Parents in Business featuring Honest Mum

This week on my Parents in Business series I am absolutely delighted and excited to bring to you Honest Mum or Vicki Psarias. Truth be told I am little bit blown away to be featuring Vicki on my blog today. Ever since I started this blog of mine nearly four years ago, I have been following Vicki. I’ve seen her talk at conferences and I have loved hearing her story about how she has made her blog and career the success it is today.

Her successes continue with her book; MUMBOSS being published and becoming a bestseller. If you haven’t read it, please do, it really does help to provide you with the confidence to set up your own business after having children. I’ve read it, and loved it. Girl crush over for now. Feeling inspired? Please read on…

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

I’m a blogger, vlogger and author. I pivoted from a directing career in the TV and film industry into blogging, accidentally whilst on maternity leave back in 2010 and the last almost 9 years working for myself from my kitchen table has been an eye-opener. My bestselling book MUMBOSS shares my ups and downs with practical tips and fellow mums’ stories on how to build a digital business around your family or return to work with greater confidence. The juggle is real and tough at times, the mental load can feel overwhelming but I’ve found a way to do what I love AND be a present parent. It takes compromise and resilience. I’ve worked a lot on my self-worth (therapy has been a gift) and I’m strict with my time, and who is in my timeline. Boundaries are critical as is knowing when to switch off too. It’s a balance. Some days I get it right, others I don’t! Self-kindness is key.

What were your motivations for setting up your business?

I started to blog after a traumatic birth with my first son as a means to rediscover my voice and identity. I felt lost at that point and unsure how I would ever get back on set writing and directing and how I could ever enjoy a creative career. I felt stifled as a new parent who went from leading hundreds on set to feeling unable to get through the day when the routine and rituals went out of the window now I was a new parent. That first year was one of the hardest of my life. My blog was an emotional lifeline as was social media which connected me with fellow creative mums and dads. Soon, I was offered paid campaigns and by the time I had my second son, I was working full time, flexibly on my blog. I’m so grateful for the opportunities and career the blog has given me, particularly as women are so often given the short straw in the workplace.

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

I’m lucky that I work flexibly and with two children at school (6 and 9) I work after school drop-off and up until the school-run pick-up, and then, if need be, pick up anything when they sleep. I try, where possible (which is most of the time) stop working, for homework, dinner and bedtime and I rarely ever miss Parents’ Evening or Sports Day etc which matters to me. I also had lots of down time over the summer holidays and when I needed to be on camera, my kids came on set with me, loving every minute of being with me at ITV’s This Morning, the BBC and Sky News. They even appeared on camera alongside me on BBC2’s Victoria Derbyshire Show. They seem proud of my career, especially when their friends tell them they’ve seen me on TV. I know I’m only a few years away from being an embarrassing mum, though!

Parents in Business featuring Honest Mum

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

To me success means achieving balance, something I’ve felt particularly over the last year and a half. Other career highlights have been writing my book, interviewing the amazing Kim Cattrall and the sweet Westlife guys, collaborating with Jamie Oliver and appearing on live TV-there’s no buzz quite like it.

What’s your top tip for anyone who is thinking about setting up their own business?

Know that success is not a straight line, it’s a squiggly one and that the failures and mistakes teach you more than the wins will. They show you how to improve, and equally strengthen your character. Keep pushing. I’ve found the real magic starts to happen the longer you keep going. Never compare your chapter 1 with someone else’s chapter 101. My brilliant manager Jack Freud always asks me to question whether I’m having fun, too. It’s the best question anyone has ever encouraged me to ask myself. If you’re enjoying yourself, it never feels like work, right!

Thank you so much Vicki for being part of my series, it has been an absolute pleasure to feature you on my blog and I hope that others find your story just as inspiring as I do.

You can find out more about Vicki and Honest Mum by visiting her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube channel. The book MUMBOSS is available to purchase on Amazon, and I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a new book to read or who has a passion for setting up a business and making it work around your children.

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: Parent Cloud, Emma Hammond, and Logan’s Plate.

Claire x

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

What were your motivations for setting up your business?

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

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

What’s your top tip for anyone who is thinking about setting up their own business?

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