Podcast
Mum Means Business
Hosted by Victoria Phipps · EN
For women juggling pitches and play dates!
Hosted by Victoria Phipps MBE, the Mum Means Business is the podcast for ambitious Mothers navigating the beautiful chaos of building a business while raising a family. Each episode shares honest conversations and inspiring stories from real Mums growing heart-centred, purpose-driven businesses designed to make this world a better place for our children.
Whether you’re working during nap time, burning the midnight oil or squeezing strategy sessions between school runs, this is your space. A space to feel seen, supported and inspired.
Join us as we celebrate the wins, unpack the challenges and remind ourselves that while tackling motherhood and entrepreneurship at the same time can be a wild ride, we don’t have to do it alone.
Because motherhood isn’t a barrier to success - it’s a superpower.
Hosted by Victoria Phipps MBE, the Mum Means Business is the podcast for ambitious Mothers navigating the beautiful chaos of building a business while raising a family. Each episode shares honest conversations and inspiring stories from real Mums growing heart-centred, purpose-driven businesses designed to make this world a better place for our children.
Whether you’re working during nap time, burning the midnight oil or squeezing strategy sessions between school runs, this is your space. A space to feel seen, supported and inspired.
Join us as we celebrate the wins, unpack the challenges and remind ourselves that while tackling motherhood and entrepreneurship at the same time can be a wild ride, we don’t have to do it alone.
Because motherhood isn’t a barrier to success - it’s a superpower.
41episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
55. Why Consistency Alone Is Not Enough and What I'm Doing Instead
Jul 300:20:34Tap to summarizeThis is an honest reflection on one of the most repeated pieces of advice in the online business world: be consistent. Show up every day, post without fail, feed the algorithm! For a long time, I did exactly that. I posted on Instagram every single day for 14 months while navigating two babies under two, a new home, financial pressure and a new version of my photography business I was desperately trying to make work. At the end of it, I had 600 followers and a lot of cringe-worthy content to look back on. In this episode I share what that experience taught me, why I took the same consistency mindset into the podcast and what I've realised now I'm on the other side of 50 episodes. This episode is about energy, capacity, messaging and the quiet but radical decision to stop doing something that is not working just because you have always been told it should. I reflect on: ✨ Why consistency in marketing matters and the arguments for it, from algorithm benefits to building trust and failing faster through testing, but why consistency alone is not the whole story ✨ The honest account of posting every day for 14 months with frantic energy, unclear messaging and a following that barely grew, and what that reveals about the difference between showing up and showing up well ✨ Why my energy was the missing piece during those early years of relaunching my business, and how that frantic, unfocused output was visible to anyone landing on my account ✨ The realisation after 50 podcast episodes that doing the same thing and expecting different results is worth questioning, and why a milestone can be the perfect moment to change course ✨ Why the power has been in the pause, in the conversations, in the connections and in the moments of genuine reflection rather than in relentless daily output ✨ The shift from consistency at all costs to marketing that feels aligned with my energy and honest about my capacity as a mother running multiple strands of work ✨ Where I am choosing to be consistent going forward - the podcast, the photography education email list and the family business marketing - and where I am giving myself permission to let go ✨ The key takeaway from *Atomicon that landed hard: doing something is not always better than doing nothing, and why that reframe changes everything ✨ Why quality in content does not mean beautiful or polished but means connection, clarity of message and the human to human moment that makes someone think yes, me too *Listen to my Atomicon 2026 debrief in full Takeaway for Mums in Business: Consistency and discipline have their place. But if you are pouring all of your spare energy into content that is not moving the needle, that is not necessarily better than doing nothing. Give yourself permission to pause, reflect and come back with the energy that is actually going to land. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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54: Burnout, Boundaries and the Healing Power of Gardening with Kendall Marie Platt
