53: My First Atomicon; Lessons in Focus, Fear and Showing Up

53: My First Atomicon; Lessons in Focus, Fear and Showing Up

Atomicon 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 [https://www.lifefriendlybusiness.com/]'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! [https://atomic.site/?aap=1170] 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 [https://victoriaphipps.com/], 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 [https://mummeansbusinesspodcast.com/ruthashton] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/@victoriaphippsmbe/] or @mummeansbusinesspodcast [https://www.instagram.com/mummeansbusinesspodcast/]. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!

52: From Feeling Stuck to Dreaming Big with Caroline Britton

Caroline 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 [https://caroline-britton.com/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/carolinebrittoncoaching/] or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinebrittoncoaching/]. About The Host: I’m Victoria Phipps – a Mum of two, analogue family photographer [https://victoriaphipps.com/], 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 [https://mummeansbusinesspodcast.com/ruthashton] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/@victoriaphippsmbe/] or @mummeansbusinesspodcast [https://www.instagram.com/mummeansbusinesspodcast/]. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!

51: Taking Up Space and Why It Feels So Uncomfortable

This 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 [https://victoriaphipps.com/], 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 [https://mummeansbusinesspodcast.com/ruthashton] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/@victoriaphippsmbe/] or @mummeansbusinesspodcast [https://www.instagram.com/mummeansbusinesspodcast/]. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!

50: Turning the Tables; Victoria Phipps on the Messy Middle of Motherhood and Business

For 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 [https://d-dayrevisited.co.uk/] charity to building a photography business [https://victoriaphipps.com/] 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 [https://www.putinagoodword.co.uk/] or on Instagram at @put_in_a_good_word [https://www.instagram.com/put_in_a_good_word/]. About The Host: I’m Victoria Phipps – a Mum of two, analogue family photographer [https://victoriaphipps.com/], 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 [https://mummeansbusinesspodcast.com/ruthashton] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/@victoriaphippsmbe/] or @mummeansbusinesspodcast [https://www.instagram.com/mummeansbusinesspodcast/]. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!

49: Bath Time, Business and the Courage to Back Yourself with Christina Townsend

Christina Townsend is a mum of three, a former early years teacher and the founder of Spout [https://www.spoutbathtoys.com/] - 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 [https://www.instagram.com/spoutbathtoys/] or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-townsend-a63293367/]and learn more about Spout at the Spout Bath Toys website [https://www.spoutbathtoys.com/]. About The Host: I’m Victoria Phipps – a Mum of two, analogue family photographer [https://victoriaphipps.com/], 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 [https://mummeansbusinesspodcast.com/ruthashton] 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 [https://www.instagram.com/@victoriaphippsmbe/] or @mummeansbusinesspodcast [https://www.instagram.com/mummeansbusinesspodcast/]. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review!