the power of opportunity, by mob resident coach and business mentor, francesca hodgson
Hello Mobsters,
it’s francesca here, Welcome to week 3 of my business blog.
Firstly I have been blown away by all the wonderful comments and support on last week's blog. Thank you to all the Mobsters who took the time to read my blog and for the engagement, it’s a rocketship for motivation and has inspired me to continue to work hard to add real value.
Honestly, I had once thought blogging was mostly about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) but I have been proved wrong. Aligned to the message of last week's blog, when you put your true authentic self out there, the energy just starts to flow.
This week I promised to bring more of my own story, but I wanted to do it through story telling and promoting…..
THE POWER OF OPPORTUNITY.
whether you are a mobster mum building a business, a career or something else, I hope this week you can get inspired and gain fresh energy with the simple reminder that we never know what’s just around the corner and what beautiful unexpected opportunities may come our way.
Opportunity is everywhere. We just need to be open to it.
My life and career story took off when my first son was born.
I was having coffee with my then manager in Canary Wharf on a ‘Keeping In Touch (KIT)’ day. She asked me “what am I doing for the rest of the day?” I said “I was deciding whether or not to go to a, quote, unquote ‘mummy and me meet up.’ “
To be honest, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to talk about babies, shi**y nappies, and sleepless nights. She said, “just go, Fran, you never know”. This turned out to be THE BEST ADVICE EVER. From that meet up, I met some of my now best friends, and later was introduced to my first business partner, and the rest is history.
If you're anything like me, whilst you love your children more than anything, there are days where you question the impact on your career. I've taught myself over the past 11 years of parenting to not think this way as it's not helpful. Instead I remind myself of everything I have, the new perspective, family, friends, lessons learned and most importantly the opportunities it has created.
How One Meeting Led to Building a FinTech Start-up and a Thriving Career
From that one meeting I went on to build a Fin Tech start-up called GoodBox which pioneered the use of contactless payment for charitable donations (if you have ever been into the Natural History Museum or Science Museum in London you may have seen tap to donate boxes, that was me and a talented team).
Since then I’ve completed a Master of Business Administration after receiving a scholarship for Women in Business with the University of Cambridge, worked in Venture Capital and now run my own consulting firm offering Coaching and Business Advisory (www.weareambition.ventures).
Most recently I started working with Kings College Cambridge as a Coach and Mentor in Entrepreneurship. Honestly this is just the beginning, with so much renewed energy (now my kids are slightly older) I am just at the tip of the iceberg. I’ll be continuing my coaching, which is an absolute privilege and one of life's best kept secrets (more on coaching in a future blog!) along with launching new companies (watch this space!).
I hope not to have gone on for too long, I am also a SEND mummy and know how precious our time is as parents, but I hope to have provided inspiration and a motivational reminder that opportunities are everywhere, hiding in every corner and in the most unexpected places. It’s one of the reasons why i love what bex and georgie are building with mums who build (the mob), i know from my own maternity-leave experience with that mummy and me meet-up what opportunities can arise when you surround yourself with a community of like-minded women who just get it, and can be there to support you professionally and personally - it really is powerful.
I’d love to hear your stories about unexpected opportunities and how it changed the course of your life. I loved the comments and engagement last week so please do use this blog and comments section as a way to engage, connect and tell me and all the Mobsters about you and what you are building. Also if there are any business topics you’d like me to cover please do share your suggestions as I am keen to make this weekly blog a valuable source of inspiration.
Bonus: Weekly recommendations to inspire:
If you haven’t seen it you must watch ‘Nobody Wants This’ on Netflix, laugh out loud funny and perfect easy watching, you won’t regret it!
Thanks again Mobester, until next time!
Francesca
P.S. If you missed last week’s blog - you can catch-up here (vision, mission and the power of personal brand).
Please do connect with me to via Linkedin and instagram, details below.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-hodgson/
https://www.instagram.com/we.are.ambition/
who is mobster francesca?
Hi, I am Francesca Hodsgon, Founder of We are Ambition and mum to Oliver and Harry who are now 11 and 7. I am an exited tech founder on a mission to help millions of people find mental clarity and to inspire and support business leaders of the future.
It's a pleasure to be a guest writer and resident business coach for The MOB (Mums Who Build). Every Monday I will be sharing my blog to help motivate and inspire you to build the life and future your want in motherhood. If you have a question you can drop me a DM anytime.
WHo are mums who build? (the mob)
Founded in 2023 by two east london mums rebecca coxshall and georgie harris.
the MOB (mums who build) is the community enabling mums to build the life and future YOU want in motherhood.
We do this through:
Wellbeing;
Connection; and
Financial Fitness
But it's so much more than just a community. It's an attitude, it's a lifestyle; it's the team that will be championing you through motherhood and life. So whatever it is your building - a business, a career, something else, join our free community today to find out more about how The MOB can support you to build the life you want. Motherhood is wild - we're stronger together and it's a hell of a lot more fun!
If you are able to get to London, we'd love to meet you! Come down and see us in person at one of our events. The MOB also hosts regular 'Mobster Hangouts' - free mum meet-ups (kids welcome) - weekly in Walthamstow and monthly in Stoke Newington, full details of these are on the Events page.
Got a question for us? Drop us an email: mobster@mumswhobuild.com
