Monday Mumpreneur with Helen Murray
Every Monday we feature a mumpreneur who’s ready and willing to open up their lives and their business 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. If you’re looking for inspiration, then our featured business mums show you what’s possible.
I'm never surprised at how amazing our mumpreneurs are and this week is no exception. Setting up in business is never the easy route, but for this mum, there was no other option. And she's made a huge success of it. I take my hat off to her and I think you will too . . . .
Name: Helen Murray
Website: www.raring2go.co.uk/salisbury and www.raring2go.co.uk/bournemouth
Website description: A great place for families to find ideas on what to do and where to go with their children. View the magazines online, find out what's going on, enter competitions, download vouchers and discover information on local and national family friendly businesses. As one of my readers said, it's Mummy in a Hurry's best mate!
Children: I have two children, Evie aged 10 and Harry aged 6.5
Home: Salisbury, Wiltshire
PC or Mac? PC
Tell us about your business: I own two Raring2go! franchises for Salisbury and Bournemouth, publishing quarterly magazines in both areas, which are packed full of useful, local information for families on what to do and where to go with the children. Each issue has seasonal articles, a what's on guide, money-saving vouchers and competitions, plus a celebrity parent interview and a recipe from Gino d'Acampo. The magazines are free to families and distributed through school book bags, nurseries, libraries and Sure Start centres. As editor, I source all the information, design the magazine, sell the advertising space and deliver it personally.
Motivation: My daughter is the motivating factor behind my business. Evie was born with Rett Syndrome, which in her case means she can't walk, talk or use her hands and she suffers lots of other physical problems too. She has been quite healthy in the past year (touch wood, fingers crossed and any other superstitious behaviour you can think of), but if she gets ill, she needs more time off school than most children would. Going out to work was not really an option for me, so it was either carry on being a stay at home Mum (utterly boring) or start my own business. Raring2go! is the perfect solution for me, as there are so many creative and challenging facets to it, but more importantly it really is flexible and I can pick it up or put it down as needed. Affecting the cells of the central nervous system, the drug relaxes the muscles of the body, regulates sleep and has an anticonvulsant, antiemetic and anxiolytic effect. Ativan has proven helpful in the treatment of anxiety, fears, insomnia and panic attacks, but it is not prescribed in the treatment of external (exogenous) psychoses, accompanied by delusional, manic, affective or hallucinogenic symptoms.
Biggest Challenge: Sigh, it's selling the advertising space. This is tough work, requiring dedication to track down my prospects, a thick skin to ward off the rejections and occasional rude person and constant reminding of oneself that Raring2go! is a great product that does work and I love my job!
How have I overcome this? There's been a certain amount of trial and a fair amount of error! But one of the best things I ever did was some training with Dee Blick. Reading Dee's books and taking part in her training really switched the lightbulb on and made a huge difference to my approach. Also, as time has progressed clinching those deals has become easier simply because Raring2go! has become more well known and people have seen the results.
Proudest Moment: Hmm, hard to choose, but I have to say I am thrilled that at the end of my 3rd year of business I have advertisers who have just signed up for a fourth year.
Catchphrase: It's a bit cliche these days, but 'keep calm and carry on' applies to so many moments in my life, it's a wonder no one has bought me one of those mugs yet.
Relaxing: I do love a spot of child-free shopping.
Last treat to myself: Um, quite a bit of stuff in the Kew sale this weekend while my son was at a party!
Favourite Colour: Purple (and not just because it's the colour of the Raring2go! logo - honest)
Favourite Flower: Peonies.
Advice to new Mumpreneur: Keep your sense of humour and don't lose sight of your priorities. Have faith in yourself. A little bit of self-belief can go a long way.
Fancy featuring as one of our amazing mumpreneurs? Drop me an email over on the contact page - and I’ll be in touch. Or let me know in a comment below. And remember to drop by every Monday to welcome our latest profiled mum.