Jun 3001:04:26Tap to summarizeKendall Marie Platt is a horticultural therapist, writer, speaker and founder of Adventures with Flowers. She brings together horticultural therapy and sensory-led garden design to create spaces that don't just look beautiful but actively quieten the mind, restore the nervous system and support the body and brain in a way that no amount of productivity hacking ever could. As a mother of two who has navigated burnout herself, she brings both professional expertise and deeply personal understanding to her work supporting women to create their own garden sanctuary and step off the hamster wheel before it's too late. In this episode, we explore Kendall's path from burnout to a business built around restoration and joy, and why getting your hands in the soil might be one of the most radical acts of self-care a mother in business can choose. 💡 "I want my kids to see me taking care of myself, because I want them to take care of themselves. I have to show them because it's not enough to tell them." — Kendall Marie Platt In this conversation, we explore: ✨ Kendall's personal journey from burnout to building a business rooted in horticultural therapy and why that experience is at the heart of everything she now offers ✨ How she combines horticultural therapy and sensory-led garden design to create spaces that restore rather than just impress and what that looks and feels like in practice ✨ The link between mindfulness, nature and mental health and why the garden offers something that traditional wellness practices often cannot ✨ Why so many women tie their self-worth to their productivity and how breaking that cycle is one of the most powerful things the garden can teach us ✨ The role of self-trust and intuition in both gardening and in life and why we so often wait for permission that was never ours to give away in the first place ✨ Finding flow in nature and what the rhythms of the garden can teach us about pacing ourselves in business and in motherhood ✨ Why accessible gardening is not about having a large space, a green thumb or a formal qualification but simply about showing up and starting ✨ The importance of daily joy as a genuine act of self-preservation rather than a luxury to be earned once everything else is done ✨ How reconnecting with nature can shift our relationship with our own nervous system and begin to interrupt the patterns that lead to burnout ✨ The generational patterns that Kendall has worked to break and what she hopes to model for her children through her relationship with the garden and with herself About the Guest: Kendall Marie Platt is a horticultural therapist, writer, speaker and founder of Adventures with Flowers. She works with women to create garden sanctuaries that support their mental health, lower their stress levels and provide a daily rhythm of restoration. Through her one to one programme, garden-along sessions and membership the Seed, she offers a practical, accessible and deeply therapeutic alternative to the burnout culture that so many mothers are navigating. A mother of two, Kendall is a passionate disrupter of the story that we need permission or accreditation before we can begin to tend to ourselves. You can connect with Kendall via Instagram and the Adventures with Flowers website. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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53: My First Atomicon; Lessons in Focus, Fear and Showing Up
Jun 2600:23:30Tap to summarizeAtomicon is the largest sales and marketing conference in the UK for small businesses and this year I finally went for the first time. It was not a smooth run up. Between taking the hit on a non-refundable train ticket and a last-minute rebooking to make it home for my daughter's first ever sports day, a soft brand launch timed for the exact same day and a train journey spent trying to learn Adobe Express for the first time, it felt less like a treat and more like something I was squeezing into the cracks of a very full life. But I'm so glad I made the effort! In this solo episode I share what the day actually looked like, the talks that challenged and inspired me and the moment I had to choose between walking away or being brave enough to ask for what I wanted. In this episode, I reflect on: ✨ The tension between mum life and business life that played out even before Atomicon began - from sports day versus conference tickets to late night brand launches and early morning trains ✨ How Erin Thomas Wong's fringe event the evening before set the perfect tone - a smaller, more intimate space full of like-minded women that eased me gently into the bigger experience ahead ✨ Andrew and Pete's 90-10 rule and why their challenge to go all in on one clear focus landed uncomfortably for someone currently spreading energy across multiple businesses and projects ✨ The talks that stopped me in my tracks, particularly Amelia Sordell on the founder brand and why craving attention for your business is not the same as craving it for yourself ✨ The moment outside the talk where I waited 45 minutes, nearly talked myself out of it and plucked up the courage to ask Amelia Sordell if she would come on this podcast ✨ Ann Handley closing the day with a brilliant talk about the importance of knowing when to slow down in a world that is constantly telling us to hurry up ✨ Why the energy, the generosity and the sheer friendliness of 1500 small business owners in one room is something every person building a business in isolation needs to experience at least once GET YOUR 2027 TICKET HERE! Takeaway for Mums in Business: There will always be a reason not to go... the logistics, the guilt, the sense that you are squeezing it in rather than savouring it. But showing up for the connections, the inspiration and the moments where you surprise yourself with your own bravery, is almost always worth it. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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52: From Feeling Stuck to Dreaming Big with Caroline Britton
