HELLO MAVENS !!! x
Last Thursday we had our meet up at the HUB. It was so great to see so many of you. We had some non-members attend as usual and I am so happy to say that most of them have now joined us. (who wouldn't) I was listening to everyone in the room and I kept hearing the same kind of thing being said and that was that we are a 'new breed' of networking and so many of you have been searching for something like 'us' for ages. I also kept hearing how we are so unique in the way we REALLY do support one another. Many other networking groups seem so desperate in their goal to achieve that they actually hinder themselves. I think our group works so well because we are ALL so honest with each other. We talk about the ups and the downs. We pick each other up when things feel too heavy. I really do feel like I have personally found my tribe! We are all honest, yes we are all looking for business but it's not fake or forced here. We recommend each other because we REALLY want each other to do well. We get to know each other, there is NO BULLSHIT ! I also got asked quite a few times how do I do it all ...... well the truth is I don't! I have been self-employed since I was 25. I ran and owned a Nursery School with Sally. (She still owns it and it is HUGELY successful) But my choice to be self employed was always based on being around for my young babies. You will often hear me referring to myself as a bit of a Del Boy. When I say that I mean that I have always juggled my career choices around my family. I have never sold dodgey goods like Del but I may have accidently borrowed his catch phrases such as 'This time next year we will be millionaires & Lovely Jubbly' I burnt my kid's dinners everyday for about 10 years because I was multi-tasking so much so that my Husband now cooks for us all everyday. I have always been a very hands on mum but I have never been good at hanging out with the other Mums. I was the one who turned up frazzled, let them all down, turned up without the home-baked cake. If I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would be just smile, hold your head up high and say NO! Nobody can do it all and if you do I truly SALUTE you. We can't be friends though because I will be the one that drives you MAD!! Exercise was another thing that came up in discussion a lot at our meet up.I just want you all to know that my children are 17 and 19 so I am not juggling toddler bedtime routines like a lot of you. I only started exercising properly about 3 years ago. It is my only time my brain is still. I am seriously not exaggerating! Running my business that has lots of various branches is more than a full time job. I live, eat, breathe my business, the lines are more than blurred. The only way I can cope mentally is to get into the gym for an hour once a day. I have NO co-ordination and have to concentrate so hard that there is no room for my brain to think of anything else. It is the BEST way for my brain to relax, I know that sounds crazy! My point is that we all need to find one thing that gives us a little 'me' time. Mine is the gym, but yours might be coffee with a friend, a yoga class, reading a book etc etc...... I just want to say the HUGEST heart felt thank you for being honest and supporting each ladies!! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING !!!! Love Hayley x (Please excuse grammar and spelling, I am all about heart & passion NOT PERFECTION)