Spotlight on ‘Mums in Business: Meet the Podiatrist.

Welcome to the first blog in our series of “Mums in Business” These Kick-Ass mums are killing it in the business world and we can’t wait to find out more!

Here at The Mum Space we love to celebrate all mums. So join us in the chaos and charm of mum life meets business world. From nappy duty to closing deals, we're diving into the tales of multitasking mastery. Grab a seat, and let's celebrate the juggle of being both a mom and a business badass! 💪🍼✨

Today we speak with Jade Tang a podiatrist from Jade is mum of 3 to

·      How did you start your business?

I qualified as a podiatrist in 2010 and since then have worked for the NHS and private clinics. I learnt a lot about patient’s needs and built a really good rapport with my patients in general. It definitely didn’t happen overnight, I thought about how many things including what type of treatments I wanted to offer, location of my clinic, my website and how I wanted it to look and feel to people, and most of all I wanted everything I did to be an extension of me and what I stand for. I guess this is called “branding” in simple terms, but I didn’t get along with the jargon written in books or spoken on Podcasts- I just had a clear vision of how I wanted to present my business.

One of the first things I started with was my website, after nearly a year (!) of building it I decided I needed to hand it over to a professional team to make it look and work slicker. Luckily, I found an amazing husband and wife web design team that just “got me”- although I had some bumps along the way with call centre type businesses. I made business cards as although these are maybe thought of as a bit “old skool” they are tangible and people appreciate being giving contact details that look professional, smart and are good quality – again in reflection this is branding.

I found nice clean and accessible clinic spaces to work in, this wasn’t easy aand took a long time. I increased my exposure through leaflet drops and word of mouth. I think naming my business after myself made it easy for people to “google” me too, I have presented in conferences and The Royal College of Podiatry have posted photographs of me receiving my surgical fellowship so that all helps!  I’m now 10 months in and continue to wrack my brain on how to grow, get better and expand. I know I should post more on social media and learn how to use Tik Tok but for my type of business this doesn’t seem to be a source of patient flow so I try to concentrate on what works for my “type” of business and reach clientele that need my services that way.

·      How do you balance being a mum and owning a business?

It’s hard, felling guilty about time away from my kids and this has always been something that I’m aware of. I think I’m a practical person at heart and so I manage the “mum guilt” by having a life/work balance and understand that; (1) I need something for myself as an individual that gives me my own identity as Jade Tang rather than Josh/Zach/Olivia’s mum, (2) I understand that being a positive role model is a life lesson for my children that will seep into every part of their life in so many ways, which in turn, will provide them with confidence, happiness and fulfilment, (3) I protect my time as best I can and make the time I spend with my children count by having chill time, cooking a big dinner, going to the park, having a chat or going on holiday together. Small gestures are just a nurturing as the big ones.

I also know how lucky I am now with a fantastic support network. I went to university, worked and then went on to train further to become a podiatric surgeon as a single parent, and it was tough. It was a crazy time as my mum moved to another when Josh was born and I worked very long hours. I think back on how organised I had to be and how I was determined to teach my two sons how to wash, clean and cook not only to help me but so they would be self-sufficient and independent. Part of me thinks perhaps they grew up too quickly but overall, I think we have a great relationship and my daughter reminds me to enjoy the simple things every day, like cuddles.

·      Did you get any government / outside help to get started?

No, I didn’t. I worked two jobs and saved what I could. I have started small and started my business within my means so I was not in debt on the offset. I rent clinical space rather than my own commercial property, this is the only way I could have started. I asked colleagues for help with finding clinical space to work from, I visited so many dives and couldn’t believe people provided treatments or healthcare from them. One of my patients told me about the South Woodford location and a colleague invited me to look at the Paddington space. I love chatting with people and finding common ground, I guess through good communication I managed to source what I needed and I was not afraid to ask for advice and feedback.

·      How did you start up financially, did you borrow or save to get started?

I think my answer above probably covers this question. I think that as I had a “dream/vision” in mind I worked on it over a period of time which gave me a goal to work for. This helped me to save money and identify how to keep costs down. I thought about setting up on my own for years, having my daughter and the time out of my day-to-day routine gave me the space and gumption to do it.

·      Have you any entertaining stories relating to life as a business owning mum?

