The founder of Naetive Studio on starting a business while on maternity leave

A businesswoman whose handmade mugs have been shared by influencers including Molly-Mae and Stacey Solomon has said “mum guilt” is one of her biggest challenges.

Mollie Warrington, from Cardiff, launched her business plan while pregnant and launched Naetive Studio while on maternity leave in 2022.

Academic Dr Lauren Josie Thomas said women often faced additional obstacles, including the pressure of being “a working mother like a star who can handle anything”.

Business Wales said it was committed to supporting female entrepreneurs to create and grow businesses.

After taking a job in insurance after university, it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that Mollie, 30, had time to pursue a business idea.

“I spent eight weeks at home, not being allowed to leave the house. I would look at the influencers and they always had a cup, but no one shared the cup.

“(I thought) I’m going to make a cup that’s worth talking about,” she said.

The interior design graduate always wanted to create something of her own, and when she became pregnant, she saw an opportunity to take the plunge.

“I used my nine months of pregnancy to plan what I was going to do with my maternity leave, and then I saved each month to make sure everything ran smoothly during my maternity leave.

“I knew at that point I was going to have a pottery business,” she added.

The business owner said she made sure not to put pressure on herself, but as soon as her baby, Rio, settled into a routine, she started making mugs.

“I had the monitor next to me and he would cry or he would start moving, so I would go check on him and then he would go back to sleep.

“I then went back to my little cup and kept pinching it,” she described.

The mother-of-one was making around 15 cups a week when the business launched in July 2022, with small quantities selling out within minutes.

She now has a team of 12, does 400 custom orders per week and is stocked in stores such as Anthropologie.

Part of its growth has been driven by producing mugs for influencers in the hope they can share them, which is exactly what former Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague is doing.

“I didn’t really anticipate what was going to happen if she shared, and she shared, and we had about 40,000 people on the website and at that point I had nothing to sell,” he said. -she laughed.

Mollie said she learned from the experience. It needed to expand its production and now runs two units to cope with any additional demand.

She said the process was not without obstacles.

“There’s enough pressure. Mom guilt is one of my biggest challenges, even when it rains I feel guilty and I can’t control the weather,” she said.

For anyone considering starting a business while on paid leave, experts suggest checking the terms of their contract.

Dr Lauren Josie Thomas from the University of South Wales has spent the last year working with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) studying women and leadership in Wales, and the barriers which they were confronted with.

“A lot of the challenges that entrepreneurs face are exactly the same, except women are running a business and potentially trying to grow it without the traditional support that can be found in the workplace,” she added .

The academic cited childcare as a major barrier for women, as well as the pressure to “have it all”.

“Being someone’s partner, someone’s mother, and being there in a business, and making good decisions when even one of those things requires 100 percent of you. It’s almost impossible.” she added.

She highlighted the amount of funding given to businesses run by women compared to those run by men.

The British Business Bank’s 2023 Stock Tracker Report reveals that female founders are less likely to secure funding for their businesses and face gender bias.

Dr Thomas added, anecdotally, that she knew of women who had “removed their wedding ring” or deleted their “locked social media” to hide their family lives from potential investors.

Data from the Small Business Longitudinal Survey 2023, conducted by the UK Department for Business and Trade, showed that 16% of small and medium-sized business employers in Wales reported being led by women.

Business Wales said it was committed to supporting a culture of entrepreneurship and helping women entrepreneurs create and grow businesses.

The service has supported 3,995 start-ups led by women entrepreneurs since 2016, or 55% of all companies supported.

“Business Wales also supported 6,499 existing women-led businesses with their development and growth plans over the same period, representing 46.8% of all businesses supported,” a spokesperson added.