With a background in Paediatric nursing and a mother to three young children, Mari-Carmen Sanchez-Morris knows the importance of maternal mental health and mums being supported to feel their best. Instead of the “bouncing back” narrative that we’ve been conditioned to associate with the post-baby era, she wants to ensure that women are being looked after from the inside-out.

She started Mari Carmen Fitness to channel this passion, developing programmes focused on mind, health, and exercise; as well as nutrition plans suitable for the whole family.

In this ‘What A Woman’ we find out more about Mari-Carmen’s motivations and her latest venture, FIT MAMA, which aims to take her health and wellbeing offering to the masses.

It goes without saying that you are *quite* the woman! Tell us a bit about your business journey so far… 

I founded Mari Carmen Fitness in 2017 whilst on maternity leave with my first son after witnessing first-hand the lack of support and inconsistencies in information when it comes to health and fitness. I wasn’t sure how and when I could exercise after my emergency c-section. So, I got to work and started my training. I started doing 1:1 personal training for women, specialising in mothers from my studio in Leamington Spa. My business grew quickly so I decided to leave my job at the Children’s hospital as a paediatric intensive care nurse.

When the pandemic hit I took my business online, this gave me the opportunity to reach more mothers across the country. My research began then, I soon realised there was no holistic health and fitness app designed specifically for the mother. I decided to develop my own app for mums. With no tech background, I sourced a developer and got to work. We launched FIT MAMA in 2023 and are now working hard to raise the first seed round to scale and grow. I have a real passion for empowering mothers to feel their best, confident and strong selves.

What inspired you to set up your business and what have been the most significant steps in growing it to where you have to date?

My own experiences and challenges as a new mother of three. I have been fortunate to have three healthy children, every pregnancy has been different and the support I have received from the NHS has been different. What has become obvious is the lack of support for mothers. Prenatal and postnatal provisions are poor in the UK, which I am passionate about. I wanted to create an app where mothers could access all the tools they needed for motherhood from industry-leading experts at a very small cost. Developing FIT MAMA has been such a significant point in my journey, that I now can access mothers across the UK and the whole of the world, offering them the support and tools to thrive in motherhood.

Developing an app has been a steep learning curve, entrepreneurship is about collaboration and partnership. I sourced my app company based in America and have been on the journey since day one. You cannot grow a business independently and must ask for support and advice from experts in their fields. This is a good example of this.

Did you dive straight into entrepreneurial life, or did you take your time planning?

I started my entrepreneurship journey whilst on maternity leave from my nursing career with my firstborn, I went straight in. At this point never did I think it would grow this big. The vision to start with was to make an impact on the mothers in the local community, it then grew to a much bigger vision as I started to make a difference to many mothers’ lives in my local area. Development of the FIT MAMA app took planning and a lengthy procurement process. Sourcing the right app development company was essential.

Business support comes in so many forms – accelerators, mentors, finance, and networking, to name a few. What support have you found the most significant in helping you to start and scale?

Perhaps the biggest support to me on this journey to date is communities and mentorship. I spend a lot of time at 1 mill street in Leamington spa which is a co-working space, being surrounded by many successful entrepreneurs is powerful. You bounce off each other and there is always someone to offer support and guidance. I have been lucky to be part of the female founders’ rise, this has helped me with the investment journey to date.

What’s on your vision board this year?

This year I want to raise my first seed round which will help me hire a team, and fund research and development projects on the app to grow and scale it to the next level. I have been fortunate to be working with East Village PR, I would love to be a guest on Steven Bartletts podcast and Mo Gawdit to name a few. To continue to have the opportunity to voice the importance of women’s health particularly in the pre and postnatal period.

They say “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” so what’s the magic bullet that will help you scale and who do you need to make it happen?

Tenacity and grit I believe to be two necessary characteristics of a female founder. The journey is going to be hard, there will be bumps in the road but you just have to be going and working towards your big vision. The tenacity to keep going will inevitably lead to success. In my opinion to make it happen sits and lies with you as the founder, you need to really want it. If you have unwaivering confidence and self belief you will MAKE it happen. Don’t get me wrong you need the key players around you to help it make it happen but you are the captain on the ship driving the mission, creating the vision and leading the team.

Apparently, a founder’s morning routine says a lot about them. Talk us through yours…

I have three small children, Arthur 7, Florence 5 and Archie 10 months old. Every morning is busy what with school runs and nursery drop offs. Where I can I will always start my day with a coffee on my own in peace and quiet to set my intentions for the day, if I have the time and my husband is not working at the fire station I will make my way to the gym or go out for a run. Movement and coffee is the perfect start to my day, I make this happen as frequently as possible.

What are your non-negotiables, in both business and life?

In business- my non-negotiables are my values, I will always work in line with my values, and this is important to me.

1. Integrity-committing to transparency and honesty is super important to me.
2. Respect- treating everyone with kindness, dignity, empathy, and fairness.
3. Adaptability- where possible always remaining open-minded and resilient in the face of change, challenges, and hurdles.

In life- my three children are my centre of my universe and my why. They are always my number one priority, they come first. The choices I make in my business and my life always have my children in mind. I always tell my children in life it is important we are always kind, try our best and have fun. These three principles I try and live by every day in my business and personal life.

As a successful founder, how easy do you actually find it trying to have work/life balance?

It is hard work and to be honest as a mother and a founder I don’t think there ever is the right balance. For example, just as you are pushing hard in your business, something has slipped with your personal life. All we can do is try our best and understand that some plates will be dropped. I guess it is down to priorities, being true to ourselves and living in line with our values. I keep my life super simple and am very selfish with how I choose to spend my time. Right now, I am pushing hard in my business so recognise the time I do have away from my business needs to be spent with my children and looking after myself.

Are there any go-to resources you’d recommend to fellow founders – be that books, podcasts, memberships, or something else entirely?

I started seeing a therapist over 2 years and it has been the best thing I have ever done. Initially, this was to overcome a few personal things, but it has turned into a necessary tool to push forward in my business. Working on myself has had such an impact on not only my personal life but also my business. You must have rock-solid self-belief and self-awareness to drive a business forward successfully. Do not underestimate working on yourself. I work at a co-working space a few times a week, this has been invaluable. Being a female founder can get lonely, spending time in a supportive and thriving community has such an impact on my mindset.

On the subject of advice, what’s the most BS advice you’ve ever received? Did you ignore it straight away or learn the hard way?

“Be careful who you talk to, you can get distracted”. In so many ways asking advice from too many people can become confusing, but knowledge is power. Putting yourself in thriving communities of successful founders helps with growth and pushes you out of your comfort zone. You need to remain focused and stick to strategy but it is also important to see another point of view and approaches.

Finally, we believe in the power of celebrating your wins. What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of the bravery and courage I have shown over the years. I remember when I left my nursing career many family and friends expressed their concerns and doubts but I knew deep down what I wanted to create. 7 years on I have created a very successful health and fitness coaching business in my local area all alongside building and executing FIT MAMA app, which was launched in 2023 alongside being a mother to my three children. I LOVE what I do, I love helping mothers and making an impact. Here at FIT MAMA we have only just begun!

Check out Mari-Carmen’s health and fitness programs for busy mums: www.maricarmenfitness.com

WHAT. A. WOMAN!

Do you know a founder that will inspire The 51% Club community?
Get in touch with us and tell us a bit about her story: girlpower@the51percent.club