Talitha Heaton

Meet Talitha Heaton, the dynamic founder of Trailblaze Marketing, a UK-based firm renowned for its bespoke consultancy services for B2B start-ups and scale-ups in construction, engineering, tech, and recruitment.

Launched in April 2021, Trailblaze Marketing has not only carved a niche in the consultancy world but also serves as a testament to Talitha's remarkable ability to balance a thriving business with the demands of motherhood.

In our conversation, Talitha shares the challenges and triumphs of juggling her professional life with her role as a mother to two young daughters, ages 1 and 3. She discusses how the experiences of nurturing both her children and her business have provided unique insights and influenced her approach to business consultancy.

Can you share your journey of entrepreneurship from the time you decided to start your business to where you are now, considering the significant milestones of trying to conceive, pregnancy, and post-partum? 

I started my business when I was placed on furlough. I didn’t like not working and felt quite vulnerable, being pregnant and not knowing whether furlough would lead to being let go (despite my employer saying it wouldn’t) – being pregnant during COVID made me feel very anxious. I started my business out of curiosity – wondering whether I could use my skills to help small businesses who were struggling through Covid.

I continued to grow my business through pregnancy and maternity leave, working whilst my daughter, Ava, slept and gaining clients through word of mouth. It was very tough at times, when I was very tired due to sleepless nights, but I did it because I enjoyed it and didn’t necessarily want to stop working totally during mat leave. Then I returned to full time employment and kept the business going, until eventually I dropped my hours with my employer to grow the business.

I became pregnant with my second daughter, Florence, and decided to try to grow the business further and save enough money to move across full time. My business continued to grow through word of mouth and I paid for accountability coaching, who was really (other than my husband) the only person I could really speak to about my business and how to grow it.

I struggled to really connect with other mothers I met at the baby group I attended because I was building my business, but there was no one else really to talk to during the day. I found LinkedIn a good place to find other women who had built businesses with children.

Eventually, when my maternity leave ended, I decided to return to my employer. I very much enjoy my role but also ultimately couldn’t cover childcare being self-employed, with nursery fees amounting £2350 a month. Currently, I work flexibly as a fractional CMO to clients who need marketing support without the need to hire a full time team, alongside my day job. I will say that scaling a business with nursery fees and also two small children is no mean feat – I didn’t want to sacrifice my time with them, and also have no support network locally – it’s just me and my husband.

What were the unique challenges you faced as a female entrepreneur while going through the process of trying to conceive, pregnancy, and post-partum? How did you navigate these challenges? 

The challenges included being on maternity leave twice whilst scaling the business, managing nursery fees, and feeling unsure whether to let clients know I had a young baby at home – I was worried they would feel I couldn’t commit fully to projects.

There was also booking meetings when the baby was meant to be napping, sometimes running a meeting and hearing my baby wake up and cry in the background, working with my husband so he could watch the baby whilst I worked – sometimes working until 11 or midnight, heavily pregnant, with a toddler.

It was really very tough at times, and I think a lack of community made it harder – being able to talk to other women in a similar position would have been brilliant. I’ve since met a few but they’re few and far between. Equally, giving women a platform to talk about their experiences in a candid way might show others what’s possible. 

How did you manage your business responsibilities while dealing with the physical and emotional aspects of pregnancy and post-partum recovery? 

This was hard. Pregnancy both times was very tough. I felt sick and tired most of the time and gave up sport (which I love) due to this, and also lack of time due to work. Birth was hard, 14 hours with Ava, during which I tore, and then the stitches became infected so it hurt to sit down for about 3 weeks afterwards. Florence took 36 hours to arrive, labour was painful, though thankfully recovery was faster (as I also had a toddler to look after!).

I always made sure to deliver on promises to clients, which saw me work some very late nights to get everything done. My business wasn’t big enough to employee anyone, and the nature of the services I offered meant only I could deliver them, and I held the relationships with each client.

I remember in particular one fairly difficult client I had during my second maternity leave. They were so demanding and not particularly respectful; I worked incredibly hard to deliver above and beyond the scope of work, with mastitis, which they didn’t know about – as I was the only person in the business. I had to keep going and get the work done because they also had a deadline, and my work was part of a larger project. That was tough. Again, no one to talk to about it was one of the biggest challenges here.

Did you experience any changes in your entrepreneurial mindset or approach during pregnancy or after becoming a mother? If so, how did these changes manifest? 

Yes, absolutely. I have a greater purpose now; it’s as if my life was being lived in 2D and now it’s in 3D. My daughters motivate me everyday – I want them to have the same opportunities as anybody else. I don’t want them to be held back or at a disadvantage because they’re female, or because they choose to have children.