Jun 2300:55:41Tap to summarizeCaroline Britton is an intuitive coach, author and agent of change for leaders, entrepreneurs and public figures who are ready to transform their lives. For over 14 years she worked in global consultancy, during which time she became a mother of two. Four years ago she made the decision to lean into her intuitive gifts, bet on herself and use her abilities to help people connect to who they truly are beyond the conditioning, the labels, the ego, the pain and the limiting beliefs that keep so many of us small. In this episode, we explore Caroline's journey from feeling stuck to living with purpose and fulfilment, and what it truly takes to navigate change without self-abandonment. It is a conversation about stillness, intuition, emotional intelligence and the quiet but radical act of coming home to yourself. 💡 "When you truly meet yourself, you can truly meet others and you can truly meet life." - Caroline Britton In this conversation, we explore: ✨ Caroline's journey from 14 years in global consultancy to becoming an intuitive coach and what the decision to bet on herself actually looked and felt like from the inside ✨ How she navigated the identity shift of leaving a successful corporate career to build something entirely new and the belief barriers she had to overcome along the way ✨ The evolution of her coaching practice and why the most powerful work she does with clients begins not with strategy but with stillness and self-connection ✨ Why authenticity in business is not just a nice-to-have but the foundation everything sustainable is built on, and what gets in the way of it for so many women ✨ The identity and belief barriers that keep people feeling stuck and the process Caroline uses to help clients move through them towards clarity and purpose ✨ What it means to dream big and how to begin reconnecting with your own desires when busyness, conditioning and self-doubt have made them hard to hear ✨ The ripple effect of personal growth and why the work we do on ourselves quietly changes everything around us, including how we show up for our children ✨ The value of connection and asking for help, and why so many high-achieving women resist both far longer than they should ✨ Parenting with awareness and how developing emotional intelligence in ourselves shapes the way we nurture it in our children ✨ The simple but powerful exercises Caroline uses to help clients reconnect with their dreams, including writing a letter from fear and a letter from love About the Guest: Caroline Britton is an intuitive coach, author and magic maker who helps leaders, entrepreneurs and public figures wake up to a life of freedom, purpose and joy. With a background in global consultancy and over four years of full-time coaching, she has transformed thousands of lives through her work, her writing and her ability to help people connect to who they really are beneath the noise. She is the author of Coming Home to You and has been featured in Forbes, The Telegraph, GQ and Red Magazine. A mother of two, Caroline is passionate about helping people navigate change without self-abandonment. You can connect with Caroline via her website, Instagram or LinkedIn. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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51: Taking Up Space and Why It Feels So Uncomfortable
Jun 1900:08:13Tap to summarizeThis is the first solo episode of Mum Means Business. No guest, no carefully crafted bio to introduce, no one else to bounce off. Just me, unfiltered, taking up space in my own podcast for the first time. This episode marks the start of a new weekly format. Each Friday, I'll share a short and honest reflection on whatever is on my mind that week across my photography business, my work teaching photographers to lead with print in the digital age, the podcast itself and my role in the family business my father established over twenty years ago. Layered on top of all of that, as always, is family life with its highs, lows and everything in between. In this first ramble, I open up about why it has taken me so long to talk about my own work on a podcast built to celebrate other mothers in business and what finally shifted to bring about this new chapter. In this episode, I reflect on: ✨ Why building a podcast to celebrate other women's businesses made it feel almost impossible to talk about my own ✨ The internalised story that to be accepted, women should dim themselves rather than take up space, and how deeply that belief can sit beneath the surface ✨ Why authenticity is hard precisely because it asks us to override a lifetime of conditioning that we are too much ✨ How the conversations on this podcast have become a genuine source of comfort and solidarity while navigating my own identity shifts in early motherhood ✨ The decision to start these solo episodes as a way of practising what I preach, and giving myself permission to take up the same space I encourage other mothers to claim Takeaway for Mums in Business: The more we normalise the mess that's going on behind the scenes, the better and that's why this podcast exists. The fact is that business-building takes time and when you're a Mum, it can take even longer. It's a rollercoaster, but we're all riding it together! 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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50: Turning the Tables; Victoria Phipps on the Messy Middle of Motherhood and Business
