Parents in Business featuring Little Sleep Stars

This week on my Parents in Business series I’m delighted to share with you Lauren’s business journey about how she created Little Sleep Stars after having her child, and experiencing first hand how difficult it was to get her child to sleep. I think that we’ve all been there?

On living on broken sleep for over a year and with her return to work looming, Lauren enlisted the help of her own sleep consultant. As a result of this and her legal background, Lauren decided to set up her own sleep consultancy and Little Sleep Stars was born. 

This is a brilliant read for anyone who is thinking about a change in career after having children, and Lauren’s top tips and her achievements reflect that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. 

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

Before having my son, I was a lawyer for over 12 years and specialised in criminal law. It was a career I had always wanted and certainly intended to return to after maternity leave. Having set my heart on being a lawyer aged just 14, when we read To Kill a Mockingbird during school English lessons, I took a traditional route to qualification via an undergraduate law degree followed by postgraduate qualifications to practice. I worked initially in criminal defence before moving to an in-house role with the Civil Service. 

Little Sleep Stars came about following my own journey with child sleep. The ethos of my business is that all babies and children have both the need and the ability to sleep well – it’s just that some need more help than others to unlock their innate sleep potential. The term “sleep-training” holds a number of negative connotations and often conjures up images of babies being left alone to cry. That couldn’t be further away from what I do! By taking a holistic, whole-child approach, it is always possible to improve sleep without the process being an ordeal for parent or child. My practice is underpinned by the most comprehensive, evidence-based training available which sets Little Sleep Stars apart in an increasingly saturated but, to-date, unregulated industry. Far from holding the business back, my legal background has proved to be a huge asset. Not only is my assessment process naturally forensic and my advice clear and direct, I am able to identify well with my clients who are often professional women feeling that same thing I did: “I am a competent person, why is this so hard?”.

What were your motivations for setting up your business?

I’m super-proud of the credibility of Little Sleep Stars and the doors that has opened. Despite only establishing my own consultancy at the beginning of 2018, having previously sat within a larger, established brand, I have already been asked to provide my expertise by some of the most trusted names in the baby and toddler world such as Mamas & Papas, The Baby & Toddler Show and Mother & Baby magazine. I have also helped over 200 families find their way back to sleep which is a huge privilege.

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