Business owners are put off by outsourcing due to cost assumptions, but the advantage of hiring a VA is that you can use

their services ad-hoc. This means that when you are experiencing busy periods such as Christmas, you can choose to pass tasks over to them without the commitment of hiring them full time like an employee. This means no holiday or sickness pay, no pension or NI commitments and because they work virtually there is no need to have a physical space for them in your business.

Outsourcing allows you to meet client/customer demand and increase or maintain your operational efficiencies, in turn giving you back more time to deal with the demands of Christmas at home.

• Event & Meeting Support

Here are some of the services which you can pass to a Virtual Assistant:

Leanne Perry Personalised Professional Services

• Diary Management

• Contact Management • Data Entry • Stock Control Many parents choose to start their own business for the increased flexibility it can bring around their family but often forget this along their entrepreneurial journey, as the demand on their time and business increases.

Outsourcing can allow you to enjoy a stress-free time with your family, especially during holiday periods without sacrificing the continuity of your business.

www.work-werk.com

• Inbox Management • Travel Booking • Expenses • Administrative Support • Credit Control /Accounting • Sales & Marketing Support • Project Management • Proof Reading • Online Research • Design Services • Recruitment Administration

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Why do we need PR when we have social media?

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Instagram. Many of us use social media to promote our businesses to get in front of thousands of our ideal clients. It is free, and it can help you get great results. So we don’t need PR, right? Wrong.

Although social media marketing is an excellent marketing strategy for small businesses and gets you in front of your ideal clients, it is no longer enough to be just visible. You have to stand out amongst the crowd, and one way to do that is by getting featured in the media.

So, what are the key benefits of being featured in the media, says Colette Machado?

Positions you as an expert in your field It is not very often that you can go a day without hearing someone on the TV being labelled as an expert. From parenting expert to travel expert, experts are all around us. If you have a number of years’ experience in your field and better still qualifications in your expert area too, you too can also be positioned as an expert in the media.

If your local newspaper or magazine or radio or TV station decides to feature you in their media outlet, this is called a third-party endorsement. Your ideal customers, as well as competitors, no longer see you as just another business coach, but a business coach with a high level of credibility. This in turn inevitably has a positive impact on your business and results in your ideal clients coming to you rather than the other business coach they met yesterday at a networking event.

Attracts opportunities Because being featured in the media raises your profile, credibility, as well as visibility, you are more likely to attract the attention of others, whether they are potential collaborators or partners, competitors, or your ideal clients. Other business owners looking to create partnerships and collaborate with others more easily identify you as someone with credibility who they could partner with. Automatically overnight, you will be seen as that credible, high-profile and trustworthy business owner. If the BBC feels you are good enough to be featured on their TV or radio show, then who needs to question you.

Opportunities can range from speaking invitations – both panel events and at conferences, opportunities to speak to deliver workshops, comment on the radio, and even to be nominated for awards.

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Set premium prices One of the main benefits of being featured in the media is being able to set premium prices. Getting featured on major online sites such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post or top magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Psychologies, Good Housekeeping differentiates you from others who do what you do.

It is, however, one thing to set premium prices and another to actually get someone to pay you premium prices and often business owners who think they should get paid a higher price are not able to show or tell others why.

It is sometimes simply because they see what their competitors are doing and feel they too can command these prices.

Being featured in the media automatically puts you in a position of being able to set, attract, and get paid premium prices allowing you to potentially skyrocket your income and move your business to another level. *Traditionally media referred to newspapers, magazines, radio and TV. With the introduction of social media, however, business owners can now benefit from getting publicity on online sites, blogs, and podcasts. Nowadays, speaking opportunities are also included under PR,

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allowing business owners more opportunities to promote themselves and their businesses.

Colette Machado PR and Content www.colettemachado.co.uk

Is this YOU? DO YOU WISH YOU FELT MORE SUPPORTED WHILE RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS? DO YOU FEEL ISOLATED WORKING ON YOUR OWN? The Parents in Biz Hub is an online community of parents who are running a business, it’s a supportive place where you will feel empowered and thrive.

When you join as a member, you will benefit from workshops, masterclasses and have access to resources designed by industry experts.

Join here www.parentsinbiz.co.uk/pibhub

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SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Peter Ibbetson, Co-Founder and Director of JournoLink, shares why he and his daughter set up JournoLink and the service they provide to small business owners.

I have two brilliant kids, well actually adults now, and two wonderful grandchildren. One of my kids started the business with me based on her experience and my experience. I had been the head of Business Banking at one of the main high street banks and then had been their media spokesperson for businesses during the financial crash. My daughter had spent some time with a PR agency.

The family ownership brings two different perspectives to the business. Experience on one hand, but youth and a genuine appreciation of the buying habits of the sub-age 35 who form the major target market of the business.

Between us, we set the objective of creating an online platform to enable small businesses without a

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large marketing budget to engage with the media in just the same way that big businesses with expensive marketing budgets do through employing PR agencies.

The driver for us to start the business was really the passion that we have for entrepreneurs, and we simply wanted to enable them to tell the world about their successes. More than half of the employment in the UK is generated by small businesses, and the more we shout about their value and importance the better. But historically doing so has been expensive. Our challenge has been to remove this barrier.

Our ‘niche’ is pretty broad.

There are over five million small businesses and around half a million startups every year. No one has genuinely gone about addressing the small business sector, and we have done so by working with membership and business support bodies as the best way to get over the message that it is now within the grasp of all businesses, however small, to get their brands into the media.

Find out more at www.journolink.com

In Conversation with Shannon Reed Handmade Artist Shannon Reed is the founder of Mockingbird Makes, a business she created to support her mental health and the mental health of others through creativity. Shannon mindfully makes knitted, crocheted or embroidered handcrafts (and zillions of pompoms!) based on her customer's designs, she teaches her customers to Make for themselves, and she speaks on ‘Creativity for Wellness’ to inspire people to reclaim their often outsourced creativity in order to support their well-being. Shannon is married with two boys who are 12 and 8 years old (and is expert pompom makers BTW!).

When did you get the idea for your business?

I was looking for ways to support myself between my therapy sessions for depression and anxiety and started to knit and

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cross-stitch. It was such a calming activity for me, giving me the peace I was desperately craving.

