This solo episode lands on the first day of the summer holidays for most children across England and it feels like exactly the right moment to talk honestly about what this season actually looks like when you are a mother with a business to run.

As you'll hear there are no perfectly scheduled content calendars, completed to-do lists or clean skirting boards here! Just the reality of sliding into six or seven weeks of summer with work still very much on the agenda, a van packed for France and a promise made to a five year old that this summer will count. If you are heading into the summer holidays feeling anything less than prepared, this one is for you.

In this episode, I reflect on:

✨ Why the build-up to the summer holidays can feel as pressured and frantic as Christmas and how the stories we tell ourselves about having to be ready can make it worse

✨ An honest breakdown of what I will still be doing over the summer — from publishing episodes and nurturing my email list to checking in on Meta ads, doing my day job and re-recording the entire Print Over Pixels course for a September launch

✨ Why I have already broken my one summer boundary of no podcast recordings and what that reveals about the ongoing work of actually holding the limits we set for ourselves

✨ The Meta ads lesson learned last month about what happens when you stop paying attention to something you are spending money on and why checking in weekly is now non-negotiable

✨ Why I am pressing pause on the photography business for the whole of August and why choosing what not to do is just as important as deciding what to do

✨ The thing I will not be doing this summer - giving myself a hard time and why that is the most important promise on the list

✨ The Instagram versus reality piece and why the golden hour summer holiday content you are scrolling through is not the full picture for most of us

✨ My slightly embarrassing but genuinely effective tool for shifting comparison energy involving a silent disco and Celine Dion

✨ The one promise I am making to my daughter for August and why four full days just the two of us feels like the win worth working towards

Takeaway for Mums in Business:

If you're working more than you'd like this summer, you're not alone. If you wish you could press pause and be entirely present with your kids but can't quite get there yet, you're not alone. We are all at different stages of this game and that is okay.

About The Host:

I’m Victoria Phipps – a Mum of two, analogue family photographer, personal brand photographer, educator, charity co-founder, marketer 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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