KIS News Issue #47 - some links included in this issue may be affiliate links

Update: This week’s update is coming to you from bed, an impressive amount of swelling, and a freezer full of ice packs.

After 2.5 years of waiting, I finally had all four of my wisdom teeth out—and it’s been worse than expected.

I had grand ideas about catching up on emails while recovering. Instead, I’ve been sleeping, eating soup, and trying not to cry every time the painkillers wear off.

On the plus side it’s given me a lot of time over the weekend to catch up on sleep and TV (recommendations welcomed!) as I’m on strict orders not to be left in sole charge of my children after the anaesthetic!

Thankfully I’ve had a few weeks to plan so my content is all batch created and as always, my trusty AI team is working away in the background!

What I’ve been listening to: Why having it all is a myth - Zoe Blaskey interviews Giselle Goodwin on why women’s happiness has been declining since the 1970s.

How I’m hydrating: I’m on a liquid diet for at least another 7 days since I can’t actually open my jaw to chew 😂. This aloe vera drink has been a godsend. I spent a lot of time in Hong Kong growing up and I remember aloe vera juice being a staple for hydration in the tropics so I was thrilled to find this gem.

A friendly reminder: All the Harry Potter films have landed on Netflix, so over the weekend my five-year-old and I have been making our way through them.

We’ve watched the first two so far — a perfect combination of childhood nostalgia and some slightly questionable acting marathon.

It also led me back to this story about Alan Rickman (whose undeniable acting as Severus Snape in the film franchise made him a global star).

In 1988, at 41 years old, Rickman had never acted in a film. He was a former graphic designer with one Broadway credit and zero screen roles. Then he was cast as Hans Gruber in Die Hard. His very first day on a film set, he delivered one of the most iconic performances in movie history.

Over the next 25 years: Robin Hood, Sense & Sensibility, Harry Potter.

He didn’t rise fast. But he built something enduring.

The reminder:

You’re not too late.

You’re just getting started.

This week in pictures:

Business moves to watch

Businesses and people that caught my eye this week.

Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni launch Phia, a sustainable fashion tech startup

Phia is a platform that aggregates resale and retail options online, making secondhand shopping easier and more stylish. Why it’s interesting - a simple solution to a big problem in a growing market. As we enter another global recession I think this is the perfect time for a business like Phia to enter the market. (New York Post)

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex invests in women's health startup Midi Health

It’s been a busy season for The Duchess of Sussex as she joins other high-profile investors in backing Midi Health, a health-tech company focused on menopause care, contributing to its $103 million funding round. Why it’s interesting - businesses addressing problems faced by millions of women around the world during peri-menopause and menopause are on the rise. As we see Gen X and Millennials reach this stage of life I think we can expect these markets to grow significantly and more businesses created to fill the gap. (Page Six)

Alice Bugeja gives a masterclass in how to launch a physical product

I loved every minute of watching Alice launch mileoff and I think the sell-out launch proves that you don't need a huge budget or a huge audience to successfully launch a brand. Here’s why it’s worked and how you can do the same. (TikTok)

What you should know this week

• Global trade tensions are hitting UK business sentiment

  Tariffs are dragging down growth forecasts, and economists are warning of a slower economy ahead.

  → Read More 

• AI integration is no longer optional for big businesses

  AI is now driving decisions, risk management, and customer experience across industries.

  → Read More 

• OpenAI is reportedly working on a social network to rival X (Twitter)

  OpenAI might be building a competitor to X, aimed at real-time news and social conversation — a major shift if it happens.

  → Read More 

Little things that make running a business with kids easier

The internet is full of advice on big things you can do to make improvements in your business - a new funnel, a new system, a new strategy - but rarely do I see people sharing the little things that can make your life easier when you run a business, especially when you have kids.

Here’s what’s helped me:

• Shared Calendars for Everyone

  Everything—work meetings, school trips, birthdays, appointments—goes into one shared calendar that my husband, me, and anyone else involved in caregiving can see. If it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t happen.

• Dinner on Repeat

  We have a two-week meal rotation. It’s not glamorous, but it means no one is standing in the kitchen at 6 PM wondering what to cook. We swap meals out every few months to keep it vaguely interesting.