I began gifting my Makes to friends and family as a way to allow myself to keep creating.

What’s interesting is, I never had believed 1) that I was creative, and 2) that this type of creativity was a valid use of my time. I just knew it made me feel better.

How did you move from idea to actual business?

My work was noticed by friends, and I was encouraged to start taking commissions. I did this quietly and with long deadlines to be as gentle on myself as possible. It was very important that I grew at my own pace and not compare myself to others.

This has always been a heartled business with the intention of building strong steady foundations for me to grow out of. Self-compassion is one of the key drivers and continues to be so. Working in this way also meant I didn’t need to make a huge financial investment or do lots of upfront research, I could learn on the job all about what people want and how to make that available to them. Still on the job by the way – always learning!

I asked her what she thought I could offer. It was a perfect suggestion. I looked back to my BC (Before Children) life, where I was an innovation consultant helping organisations harness their creativity to grow their businesses, and found some perfect material to share in my talk. It was then that I discovered how I am still facilitating other’s creativity, only now I get to take part as well! Since then I have had many opportunities to speak on both ‘Creativity for Wellness’

and ‘Creativity for Business’ helping people tap into their innate source of inspiration and create safe spaces to take the risks that are needed to be taken in order to innovate.

You also do public speaking we would love you to share with us the topics you speak about?

As I went along on this intuitive journey, I really began to understand how much my craft work had helped (and continues to) heal my heart. And so I began speaking about that on my social media accounts as Mindful Making and how it was helping me and sharing the love with others. I was invited one day by Shona Chambers of Space at 61 to speak at an upcoming monthly networking event called First Fridays. She suggested the topic of ‘Creativity for Wellness’ when

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What’s been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome?

That would be self-doubt/imposter syndrome. I can tell myself lots of stories about how everyone else is better qualified, who do I think I am, why am I not more driven etc, but that’s just my inner critic trying to keep me safe. As is the little inner self-saboteur that pops up in different guises every now and again! It takes a lot of mindful noticing and bravery to work with them compassionately, but it is worth it. Will power will only get you so far – because as willful as I can be pushing myself to get things done is as willful as I can be to sabotage myself

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if I’m not in alignment with my values or needs. After all – it’s all me! So acknowledging my needs and staying in flow with my values gets me a lot further than over-riding them – and that’s a huge lifelong learning curve!

Self-compassion is a superpower!

What was the last thing you did that made you proud?

You might be expecting me to talk about a project here. But I’m going to choose the way I managed this summer just gone.

I amped up my self-care to the extreme and put my family and rest at the top of my priorities.

It allows all the noise to fade

into the background and helps to see things more clearly.

How do you manage your time between family and business?

I’ve been listening to Tamu Thomas and Nicola Rae-Wickham speaking lately about seeking harmony over balance. And I think that’s the road I take. It’s an ongoing juggle, and frequent course-correcting is needed.

But knowing that mine and my families mental, emotional and physical health and well-being is the top of my priorities helps bring me back to center and to know what needs to be done when I’m off course.

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You’re passionate about wellness and creativity do you have a wellness routine?

Yes, but only recently as a daily practice. I’ve been a personal growth junkie for most of my life but not been very good at taking action. As I mentioned, this summer, I was finally motivated enough to start a morning routine that consists of journaling, yoga, meditation and a nourishing green smoothie for breakfast.

This is non-negotiable, and I even get up an hour early to get it all done. That’s unheard of for me!

I’m struggling with the darker mornings, so have just ordered a sunrise clock to help me wake with the light – fingers crossed!

What advice would you give to a parent starting up a business?

Know who you are. When we become parents, our ideas of ourselves change (naturally), and we need to make sure we are up to date. Then we can truly bring ourselves to the party, and our clients and customers can enjoy an authentic and unique experience because there is only one YOU!

Who or what inspires you?

Women, especially who are opening their hearts to run their businesses in their way – in a human way, in a harmonic way, authentically and inclusively.

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Shannon Reed Mockingbird Makes www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ MockingbirdMakesCo

creative thinking innovative designs

B81 Designs

hello@b81designs.com

www.b81designs.com

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Does written content still matter in 2020?

Are you a small business owner? Then you've probably come across the idea of content marketing, which allows you to promote your business through the creation and distribution of content. But with online marketers telling us that the future of content is all about video, is written content dead? How can you use written content in 2020 (and beyond) to promote your own small business?

Write blog posts Blogging for business isn't dead.

But it certainly isn't what it was years ago. Five to ten years ago, you could launch a new website or a blog, publish some content, and people would easily find it, comment on it, and share.

Now, with millions of blog posts published all over the internet on a daily basis, standing out from the crowd is much harder.

But it doesn't mean you should give up! If you want people to find your website when they type in a search term or phrase in Google, you have to be out there producing content. And while 'tags' and descriptions help

search engines to find audio and video content, with the right topics and the right keywords, your written content still has the greatest potential of being picked up by the search results.

If you don't know much about SEO, or search engine optimisation, try and learn the basics. Yes, there is an art to it, but with the right planning and research, your written content (and specifically long-form blog posts) can give your business a real chance to be noticed.

Microblog If you're struggling to create long-form blog posts (either because you don't enjoy writing or because you simply don't have the time), then why not microblog on social media instead? Depending on what you do, where your audience is, and where your natural skills, talents, and preferences lay, you have plenty of platforms to pick from.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter - the choice is yours.

But what is microblogging?

Effectively, microblogging means creating short(er) written content that you share as social media posts. You could try 'weekly themes'. So from Monday to Friday, you share short posts about a specific topic that's relevant to your business and your audience. It could be something about the way you work or a series of posts that answer some of the questions your prospective customers or clients ask you all the time.

Microblogging also allows you to 'test' your content before you commit to writing long, in-depth articles about a topic,

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for example. If your audience engages with the short post, you know you're onto a winner. If they ask questions or add their own points or perspectives, then you can include those in any longer piece of content you might decide to produce on that topic further down the line.

Email marketing Another form of written content that is most definitely not dead is email marketing. If you want to stay in touch with your audience and deliver your best content straight into their inboxes, focus on building an email list. Once again, there's an art to it.

Industry-standard conversion rates that are often circulated online show that only around 1-2% of your subscribers might become paying customers or clients. And if you believe the stats, it's easy to get deflated before you even start!

