70% Of Women Leave The Workforce Due To Inflexible Jobs – Martha Hawkins Decided Not To…

Did you know that up to 70% of women leave the workforce after having children because they find it impossible to combine their careers and their family life? Martha Hawkins, Founder of Green Ginger Social was determined not to be a part of this statistic, and found out that starting her own business and becoming self-employed was the perfect solution. 

Green Ginger Social is a new social media marketing agency that Martha launched in June which helps small and medium sized businesses and charities make their social media work for them by advising, developing strategies or managing.  Prior to setting up her business Martha had worked within the marketing sector for the past 20 years, firstly cutting her teeth in theatres and then progressing to work for publishing houses in London, managing marketing and circulation for book and magazine portfolios. 

‘Then, following an amazing 18 months voluntary work and travelling in South America, I came to Liverpool to pick up my early arts career and was lucky enough to spend the last decade working within the city’s vibrant arts scene,’  Martha explains.

But, like so many women that we interact with here at The Women’s Organisation on a day to day basis; things began to change after Martha had children. Following redundancy, Martha was disheartened to discover just how difficult it is to find marketing roles at a senior level that offered part time or flexible working. ‘Rather than become part of that 70% statistic, I decided to work for myself,’  she explains.

And this is where Digital Mums comes into the mix. What is Digital Mums you ask? Well…It’s pretty much, exactly what it says on the tin! Digital Mums – train mums with in-demand digital skills to help them create stimulating, flexible careers that fit around family life. And that is just what Martha needed. 

‘Although I am a qualified and experienced marketing professional, once I came across Digital Mums, I realised that specialising in social media marketing would offer me a flexible and interesting area of work,’ Martha says.

‘Digital Mums take the natural talents and skills of mums, adds some innovative social media training and produces high calibre social media managers. They then match them to SME’s and charities that need help with their social media.’ 

This was the perfect training for Martha as she was able to take all of her previous knowledge and experience and add even more value with these extra specialist skills. 

Martha was able to learn while running live campaigns with Digital Mums. This gave her the hands on experience of managing social media campaigns as well as teaching her how to work with clients; ‘This was really useful as previously I’d always been the client,’  she says.

As well as the formal training and support she received from Digital Mums, Martha also got in touch with The Women’s Organisation as she discovered that the logistics involved in setting up a business to be daunting at a first glance. She says, ‘It was brilliant to have the support filling in the gaps in my knowledge.’ 

And as her business was gearing up to launch, Martha continued to work with Business Adviser, Francine Taylor to ensure that everything about Green Ginger Social would run smoothly once it was off the ground. 

‘Francine was a great help firming up my business plan. She asked some insightful questions and gave me some fantastic suggestions which really helped to clarify my thoughts. I’ve also attended several training courses at The Women’s Organisation and have joined Business Club and attended my first networking event. As I now work from home, I’m really appreciating the opportunity to get out and meet new people.’ 

Now Green Ginger Social is alive and kicking, it’s safe to say that Martha has achieved what so many women would love; ‘The holy grail of work/life balance,” says Martha.  ‘It has allowed me to continue to work in a fulfilling career but the hours are flexible enough that I can still spend time with my children and pursue other interests.’ 

Since setting up Green Ginger Social, Martha has already advised several organisations on the best strategy for the businesses and has been advising Social Business Trust, an organisation based in London. Her clients now stretch across Europe from London to Devon to Madrid. ‘I am really proud of what I have achieved so far. Although I have worked in some amazing organisations in my career, working for myself has brought a new set of challenges and an even better set of rewards.’

If you would like to find out more information about Green Ginger Social and the type of services that Martha can offer to a business’s social media – then head over to the website or use the contact details below.

www.greengingersocial.com
Martha@greengingersocial.com
Twitter: @MainlyMartha
Phone Number: 07828704168


And if you’ve been inspired by Martha’s story and would like support and advice starting your own business, get in touch with us! Contact The Women’s Organisation on hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111