This week’s Ambassador Feature is with Nicole Mulholland, CORE Kids Health & Education
2019 Health & Fitness Business Excellence Award – Gold winner
Nicole Mulholland is the founder of CORE Kids Health & Education. Nicole brings over 16 years of knowledge from her extensive nursing career, which has included working in paediatric oncology, research, education and child and family mental health. Nicole holds a Masters in Child and Family health, Diploma in Childhood Care and Education services and is trained in multiple parenting courses, kids yoga, mindfulness and drumming. Her passion includes the importance of developing an early secure attachment to promote long term positive mental health outcomes. Apart from her family, her other love is soccer, having played for over 20 years. Nicole is almost always wearing odd socks.
CORE Kids Health & Education offers early childhood development classes in childcares and schools, evidence-based parenting courses, professional development, education and workshops. Our focus is on Connection, Optimal well-being, Resilience and Emotions (CORE). Groups include mindfulness, soccer, yoga, music and movement, social/emotional skills and drumming – taught to children through their language: play.
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Tell us the story behind why you love what you do and why you’re so passionate about sharing your message.
Working in Child and Family Mental Health for the past 8 years, which included working with children with severe trauma, complex emotional and behaviour disorders and multiple diagnosis. Children without the foundation skills of emotion regulation, resilience and a secure connection/attachment with a primary caregiver are at high risk of developing long term mental health issues, early incarceration and at risk of conduct disorders. There are also alarming statistics for teenage and young adult suicide.
That’s where CORE Kids was developed. As a Mother, I wanted my children to grow up in an environment where their emotions are accepted, they develop securely and also that they are able to be resilient, mindful and kind. But I also want this for all children! All children deserve a positive Connection, Optimal well-being, Resilience and their Emotional needs to be acknowledged and met with kindness and acceptance and this in turn leads to empowerment.
Our vision is for happy minds, healthy bodies and full hearts.
Tell us a story about a challenging time you faced, how you overcame it and what lesson/lessons/wisdom this experience has taught you about life and business.
Running a business and being a Mum to 3 small children is a constant juggle. It’s not all lollipops and rainbows. Not having enough hours in the day is a challenge when I’ve got so many ideas in my head (cue visual image of a computer with multiple tabs/browsers open at any one time). So remembering to be kind to myself is important. I’ve learnt to address this by being super organised, writing lists, lists and more lists, and accepting that there will always be items on my to-do-list, regardless of how hard I work and how many hours I put in, so accepting this, prioritising ideas and setting realistic time frames to complete tasks in.
Getting up an hour earlier for some me time, cooking meals ahead and also not being too hard on myself if the kids don’t have a gourmet cooked meal every night. Also diarising any important school events etc and booking appointments around these.
What are 3 pieces of advice you would give someone starting out in business?
1. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Shake it off. Setbacks are part of the growth, they aren’t failures, they are learning opportunities.
2. Be Flexible. Not in a Nadia Comaneci type way, but flexible with your time, in your thinking and your approach.
3. You don’t need to do it all by yourself – Don’t be afraid to ask for help. No one (well, not many have) has climbed Everest alone. Great things come to those who collaborate and aren’t afraid to ask for/accept help. The climb might be tough, even exhausting at times, but it’s worth the breathtaking view.
Image credit: Alexandra Anderson, Jam on Your Collar
What is your proudest business achievement? Why does this mean so much to you?
The AusMumpreneur award was really special as this was my first award after starting business in December last year and really pivotal in giving me the confidence that my business was going in the right direction. We are also a finalist in the international Stevie Awards for Women in Business and awaiting to find out our award status in mid-November, so we can’t quite believe what a big 12 months it has been for us. It means a lot as it acknowledgement for all the hard work, hours of studying and planning and meticulous detail that has been put into getting CORE Kids off the ground.
What’s next for your business?
We are rolling out a new fitness program for next year we which are super excited about. We are also looking to publish our first children’s book. Busy times are ahead.
If you could change the world, and money was no object, what would you do?
“Same thing we try to do every night Pinky, try to take over the world” – but for the greater good. I would roll out early intervention programs in all preschools and schools to tackle the growing epidemic of teenage and adult suicide. The statistics are alarming. Equipping our young people with the skills of emotion regulation, resilience and emotional intelligence and being able to form secure early attachments is paramount in ensuring the best long-term mental health trajectories.
Finally, what do you believe is the secret to success?
Surrounding yourself with people who support your dreams no matter how wild they seem. For me this has been my husband and family and also a very supportive network of Mothers in Business who share similar values and above all network and share ideas with.
Plus a lot of hard work and cups of tea.
To learn more about CORE Kids Health & Education, please visit :-
Website: www.corekids.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/corekidsau
Instagram: instagram.com/corekidsau