But if you focus on building rapport with your audience by encouraging them to respond back to you and engage in conversation, the numbers don't have to hold true for you.

Focus on understanding your ideal clients' pain points and communicating directly with your audience, and a small, engaged list of people who respond to you and your content will pay off more than a huge list of 'lurkers', i.e.

subscribers who you don't know anything about and never interact with you.

So if you decide to go down the email marketing route, make a plan! Have clear objectives (why are you doing this?), decide how you're going to encourage people to part from their email addresses (i.e. what kind of lead magnet you're going to create), and find ways to get your audience to engage with you. And of course, if you realise things aren't working for you and your business, be ready to change things up or move your focus elsewhere!

Re-purpose your content No matter where or how you decide to share written content about your business, the key is to be clever and intentional about it. If video or podcasting come more natural to you than writing, for example, then go for it! Create the content once in the format that most suits you and then hire someone to turn those pieces of content into blog posts.

And if you're confident on camera, you can even use the same content for a Facebook live or an IGTV video.

The beauty of having multiple types of platforms and media to choose from is that you can create your content in the way you most prefer. You can turn your written content into videos, audios, graphics, etc. or do things the other way round. Creating fresh content all the time can be exhausting, so make sure you use what you already have and that you know works. Re-purposing will save you tons of time and allow you to reach a much wider audience too.

So, what types of written content will you try next year?

Sara Bussandri Digital Content Writer www.sarabussandri.com Â

If you share content on social media that goes down a storm with your audience, don't just leave it there! Turn that content into something else - a lead magnet, a weekly newsletter, or a blog post, for example.

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In Conversation with

Serena Nalty-Coombs, Project Management Consultant Serena is a wife and mother. Between herself and her husband, they have five children. 3 children who live at home aged 22, 19 and 10 plus a 25 and 13-year-old and 1-year-old grandson.

Serena started in business very young selling Avon and running a small club at school. Then she became a dance teacher and ran her own classes. She was also a mobile nail technician for a while.

She started her project management career after becoming a civil servant. Serena worked in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She took full advantage of all the learning opportunities as the level of training and experience was exceptionally high, and that’s how she advanced in her project management skills.

Serena informally supported friends and colleagues to set up and run their businesses, events and projects, however, in 2008 she was invited to work with a foreign MP and worked on a project that took her to Nigeria to set up the administration of a school. She was then asked to help source a family home for the MP and his wife in the UK. She was given the budget and a spec, and attended the viewings and arranged every detail through to signing the contracts.

That was the start of her freelance career. Serena has since managed 100’s of projects supporting entrepreneurs and business owners to achieve their personal and business goals.

In addition to that Serena runs a not for profit, she is a partner in a production company and also a project manager for 3 charities with several clients who she mentors and supports through her business SN Management. Serena specialises in personal, business and lifestyle management. A lot of her work focuses on helping entrepreneurs find a work/life balance.

Serena states that once they understand their why they can work on the how!

How did you get the idea for your business?

My mum always says I was a very neat and organised child. It is just something that I have always been good at. Putting things in a logical order and working through stages to achieve a desired outcome. I can get to the root of a problem and create a plan, other people noticed this and wanted to pay me for the service and so SN Management was born.

Lots of people ask why I don’t call myself a coach, and my answer to that is because I

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provide practical, hands-on support and sometimes manage the whole project or business depending on the client's needs. I help my clients gain clarity and then I support them to move their business forward and keep them accountable

How do your values show up in your work?

I’m a very loyal person, and I keep my word which is essential in this business. I am honest, and I will always let people know if something is out of my

remit. I am a very giving person, and if there is something I can share with you that will help you on your journey, I don’t have a problem doing so. I give everything 100% and more. I care!

What’s been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome?

Not wanting to give up It's a positive and a negative. The positive is I will keep working hard to achieve an outcome, but, the negative is I can sometimes question whether I am doing

the right thing. It’s my biggest obstacle as it resurfaces regularly!

What was the last thing you did that made you proud This is hard for me...probably the two most recent things that come to mind are nominating my daughter for a Young Entrepreneurs Award which she won and securing a significant amount of funding for my not for profit organisation We Rock.

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Below, Serena’s daughter Loren tells us how her mother influenced her entrepreneurial flair!

Loren tell us about your business?

I am the founder of Odd Manners a fashion brand which I started in 2017. The concept is to represent young people who are unable to express themselves and are misunderstood by others.

I want to empower and encourage acceptance for everyone and felt that my inspirational and quirky quotes were a good way of getting people to talk about different issues.

How did your mum’s entrepreneurial flair influence you in your business?

My mum introduced me to business at a very young age.

I was always making my own products, and she encouraged me to make more and start selling them. I also love makeup and beauty so I would get paid to do that for my Mum’s production company and for other clients. I was always going to my mum's events and meetings so seeing her as her own boss always made me want to be my own boss.

Who inspires you?

Other entrepreneurs inspire me. Every day I have a new inspirational list, but I am always the first. I am chasing my dreams, and I push myself the hardest.

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Serena Nalty-Coombs SN Management www.snmanagement.co.uk Loren Odd Manners www.oddmanners.com

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First aid for the Festive Season As the festive season arrives, we look forward to magical family fun, friendly frolics, lots of great food and hopefully some presents! However, we must remember to always stay vigilant for one of the most common first aid problems that parents of young children are faced with over the Christmas period is choking. So, would you know what to do if your child choked on a sweet, some food or a small toy?

Choking Choking is life-threatening as it can cause your child to stop breathing, so most importantly here’s what not to do if this ever happens to you. Don’t stick your finger in your child’s mouth to try to get the obstruction out unless you can see it clearly at the front of the mouth. If it is lodged in your child’s airway, then there simply will not be enough space for your finger to get past whatever it is to hook it out, so it will just get pushed further down.

So what should you do? Firstly, try not to panic! Take deep breaths as staying calm is critical for both you and your child in any situation where you need to administer first aid. Then you need to force air from their lungs up the airway to force the blockage out - just like popping a cork out of an empty plastic bottle by squeezing it hard - by following these basic steps:

1. Encourage them to cough.

2. If they can’t, then give up to five firm slaps on their back between their shoulder blades. Babies and small children should

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be placed over your lap with their head pointing downwards as gravity will help. Check after each slap to see if the obstruction has cleared before doing another one.

