DRIVEN WOMAN

Miisa Mink - 4 Jul 14

Remember the old days when you got a buzz from doing a job you loved and being good at it? And sometimes even felt flashes (especially after a drink or two) of let’s-change-the-world confidence that you could take anything on – a daring venture, launching a new business, writing a novel – and win? And vowed that one day you most definitely would? And then you got pregnant and thought “It’s OK, I’ll have loads of time for daring ventures during baby naps.”

Except now you know those baby naps are your only chance to take a shower/sleep/call your mum without rude interruption. And those naps get shorter. Daring ventures get swallowed up in a life spent wiping Nutella off the furniture. Feeling sad and frustrated, you’re frankly incredulous when you read about amazing entrepreneurial women who’ve launched newsworthy businesses while their brood is still young. How on earth do they do it, damn it?

Well I’ll tell you how, because I did it. With very lively and loud 5 year-old twin boys at home I builtthe Nordic Bakery chain of cafes, published a cookbook and co-founded a women’s network. And I’m no superwoman, I promise. How did I do it?

I made a decision. I didn’t want to go back to the big corporate office and have some middle-aged guy dictate my schedule. I decided to create a flexible lifestyle that would incorporate a good dose of happy family life. I’d find a way.

I announced my intentions. I used to have an important sounding business card and now here I was enjoying being a mother, yet still craving achievement. I struggled with my identity as my next step wasn’t going to fit with what it said on that card.But announcing my intentions to be involved in a bakery/design café business meant the universe suddenly started helping me and my determination crystalised.

I got help. The key is to get yourself a support network who can babysit and help ease your workload, whether it’s friends, family members, child-minders or nurseries. I now have a weekly cleaner and an au pair who helps with the kids and meals, and for this I realise I’m lucky.

I got organised. I have a painfully rigid weekly schedule that I actually stick to. The family is fed strictly according to a 4-weekly menu. Exercise, play-dates and date nights are all planned. Everyone in the household knows their responsibilities and is expected to do their part. Sounds boring I know, but it works.

I learnt new things. I spent every night reading inspiring business books or exploring the Internet to find interesting people to follow and blogs to read. I researched new ways of earning a solid income that weren’t office-based. The world was going digital and I wasn’t going to be left out, so I’m now quite capable in the world of Twitter and managed to build the website for the women’s network with my own little hands!

I let failure be part of the process. In the past three years I’ve gone up many blind alleys, like the holiday rental business that turned out to be unfeasible, the book I almost wrote and the website I wanted to launch for people who love postcards (oh, yes!). All of these seemingly unsuccessful paths have taught me something and introduced me to new people, like the woman with whom I founded www.drivenwoman.co.uk, a network for women with ideas and ambition.

I discovered Lifeworking. One of the hardest things about starting a new venture, as I have found, is doing it on your own. Dream projects can’t happen in isolation – we need input from likeminded people. Lifeworking, a cross between networking and life coaching, is the basis of the monthly DrivenWoman meetings where members share knowledge and contacts, articulate their ideas, offer support, talk about how their venture is progressing and explore ways to tackle obstacles. It’s the quickest way I know of to become a successful entrepreneur. With your very own bunch of cheerleaders who, like you, have stayed up til 1am batch-freezing bolognese in order to do their own thing and actually make a living from it.

Miisa Mink

Miisa Mink is a London based entrepreneur, author, blogger and mother to 5 year old twin boys Miika and Aku. She's the founder of women's proactive network, DrivenWoman (www.drivenwoman.co.uk).

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