Social Mum of the Week – Silke Thistlewood

September 10, 2018

This week our Social Mum of the week is the incredibly hard working Silke who has been a member of our Social Mums Tunbridge Wells group since July 2017. Find out how having post natal depression inspired Silke to start her business as well her top social media tip.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

I’m Silke, mum of 2 girls (Megan, 6 and Ellie, 2). I’m married to Andy, who works in TV, like I used to a lifetime ago. I re-trained as a massage therapist 10 years ago and then started a second business after my first child was born. We live in Tonbridge with our chocolate Labrador Buddy.

What is your business?

Nourish to Thrive provides self care, mindset and resilience tools for mums, enabling them to thrive in motherhood and beyond. All actionable within your day, rooted in the knowledge that you don’t have spare time or extra room on your to do list.

I currently offer a 30 day online course (30 To Thrive – starting again in October), in person workshops (there’s one on the 22nd September!) and host a community of mums in the Nourished Mums facebook group (600 supportive, non judgmental mums strong!). I’m also working on a physical product that you’ll be able to hold in your hands for an on the spot self care boost – yay!

What inspired you to start your business?

The massage business was started with some foresight (for once!), because the long hours of working in TV don’t suit family life. Nourish to Thrive actually evolved from a food based business (Om Nom Nourish), back when I was convinced nutrition was the key to wellbeing – both physical and mental. After having my 2nd baby, I soon realized this wasn’t the case and the pressure of trying to eat a certain way added to the anxiety I was already experiencing.

Through experiencing PND and post natal anxiety I became acutely aware that the majority of wellbeing advice doesn’t apply to time starved and overwhelmed mums – who has time to sleep 8 (uninterrupted!) hours, meditate for 20 minutes (twice a day), or escape for beauty treatments and lunches with friends? So I set about creating resources for mums that are realistic, simple and doable, yet effective and nurturing.

What social media platforms do you use and why?

Facebook and Instagram. Facebook because that’s where the Nourished Mums community lives. I post there daily with tips and personal experiences and love the way the women in the group lean on each other for support and share openly about motherhood, their struggles and their wins.

I like Instagram for the larger community feel it brings, both with mums as well as peers in the wellbeing sphere. I struggle with taking pretty insta pics however, my feed is most certainly keeping it real!

What do you find most challenging about marketing your business on social media?

Time! I know I should be scheduling my posts and creating them in batches to save time, but I like posting as and when things happen. It feels more authentic, but also adds to the pressure of having something new to say every day, without much of a plan. I find selling myself and my services quite tricky, too. I am still trying to find a way of marketing my services that feels good – if there is such a thing??

What is the best social media tip you have picked up for your business?

Be authentic and be social! Be you, not them. Focus on what you’re doing and don’t compare.

Engage with everyone who comments on your posts as well as commenting on other peoples. Make connections , you never know where they may lead!

What have you found most useful about being part of a Social Mums Facebook Group?

The support. As well as having every possible social media question answered, the women in the group offer an empathetic ear and shoulder to lean on when the going gets tough. We all know what it’s like and so many of us work on our own, it’s great to have that community, even if it’s virtual.

And I’ve learned about so many local businesses in the daily social share I never would have known about otherwise.

Thank you Gemma for creating the group and all that you do!