3. After that give up to five abdominal thrusts by wrapping your arms around them from behind, placing one fist on their / tummy button and your other hand on top of it, and then pull in and up sharply. Check between each thrust to see if it has worked. (Give chest thrusts to a baby under one year old)

4. Ask someone to call 999 and keep repeating the above sequence until it clears.

5. If they lose consciousness, you will need to start CPR.

Button batteries

Head Injury

Otherwise:

Sadly another hazard for anyone with small children are button batteries. They come in lots of Christmas decorations and toys and can burn a hole in the throat in just 2 hours if they get stuck there. If you think your child may have swallowed one take them to A&E immediately for an x-ray to confirm. If it has reached the stomach, it will probably pass straight through so don't try to make them sick. Remote controls are responsible for the highest percentage of accidents so tape up the back if it's not screwed in.

While the majority will have a wonderfully non-eventful time, it’s fair to say that one or two of us may come a cropper. So, would you know what to do if your child sustained a bump to the head?

•

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Call 999 if they: • Become unconscious (doesn't cry immediately)

• Become drowsy

• Vomit repeatedly and forcefully

• Start to breathe irregularly

• Have a 'boggy swelling' which feels soft and wet

Apply a cold compress to the lump (frozen peas work well when wrapped in a tea towel)

• They should be happy again within 2 hours • Try to wake them a couple of times during the first night to check •

If any unusual behaviour over the next 48 hours such as extra sleepy, vomit, confused speech/ vision/co-ordination, then take straight to the doctor

If in doubt, get them checked out.

Especially the last bullet point which highlights the symptoms of compression where a bleed within the skull has no escape route so applies pressure to the brain as it grows.

Hypothermia

Over this festive period please have fun and stay safe! To feel really confident, it’s always best to attend a paediatric first aid course at least every 3 years to go through various techniques safely on plastic manikins – practice makes perfect!

If the temperature drops and we get that dreamt of white Christmas, then grab those sledges and find a good slope.

But do lookout for the signs and symptoms of hypothermia, easily remembered as the Umbles:

Worsley Training offers short courses for parents, grandparents and babysitters throughout Wiltshire and surrounds. Get a small group together, and Louise will come to your home and give you the confidence to be a life-saver.

• Grumbles – change in behaviour, expressing a negative attitude

Louise Worsley First aid Trainer

• Fumbles – slow reaction time, dropping objects, poor co-ordination •

Mumbles – slurred, slowed, or incoherent speech, sleepiness or confusion

•

Stumbles – loss of control over movement, slowed motion, stiffness in extremities

• Tumbles - falls unconscious

Treatment:

• Prevent further heat loss

• Remove wet clothing

• Provide shelter and insulation

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• Give warm food and drinks

www.worsleytraining.co.uk

COLLABORATE WITH US

Become a guest contributor and showcase your expertise amongst the Parents in Business Magazine readers in the UK and beyond

Contact us info@parentsinbiz.co.ukÂ

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Rumpuspuss I’m Becky - mother of two, Lancashire lass, living in and loving Bristol, ex-cancer researcher, cat owner, and now Chief (and only) Puzzler at Rumpuspuss.

I came up with the idea of personalised puzzles whilst I was on maternity leave with my daughter. My son was 3, loved jigsaws, and was interested in recognising letters and learning to spell his name.

I was busy decorating his new bedroom at the time, in a Where the Wild Things Are theme. I had bought a second copy of the book and framed some of the pages. I started cutting up some of the unused pages as jigsaws for him, and he loved it when I cut his name out in bubble letters.

Meanwhile, I returned to my career at the local uni where I was doing my post-doc (yes, I’m a doctor. No, not the useful kind.)

I’d been in the same office for 13

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years and decided that I needed a change. I fancied something creative and fun, and “the jigsaw idea” seemed like an excellent place to start. So off I went!

My Values

How its made

I try to support and work with other small UK-based indie businesses as much as possible, particularly those led by women.

My illustrations, my website, my stockists - all ladies. My stationery and supplies - all bought from small UK companies.

My puzzles are handmade, by me, on-demand. I made a handy bit of code that generates the images you can test it out yourself on my website - and saves it in the right file formats that I need (one for the image, one for cutting it, one for the little preview image that I include for the child to work from).

I check each one to make sure that it’s perfect - no balloons over animals faces, no letters too close to the edges of the pieces those sorts of things. Once I’m happy with the image, I get making...

I have a magic printer in my box room, print them at home then hire a laser cutter to cut them. I bring them home for cleaning, whilst I watch something that doesn’t require too much concentration on Netflix (currently: Jane the Virgin).

One problem that I am finding is that the cleaning is very labour-intensive. It is a bit of a sticking point as I’d like to make jigsaws with more pieces, but they’d take too long to clean. I am working on something else special, so watch this space!

I try to make sure that my values come through in all aspects of my business as well as my personal life.

I strive to be as eco and sustainable as possible. I buy what I can in the UK, and choose recyclable options. For example, I use cardboard boxes and recyclable packing tape rather than plastic mailing bags. Any waste leftover from my processes goes into the recycling. Even the soft plastics that don’t get collected as part of our roadside collections - I save them up and take them to a local special recycling facility. I produce very little landfill from my business.

I also value fun, quirkiness and play. I like weird, and I like that to come across in my stuff. It helps me to remember why I started this is the first place - because I was having fun whilst playing with my children.

Find out more about Rumpuspuss www.rumpuspuss.co.uk

SPECIAL FEATURE

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Kreative Pursuit I'm kre8iveshack aka Shikira, and I gave birth to my little idea called kreative pursuit about 5 years ago.

I have 2 very energetic boys (4 and 9 years old) who keep me so busy. My business has really been carved around them. Thank God for supportive families too. Because of them, I'm able to work late nights to run my workshops while they look after my boys.

I moved away from creative life after my first son was born and fell into office type roles, and I was a secondary teacher, teaching art and design.

my second son that I would be more committed to giving myself more opportunities to do crafts and reignite my hidden skills.

speak to more people of colour due to the lack of it on the current market and to be honest, its always been the same.

