The story so far…
A baby was born and a business followed
Here is the “life-is-so-perfect”, Facebook version of events
Marianne is the founder of OptiMums, an organization that seeks to improve employee performance through maternity, executive and baby loss coaching. She received her bachelor’s degree in Business Studies from the University of Portsmouth, and is certified in coach-mentoring through The OCM. She is the author of Part-Time, Please! and the writer and presenter of the popular Mums Chat video collection and author of the book with the same name. Marianne lives with her husband and two school age children near Malmesbury in the United Kingdom.
“So that was the Story So Far for those who like to keep things brief and pretend things come easy.”
Here is the longer “life-is-not-perfect”, vulnerable version
Marianne left a successful corporate career after having her first baby and realising there was a huge need for consistent, positive, collaborative maternity coaching support for Mums (and sometimes Dads) coming back from maternity leave.
She had this business revelation after she personally made every mistake possible during her own haphazard return to work. Her first flexible working request was initially rejected and she was not supported during her return any practical way by her manager or company. Actually this was not their fault, it’s just how it was. Once back at work her hard-won new part-time working pattern proved to be so badly constructed it was very stressful.
“It has to be better than this!” she cried.
But further investigation showed her that it was the same for many women throughout her network, regardless of position or place. New mums often “don’t know what they don’t know” and employers often don’t know how to help either as every mum’s situation is different. So the cycle continues.
“I have to DO something to make this better!” she resolved
So Marianne quit her job with relief, joyfully retrained as a Coach Mentor with The OCM, wrote the maternity coaching self-help book entitled “Part-Time, Please!” whilst fighting her relentless inner critic and boldly founded OptiMums. Better was on its way!
OptiMums has been supporting Mums returning to work since 2013 via high quality, 1 to 1, carefully constructed coaching modules. Now, for the first time, this valuable support service is available to purchase online and download at home. Corporate packages available on request. Personal, face to face maternity coaching also possible.
Coaching volunteers turned into corporate clients
Having gained her OCM Coaching and Mentoring qualification in 2012 Marianne was delighted when one of her in-training coaching volunteers (a Director within a large company) asked her to come on board and coach both herself and her senior management team. OptiMums Executive Coaching grew steadily based on word of mouth recommendations and Marianne continues to provide coaching for senior executives up to Managing Director level in a variety of businesses. Marianne’s new professional direction had launched successfully but privately, life was a challenge.
Marianne longed for a second child but instead endured a painful miscarriage and several years of agonising, unexplained secondary infertility. Eventually, after many years, Marianne had her second child at the age of 41. Things were finally progressing well both at home and at work. The years ticked by happily. Then came 2018.
Grief upon grief births Mums Chat
Within the first 6 months of 2018 Marianne lost 4 friends to cancer. Three of those who died were young parents with young children. All were local. The grief was profound. Tears and more tears. Funeral after funeral. Little ones without a Daddy. Little ones without a Mummy. And out of this deep pain came a stark realisation.
“Life is a gift, not a given and I’m going to make every day count.”
Up until then Marianne had distributed Mums Chat as a quiet (almost apologetic) collection of paper-based, bible rooted, support sheets for mums attending local church organised toddler groups. It covered only 5 topics. In early summer 2018, spurred on by these events to be brave, Marianne went into a sound recording studio to create 5 Mums Chat audio podcasts. During that time yet another friend, a mum from her daughters class in primary school, died unexpectedly overnight of a sudden heart attack. The waves of grief felt relentless.
The tragedy of 2018 created a resolve within Marianne to stand tall and be visibly authentic as a Christian wife, mum and professional woman living in a mainly secular society. To respect and love others, whoever they are, but to be open and honest about who she is, and to follow her heart to reach out to help mums wherever she is led. She resolved to ignore her inner critic saying “What if people don’t like it?” and focus on what good it might bring. Marianne determined to push Mums Chat forward.
Mums Chat goes Global
In late summer 2018, and with her heart pounding in her chest, Marianne hit SEND and emailed the audio podcasts of Mums Chat to Right Now Media (a global streaming media giant) based in Texas, USA. Their response was almost immediate. Would she please film a pilot video as soon as possible. Despite no media training, no media contacts or experience a team of 5 experts from various local churches came together within a week to offer help. The pilot was filmed in one day based in a friend’s kitchen in Malmesbury. Right Now Media quickly commissioned the entire Mums Chat collection which has been
“popular with moms”
since launch and currently reaches up to 4 million church-going subscribers in 85 countries and is captioned in up to 7 languages. But Right Now Media can’t reach everyone.
The Mums Chat video collection currently sits within 7 series covering 18 tricky and often taboo motherhood related topics. The ever growing collection is available for you to access here whether you are an active church goer, a quiet “I was brought up that way” believer or an “I’m not quite sure what I believe” -er.
“Mums Chat has entered the big wide world to offer encouragement, hope and bible based truth to any mum, any dad, anyone anywhere.”
In 2023 Mums Chat becomes a book
Available from all good retailers and also in e-Book format Mums Chat covers 15 common pre-school challenges with humour, brave personal sharing and practical suggestions for mums.
Reviews are glowing for this popular new release…
“The warmth that comes off the pages feels like a verbal reassuring hug which is exactly what is needed in those often dark hours of baby raising.”
The Story So Far leads up to today with the launch of a website to:
enable mums to buy and download OptiMums Maternity coaching
allow enquiries and bookings for OptiMums Executive coaching
provide a second platform for the Mums Chat collection (in addition to Right Now Media) making all 18 topics available for any mum, any dad, anyone, anywhere.
You can join mums worldwide already benefiting from OptiMums and Mums Chat and be part of the next phase of the story…