I try to be vocal about equality, diversity and inclusion, about my experiences having children and a full time career, and do what I can to support other women. I have become stronger since having my daughters, because I also want to set the best example I can to them. I want them to see me having a family and a career – so they understand they have options. 

What support systems or resources were most beneficial to you during your journey as an entrepreneur navigating pregnancy and motherhood? 

Having my first daughter during Covid, NCT was brilliant as I could meet other women due to have babies around the same time. I wasn’t able to attend baby classes, and none of my friends had children yet either, so NCT really bridged a gap there. LinkedIn enabled me to meet people I never would have otherwise, and I eventually paid for accountability coaching via GoFounder which helped me to prioritise my workload and grow my business during my second mat leave. 

Reflecting on your experience, what are some successes or achievements in your business that you attribute to your journey through trying to conceive, pregnancy, and post-partum? 

My successes include my confidence and motivation to speak up, encourage others, and lead in the workplace - having found so many other female founders and entered the work of female entrepreneurship, read about some of the gaps and started thinking about how to improve things for my daughter’s generation.

I always said I’d never starting a business, because my parents were both self-employed and we lost everything, multiple times – it was just so financially unstable. However, actually, I enjoyed starting my business greatly and all the changes I’ve made to fit a market need which is a little different to where I started.  

Conversely, what were some of the biggest obstacles or setbacks you encountered as a female entrepreneur during this period? How did you overcome them? 

The biggest obstacles were fear of clients not understanding or supporting me as a female business owner with young children. Also, sleepless nights, having to learn how to take care of two very different babies, no support network locally so no break, mastitis, postnatal recovery.

Some clients were very supportive, knowing I had a young baby – and my clients are 95% male, so can’t relate directly to my experience, though they all have children. Childcare fees and the demand for childcare in my area are both incredibly high. It’s hard to take a chance on a business when you have such high bills, and lack of spaces locally made it stressful trying to find a space for both daughters.

I was told 6 weeks before I was due to go back to work after Florence that her space was no longer available as the nursery was being downsized. This was an absolutely terrible time. I really panicked because waiting lists in my area are 12 months long and I really couldn’t think about not returning to work. For me, it was a must – I always wanted children, but never wanted to be a stay-at-home mum (beyond the first 12 months).

Many people were surprised when I returned to work full time – there’s a lot that needs to change around the expectations of what a mother should look like, and how she should prioritise different areas of her life. I will also add that imposter syndrome or discounting myself from things has been a challenge for me – even responding to this call for contributors I questioned whether I’m really a business owner because my business is ‘small’.

Women are typically worse for this than men – and shouldn’t be! I grew this business on the side of a full-time job, through two maternity leaves - we must make ourselves heard and encourage conversation, and stop discounting ourselves! 

In hindsight, what additional support or resources do you wish you had access to during your journey through entrepreneurship while being pregnant and a new mother? 

Other women in a similar position – that had continued in their careers or started a business with a baby or young children. A community would have made all the difference. 

How did you balance the demands of entrepreneurship with the needs of your child during their early years? What strategies or techniques proved most effective for you?

I’m still in the thick of it! Working as a team with my husband and being with someone who wants to share the load, who will also speak up about his responsibilities as a parent and do his share of picking up sick children from nursery. Sickness and bugs have hit us hard this year and sometimes it does feel unsustainable, as if you’re looking after unwell children more than you’re getting to work.

I always remind myself that it’s just a phase, and it will pass and get easier. I enjoy my work so don’t mind logging on during the evening to finish off work, but I protect a few hours everyday to spend with my daughters, and don’t travel much for work.

I also work from home 3 times a week which makes pick-up and drop-off easier. Housework is also shared with my husband, and we have a cleaner who comes every other week – outsourcing and accepting help from others has also been key. Our neighbour babysits every now and then so my husband and I can have a date night. The whole things is a crazy juggle, and definitely pushes me to the edge sometimes, but I feel incredibly lucky for the family I have. 

Looking ahead, what advice would you offer to other female entrepreneurs who are either considering starting a family or are already juggling entrepreneurship and motherhood? 

I would say to try it, in a way you’re comfortable with. You can test an idea fast and cheap, on a small scale. You don’t need to quit your day job and go all in. It’s not a race, so I would remove the pressure of growing something huge in a year, enjoy the journey and learn as much as possible.

I’d also advise looking for people a few steps ahead of you and approaching them for advice – it’s amazing how many people are willing to help if you just ask. Women are so incredibly strong - it amazes me that we aren’t running the world given what we’re capable of! I would always be happy to speak to women in the same position, too.