I have quite a few I suppose from the years that I have progressed though my career. One that sticks out is when my sons bunked off secondary school taking full advantage of me leaving at the crack of dawn to go to Huddersfield for my Masters (my sister was coming during the day to mind them, there was a lot of tag team work to provide childcare, I couldn’t afford an au pair etc). They went in the next day and handed in a note to explain their absence. They had written that they had attended an orthodontist appointment- which was a complete lie. Anyway, the teacher called me to confirm the story as they had a suspicion my sons had been truanting because the word orthodontist had been misspelt. I mean I was so angry and upset at the time but then this funny thought came into my mind of how creative they were to think of the orthodontist rather than the standard doctor or dentist appointment- this made me proud in a convoluted way and giggle inside. To the boys I put my mum hat on and explained bunking off school was not acceptable and never to do it again. To my knowledge they never did- but maybe they just better at writing sick notes!

My little girl doesn’t really understand what I do. She knows I go to work in a hospital some days to treat “people” who have poorly feet (I’ve work with elective surgical cases and high-risk feet these are patients that have a complicated medical history and sometime unfortunately go on to have amputations etc), so her advice to me at the moment is “mummy, you give them porridge to make them feel better”. That just brings a smile to my face as from a two-year old’s prospective that’s how simple life is and that brings me back to reality.

Also whenever someone always has a foot issue- I’ve had family show me their bunions at weddings and complete strangers show me their feet on airplanes when they find out I’m a foot specialist.

·      Do you ever feel that being a mum impacts your ability to work to your full potential?

Yes, 100 million percent without a doubt. This is so multifactorial from the prejudice of being a mum, physical fatigue, being a care giver at work and home and learning how to switch off, never ever having enough time in the day to complete tasks, feeling I’ve not been quiet good enough at “X”, sleepless nights and sickness and then having to go into work and provide treatments and advice without letting on you’re tired, needing to be in five places at once, the physical impact of being pregnant and then the impact that maternity leave has on your career development. I see how my male counterparts and people who do not have children have been able to progress faster, but honestly you never know what difficulties other people are having to juggle and my life is truly richer for having children, I wouldn’t give up being a mum for anything.

·      What’s been your career high?

Now! I think having time out of my rigid routine having my third child gave me time to think what I wanted and who I want to be as a mum, businesswoman, surgeon and friend. I am now experiencing being a mum at a different age which has been inciteful and reflective. I think I’m so lucky to have the drive, support and experience of life that makes me relatable on many different levels. My patients are so lovely, some I have treated for over nine years and I meet someone new every day and get to make a positive impact on someone’s life even in the smallest way from talking about shoes to giving advice on bunion surgery.

Something that always makes me smile is when a patient calls me and asks “ is this Jade who used worked in …., I’m so glad I found you” it makes me feel like I’ve done a good job,  and that people are happy with my work so much so that they went to the trouble of seeking me out to help them with whatever foot issues they have, my patients are my best advertisers.

·      What’s been your lowest point with your business?

My business is so new at the moment which means I’m learning “on the job” when the busy times are and, perhaps more importantly, when the quieter times are. Once I’m up and running for a few years I will be able to predict and plan better to provide more consistency with business flow. For now, this has made me develop my networking skills and advocate better for business. I reach out to people who I think would be fun and exciting to work with and who have a similar business ethos as me. I constantly try to take a positive spin on my experiences, we’re always learning right? So, in order to move forward hitting low points or difficult times and pushing through them is what makes me one of the success stories.

·      Do you have any advice for our mums who might feel like they want to take the plunge and start a business?

Do it, think positive and as a leader, don’t think of all the reasons why not to do it, or all the barriers put in front of you. Think of how you can overcome the problems and the difficulties. Ask for help and advice from the right people and surround yourself with people that want more for you, want you to succeed and grow. This sounds so corny but stay true to yourself. I wanted to start my own business years ago not just to earn money (of course that’s a factor and a huge influence from having very little in my twenties and bringing up two beautiful boys), but it’s for my security and my families, for empowerment and autonomy and to provide a service to patients that I genuinely feel they can’t get anywhere else.

Name: Jade Tang

Website: www.jadetangpodiatry.com

Instagram: Jade Tang Podiatry

Business number: 07584 037823

Business email: info@jadetangpodiatry.com