Super-mum building an empire as she juggles school, motherhood and business

2nd May 2019

It has been said that women are half as likely as men to start a business. One third of UK entrepreneurs are female but more are stepping up to the plate – infiltrating boardrooms and making key decisions.

Increasingly, women are taking on new opportunities. They are turning to entrepreneurship to combat the growing demands of a traditional career and finding a work-life balance, and no one knows this better than Business Management student, Mildred Kido, who setup MCK Recruitment in November 2018.

Mildred Kido

MCK Recruitment specialises in staffing the ‘global village’ by successfully bringing job seekers and client companies together. They recruit both candidates from abroad on behalf of successful UK companies as well as nationally.

“I started MCK because I saw a gap in the sector. I figured that borders should not limit a person from becoming what they want to become. I believe that anybody can live or work wherever they want to, and I want to create a niche market that caters to this facility.”

MCK offers a personalised relocation service to their successful candidates and supports with the career transition from their main country of residence to the UK.

“I mainly help people who live in countries with high unemployment statistics, many of whom are graduates – qualified and highly skilled individuals who cannot find a job in their profession.”

Mildred moved overseas almost 18 years ago, starting out in Germany as an au pair before moving to the UK.

“Working as an au pair and in various roles, helped me gained a lot of experience in customer service. As a result, I now offer motivational training for customer service teams because no one ever thinks about the individuals behind the phone or counter.”

Mildred, who has three kids, started her Business Management course in September and says working for herself gives her the flexibility to build her business, raise her children and study. She added that the reason for studying has mainly been to do with the company.

“I had the idea,which was essentially a ‘prestart phase’. However, I knew I could not run a business without the fundamentals. This course is giving me the theoretical knowledge, which in many ways is feeding back into my business.

“The first few months and even years of starting a business are extremely hard because nobody tells you what to expect when you start out,” she added.

“Working from home gives me the flexibility to maintain the company and spend time with the kids. I think going between being a student, a mum and being self-employed is like having three full-time jobs, and it works for me because I love all three.”

Taking the world by storm

When she is not juggling academic work, parenthood and building her empire, Mildred also does a lot of community work and is part of an initiative called Valour Group.

Valour is a private community group that focuses on women empowerment and gets together fortnightly to discuss current affairs and social topics.

“There are several organisations in the UK but it is still in its infancy and they are very keen on equality, diversity and inclusion.”

At the beginning of April, she spoke to women about self-development and the power of CVs.

“I wanted to empower women, especially mothers looking to go back into the working world.

“It’s not always easy getting back into it and l tend to address the challenges they face during the employment process and help them find the balance between working and looking after their families.”

Advice to people wanting to start their own business

Mildred said that she is looking to employ people in the next 12 months but that she is still forming the foundations of her business and building her network base.

“I am hoping to have recruited at least eight people in the next year who specialise in different areas and to see what happens post-Brexit. However, I think MCK Recruitment will be beneficial as it will give employers access to highly skilled professionals outside the EU.”

She also encouraged more women wanting to go into business, especially recruitment, to not limit themselves but to know exactly what they want to do.

“Recruitment is highly competitive and you need to find your niche. You need to stand out from other recruiters and find out what your USP is to survive.

“A business is like a baby, it needs to crawl, walk, then run. If you really want to be a recruiter, and have a customer service or sales background, you can do it.”

Mildred is looking to go on to a Master’s programme after she finishes her degree.

Leeds City College