In today's instalment 2Inspire interviews Laura Morris, a Mumpreneur who has consistently set up businesses centred around mothers. She now also has a PR and Marketing company educatebusiness which supports small businesses. Read her story and be inspired.
Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?
A typical business day starts at 7am getting me and my
daughter ready. In between breakfast I will catch up on emails. During school
hours I am then normally out and about meeting with clients and then catching
up on emails, Twitter and Facebook in between. At 3.15pm I collect my daughter
and use the time until bedtime on doing stuff together and making dinner. When
she goes to bed I will work 2-3 evenings a week too until my own bedtime.
What made you start the business and how did you get started?
7 years ago I fell pregnant with
my daughter and went on maternity leave. I was lucky enough to not have to work
but after suffering with a bad pregnancy I decided to set up a forum called
Meet Mums where you could meet other mums in the area you lived and chat online.
This went onto be a success and turned into a business but unfortunately the website
got attacked by hackers and I lost everything. Around this time I set up a
business called Rentabuggy where I started leasing out pushchairs on a long
term basis and for holiday rentals which went on to be a huge success. During
this time, I also started a networking group with a friend for mums in business
called Networking Mummies where we supported mums in business or who were
trying to start one in Bournemouth where I was currently living. In 2010 I
moved back to Warwick to be closer to family and I started a branch of
Networking Mummies there. My business partner at the time wanted out and my
best friend bought into the business. We now have 16 branches across the UK and
it is growing. I also now run my own PR and Marketing agency Educate Business
Ltd helping small businesses to grow affordably and have also been doing this
for the past two years.
What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the
business world to date?
What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
Definitely juggling my daughter
Ashleigh and work. The Summer holidays can be hard work but after 7 years of
running my own businesses I think I can say I have just about got it right!
What are your future plans for the business?
I have got loads of plans to grow
and adapt bringing out new services and ideas. I am really pleased that since
last year, my income has risen by 50% but I would like to keep this going.
If you had to do it all over again, what would you do
differently?
I can
honestly say I wouldn’t do anything different. Owning your own business is
about making mistakes and learning from them.
Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to
follow their dreams?
We all have
peers or people we look up to whether it be a celebrity or someone normal.
Following your dreams gives you aspiration to try harder and that is important
in today’s world. Children should understand that if you want something hard
enough that they can go get it.
What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a
business in your industry?
So many
people I meet who have started their own business expect miracles overnight and
expect a consistent income. It can take approximately 2 years to even start to
build a sustainable business so my advice would be to stick at it and if
something or someone knocks you down, pick yourself up and keep going.
What or who inspires you in business and why?
My daughter
is my main one. But apart from that so many people inspire me. It tends to be
the people I work with who are my clients, seeing them and their business grows
gives me huge inspiration and pleasure.
What is your favourite
inspirational quote?
From the film ‘Pursuit of Happiness’
Don't ever let somebody tell you... You can't do
something. You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do something
themselves, they want to tell you you can't do it. If you want something, go
get it. Period.
Contact Details
Laura Morris 07909 53400
If you want something, go get it. Period.
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