This week on Mum Means Business, I’m joined by Ekaterina Ward - mindset coach and founder of Vivacity, a community supporting female founders aged 40 and over to build vibrant, soul-aligned businesses that support the lives they want to lead.

Ekaterina began her career in teaching before moving into corporate financial services. Eleven years ago, she retrained as a coach and has since worked extensively in corporate and executive coaching. Today, her focus is on supporting mothers in business - helping them grow their income, energy and impact without sacrificing themselves in the process.

A mum to an eleven-year-old daughter, Ekaterina is deeply passionate about challenging the societal expectation that women should shrink as they move through midlife. Instead, she invites women to see this season as one of expansion, power and becoming.

Her work explores the patterns that often guide our behaviour. As she recently shared, some of us are led by the heart, others by fire - but many of us are unconsciously addicted to suffering through overworking, people pleasing, control and self-neglect. Ekaterina’s message is clear: we do not need to suffer in order to grow.

💡 “We do not need to suffer to grow.”

In this deep, reflective and quietly powerful conversation, we explore:
✨ Ekaterina’s transition from corporate life into coaching
✨ Why asking for help is a skill many women struggle to practise
✨ Breaking cycles of suffering and self-sabotage
✨ Fear of success and how it shows up for women in business
✨ Creating ease rather than glorifying struggle
✨ Self-regulation, emotional awareness and the window of tolerance
✨ Reframing midlife as the wise woman’s journey
✨ Navigating perimenopause with honesty, compassion and self-advocacy

We also talk about self-enquiry, identity shifts and what it means to truly come home to yourself - as a woman, a mother and a business owner.

About Ekaterina Ward:
Ekaterina Ward is a mindset coach and founder of Vivacity, a community supporting female founders aged 40 and over to build soul-aligned businesses and lives. With a background in teaching, corporate financial services and executive coaching, she brings depth, compassion and strategic clarity to her work.

Ekaterina specialises in supporting mothers in business to grow sustainably, without burnout. Her work challenges outdated narratives around midlife and menopause, reframing them as powerful seasons of self-leadership, honesty and renewal.

You can find Ekaterina on Instagram or LinkedIn, and learn more about her work through Vivacity via her website.

You can also download her FREE Midlife Mayhem and Magic Workbook!

About The Host:
I'm Victoria Phipps – a Mum of two, family photographer, charity co-founder, marketing person and now podcaster! 🎙️

I was raised by a nurturing Mother and an entrepreneurial Father and have inherited traits from both, so the tension between ambition and motherhood is one I grapple with on a daily basis!

I’m fascinated to hear the stories of other women on a similar path, who are striving to build thriving businesses whilst being present for their children. It's a tough juggle, but I hope the conversations shared on this podcast help Mums in business feel less alone and inspired to keep going in pursuit of their dreams.

Head to the Mum Means Business Podcast website for full show notes.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the topics discussed in this conversation, so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @victoriaphippsmbe or @mummeansbusinesspodcast.

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