Parents in Business featuring Hannah Martin, Talented Ladies Club
Career

Parents in Business featuring Hannah Martin, Talented Ladies Club

This week on my Parents in Business series I’m super excited to welcome Hannah, who founded Talented Ladies Club. Wow, I’m really genuinely excited to have Hannah here today as I know so many women (Mother’s) who want to unlock their professional potential after having children, and that’s where Talented Ladies Club can help. I’ve been following Talented Ladies Club for a few years, mostly on Twitter, and their advice and words of wisdom have been really compelling for people like me. 

Which leads on to the success of Talented Ladies Club, they have hit reached over 90,000 readers and have heard such wonderful stories from women who have benefitted from their services, which to me is a huge success in itself. 

Do have a read of Hannah’s story and maybe Talented Ladies Club could help you.

Tell me a little bit about you, your background, and your business?

I’m an award-winning copywriter with over 23 years’ experience working for some of the world’s top advertising agencies and brands. I’m also a qualified hypnotherapist, psychotherapist and NLP Practitioner. I spent most of my twenties living in Asia, and now live by the Sussex coast with my husband and two children. 

I launched Talented Ladies Club in 2013 because I was sick of the lack of inspirational (and aspirational) content for ambitious mothers. I wanted to show women they COULD have a career or business AND be a mum. Since then the site has grown to over 90,000 monthly readers and we have a range of online courses and masterclasses.

What were your motivations for setting up your business?

It was inspired by my friends. When I had my daughter 11 years ago, I gave up working in London and started freelancing from home. I was lucky – I was determined and resourceful and had skills I could easily use to freelance from home. But many of my friends weren’t as fortunate. 

The tipping point for me was when two mums at school – one a former architect and one a solicitor – were looking for part time admin work because that was all they thought was available to them locally around school hours. And they weren’t even getting that because they were over-qualified! I decided that someone needed to speak to – and up for – these women and make a change.

How do you balance the business around your family and childcare?

I’m lucky – I work for myself so I can set my own hours. And I can work where I want as my business is online. I rent an office in town, five minutes from my house as I like the separation and find it easier to switch off when I get home. Otherwise it’s too tempting just to keep working!

I usually get to work at 8:30am and work without a break until 3:30. Then I go home, cook dinner and spend time with my daughter. If I do have work to finish off or a call to make, I’ll complete it by 5pm. I rarely work in the evenings now, unless I’m holding a live webinar, as this is my time. Plus, I’m a morning person and am usually too tired to want to work late. 

Since setting up your business what’s been your biggest success to date?

There have been some important and satisfying business milestones we’ve hit, such as reaching 90,000 readers and hitting our turnover goals – no mean feat for a self-financed, bootstrapped start-up! 

But the biggest successes for me are the differences we make to people’s lives. When I get emails saying how women feel less alone, or someone on one of our courses achieves professional success it makes it all worthwhile.

What are your top tips for anyone who is thinking about setting up their own business?

The biggest tip is to keep an eye on your money. Track your time and your finances and know exactly how much it costs you to run your business and produce and deliver your products and services – and then price to make a profit. 

Too many businesses start from a passion, but never make money. And many entrepreneurs are unknowingly working for peanuts or nothing. A worrying amount of business owners we’ve worked with were earning less than minimum wage and didn’t even know it. 

A business needs to make money – if not it’s just an expensive hobby – so never feel shy or ashamed at looking at your finances and making the money you deserve.

Thank you so much Hannah for taking part in my series it has been a pleasure to feature you. 

You can find out more about Hannah and Talented Ladies Club by visiting the following; website, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

If you like what you’re reading and would love to be part of my Parents in Business series just drop me an email: thepramshedblog@gmail.com. Or have a nose at some of the other businesses I have featured in the series: The Shoe ConsultantBaba+Boo, and Tidy Choice.

Claire 

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