Two Edinburgh twin sisters are launching an event where mums can come together and promote small businesses as well as create a support network together.
Mairi and Amy Johnson, both 33 and originally from Edinburgh but now living in West Lothian, noticed that there was not a space in the central belt for mums to come together to share their successes in business as well as their tips for parenting.
Not only will their event, The Hustlin Mumma, allow for mothers to share their war stories but it will also be a space where businesses or companies led by mums can advertise what they do.
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The pair, who were once the heaviest twins ever born at the Simpson’s hospital, want to create the network so that mums can inspire one another as well as motivate each other to succeed.
Mairi is mum to Skye, 2, and Storm, 15 weeks, and works in hospitality whilst her sister Amy is mum to Wolf, 3, and also works in hospitality. The two of them say that they have had to deal with difficult pregnancies as well as balancing their professional life with caring for their children.
Their first event will take place at the Beancross Farm in Falkirk from 1pm on May 28. They say that they hope it will allow mums to overcome the guilt of juggling work with home life.
On how they started, Mairi said: “I saw a mumma promoting her small independent business on Dragon’s Den one night and thought, where can mums in Edinburgh do this if you can’t afford the big advertisements and everything that comes with it?
“If we put all the mums in business in a room together then they create a support network and a community that allows them to reach new audiences. We can intertwine this with fun, motivation, and real chats about motherhood and create friendships along the way too.
“I wouldn't say we are successful businesswomen per se. But talking of juggling work and mum life and feeling that constant guilt trip is something that is real to us. We also know that what we are doing is best for us and our children's future.”
Amy added that they hope to achieve a “house full of mummas in business” who want to have a laugh and talk about all things family, whether that is laughing, crying or both. She said: “We really want to promote real talk amongst mums and throw that mum guilt and shame out the window - this will be a safe space for real conversations to take place.
“We feel we are the right people for this because we are passionate, empathetic, and realistic. We understand that not only are their unrealistic goals for mummas to achieve it all or look like they are but also having to work whilst having children.
“Running your own business is super hard and we commend any mum, whether they are working at home or away. We are mums ourselves, and are really open about our own journeys in motherhood.”
Both Mairi and Amy have had obstacles to overcome during their time as mothers, with some of their children experiencing health issues and Amy being a single parent.
Mairi said: “I was pregnant through Covid which was difficult and had a rather traumatic birth with Skye. Skye had hip dysplasia.
“Storm ended up being a planned c-section and having two children very close together is certainly an interesting experience.”
Amy added: “Being a single parent for a lot of Wolf’s life was challenging. I also had a pregnancy with every side effect under the sun which produced its own major anxieties.
“I was terrified of losing Wolf during the entire pregnancy due to having a miscarriage in the past.”
They both commented on the existence of a number of social media platforms for mums but said that there was a gap for major events in the capital for them to attend. They hope that the mix of promoting mothers in business and creating a space for people to share their stories will be popular.
They hope that they will be able to host more events in future and have asked for anyone wishing to promote their business at the event to get in touch. The event in May will see speaker Tanya Suki Style address those in attendance and there will also be a number of local businesses there for any budding entrepreneurs to speak to or explore.
On working together as sisters, they said: “I’m unsure I’d call this work, we are just two very passionate mums with the same driven attitude towards achieving our goal of creating a community and promoting mums in business. We are both very passionate about this and share the same ideas - let’s face it, we shared a womb together for nine months and went to the same school and we’ve worked in hospitality together and are both still here to tell the tale.
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
Tickets for the event are £5 and can be booked via the eventbrite link here.
Those wishing to showcase their business at the May event have been asked to contact Mairi via her email here: Mairijohnson@hotmail.co.uk
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