Kreative Pursuit was all about putting my creativity first and sharing that with others. I saw the immediate effect it was having on my mental health and happiness and wanted to create opportunities for others to experience the same.

I've been teaching workshops for many years and found that there are hardly any people of colour in my classes. Even if i am going to a class it the same too, only black person in the room or 1 or 2.

It's a massive challenge, but it’s been a great experience so far, and I'm still learning and having to adapt to my business, learning what works and doesn't work.

My creative inspiration The root and soul of my inspiration come’s from my culture and heritage being Afro Caribbean and having such a rich and colourful culture, it's hard not to be inspired by it. My dads St. Lucian and mum is Bajan.

I was really underwhelmed in my teaching career, but I loved teaching so a friend asked me to work at her craft studio teaching dressmaking and I fell in love.

I like to take inspiration from old Carribean style textiles, wood carvings and artwork. I love the colourful shuttle houses, the landscapes of high hilltops and wonder in deep gullies. I love the style of black people, and I love how colour beams from them.

Still frustrated that motherhood wasn't allowing me to develop my creativity, due to lack of time for myself, I decided after

More recently I've been looking into diversity within arts and crafts, and I've been drawn towards creating projects which

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I've been questioning this, and I'm really trying to bring about change by encouraging more people of colour to engage in crafts workshops.

Crafting has so many benefits for mental health and wellbeing.

I really want people of colour to understand that crafting beautiful things through learning a new skill is as much for them as it is anybody else.

I specialise in printed textiles and surface design. I run a lot of screen printing, fibre art like Macrame and embroidery workshops. I travel to London, setting up a portable studio, so people get the opportunity to explore their creativity by learning these techniques. Workshops are short, and you get to leave having a sense of pride in your new accomplishment together with making new connections meeting new people. These are important elements everybody needs to have happiness.

SPECIAL FEATURE Similar to yoga and mindfulness, crafting can give you the same positive attention focused benefits. I really want people of colour to understand that it can be a life-changing habit which can support mental health and wellbeing.

Currently, I've been working on my own stitch kits which depict different woman of colour. It contains everything you need to complete the embroidery hoop, all materials and instructions for the stitches. They are simple enough for complete beginners and look fabulous on any wall.

Keep it for yourself to complete then gift to someone or gift it to a crafty person to complete. They can take anything up to 3 hours to complete depending on how focused you are, but you can take as long as you need to finish it.

I know from feedback that people have been inspired to recreate the embroidery to give gifts to people. You can't beat a handmade gift and its so much more special knowing you did it yourself. It makes me so happy to know that people like my work enough to do it again and even more happy to know they are sharing their love of craft by gifting to their loved ones.

In the future, I will be creating more craft kits with people of colour in mind and opening an Etsy shop along with doing loads of craft fairs and markets. I'll also be creating a craft blog with tutorials for those who perhaps can't make it to a workshop but still wants to get crafty with me.

their creativity. I hope that when they are much older they will be able to say, " I use to watch my mum making those‌" Find out more about Kreative Pursuit www.kreativepursuit.com

What is so satisfying is knowing that my boys are proud of me.

My work inspires them (more the 9-year-old) to create their own workshops. My 9 year old already has plans to create his own comic book making workshops, and he has started creating his own printed t-shirt collection.

My 4 year old loves using the sewing machine and loves to get involved if I'm painting, printing or sewing.I'm so happy that I can share my love of arts and crafts and help to facilitate these experiences and nurture

That's really all I could have hoped for.

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N.O. Cakes R Better Hey, I’m Natasha I am married with three beautiful children ages 9, 11 and 13.

The younger two are boys, Joshua 9 and Adonye 11, with Ayana being 13 going on 23! I am 43 years old and trained initially as a secondary school teacher of English. I worked in education for 20 years directly with the children and based in schools while I still work in Education, I work for the local council reviewing safeguarding and inclusion across the schools in the borough. I currently run my business part-time while working the council job full time.

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N.O. Cakes R Better is the name of my business. The N.O. stands for Natasha Orumbie, so basically, Natasha Orumbie’s cakes are better. I started my business 10 years ago on maternity leave with no real intention of doing anything other than keeping myself busy! But 10 years later, after a short-lived break between 2014-2016, here we are again!

Creative inspiration Most of my creative inspiration comes from cake ideas I've seen on Pinterest or Instagram, and I am actually mostly self-taught via YouTube tutorials! My huge bug-bear with those tutorials, however, is that they seem to make everything so easy, you get excited to try out the be technique only to find that it turns out nothing like the demonstrator’s example! This led, unfortunately, to several hours wasted, ingredients wasted and energy wasted! Incredibly frustrating!

This was actually the inspiration behind the latest development in the business, of our Online Academy launching in December and our podcasts where we talk business. I've committed to sharing all of the secret hacks that seem to be missed out in other tutorials and guides.

Collaboration Collaboration is so important to me! Collaboration over competition all day every day! I often work with events companies, and we recommend each other for events, and on Instagram I seem to be informally collaborating all over the place with businesses shouting each other out and giving each other a platform. I guess this is s kind of collaboration right now. When this magazine issue is published, I'll be raising awareness in my community and you will in yours and it will be mutually benefiting both parties.

I strongly believe that that's what successful business is all about.

Find out more about N.O. Cakes R Better www.nocakesrbetter.com

SPECIAL FEATURE

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Chasing Planner Peace Hi I’m Jessica Yasuda I have three kids aged between three and eight years old and work full time in my planner business – Chasing Planner Peace. My office is our old sunroom, and it’s very chaotic with the kids, three cats and my husband who works part-time so that he can help with the business for the rest of the week.

We design and create gorgeous planners and a wide range of planner/diary refills and accessories. We allow people to “custom build” their perfect planner by choosing a planner and mix and match with the largest range of inserts/refills in Australia.

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I became part of the “planner community” on Facebook soon after the birth of my second child and turned my love of planning as a hobby into a business. I feel so lucky to have a job I truly love.

I was able to quit my government job in the health department and turn this into a full-time business

Creative inspiration I am lucky in that my customers are always giving me ideas of new planner designs and refill designs they would like to see me create.

Some of the ideas I have received from customers have ended up being our biggest bestsellers.

I also am heavily involved in planner groups on social media and am always inspired by what I see other people do with their planners. I am never short on ideas and inspiration – only on time. I really wish I had enough hours in the day to create everything I would like to!