Jun 1601:09:09Tap to summarizeFor 49 episodes, I've been the one asking the questions. For episode 50, the tables are turned! Putting me in the hot seat is Sarah Garrod. Sarah is a qualified journalist, founder of copywriting practice Put In A Good Word and one of my oldest friends. We met on our first day of secondary school at the age of eleven and have navigated teenage years, university, adventures in business and the complexities of modern motherhood side by side ever since. In this milestone episode, Sarah puts her journalism skills to work and interviews me about my own story - from co-founding the D-Day Revisited charity to building a photography business across the analogue and digital ages, dipping my toes into the online business space and the messy, honest reality of navigating entrepreneurship alongside early motherhood... this is a conversation I admits felt self-indulgent and uncomfortable in equal measure. Which is, of course, exactly why it needed to happen. 💡 "Business-building mothers need to get more comfortable taking up space. I have a responsibility to practise what I preach." — Victoria Phipps In this conversation, we explore: ✨ The story of co-founding D-Day Revisited, a charity that became one of the most significant commemorations of its generation and what that experience taught me about leadership, community and showing up for something bigger than yourself ✨ The transferable skills that charity work gave me and how those skills shaped the way I approach motherhood and business ✨ The transition into photography and the journey of building a business through the seismic shift of the digital age ✨ Why film photography holds a particular and irreplaceable magic and what the analogue process teaches us about patience, trust and the art of letting go ✨ How I think about creating lasting memories through photography and why the stories we preserve matter as much as the images themselves ✨ The messy middle of navigating motherhood and entrepreneurship honestly and what it has taken to keep showing up through the uncertainty and self-doubt ✨ Why I started this podcast, what I hoped it would become and what 50 episodes have taught me about community, connection and the power of shared experience ✨ The importance of finding your tribe as a mother in business and why building community is not a nice-to-have but a genuine lifeline ✨ My vision for the next chapter, including a new weekly solo episode sharing the honest highs and lows of building a business alongside family life About the Guest and Host: This episode turns the microphone around. I'm the host of Mum Means Business, a mum of two, portrait photographer, photography business educator, marketing lead in the family business and the woman behind 50 episodes of honest, warm conversations about motherhood and entrepreneurship. Interviewing me is Sarah Garrod - qualified journalist, founder of Put In A Good Word and one of my oldest and most trusted friends. You can find Sarah at putinagoodword.co.uk or on Instagram at @put_in_a_good_word. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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49: Bath Time, Business and the Courage to Back Yourself with Christina Townsend
Jun 901:01:14Tap to summarizeChristina Townsend is a mum of three, a former early years teacher and the founder of Spout - an award-winning bath play system that gives children a defined space for bath time play before converting into a calm, grown-up bath setup for worn-out parents in need of rest and restoration. The idea grew directly from her own evenings at home, navigating dinner, bath and bed on repeat when everyone is tired and the house already feels full enough. Unable to find a solution that made that moment feel easier without adding more clutter, she decided to build one herself. Christina shares the early stage journey of turning an idea into a real product and a real business and what it has taken in terms of courage, tenacity and self-belief to keep going before the world has even seen what she is building. In this conversation, we explore: ✨ The story behind Spout, how a recognisable parenting pain point became the seed of a product idea and what the early design process actually looked like ✨ How Christina's background as an early years teacher shaped both the concept and the philosophy behind Spout and why that expertise has been one of her greatest assets ✨ Navigating significant life events and personal challenges alongside the demands of launching a start up and what that has revealed about resilience and priorities ✨ The emotional rollercoaster of early stage entrepreneurship and why the start up phase, though challenging, is often where the most profound personal growth happens ✨ Overcoming self-doubt and imposter syndrome when you are surrounded by very few people who are modelling the entrepreneurial way of life ✨ What it means to position yourself in your own mind as an entrepreneur when that word still feels big, unfamiliar or even intimidating ✨ The role of family support in sustaining the energy and tenacity that start up life demands and who has championed Christina most along the way ✨ Learning the language of business from scratch, navigating investment conversations and taking financial risks when the stakes are deeply personal ✨ The challenges of marketing and social media as a solo founder with limited time and resource and how she is finding her way through ✨ What creating a lasting impact means to Christina and the vision she holds for Spout beyond the product itself About the Guest: Christina Townsend is the founder of Spout, an award-winning bath play system designed to make bath time easier for children and more restorative for parents. A former early years teacher and mother of three, she is navigating the start up journey whilst working full time and solo parenting, learning as she goes what it truly takes to turn an idea into a product and a product into a business. Her story is one of tenacity, courage and the quiet but powerful decision to back yourself before anyone else does. You can find Christina on Instagram or LinkedIn and learn more about Spout at the Spout Bath Toys website. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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48: Foot Health, Franchising and Building a Business That Fits with Sam Chetwood
