Motivating Business Mums. Debbie O'Connor

      Photo by Trish Gant of www.littlegemsforyou.co.uk

      Motivating Mum exists to support and advise mums who are in business, and those who are just starting out, or even just thinking about working for themselves. The site was set up in the UK by Alli Price, but she has now returned to Australia and runs a sister site there.

      In March 2011, we wanted to do something special for International Women’s Day that would also benefit our readers. And so Mummy Mentoring Month was born, a huge festival of mentoring, support and advice raising money for charity.

      As one part of Mummy Mentoring Month, we asked people to submit guest blogs on the general subject of advice to mums in business, which were published on Motivating Mum in the UK and Australia during March. This book is a compilation of the blogs that we received—so you have a whole month’s worth of free business-related advice from mums (and one or two dads) who have faced their own business and personal challenges, and successfully overcome them.

      I deliberately kept the scope of the request vague. People asked for guidance but I didn’t give very much. As a result we have a very interesting mixture of styles, lengths and perspectives, which I hope you will find entertaining and thought provoking.

      Some of my contributors have been in business many years, some for only a few months. Many are professional businesswomen, coaches and trainers, well-used to offering advice and writing blogs; others have written their very first blog for inclusion in this collection. Some participants are sharing their professional expertise—others their personal experience. All of them are sharing something individual to them, which I very much enjoyed compiling into a book.

      The charity that I chose to support with Mummy Mentoring Month in the UK is Nema, which provides aid, support and education for women in rural Mozambique so that they can better provide for their families. In order to continue the spirit in which these blogs were given to me, 20% of royalties from the sale of this book will be sent to Nema.

      Thank you so much for buying and reading this book. If you enjoy it, or gain any useful advice and inspiration from my fellow bloggers, then please follow the spirit of Motivating Mum and share and give appreciation for what you have learned:

      Finally please visit www.motivatingmum.com if you are in Australia, or www.motivatingmum.co.uk in the UK, where you will find more of the same support and encouragement. The blog continues there—hopefully to the same high standard, and we also provide a forum, articles and features, business mentoring, networking events and a monthly newsletter amongst other things. I’m sure Mummy Mentoring Month will be running again in March next year, so please come along and join in .

      Focus on Nema—featured charity for Mummy Mentoring Month

      The proceeds from Mummy Mentoring Month on Motivating Mum, were given to the Nema Foundation (www.nemafoundation.org), a UK-registered charity running projects in Northern Mozambique that work with communities to relieve poverty and protect the environment.

      Amy Carter-James, one of the founders and trustees of the Nema Foundation, explains a bit more about the Nema projects:

      “Rural Northern Mozambique is one of the most dangerous places on the planet to give birth and to be a child under five years old. This year, through Nema Foundation, Motivating Mum is supporting mothers in Mozambique to help secure their children’s future through protecting them from malaria, HIV, waterborne diseases and malnutrition. Nema works with mothers in their own homes, empowering them with information to help them and their children avoid these preventable diseases. It costs just £4 to provide a malaria net for a mother and her newborn child, or just £10 to run three nutrition workshops for six mothers, to show them how to make a life-saving porridge for a sick child from local materials. This is a project where a small amount of money goes a very, very long way.

      “100% of donations go directly to our projects on the ground in Northern Mozambique, as we have corporate sponsors in the UK to cover our costs. We ensure each and every penny donated to Nema stretches as far as it possibly can, to realise our objective of relieving poverty and protecting the fragile environments.”

      By buying this eBook, you have already donated some money to help these mums and their families, but if you would like to support them further, please see the Motivating Mum Global Angels page: bit.ly/lKXUsn

      You can also follow the progress of the Nema projects on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NemaFoundation

      The Value of Being Mentored, and in Mentoring Others

      Karen Gunton