Mums who mean business: careers and childcare
Diana McMann, owner of The Little Pearl and founder of Badass Mama, discusses why she started her coaching business and how she can help fellow ambitious mums smash their business goals whilst still maintaining their ideal family lifestyle.
Give us an insight into your background.
After completing a marketing degree, I fell into a career in advertising and then moved into a more corporate sales and marketing role for a global food manufacturer. I later had my first son, Tobias, who is now 10. As a new mum, I switched to part-time hours but realised I just wasn’t enjoying the work anymore, and that I’d lost my sense of identity and worth. I knew I needed to do something for myself beyond the family home.
Setting up a business had always been at the back of my mind; I combined my love of wedding dresses with an obsession for customer service, and ignited the idea to set up my very own bridal boutique.
A matter of months later, on Valentine’s Day 2015, I opened The Little Pearl, in which time I’d also given birth to my second son, Theo, who was just eight months old. I’m not going to say it was easy - it was a lot of hard work, but it was also exciting, and I INSTANTLY regained my sense of worth.
From day one, I kept the long-term vision of building a strong brand and the overarching goal of employing a great team at the forefront of my mind, which gave me motivation on both the good days and the tough ones.
Fast-forward to today: I’ve smashed what I set out to do. I own a recognised and rewarding business known for its #PearlsGirls branding, plus I have my very own podcast, clothing range and an amazing team of female employees who share my get-up-and-go attitude. I have also recently set up my own coaching business, Badass Mama, to inspire and help fellow working mums get started in business, or help those already in the world of self employment in areas they need support with. I’ve achieved that feel-good #Girlboss factor whilst also gaining the flexibility I desired to spend quality time with my family, now including my third beautiful son, William!
Why did you decide to set up Badass Mama?
I know how hard it can be being a working mum, spinning lots of plates, but also maintaining that drive as a business woman. Combining my love of supporting other female business owners, with being passionate about sharing my experiences and learnings, I knew stepping into the coaching world was the perfect way to do this.
I also love marketing, branding and everything social media, which are areas that can fill lots of self-employed mums with fear. From knowing how to create marketing plans to take your business to the next level, to how to create engaging content, there’s just so much to learn. Again, this can be time consuming when you are working solo, so I’m here to help guide, support and create actionable plans. I want to empower mums to be who they want to be, to create the life they want to have for themselves and their family.
Where should a working parent start when re-assessing how to balance all aspects of their lives?
Before you start putting plans into action, your mindset needs to be in the right place. A good place to start is to think about where you see yourself in 2 years time: what does your dream life look like, from a business AND a personal life point of view?
Then, think about those changes you need to make in order to help you get there. Remember to stay small. Take baby steps. Anything that feels like a mountain to climb will just make you feel like it’s more out of reach and harder to achieve. Think of these changes as intentions, and break them down into manageable chunks: 12 week blocks is always a good timeframe. Again, it helps to make things feel more achievable.
Always think about ‘why’ you are making these changes too. Instilling the positive energy will make everything feel more aligned.
Mum guilt is one of the biggest challenges to getting a balanced life that I hear from my clients and something I have suffered with. Letting it go of this is the best thing you can do for you and your business. Be kind to yourself and start putting things into perspective. Ask yourself powerful questions like, ‘What makes me a good, loving parent?’ and ’Am I trying my best?’. This all helps to re-frame why you are a self-employed, badass mum. All of us feel like there is a lack of time too. It is often how we deal with time that is the barrier to that balance. Having plans in place is the key! Whether that be meal planning for the week, planning the kids uniform & pack ups the night before, creating a monthly social media plan or creating all of your content on one day. There’s so many different plans you can add to your life to make things feel a whole lot less overwhelming.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help too. Lean on those loved ones around you. Talk to your support network. Could they help you with a club pick up one night? Could they watch the baby for an hour whilst you hop on a zoom call, or bash out the emails? It’s no secret that I hate cleaning, so it was my non-negotiable to have a cleaner help with that at home. Yes it is another outgoing, but the time that would be taken up with those jobs, is more well spent on my business helping to generate income!
Taking time for yourself is a must too, and one that so many of us leave at the bottom of the priority list. Even if it’s just a 20 minute walk, a hot bath, sitting down with a cuppa and a podcast episode. Whatever it is that gives you some ‘self-care’ time, build it into your routine. You’ll feel so much more energised and motivated when it then comes to working on your business and personal life.
What are your top tips to becoming a Badass Mama?
1. Build self-care into your daily routine.
2. Plan, plan, plan – both in your personal and business worlds.
3. Always think about ‘why’ you are doing what you do.
4. Have a specific work space at home, where you can shut the door at the end of the day.
5. Get help in areas that are not your zone of genius!
How can we contact you to find out more?