Jun 200:58:43Tap to summarizeSam Chetwood is the founder of CeCe & Me, a mobile children's shoe fitting service transforming the way parents shop for their little ones' feet. Her journey began not in business but in frustration - as a mum who struggled to feel confident buying shoes for her toddlers and couldn't find a service that truly put foot health first. What began as a personal mission has since grown into a franchise network, supporting other mothers to build flexible, rewarding businesses around family life. In this episode, we explore the story behind CeCe & Me, the surprising science of children's foot health and what it really takes to build a franchise from scratch — a conversation about solving a problem you know intimately and why the shoes on your child's feet matter far more than most of us realise. "Shoes aren't just a necessity of life there to keep the rain off. They have a vital role to play in our wider physical and neurological health and wellbeing." — Sam Chetwood In this conversation, we explore: ✨ How Sam's experience as a frustrated mum navigating busy chain shoe stores became the catalyst for building an entirely new kind of children's shoe fitting service ✨ The challenges of getting children's shoes right and why the standard high street experience so often leaves parents feeling uncertain and overwhelmed ✨ How the CeCe & Me mobile model works and why bringing the fitting service directly to families changes the experience for both parents and children entirely ✨ The importance of building genuine relationships with families over time and why that continuity of care sets CeCe & Me apart from a transactional shoe shop visit ✨ The journey into franchising, how Sam developed her CPD-accredited training programme and what she looks for in the mothers who join the network ✨ The science behind shoe fitting and why getting it right in early childhood has significant implications for long term physical and neurological development ✨ How feet act as sensory organs and the surprising role they play in a child's wider health and wellbeing beyond simply keeping the rain out ✨ The tension between fashion and function in children's footwear and the practical guidance Sam gives parents who are trying to navigate both ✨ Why creating positive, memorable experiences around shoe fitting in childhood can shape a child's relationship with their own foot health for life ✨ The vision for CeCe & Me and where Sam hopes to take the business and its mission next About the Guest: Sam Chetwood is the founder of CeCe & Me, a mobile children's shoe fitting service and growing franchise network dedicated to promoting long term foot health in children. Having identified a genuine gap in the market as a frustrated mum, she built a business that combines expert fitting, parent education and a warm, unhurried experience that puts families first. Her CPD-accredited training programme supports franchisees across the country to deliver that same standard of care in their own communities. Sam is a mother on a mission to change the way we think about children's shoes, one fitting at a time. You can connect with Sam via Instagram, LinkedIn or the CeCe & Me website. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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47: Branding, Boundaries and Building Sustainably in Motherhood with Charlotte Vincent
May 2600:47:12Tap to summarizeCharlotte Vincent is a branding designer and founder of Rose Studio, a creative studio based in Auckland, New Zealand that helps female-led businesses create premium, strategy-backed brands that attract their dream clients. What began as early morning design sessions stolen between the demands of family life has grown into a full-scale creative business, built intentionally around motherhood rather than in spite of it. A mother of three navigating the particular joys and challenges of raising a child with a disability, Charlotte brings both creative expertise and hard-won personal insight to everything she builds. In this episode, we explore her journey from those first quiet hours at the desk to founding Rose Studio, and what it truly means to design a business that supports your life rather than consuming it. 