My Muslim Mums in Business series focus’s on inspirational Muslim women, who are balancing the art of motherhood along with running businesses.
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND YOUR BUSINESS.
Salaam, I’m Maryam and I’m an Early Years Consultant with a holistic approach to education. I’m a homeschooling mum to two amazing little girls. I support parents with their childrens education, providing and equipping you with the tools, knowledge and resources to create a productive and joyful homeschool. I offer a range of mentoring services including 1-1 consultations, Email mentoring and a monthly support package.
WHAT MAKES NURTURING LEARNERS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR COMPETITORS?
I believe my mentoring business differs from others as I offer ‘hand in hand’ support. All guidance and support is tailored to your child, their needs, interests, learning styles and circumstances. Homeschooling shouldn’t be done alone and I offer that support.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START WORKING FROM HOME? DID ANYONE IN PARTICULAR INSPIRE YOU?
I was inspired to work from home through my own struggles in my homeschooling journey. I’ve been overwhelmed, stressed, exhausted, lacked confidence and needed 1-1 support which didn’t exist. This led to setting up my business to ensure others didn’t have the same experience. My passion for education, parenting, motherhood and training to be a Montessori teacher further inspired me to work from home.
DESCRIBE A TYPICAL WORKING DAY. ARE THERE SPECIFIC TIMES IN THE DAY THAT YOU WORK ON YOUR BUSINESS?
I feel blessed and super grateful because I’m able to work around my children. The majority of parents I work with homeschool, therefore we all work around our children. I usually work in the early morning and in the evening once the children are sleeping. A typical day may involve responding to Emails, messages and having a few client calls.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A MUM AND AN ENTREPRENEUR?
Needless to say working from home comes with it’s challenges and advantages. The advantages are many including still being able to homeschool my children, spend time with them and watch them grow up. I’m able to fit work around my family life and have great flexibility in working hours. I can decide how many hours I wish to work, and I only take on a certain number of parents to work with each month in order to keep a balance between work and family life alhamdulillah.
WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS ABOUT BEING A WORKING MUM FROM HOME?
Working from home isn’t as glamorous as if sounds especially with young children however it is a balancing act. It can become stressful if there are more deadlines than usual and the children are sick. However again, the flexibility allows you to work through this.
ON YOUR TOUGHEST DAYS, WHAT HELPS KEEP YOU MOTIVATED?During my toughest days I always go back to my ‘why’ reminding myself why I began this venture. I always tend to remember how I felt during the moments I really struggled in my homeschool journey and wouldn’t want another parent to be In that position. My passion for children’s learning, insuring every parent has the tools and confidence to nurture their children, motivates me everyday. I remember the bigger picture and alhamdulillah it really helps.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE?
I’d like to take my business further so I can support more parents in different ways and inshaa Allah will be launching a new venture soon.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO MUMS CONSIDERING TAKING THE STEP OF BEING A WORKING MUM?
If you’re thinking about working from home I have a few tips which I hope help!
– Be kind to yourself and be honest about your limit. It can be easy to take on a huge workload and that can completely overwhelm you and ruin the balance between work and family. Be flexible and only take on as much as you can.
-Remind yourself of the bigger picture. On the days you feel like quitting it all (this does happen!) remind yourself of why you started your business and how it helps others. It’s OK to take a break.
-Organistion is key. I’m not the most organised person but without my planner, meal planning and placing boundaries I’d be completely lost.
– Ask for help and get your partner involved. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
-Boundaries. Place boundaries and be clear about your working hours. This is super important, just because you work from home it doesn’t mean you work all hours.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Fozia for the opportunity to share my experiences and starting this wonderful series.
If you’d like to know more and follow our journey
Instagram: @nurturing.learners
Facebook: @nurturing.the.learners
Email: maryam@nurturinglearners.co.uk
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JazakAllah Khair to sister Maryam for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions! Do make sure you give her a follow and contact her if you need help with your homeschooling!
If you are a muslim mum with a business and would like to feature then drop me a message in sha Allah.
SubhanAllah this is such a great format for Muslim women to learn about Muslim owned businesses so we can support each other. I will In Sha Allah share this with my friends who homeschool.
Thank you and thank you for sharing
Wow!! What an inspiring mother! Where there are classrooms with lots of children, 1-1 consultation is very rare and almost impossible. Maryam is doing a great job helping out families and children and being a mother, she has alot of experience. May her business continue to flourish.
She certainly is inspiring masha’Allah
Homeschooling sounds extremely difficult! I have always thought about it but I am unable to do so thanks to huge student loan debt I took on for graduate school. I still do follow homeschooling groups though for general parenting and teaching tips. I am glad that homeschooling mom’s are getting support?
It is a lot of hard work and dedication. I don’t homeschool but have a lot of respect for those that do
Maryam you are doing incredible job…Nurturing Learners sounds great to me…Wishing you luck…thank you Fozia for doing this series and introducing new Inspirational Muslim Mums…..great work…
She is certainly doing a brilliant job!
Jazakillahu khairan katheeran for this post. I am genuinely very grateful to have come across it, considering I plan on homeschooling my kids in sha Allah. So this sister can be a huge help in sha Allah 😀
Wa iyaaki. In sha Allah she will be helpful for you
Home schooling is very tough.Thanks for sharing your experience.
It certainly takes a lot of time and hard work from what I can see
This is real inspiring. The method that works best for me is to engage in hands on learning activities with my child. When they can truly engage in the learning process you see so much progress. I wish the school systems were geared towards this method of teaching instead of the rote memorization of knowledge.
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