We caught up with Bukky Maybank, founder of women empowerment company Making Humans, to talk all things from the importance of community to starting your own business as a mother…
Tell us about Making Humans
At Making Humans, we run big-talk conversation clubs for mothers of babies and toddlers. Our main program is The Empowered Parenting Experience. If you were to sign up, for 6 weeks you would be introduced to and meet regularly with 6-8 other mothers in your area. You would be given group exercises, tools and techniques that have been designed to inspire, encourage and empower you as a new mother. You would leave bonded with the women in your group; with a renewed sense of confidence in yourself and your parenting; and with a powerful pack of new, like-minded women to call friends. Women who you can share your experiences of early motherhood with, who will hold you up when you’re struggling and keep you accountable and moving towards your goals, when you’re excelling at being your fabulous mum-self. Because it’s true what they say, “it takes a village to raise a child.”
How did you come up with the idea for Making Humans?
Making Humans is my 3rd baby. Now a mother of two perfectly imperfect kids, I struggled with early motherhood. Making Humans was born out of this struggle. My struggle with my loss of identity after giving birth, my struggle to find community, my struggle with low confidence and low mood. I did my NCT classes and, attended the baby groups but couldn’t find the depth of conversation or honesty I longed for. Though these existing groups played an important part in my maternity leave, helping me to better understand my baby’s physical needs.
They crucially offered nothing to help me as a mum – and particularly my mental health. They also did not encourage conversations beyond the topic of a baby. And so, I felt isolated and alone. When I hit rock bottom, was depressed and overwhelmed and found myself at A&E, I decided enough was enough. I took matters into my own hands. I began a journey of self-discovery, in a bid to raise my confidence as a mother and reclaim my identity. I learned so much about mindfulness, resilience, healthy emotions, time management and healthy communication and began implementing and documenting the most effective personal development tips, tools and techniques I came across. I quickly noticed that not only was I happier, but my husband and kids changed for the better too! Empowered by the dramatic change, I also decided to set up my own mother’s group and a community of curious, brilliant, exceptional women was conceived. I discovered then that I was not alone. There were other mothers – just like me – craving meaningful conversations and deeply connected relationships with other women.
For my second maternity leave, I had a powerful pack of women around me, supporting and guiding me every step of the way. I experienced first-hand, how the process of bringing a select group of exceptional women together, can help create exponential benefit to all the women involved. I really believe that every woman should have the opportunity to experience this magic.
I am truly a mother on a mission now, dedicated to cultivating empowered communities of women who are bonded beyond baby and connect as women, not just mothers. Making Humans, unlike other popular groups and courses out there now, is designed by a mum for mums and focused on supporting women to navigate the often complex, lonely and confusing transition into early motherhood with calm, confidence and surrounded by communities of brilliant like-minded women. Because, who doesn’t love a good cliché – “a happy mum, is a happy family.
What advice would you have for other Mothers looking to start their own business?
Firstly, I’d say:
Care deeply about what you do. Always keep at the back of your mind, who you are helping and how you are helping them. This will guide (and keep focused!) everything you do within your business.
At Making Humans our mission is everything to us! We are committed to positively impacting the lives of 100,000 mothers over the next 3 years.
Secondly, I’d also say:
Work on building yourself first. Business is hard, let alone doing it whilst raising little humans. Many mothers today are part of the generation of women, entering motherhood having been taught how to play the recorder at school and how to perfectly recite the periodic table, but who were never shown how to foster self-awareness, to question everything and the value of mistakes. These skills are crucial. Not just in business, but in life. We cover these topics and more on The Empowered Parenting Experience.
What can we hope to see from Making Humans in the future?
Our September and November courses are currently booking up. We are running courses in Kingston, Wimbledon, Richmond, Hampton and surrounding areas and hope to expand to surrounding SW London/Surrey areas soon.
We’ll also shortly be opening bookings for our ‘Big Conversations over Christmas’ dinner package. Where mothers that are expecting babies in 2021, can meet other local mums at a one-off Christmas luncheon. Like all our events, this is an event for women who love big-talk and digging below the surface, are self-reflective and want to discuss real topics that go beyond just their baby.