• Friends to Voice Note on the 'Burn It All Down' Days

  Not friends who try to fix it. Friends who just get it. Ideally, ones who also run businesses and have kids. Sometimes you just need to scream into the void and get a “same” back.

• Optimising Your Tech to Work From Your Phone

  Everything—documents, emails, apps—needs to be mobile-friendly. If you get 15 spare minutes at soft play, you want to be able to knock something off your list, not just scroll Instagram.

• A Clear Number of Hours You Work (and Everything Else Is “Overtime”)

  Decide how many hours you’re working each week—and mentally treat anything else as overtime. Otherwise, work will expand to fill every available moment (and steal all your evenings).

• A Clear Desk / Workspace

  Not Pinterest-level clear. Just a basic, distraction-free zone without school letters, crayons, or yesterday’s toast crumbs. Makes a huge difference to getting anything done.

• A Weekly Meeting With Yourself

  I do mine every Friday, even if I haven’t technically “worked” that week. I check in on all my systems, automations, and general chaos. It takes about 20 minutes and keeps me (mostly) on track.

• A Uniform

  I rotate between the same capsule wardrobe. Usually a t-shirt/jumper/trouser combo. Fewer decisions = more brain space for real work.

• Blocking Out Your Year in Advance

  At the start of each year, I add all the major dates to the calendar—school holidays, nativity shows, sports days, travel plans. I even guesstimate some based on the previous year. That way, work stuff doesn’t clash with life stuff.

• An Automation for the School Calendar

  I have a webhook that pulls my son’s school term dates into our shared calendar automatically. No more digging through emails to find out when the next inset day is. Game changer.

What maternity leave is really like when you run your own business

When I was pregnant with my son six years ago I was obsessed with reading birth stories. But what I wish I’d spent more time doing was reading people’s stories of how they managed their businesses and had babies at the same time. To be honest, on reflection I’m not sure how many people actually share that insight and it’s a topic not many people talk about. So when my friend Alice recently shared a TikTok asking for advice on this very topic, I thought I would share my experience in case it helps someone else.

The truth is, maternity leave as a business owner is a totally different experience compared to having a corporate job.

And just to be clear—I'm not saying maternity leave is a break. It's not. Caring for a newborn (and yourself) is a full-time job and then some.

But when you’re self-employed, you get an extra layer of pressure and complexity that no one really warns you about.

If you’re employed on a PAYE salary, you get maternity pay and SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay). It’s not much, but it’s something—and you’re still allowed to make extra money on the side if you need to on a self-employed basis.

(Which, let’s be honest, a lot of people do because SMP is a joke.)

When you’re self-employed or running a business as a limited company director (and you’re not on PAYE, paying yourself through a tax-efficient salary and dividends), it’s a different ballgame.

You qualify for Maternity Allowance instead.

Still terrible money—but with one huge catch: you can’t work at all while you’re claiming it. No side hustles, no sneaky freelance gigs, nothing.

Which means you have to plan everything differently.

When I had my son nearly six years ago, I didn’t know any of this.

I went back to work nine days after he was born.

It was awful, and honestly, I’ll live with the guilt of that forever.

Part of it was because I didn’t understand the maternity system.

Part of it was because my business wasn’t set up to survive without me. Even though we had a small team, I was still the one bringing in clients and delivering work.

It took me years (and a lot of hard lessons) to fix it.

Between my first and second pregnancies, I focused on two things:

• Building systems that didn’t rely on me showing up live every day.

• Saving enough money to give myself a proper nine-month maternity leave.

By the time I had my daughter (she’s now 18 months old), things were different.

I had a business partner for my investment fund who could keep things ticking along.

I had digital products, funnels, email automations, AI systems, and batch-created content ready to go.

Everything I possibly could automate, I automated.

Everything I could pre-create, I pre-created.

It was a lot of upfront work—but it meant I could take nine months off properly this time.

And it was worth every second.

If you’re planning for maternity leave as a founder, start earlier than you think. It’s not just about stepping away—it’s about building something that can survive without you.

Have a great week ahead & remember to keep it simple.

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