I love that the planner community is really a place where trends come and go. There is always something new to get excited about. At the moment, the big thing is hobonichi planners – which are planners from Japan that are cute and compact. I am hoping to design some planner refills in this style soon. I would also really like to do more notebooks,

notepads and pens as these are really fun to design.

My values I know it sounds cliché, but I really believe in customer service.

We have about a 50% return customer rate, and I feel that’s because when I stuff up (which I do all the time!), I make sure I own up and fix it. I also really enjoy connecting with my customers and hearing good feedback is actually the best part of having a business, so I enjoy listening to what they want and creating products that they have asked for. I also have made some lovely friends through planning, and I like to think that the relationship goes both ways – I get so much out of being part of the planner community, and I hope I have helped them get their lives more organised and find a creative hobby.

I also really believe that when you’re in business, you should look at the long term. Sometimes there are weeks and months where all our printers won’t work, we can’t seem to fix them, we’re throwing money at problems and solving nothing and emotions are high. It would be very easy to give up, especially in the early days when we weren’t even turning a profit – but the rewards of sticking through those

SPECIAL FEATURE times have been well worth it.

Working at home has a bunch of challenges, but I feel very lucky to be able to do it. I am honestly so grateful for the customers who have helped grow the business to the point it is at today.

Find out more about Chasing Planner Peace www.chasingplannerpeace.com

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The Mod Fox I’m Aja I design and create cushions inspired by mid-century modern style and sell them online as 'the mod fox'.

My most popular product is personalised name cushions which are great for children's rooms, new birth announcements and baby milestones pics. I'm also mum to two bold and brilliant young girls. I trained in costume, fashion and interior design, and was working for an Australian homewares brand before I had my daughter 5 years ago.

How its made I generally spend around a week working on and off on each personalised name cushion. They start out as a plain piece of calico, onto which I outline the name. I then add the design elements, hand paint the colours and heat set the finished design. Next, the cushion is stitched, stuffed and finally topstitched with a complementary colour thread.

My Values Even though part of the appeal of handmade goods is that they aren't perfect cookie-cutter products I'm a perfectionist, so I always spend a bit more time on every cushion than I probably should, making sure that it's the best it can possibly be. I also love filling my house and our family's life with colour - often my 5 year old daughter and I will sit together doing our 'colouring'. It's great fun.

Find out more about The Mod Fox www.etsy.com/au/shop/themodfoxau?

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SPECIAL FEATURE

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Business tips for 2020 We’re officially on the countdown… it’s almost time for goodbye 2019, and hello 2020! And that’s a perfect opportunity to review and plan for a new, exciting and profitable year in business.

We’ve pulled together a few tips, to help you along the way and get you thinking:

#1

Review your 2019 Taking a look back on how far you have come, your successes (and perhaps stumbles) is invaluable in helping you, and your business to continue to improve and move forward.

• What was your biggest success, and how can you replicate it?

• What was your best-selling product/service? (when you take a close look, the answer may surprise you!)

• Is there a trend with the type of new clients you have gained in 2019?

• Is there a trend in where your new clients have come from?

• Was there a big mistake, or something you felt could have gone better? If so, what can you learn from the experience, and put plans in place to stop the repetition.

#2

Review your marketing Consistency is key with marketing… They say your brand has to ‘touch’ someone 7 times before they buy into you/your product/services.

• Do you have a professional logo and a consistent brand look to your materials? If not, this is an area to seriously consider investment.

• Do you have an online presence? In this day and age, a website is not always essential, but being available online in someway is – social media is the answer.

• Remember, not all social media channels will work well for all businesses.

Choose your medium wisely, and make sure you have the right audience for your business.

• If social media scares you, take the time to look for some local courses – there are loads available, often for free if you look in the right places!

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• What marketing channels have worked well for you in 2019 (Networking? Facebook?

Instagram? Word of mouth?)

#3

Review the pennies They say look after the pennies, and the pounds take care of themselves!

• Do you know ALL the costs for running your business?

And do you have a target of how many customers you need to turn a profit against this?

• Have you got the right value on ‘Yourself’? Your time is valuable, make sure you are allowing a reasonable budget for any time you invest into your business.

• Consider investing in an accountant to help manage your money – your time is better spent on the things you do well (your business) than worrying and trying to manage the books!

• Are you paying for anything you simply don’t use or use often enough to warrant the spend?

your production rate?

Consider investment, even if it’s a bit of a stretch right now!

#4

Review your time First and foremost, we are parents! Trying to juggle a business and a family can often be tough, feeling like you are being pulled in all direction.

• Do you ‘set’ your working hours, or try to squeeze business into an already hectic day?

• Have you set realistic business goals that are achievable?

Aiming too high can leave you feeling deflated in your efforts.

• Consider having 2 ‘to-do lists’. One for business and one for home, to make sure you are keeping on top of all the important chores!

#5

Resolutions/ideas for 2020 • Don’t take your customers for granted; make sure every single one is given your very best experience.

• Ask where new customers have come from (learn what marketing channels are working best for you).

• Encourage referrals from existing clients and introduce a reward for making referrals.

• Be positive, and think BIG! • Remember, everyone started somewhere… just keep going!

Here’s to a happy, prosperous and successful 2020!

Jodie Webber The Businesses Community www.thebusinessescommunity.com

• It’s easy to get caught up in the daily routine of family and business, make sure to take a ‘time out’ at least once a month and do something special for yourself.

• Make sure you take the time to appreciate your successes, no matter how small.

• Is there a purchase you can make for your business that would really streamline

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SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Keisha Ehigie is a 36-year-old Nigerian mum from Essex.

She has a threeyear-old daughter and a little one on the way. Keisha is a Corporate Governance consultant by profession but has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and she set up her first formal business when she was 25. In November last year she left her job in the city to focus solely on business so she could spend more time at home with her family.

Imagine Me Stories is her third business venture but by far the one she is most passionate about!

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What inspired you to start your business?

I started Imagine Me Stories as a way of addressing the gap in representation in children’s books for black children. I first noticed the lack of representation in children's books when my daughter turned two and started asking questions about her hair and skin colour. She's always loved books, and we already had a large collection of very interesting stories. I noticed she was observing physical differences between her and her friends and decided to get her some books which had characters that looked like her.

