Sarah Watkins founder of Parentskool sent us the link to her entry for the NatWest Venus Awards in the Business Mother category. Each the nominees give a short presentation about their business and why we should vote for them. Sarah’s video bursts into her pitch which you quickly realise is a ‘mumrap’, as she calls it. It’s an eye-watering but hilarious bid to get more voters but also convey her story about a business she is so clearly passionate about.
What made Sarah think of doing a rap? “I wanted to do something different and funny. I started to write a poem but it was too jokey, so I turned it into a rap. I bob around with a baby a lot in my classes, showing parents how to soothe a crying baby so thought it fit well with the rapping.”
As Sarah declares in the ditty, the idea for Parentskool came to Sarah after having her children. “When I had my babies I felt so unprepared, I fell to bits really, I felt so scared. Had no idea about crying, food or poo so I started a company and called it ParentSkool.” she rhymes it right. Now a few years on, she’s a prominent figure in the Brighton maternity small business community, having also started Pregnant In Brighton, a resourceful directory for finding pre and post-natal services.
With the advent of ‘mumpreneurs’ raising awareness of parents who run businesses around their home life, there are many business awards cropping up. So I ask her, why she chose these awards in particular. “This category of the Venus awards I’ve been nominated for goes out for the public vote, so that’s important to me. It’s good to have the recognition. Juggling running your business and a family can be tough and we shouldn’t have to lie to people that we’re sitting in front of our desks, when in all honesty we’re picking up after the kids and trying to soothe them while we take a phone call.”
Her passion for the purpose of her business has driven her to win two vital business support packages, SE-Assist and the Local Business Accelerator prize. Since 2011 she has had 200 parents graduate her classes and is training 10 new teachers in September.
“I started my business when my daughters were 2 years and 8 months old respectively. I worked all the hours I could when they were napping and at night-time. I’m running two businesses, with only two child-free mornings a week. That’s a business per morning!”
Her now 4 year old daughter told her, ” Mummy you will not win, because you said poo and wee”. Of course, as good parents, we can’t tell her yet that grown-ups think that sort of thing is very, very funny.
Voting closes FRIDAY 5th July so vote now HERE. It takes seconds.
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