Name: Sarah Wolf
Age: 33
Children: Isabella (she will be 3 in February)
Job title: Director
Company: Diablo PR – www.diablopr.co.uk
Profit in first year: 25,000
What did you do before you set up your business?
I have worked in PR since leaving university in 1998. Agencies in London, Bristol and in the country in Somerset
How did you fund your business?
With a deep breath.
What was the motivating factor for staring your own business?
I wanted to focus on being a brilliant PR person rather than managing staff, getting involved in the politics of an office, worrying about development plans etc.
What are the best bits about working again?
I love working because it gives me an outlet to be a grown-up, to use my brain, to fulfil my potential
that my parents poured love, energy and resources into as I was growing up. And having an ncome!
Running a business can be a mixed bag sometimes. What have been you highs and lows so far?
Highs – every time I see my client in the press. The Daily Telegraph ? two features for two clients. Brilliant!
Lows – always on the go, never switching off, always churning stuff over in my brain and also, for the first time, having to admit I cannot do everything!
How have you managed to stay on top of your career with the demands of motherhood?
Luckily, I have earned enough money to pay for brilliant child care. Isabella has been in nursery since she was six months old and I am so lucky that she is a confident, outgoing, happy and well-rounded child and that the nursery (which has a really long waiting list) had a place when I was looking.
What is your worst experience along the way?
Cashflow, and Isabella telling me to turn the phone off or stop looking at the computer because she feels she needs my attention
What impact did having a business have on your relationship?
For me, I’m afraid, it ended up being to the detriment of my relationship. I didn’t focus enough on the relationship (my husband) and found it difficult to communicate how passionate I was about
working.
Is being a lone parent mumpreneur significantly more difficult than when you are in a relationship?
There are challenges. I have to say no occasionally to staying away overnight for clients but I am lucky in that Isabella’s father is brilliant at being a dad.
Any tips for expectant mums, or mothers who feel that you can’t have a successful career and a happy family life at the same time?
You can have a successful career and a happy child but you need to be organised, dedicated, you need to focus on your career and your child equally (I am failing at this at the moment but am trying!) and don’t let anyone knock you. I had terrific support from my mother which will need to continue but there have been snide comments along the way from various parties.