MIM Jenkinson is a business coach, digital product creator, planning "addict", Etsy seller, app creator, podcaster, author, blogger and parent.
The Newcastle-based entrepreneur says she has sold more than $1 million of her planning-focused products in the past two years - yet describes herself as the least busy person she knows.
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"I say that because everything is so organised. I am not an organisational queen, my memory during peri-menopause is shocking," she says with a laugh. "But the process of using a planner is helpful and a lot of the business things I do are automated. I'm always looking ways to streamline things."
Jenkinson's expanding skillset recently landed her two gold awards at the 2022 AusMumpreneur Awards, in the Best Business Coach and Leadership categories. She also won a bronze award in the People's Choice category for Making a Difference in Business.
Raised near Manchester, Jenkinson emigrated to Australia with her husband in 2007 and worked in Sydney in recruitment, human resources and marketing before moving to the Hunter in 2015.
Her diagnosis with breast cancer, after just returning from maternity leave with her second child, would shape her career.
Jenkinson had already been blogging part-time under her moniker Love From Mim, writing about parenting. As she underwent treatment for her cancer, she used her writing as a healthy distraction.
"I'd get up everyday, set myself working hours and took the opportunity to have something to do and I decided on a goal: if I could earn as much after treatment finished as I was earning in my corporate career, I'd continue working for myself."
Seven years on, Jenkinson has just won three awards at the Mumpreneur awards for her business, which has a loyal following of women, many who have ADHD and seek her advice on bringing structure to their lives.
Love From Mim began as an Etsy store, retailing planning stickers.
"It's a 15-minute self-care activity to look forward to. Using them is amazing and because I've always been entrepreneurial I just thought, if I am using them myself, why not set up a shop," she says.
Jenkinson now draws her income from selling digital products, including courses for people who want to make their own stickers and an "accountability membership" to help business owners with planning.
She also coaches and consults to small businesses looking to scale.
Jenkinson plans, she says, to allow herself freedom.
"We don't plan to have a highly structured day where every second is filled with a task, we plan so we can have side open spaces to do whatever we want or nothing at all," she says.
"The process of planning, apart from being therapeutic, also means I can free up my mind so it's not cluttered with the things I need to do - because all of those things are in the planner."
During the pandemic, Jenkinson says her business grew as those stuck at home got more crafty in an attempt to bring joy to their lives.
"While their finances were impacted they wanted to find a way to build an income from home, especially those who didn't want to work for others," she says.
Jenkinson says she has taught more than 4000 clients, largely mums and grans.
She also penned a book, Less Wine, More Time, in 2018 after realising that she was hooked on drinking daily, her way of dealing with post traumatic stress disorder after having cancer.
"Two years after getting the all-clear I was struggling mentally and fearful the cancer would come back and drinking to not think about it," she says. "But it became a habit of drinking then realising that I wanted to cut back and I really struggled to cut back."
She gave up alcohol at the end of January, 2019, her only regret being she didn't do it sooner.
During the research for her book, she did a survey that showed many had the same attachment to alcohol.
"I was shocked about those who wanted to stop but couldn't, you know, mummy needs wine, wine o'clock," she says, adding that in recent years more women are quitting as the range of non-alcoholic products increases.
For all of her planning prowess, Jenkinson is no stranger to procrastination.
"It effects us all but for me it's like when I am trying to be perfect, thinking of the end result, rather than what I can do to work towards things," she admits.
"It's about breaking things down, taking action even if it's messy action. I do like the phrase, 'Done is better than perfect'. It's better to get started and take microsteps rather than worry about the end thing."
Jenkinson is now focused on expanding her business to employ others in view of increasing her markets in the US, UK and Canada.
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