A WOMAN with a series of successful start-ups behind her has launched an online networking club for mums running their own businesses.

 

The Cocoon aims to bring the benefits of face-to-face networking into the home.

 

Founder and CEO Erin Thomas Wong designed it to offer support and expert advice that fits around childcare.

 

Members of the £10-a-month Cocoon network have access to master classes, interviews and guest talks from other “mumpreneurs”.

 

Erin Thomas Wong said: “Working for yourself can be very lonely, and with our online club you can feel part of a supportive community of like-minded mums, and learn at your own pace, whether that’s in the evenings when the kids are in bed, or during the day when they are at school.

 

“For the thousands of women who do not return to their previous careers after having children, due to lack or flexibility and the cost of childcare, feeling isolated can be a big challenge.”

 

A recent survey said 92 per cent of UK mums felt lonely, with 54 per cent feeling more friendless than before they had children.

 

Erin spent a year in Abu Dhabi and the experience of being isolated helped prompt her to set up an online community where no location was no longer a barrier.

 

She left a career in television production when she had her first son.

 

“I loved my job but I knew I wouldn’t be able to achieve the work/family balance I wanted to, with working long hours and not having much flexibility,” she said.

 

She initially became a franchisee of Smallprint Fingerprint Jewellery in West London before creating four businesses in eight years: Pitter Patter – The Hub for Bubs, Ealing Mums in Business, the Kids’ Nature Shop and Making Mumpreneurs.The Cocoon is an “inner sanctum” of the Making Mumpreneurs website.

 

She said: “You may not earn the same salary in the early years of setting up your own business, but without doubt you could have a better quality of life, for yourself and for your family.”