It's a team effort at home and in the office - Me and my Job

Jo Andrews, 33, is Managing Director of The Marketing Collective based inEastleigh. She set up the company in 2010 and has seen it steadily grow despite the harsh economic climate.She shares how she has managed to keep her business goals in clear view while embracing being a new mum.AS ANY new mum will know, balancing the demands of family, home and the office can be a tricky juggling act requiring huge dexterity, limitless energy and the organisational skills of a latterday Miss Moneypenny.Add into that the further complication of running a successful – but still fledgling – marketing company that I set up in 2010 and you have some idea of what the last few months have been like since the birth of our baby Violet at the end of last year.Never one to complain, I must admit being the boss of my own company has meant I couldn’t really take a traditional maternity leave.It has been pretty full on since Violet arrived on the scene and I‘ve stayed very much involved with the day-to-day activities of The Marketing Collective.My team has been great but I am so identified with the company, it just wouldn’t have been practical for me to take six months or a year off.So while I got to grips with being a new mum, I have also overseen the publication of the 2013 edition of the Hamble Valley Guide, the Southampton Pocket Guide, the Southampton Guest Guide and remained fully involved with clients such as Hampshire’s Top Attractions and Houghton Lodge Gardens in Stockbridge.The Marketing Collective is bucking the economic trend with a growth in turnover of more than 50 per cent in the past three years – and I’ve seen my creative team double in size too.My business has been built on a real passion for Southampton and the wider area, sharing what's best about the city and helping to promote the fun and quirky elements for visitors to enjoy including promoting the wonderful Tudor Revels project.While others may have been deterred by the downturn, I refused to be put off. When the company I was working for was liquidated in 2010, I saw it as an opportunity to start my own business - and we are on target to meet the year three target of £150,000 turnover.By harnessing the talents of graphic designer Tina Scahill, apprentice marketing executive Louise Collins and writer Kate Thompson, I’ve seen my tourism publications really take off.The Hamble Valley Guide (www.hamblevalley.com ) was the starting point along with the Southampton Pocket Guide. (www.issuu.com/themarketingcollective/docs/southamptonpocketguide2013) In consultation with the Southampton Hoteliers Association, I came up with the concept for the Southampton Guest Guide. An up-market publication designed to sit in hotel bedrooms throughout the city, the guide gives a real insight into what Southampton has to offer to visitors.The current edition, with a delicious front cover illustration by talented Southampton artist Jonny Hannah, is a real showcase for the city. It has proved so popular that we are now working on sister publications for Portsmouth and Winchester - with plans to roll-out the concept to other cities in 2014.The Marketing Collective also represents Hampshire's Top Attractions – an umbrella organisation set up to promote all the top visitor attractions in the county. We’ve been able to prove there really is strength in numbers and by promoting all that is best for visitors to enjoy, Hampshire's Top Attractions has seen a remarkable growth in online traffic that has led to more families taking advantage of visitor offers.When it came to growing The Marketing Collective team, I was keen to give young talent a chance and delighted to give Louise Collins her first experience in a marketing role. As an apprentice, Louise has just secured her first year's City and Guild qualification and will continue to study, while gaining hands-on experience in the office.Looking to the future, I want to develop publications for other towns and cities as well as replicating the success of Hampshire's Top Attractions elsewhere and developing my team to support the growing activity.There’s been a lot of talk in the media about super-mums like Nicola Horlick who seemingly are able to run major corporations, keep their homes tickety-boo and have a family too.As the owner of my own business and as a wife and a mother, I can tell you it is possible to do all those things but it requires a real team effort at home and in the office.