Steph Douglas on mum guilt, parenting preteens and building her brilliant business Don’t Buy Her Flowers

This episode I’m joined by Steph Douglas, CEO and founder of Don’t Buy Her Flowers. I’ve been following Steph online since the early days of her blog, and then watching DBHF go from strength to strength, so was really excited to sit down with her and talk to her not just about building a business, but a whole raft of other topics.    I’m always intrigued to hear about how people launch and grow a company: DBHF launched in 2014 with three packages for new mums, but really ‘went viral’ when Sarah Turner from The Unmumsy Mum mentioned the business to her followers. The small matter of the Covid pandemic landing in all our lives right before Mothers Day in 2020 was another enormous turning point for the business, and we discuss what it was like navigating that alongside parenting three small children (remember those heady days of ‘homeschooling’ - shudder…).   We also touch on: The step-change of going from 2 kids to 3 Mum guilt The pros and cons of social media and why ‘Instagram holidays’ help Steph manage overwhelm Why gratitude journaling ended up surprising her with its effectiveness The mental load and de-programming relationship stereotypes Parenting preteens in the social media age   And with Mothers Day right around the corner, maybe now is the perfect time to have a look at https://www.dontbuyherflowers.com/ for gift ideas!  You can also find Steph at https://www.instagram.com/steph_dontbuyherflowers/ where she presents her wonderfully unvarnished take on parenting three kids and juggling that with running her business with a big dollop of humour…   You can also find us over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com     It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too!  You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training. 

Om Podcasten

Hi, I’m Emma Thomas and I started the Middling Along podcast in early 2021. Often, we find as women hitting a ‘certain point’ in life, that we are so used to people-pleasing, and making sure that everyone else is OK, and their needs are met, that we have lost touch with what we want, what we need, who we are… I started Middling Along with the aim of reclaiming my own ‘midlife’ and finding my happy. Along the way we’ve covered stories of people starting new businesses, changing careers, and taking up new hobbies that have changed their lives forever. We also cover topics such as perimenopause, menopause, and positive aging. Join us for a dose of inspiration - and make sure you spend your ’messy middle’ years thriving too!