Meet the women changing the future of work for mothers

As part of our Future Shapers series, in partnership with Neutrogena, we've scoured the country to find 2016's hot new innovators

The career mavericks: Digital mums

Kathryn Tyler (left), 40, and Nikki Cochrane (right), 44, co-founded Digital Mums – a start-up that trains women to become freelance social media managers, then connects them with employers to provide flexible-working solutions

This is a totally new way of working. Our training changes not only the way that our up-skilled mums work, but the way that everybody will eventually work. Ultimately, it gives people flexibility and entrepreneurial control over their careers.

Nobody should have to choose between their career and their children. Despite huge advances in technology enabling us to chat, collaborate and have meetings without even being in the same city, there is still a predominant culture of 9-5, office-based working. Thankfully, that’s now changing.

There’s no such thing as a traditional career path. One of us [Cochrane] left school with absolutely no qualifications, but later enrolled on an Open University course and got into digital marketing at 30, while the other [Tyler] left a successful career in molecular genetics for PR. Digital Mums came about through sheer determination.

It’s never too late to start something from scratch. Having the balls to totally switch careers at 40 is something we’re immensely proud of. You only have one life, so you really shouldn’t waste it doing something that you don’t love.

Let’s change the status quo. Our social campaign #workthatworks aims to bring businesses round to our way of thinking. We think that everybody should have the opportunity and access to a career that works for them and their lifestyle.

#passiton ‘Making mistakes is OK. You need to make mistakes to learn how to be better.’

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