Friday 26 July 2013

2Inspire Profile: Laura Morris, Founder of EducateBusiness

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?
I would have to say winning the business awards I have won as it has been lovely to be recognised by someone else for all the hard work. I have won two awards and been shortlisted and finalist for many others.
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

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