What a fantastic afternoon we had at our Networking Event!

We’ve had some great feedback and were flattered to receive this special account of the day from attendee and Successful Mum, Tracy Williams.

The Successful Mums Christmas Networking Event returned this year bigger, better and more sparkly than ever before. Held on, 5 December, in the Mansion House at Beckenham Place Park, a packed house of nearly 100 women arrived at midday for an inspirational and fun afternoon.

Arriving at a Successful Mums event, you get an instant feeling of being on friendly, welcoming turf. It’s like walking into a room full of friends you haven’t met yet. The mums who shyly approached the room enquiring if they were in the right place were soon chatting away to other attendees and mums who had completed courses together greeted each other like old friends. After enrolment and a glass of bubbles, everyone went through to the main room to listen to Jane and guest speaker Parisa Wright from Greener & Cleaner Bromley (and beyond).

I started my back-to-work journey with Successful Mums just over two years ago. The message that has had the biggest impact on me is that as mums we are all on our own unique journey after having our children and within the Successful Mums group there is a real sense of comradery, kindness and understanding because of that.

Having attended several courses, I have listened while Jane delivers course work to groups of 8-10 ladies in a meeting room with aplomb, but put her in front of almost 100 women, and she’s in her element. During her speech, there was lots of laughter, cheers and thoughtful reflection. ‘What are you going to do today to make it happen for you in 2020?’ Jane opened with.

And with that, we were writing down what single step we would take today, to get closer to that goal in 2020. I gulped. Mine would be to do a 10k run. Then turn around and tell your neighbour. And get their email. Now you are accountable! I said I would up my 30-minute run to 45 minutes the next day. And I did, I ran around Crystal Palace Park for 45 minutes! My first step taken towards achieving my goal in 2020. Jane spoke about her own career history and her journey creating Successful Mums back in 2014 and introduced her new courses that will be available in 2020.

Jane then opened the floor and invited everyone to stand and give a brief overview of their personal story or their favourite personal advice. Each woman spoke so passionately. It felt like a rallying cry – ‘We can do this!’ ‘It’s not going to be easy, but if you work hard, you will see results.’ ‘Don’t compare yourself to others.’ And my favourite: ‘You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.’

Each woman got a rousing cheer and applause. It really felt like we are part of something special. Being a mum can at times feel like an isolated, lonely experience but knowing you are part of a big, supportive network of ladies, all struggling and striving to achieve similar goals to yourself is really motivating.

The afternoon ended with an uplifting ‘call to action’ speech by Parisa Wright from  Greener & Cleaner Bromley (and beyond) who quizzed our knowledge of the most important environmental issues facing us in our daily lives and encouraged us to engage and question our local politicians to action change on our behalf. I have learnt through Successful Mums that real change happens in stages. That I need to set achievable goals, create a routine of taking little steps each day towards that goal. Most important of all, find a friend to hold me accountable; tell them my goals and keep them updated on my progress.

I left the event feeling uplifted and excited for the year ahead of me. Bring on 2020!

Thank you so much, Tracy, for taking the time to write this! We’ve got so much planned for 2020, exciting times ahead. Check out our Courses and Events calendar HERE