However, I soon realised that it was a struggle to find such books in traditional bookshops and retailers. I started to do some research and discovered that children's books are far

more likely to feature an animal character than a person of colour. I spoke to other parents of black or mixed-race children and realised that they were also struggling to find adequate representation for their children in books. While diverse books do exist, they make up only 4% of the market ( a recently published UK study funded by the Arts Council showed that only 4% of children’s books published in 2018 featured a BAME main character. BAME pupils make up 33.1% of the school population in England.

Representation is so important to ensure that children see positive views of themselves and what they can achieve in society and every child should be able to see themselves reflected in the books they read. I decided to start a subscription box to make it easy for parents to source

representative books and also to demonstrate the need for such books so more can be published.

In addition to the books, children are provided with activities that teach them about inspirational black trailblazers, history and culture, which helps boost their self-esteem.

I’ve got previous experience of running a subscription box business within the pet industry, so I already have an understanding of how subscription boxes work.

I’m also a member of the Subscription School which is an online community for subscription box owners, and this has provided much-needed support in dealing with inevitable business challenges!

How does collaboration feature in your process?

How do you work with the authors of the books?

I work closely with UK, USA and African publishers to source representative books that I believe my subscribers will love.

They provide information on suitable books which are either currently released or in planned production, and this helps Imagine Me Stories to build a database of books which provide representation. We also accept submissions from self-published authors and have received some amazing books this way! The study by the Arts Council has brought a lot of awareness to the issue and inspired a lot of authors and illustrators to start producing more diverse content. I have also started to receive quite a few requests from schools who need

assistance with building more diverse libraries for their students which is absolutely wonderful.

You can find out more about Imagine me stories www.imaginemestories.com

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Tips on coping with Christmas as a single parent in business How to cope with Christmas as a single parent in business? There are two aspects to this, one is the ‘work’, and one is the ‘single parent at Christmas’

Firstly with the work It is important to set boundaries for outside expectations – set your out of office for external enquiries and let your closer network and existing customers know via social media that business will have limited coverage over the Christmas period –after all, that is why most

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of us choose to be self-employed, so that we can look after our children during the holidays without the stress of childcare. As Christmas is the holiday season you will find that business is quiet, and January is likely to be even quieter. If your business is specific to Christmas try and be very clear throughout December

and on your website when the cut off for orders is so that you are not super stressed when your child has broken up from school.

Secondly as a single parent at Christmas This can be a lonely time and particularly depressing if money is tight, it is crucial to remember

that our children’s expectations are often different from our own.

We put pressure on ourselves as we have had decades of brainwashing about what is the perfect Christmas, and that varies for us all. If you can control your own expectations and retrain your brain to think of it as a time to enjoy ‘being’ and remove the idea of what is perceived to be a ‘broken’ home, you will be much stronger. Your family

is complete whether two of you or ten of you. Family is family.

When our children are younger, they just need love, and when they are old enough to compare what they have present wise with their friends, they are old enough to understand that money does not grow on trees. When my daughter asked why her friend had a DS and she didn’t, I pointed out that her friend’s mum got home at around 6pm each night and that her friend was in after school club each day, at which point my daughter made it very clear that she would rather have my time than a DS. Naturally it’s nice to have both, but often our children have a greater sense of what matters than what we give them credit for. If you co-parent with your ex, you can use this time positively to enhance your business or have some much-needed self-care time.

Crucially if Christmas is super tough emotionally, be kind to yourself, master how to look after yourself as though you are your own best friend and if that means duvets and chocolate, so be it.

Julie Hawkins Founder of Single Mums in Business

www.singlemumsbusinessnetwork.com

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In Conversation with Cynthia Lawrence-John and Rae Sims, WerkHaus Margate Cynthia Lawrence-John was born and raised predominantly in London, aside from living in Mexico by the sea for a few years she has pretty much always been a city dweller. 5 years ago she began visiting friends in Margate and fell in love with the sea, skies and space. 3 years ago Cynthia finally moved to Margate and never looked back. She is a fashion stylist, costume designer and creative director with a 6-year son.

Rae Sims is a Lecturer, Accessories designer (Buckitt bags) and a mum of 2 boys – 6 & 8 years old. She is from the North West of England, and after art school in Glasgow she migrated down to London where she’s been for the last 20 years. Rae never 'got' the appeal of living by the sea until she started a family and was looking for a new adventure and some space. She also moved to Margate 3 years ago.

Together they created WerkHaus, a shop and online retailer selling modern ethical nonseasonal womenswear, accessories and curated vintage pieces. Located in the heart of Margate’s Old Town, WerkHaus’ distinctive and guiding ethos is to offer women the clothing that has the utilitarian traits more traditionally found in military, sport and working menswear.

Emphasis is on providing clothing that's practical and long-lasting as well as flattering and stylish. The Werkhaus aesthetic and quality standard harks back to times when clothing was necessarily built to last, used natural fibres and kept practicality and functionality in mind. The shop stocks clothing that suits a broad range of ages and sizes and is focused around carefully sourced, rare dead-stock items typically of British, European and American origin.

How did you get the idea for your business?

Rae and I met in a yoga class in Margate where we’d both recently moved to. We discovered we both have a shared love of utilitarian clothes. Rae’s husband suggested we open a shop selling things we’d like to wear and thanks to a great space being available, blind enthusiasm and a shedload of hard work, WerkHaus came into existence.

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What is WerkHaus?

Our shop is located in an old laundrette in Margate where we sell a mixture of reworked vintage and new contemporary labels. We have now launched our own ‘WerkHaus’ collection of womenswear made from end-of-line fabrics and repurposed fastenings. The capsule range of four key styles (boilersuit, flared skirt, shirt dress and apron dress has been designed by us both and is all manufactured in Margate.

How do your values show up in your work?

What is your biggest high/greatest win?

We love quality, pockets, functionality, recycling and style over fashion. We are both advocates of not buying throw-away fashion and hope that our customers will treasure the clothes they buy from WerkHaus.

Our loyal, supportive customers is a huge high for us and bringing the manufacturing of our clothing line to Margate is an amazing win and benefit to the local community. It can be done!

What does a typical day look like for you?

