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Today’s talking point:

In this episode, I am joined by Helen from Homebird Finds. We talk a lot about the mindset challenges she has faced and worked through over the past year. Plus, Helen explores what it's like to mix motherhood and business.

In this episode, I’m introducing you to Helen from Homebird Finds. Helen is an artist and a vintage lover, but she’s also a mum. I hope what we talk about in this episode will inspire you to keep going on your own journey. We talk a lot about following your passion, being a mum and why mindset is the biggest piece of the puzzle when it comes to entrepreneurship. Helen also gives you an insight into what it's like to be a Busy to Boss Academy student.

What we talked about:

Every Busy to Boss interview starts by talking about why we do what we do. Helen says there are two strands to her why: a love of vintage and her passion for art.

“I've always been a bit of a treasure hunter and loved looking for unique one-off things, especially for your home. And I think there's there's always been a bit of a thrill of finding something really special that you know, that doesn't exist anywhere else.”

“I've always been creative. And that's always the way it has been, always the way it will be. And what I've come to just recently, probably in the last year or so I've really sort of reflected on what it is about the art that I really love … there's so much power in it. There are so many reasons why I do it”

Helen talks about the idea of creativity and the fact you don’t just have to draw to be a creative person.

“You can still do it because you don't have to have like the finest brushes or like the most expensive paint. It's like this just stuff around the home that you can doodle on a piece of paper. It's not just about painting a picture and hopefully someone wants to buy it: there's like a lot of meaning behind it.”

Helen walks us through her creative journey from studying design to motherhood and returning to art as a business.

She explains the shift in her thinking merging motherhood and business.

“I think the main [lesson] is just the amount of time you have … there's only so much you can do about it when you've got two children. You can have this idealistic view of what you want to get done in your time, but you can always get that done. So I think you sort of have to adjust what's realistic.”

Joining the Busy to Boss Academy

We chat about Helen’s decision to join the Busy to Boss Academy. The driving point, she says, was hoping to create and sell art full time.

She was surprised that the biggest changes weren’t around practical business information, but mindset.

“I was telling myself that I'm not very good on the business side, like that I needed support in that area. And that has helped me loads and that side, but I think it was the first time that I'd ever really invested in myself.”

Helen explains that she felt she was holding herself back, but “I was worried that if I didn't get past that I would just continue to not make the best of my abilities”.

Reflecting on the challenges, Helen says these have been mainly mindset-based too.

“I think it's a bit of a roller coaster. Because I think I realised probably quite early on that mindset had a lot to do with decisions I was making, including business decisions.

So I and then I think once you start focusing on that, and like doing that work, that can be quite challenging and it can throw up all sorts of different things that say.

“You think you're going on one path, and then you sort of you don't go straight on your turn left and go on another path. Because like this mindset thing has reared up. And it's like an ongoing thing, isn't it? Like you've never completed mindset work, it's just ongoing.

“But the whole mindset work I've been doing and that even small steps of progress, it all adds up. I feel like if you can get that sorted, it affects your decision-making in all areas of your life in a really positive way.”

celebrating the wins

Helen explains that one of her biggest wins has been “really believing in myself now”. “I think that's that self belief, but also really strongly believing in trusting in your own instinct. I think that's something that I always knew. But definitely over the last year, I could sort of track it and see how just more and more I've sort of tested that theory.”

Make sure you follow Helen and her Homebird Finds journey on Instagram.