💡 "Once I designed my business to support my life, everything became more sustainable. Motherhood sharpened my decision-making, boundaries and focus. I waste less time and trust myself more." - Charlotte Vincent In this conversation, we explore: ✨ How Charlotte's business began with early morning design sessions as a busy mother and the slow, intentional journey from those first hours to founding Rose Studio ✨ The decision to start a business and what motherhood clarified about the kind of work she wanted to do and the life she wanted to build around it ✨ Life as a family in Thailand and how that chapter shaped her perspective on flexibility, identity and what it means to build a life outside the familiar ✨ The impact of the pandemic on family dynamics and how navigating that period of upheaval accelerated her transition into entrepreneurship ✨ The honest challenges of returning to work after maternity leave and adjusting to shifting roles between partners as life and business evolve ✨ Why investing in a business coach was a turning point and what that outside perspective unlocked for her clarity, confidence and direction ✨ How caring for a child with a disability has sharpened her decision-making, deepened her boundaries and reshaped her understanding of what really matters in business and in life ✨ The shift from measuring success by external markers to redefining it in her own terms, season by season, as a mother and as a founder ✨ Why giving herself permission to build slowly and sustainably was not a compromise but the foundation everything else was built on ✨ What she would say to any mother at the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey who is wondering whether the timing will ever feel right About the Guest: Charlotte Vincent is a branding designer and the founder of Rose Studio, a creative studio based in Auckland, New Zealand. She works with female-led businesses to create premium, strategy-backed brands that are built to attract dream clients and support long term growth. A mother of three, Charlotte has built her business slowly and intentionally around family life, including the particular joys and challenges of raising a child with a disability. Her story is one of patience, clarity and the quiet power of building something sustainable. You can connect with Charlotte via Instagram or the Rose Studio website. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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46: Finding Your Place; Identity, Belonging and Ambition After Children with Fiorenza Rossini
May 1900:53:40Tap to summarizeFiorenza Rossini is a coach, founder of INNOW and host of The Belonging Project podcast. Having begun building her coaching practice in 2016 alongside a career in investment banking, the birth of her first child brought the clarity she needed to make a change. Today she supports driven professional women who find themselves at a similar pivot point in early motherhood — helping them navigate change, redefine ambition and make sense of a season of life in which their capacity looks genuinely different. In this episode, we explore the identity shift that motherhood brings, the quiet but powerful feeling of no longer belonging in the world you once inhabited and what it takes to find your place again. It is a conversation about coaching, community and the transformative power of putting yourself in rooms with people who truly understand. 💡 "There is no shame in asking for help. Put yourself in rooms with other people who have travelled or are travelling the same path as you." - Fiorenza Rossini In this conversation, we explore: ✨ Fiorenza's journey from investment banking to coaching and the moment the birth of her first child made the path forward undeniable ✨ The identity shift of early motherhood and the disorienting sense that the world is carrying on without you while you nest at home with your baby ✨ How belonging — or the absence of it — shapes the experience of new motherhood and why so many women feel lost at this particular pivot point ✨ The pandemic as a catalyst for change and how it accelerated Fiorenza's clarity about the work she was meant to do and the women she was meant to support ✨ Finding her niche in coaching parents through the transition between early parenthood and returning to work and why that specific season matters so much ✨ What coaching actually is, why it is so often misunderstood and the very real value it can add when you are trying to get clear on what you want and what comes next ✨ The challenges faced by new mothers returning to work and how systems that were not designed with them in mind make an already complex transition even harder ✨ The Belonging Project podcast and why Fiorenza felt called to explore identity and belonging in life and work through long form conversation ✨ Why asking for help and putting yourself in rooms with people who truly understand your experience is one of the most powerful things you can do in this season ✨ Reflections on childhood, curiosity and what revisiting our earliest selves can reveal about who we are and what we are here to do About the Guest: Fiorenza Rossini is the founder of INNOW and a coach for driven professional women navigating the identity shifts and ambition recalibration that come with early motherhood. With a background in investment banking and almost a decade of coaching experience, she brings both personal insight and professional expertise to her work supporting parents as they find their place between the worlds of family and work. She is also the host of The Belonging Project podcast, which explores identity and what it means to belong in life and work. Fiorenza is a mother of two, raising her children in a cross-cultural family. You can connect with Fiorenza via the INNOW website, on Instagram or Linkedin. 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. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!
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