(Cynthia) I have to start the day doing some sort of meditation, just to have a clean slate. I also always iron my son’s school uniform – sounds insane, but it makes me feel calm. Then a to-do list on a fresh piece of paper. After that, anything can and will happen, but doing those three things ensures I can handle everything the day throws at me.

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?

Juggling motherhood, whilst running the shop and other work (Cynthia: works as a fashion stylist, costume designer and Creative Director and is mum of a 6 year old boy. Rae: is a university lecturer, accessories designer and mum of 6&8 yr old boys) while maintaining sanity and giving all aspects of our lives the attention they deserve!

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(Rae) I don’t have a typical day as what I do changes constantly, but it will invariably start with wrangling two small boys into shape and off to school. Then if possible I’ll have a swim in the sea (which I try and do all year round) which keeps me sane. Then knuckle down to get my work done before the school day ends all too soon!

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

This is going to sound odd, but we wouldn’t actually change anything. It has been a great learning curve and being able to get so much positive feedback from your customers is a great feeling.

What is your tip for a parent who is struggling to take their business idea forward?

Find a great business partner, for sure. Ideally someone who you have a common interest with but different strengths in order for the business to move forward.

Who inspires you?

(Cynthia) My mother and my son. He is not bothered about what other people think. I’m probably the same – it can be very debilitating to worry too much about people’s opinions.

(Rae) My husband, my boys, the people around me and Cynthia!

Cynthia Lawrence-John and Rae Sims WerkHaus Margate WerkHaus, 30 High Street, Margate, Kent CT9 1DS www.werkhausmargate.com

Turkey Biryani

Nella Foulds, Consultant Nutritionist, MNU Certified, www.nellanutrition.com

Biryani is a really quick dish to make, and I like to make one to use up the vegetable odds and ends at the end of the grocery week, so what a perfect recipe to make with your Christmas leftovers!

Suggested Serving Size: 4 Equipment Saucepan Large Frying Pan Bowl Ingredients 400g Leftover Turkey 200g Dried Rice 1/2 Stock Cube 100ml Boiling Water 1 Whole Red Chilli (chopped)

150g Frozen Spinach 75g Frozen Sweetcorn 75g Frozen Mixed Peppers 100g Onion (diced) 150g Cooked Carrots (cut into cubes) 180g Cooked Sprouts (quartered) 2 tsp Coconut Oil 4 Cardamom Pods 50g Spring Onion (chopped) 10g Sliced Almonds 10g Coriander (chopped) 3 tsp Ground Cumin 4 tsp Curry Powder 50ml Natural Yogurt

Method 1. Put the saucepan onto the heat, fill with boiled water and cook the rice according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Drain and set aside.

2.

Pour the boiling water into the bowl and add the stock cube. Stir the water to dissolve the stock cube before adding the turkey. This is going to rehydrate the turkey.

3. Take a frying pan and put it on a medium heat.

4. Add the coconut oil to the pan.

5. Use the back of a knife to gently crush the cardamom pods and add these to the pan along with the onion.

6. Cook the onions for a few minutes to soften them before adding the frozen spinach, sweetcorn and peppers.

7. After a few minutes, add the turkey to the pan and mix everything thoroughly.

8. Add the chopped chilli and spices and thoroughly coat the turkey.

9. Next, add the carrots and sprouts to the pan and mix them before leaving them for a couple of minutes to warm through.

10. Add the rice to the pan and again mix thoroughly before having a taste. Add any extra seasoning you feel necessary at this point before removing the dish from the heat.

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11. Sprinkle the top with the chopped spring onion and almond slices.

12. Dot the top with the yogurt and finish with the chopped coriander.

Tips • Feel free to use ready-cooked rice instead of dried.

•

The trick to using turkey leftovers is to make a dish that adds moisture to the turkey as it’s so lean and subsequently dry after roasting.

Because this recipe doesn’t have a sauce, rehydrating it with the stock also adds a depth of flavour to your dish.

• Remember to play cardamom pod bingo when you eat!

• I used a chicken stock cube but feel free to use vegetable if you prefer.

• I like to use brown basmati rice.

Turkey Nachos

Nella Foulds, Consultant Nutritionist, MNU Certified, www.nellanutrition.com

Christmas is a great time for gathering together with friends and family, and this dish is great for putting in the middle of the table and sharing. You just have to decide how many other people you’re prepared to share this with!

Suggested Serving Size: 4-6 Equipment Saucepan Large Frying Pan Bowl Ingredients 350g Turkey Leftovers 60g White Onion (diced) 1 tbsp Olive Oil 140g Frozen Mixed Peppers

400g Tinned Tomatoes (blended until smooth) 240g Kidney Beans (drained weight) 75g Mozzarella Or Cheddar (grated) 2 tsp Smoked Paprika 2 tsp Ground Cumin 180g Salted Tortilla Chips 75g Cherry Tomatoes (quartered) 75g Spring Onions (chopped) 8-10 Jalapeno Peppers 10g Coriander (chopped) 50ml Creme Fraiche (reduced fat) or Sour Cream Salt & Pepper

Method 1. Preheat your oven to 200°C fan/400°F. 2. Put a large frying pan onto the heat, add the oil and when warmed add the onion to soften.

3. Add the frozen peppers and allow these to soften for a minute before adding the turkey to the pan.

4. Sprinkle the smoked paprika and ground cumin over the turkey and take a minute to mix the spices into the turkey.

5. Add the kidney beans to the pan along with the blended tomatoes and bring everything to the boil.

6. Reduce the heat to a simmer and when the tomatoes have evaporated to thicken, taste the sauce and add any seasoning needed.

10. Sprinkle the tomatoes and spring onion over the nachos before adding the Jalapeno slices.

11. Dollop the creme fraiche into the centre and sprinkle with the coriander.

Tips • This dish would be delicious with either mozzarella or cheddar. Just use what’ to hand.

• The tortilla chips I used were the supermarkets economy brand - there seems to be no difference other than the cost difference!

• The oven tray I used was my paella pan.

7. Add the cheese to the pan and give it a stir to mix it into the sauce.

8. Arrange the tortilla chips into the bottom of an oven tray and spoon the nachos mix into the centre before baking for 10-15 minutes.

9. When the cheese has melted, and the tortilla chips are golden brown, remove the tray from the oven.

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