What is your name?
Debbie O’Connor
What is your business name?
Motivating Mum UK, also an Independent Cambridge Weight Plan Consultant
What industry is your business in?
Motivating Mum is a website providing support and advice to mums in business. Cambridge Weight plan is a weight loss consultancy.
Where are you based?
Staines, UK
How long have been in business?
I quit full time work in 2002 to have kids and have done various businesses since then. The Cambridge business started in September 2008 and I took over Motivating Mum in the UK in September 2010
Is it a full-time or part-time business?
I suppose they are both part time, but added together, pretty full on
Did you start your business before or after becoming a mum/step-mum?
After becoming a mum. I joined Usborne books when my first baby was one
Why did you start your business?
My original reasons were to keep my brain working, to have some money that I had earned, to meet people, to avoid having to go back to work, to learn some new skills, to pay a cleaner and finance my hobby of choral singing
What was your biggest mistake in business?
I decided to train as a personal trainer because I am unfit and I thought I would get fit while training and better able to understand the worries of unfit mums. The business did not suit my personality at all. I don’t really enjoy exercise and I realised that unless you have a passion for what you do, you cannot sell it to others.
What is the one piece of advice you wish you’d been given about running a business with children when you started out?
Don’t just leap into the first thing you can see. Take your time to work out what kind of business will suit you and your family.
What are you passionate about?
I’m passionate about helping other people achieve their goals – now in weight management and small business advice I have found the right outlets for that passion. I’m also passionate about choral singing
Who inspires you?
Alli Price of Motivating Mum in Australia. She set me up with this wonderful business.
What is the song that gets you fired up?
This is a bit of a strange one, but I always start my gym workouts to Zadok the Priest by Handel. It’s a coronation anthem and makes me feel special.
Contact Debbie
Website: www.motivatingmum.co.uk
Twitter: @motivatingmumuk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/motivatingmumuk
LinkedIn: Debbie O’Connor
