Monday Mumpreneur with Ali Davies
Every Monday we feature a mumpreneur who’s ready and willing to open up their lives to us. They share with us their motivation, challenges and proudest moments in business and they also tell us how they take time to nurture themselves. It’s lovely to have them here at Mums Got A Business and we hope you enjoy connecting with them too.
This week I'm delighted to introduce you to someone who feels like my soul sister. Soon after we 'met' on the internet, we realised that we had taken a very similar route in life, for very similar reasons. We've left the rat race and re-located to the country to create our ideal lives. Please give her a warm welcome . .
Name: Ali Davies
Website: www.alidavies.com
Brief description:
Specialising in helping Home Based Business Owners build a successful business, family life and lifestyle.
How many children do you have?
One boy, Matthew, aged 7
Where do you live?
Clonakilty in West Cork, Ireland. Moved here to live 5 years ago from the UK as part of designing our ideal life.
PC or Mac?
Laptop but hoping to move to Mac next.
Tell us about your business
I believe that working for yourself can and should be the key to success and freedom in all areas of your life. But many people working for themselves often feel that they are juggling everything and not achieving what they really want in any area of their life. My business helps those people create a strong home based business specifically designed to deliver their ideal lifestyle and family life.
What I do is all about creating freedom, success and life on your own terms.
What motivated you to become a mumpreneur?
I left the corporate world in 2001 after 14 years because I felt it was sucking the life out of me. It was stopping me living the life I really wanted and costing me the things I valued most in life. It felt like I had been selling my soul and freedom for many years.
I decided it was time to make a living doing meaningful work that didn’t result in sacrificing my family life, relationships, lifestyle and quality of life.
Now I am doing meaningful work I love and feel passionate about. The business operates around family life and our lifestyle. We live on our own terms, by our own definition of success.
What’s been your biggest challenge in business?
I am a people person so going from working in large organisations to being solo was really hard as I like to bounce ideas round with people and brainstorm. So the biggest challenge for me was adapting to working in an environment where there was just me in my home office.
How have you overcome it?
By building a strong network of business buddies and mastermind groups with like minded people. I also break up my activities each week to make sure I am never in the home office alone for days on end. I now have a healthy balance between times I am working on my own and times I am connecting with other people.
What’s been your proudest business moment?
My proudest business moments are always linked to the results of my clients. They inspire me in the way they step up and make big changes in order to create the business and life they really want on their own terms. It is an honour to be part of the transformation of someone elses life.
What’s your catchphrase or favourite quote?
I have many favourite quotes. This one would be one of my favourites :
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain
What do you do to relax or nurture yourself?
Spend time outdoors with my family walking or cycling. Being outdoors in nature is like food for the soul for me,
What was the last treat you bought for yourself?
A bar of chocolate (shhh, it's a guilty secret as I gave chocolate up at the weekend but have weakened already!!)
Favourite colour
Green. For me it is the clour of peace and tranquility
Favourite flowers
Sunflowers. Each one is totally individual, unique and simple. It is an analogy for life. Finding beauty in our own uniqueness.
What one piece of advice would you like to give to new mumpreneurs?
The possibilities of what you can achieve are only limited by what you think possible. Reach high. Believe in yourself and your potential. Make working on your mindset a priority.
Fancy featuring as one of our amazing mums? Drop me an email over on the contact page and I’ll be in touch. And remember to drop by every Monday to welcome our latest profiled mum.
I so agree with corporate life being able to suck the life out of you. That is precisely why I decided to go into business for myself, as well.
Angie recently posted..How Many Easy Backlinks Did You Pass Up Today
Angie,
There seems to be quite a lot of us Corporate Escapees out there. Always good to meet folk who have made the leap.
Very nice to meet you, Ali — you’re my kind of hero!
The most profound words, for me, in your interview are … “life on your own terms”. The impact of just saying them out loud is breathtaking.
Congratulations for having the strength, the grace, and the wisdom to say goodbye to the corporate world. I’m currently co-mingling my time between the offline working arena and building my online biz. Want to guess what my ultimate goal is? 🙂
Thanks, Heather, for another wonderful interview!
Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur recently posted..“F” is for Friday and Fun and Four-legged Furry Friends
Melanie,
Thank you so much for your very kind words. It is really appreciated. I am interested to read that you are working on building your online business. That is an area I am moving my business towards too.
Re. your challenge to guess what your ultimate goal is….hmmmmm…..am guessing something along the lines of a business that delivers passive income and can work from anywhere, anytime. Am I close?
Hi Heather and Ali,
So fun to read your interview! Refreshing blog format, and it gives us a peek into your worlds. Love it. Thanks ladies!
M recently posted..You Are Different
Hi Marica,
So glad you enjoyed the interview. I like the way Heather weaves the questions together to show the different aspects of the person and not just the businessy stuff. Always good to get to know the “real” person
Swore I wrote my whole name above there, don’t know what happened! Anyway, it was me!
Marcia Hoeck recently posted..You Are Different