A day in the life of Carol app founder Holly Zoccolan

March8 joined Holly Zoccolan to find out what a typical day looks like for an app founder and busy mum

Holly Zoccolan, CEO and Founder the mobile app, Carol started her entrepreneurial journey by building wellness brand ‘The Health Zoc ‘in 2016. Then after having her son in 2020 with little support around her, she felt the need to launch a mobile app that connected and supported mums throughout their motherhood journey. So in 2022, she built it! 

Carol is a mobile app that connects mums based on similar interests, location and children of the same age and offers expert-led resources across pregnancy, postpartum, baby sleep, baby feeding, baby development and the early years all in one place. Think of the resources as the encyclopaedia of all things Motherhood with answers to the most frequently asked questions all in one place!

We sat down with Holly to hear about what life is like for a mumpreneur, by discussing a typical day in her life. 

Starting the day with Holly

I wake up between 5.30-6am every morning to make sure I have some time to myself before my toddler wakes up and the chaos starts! I do strength training 4 times per week and every morning I write my to-do list, and have my morning coffee in peace and quiet. I’m definitely someone who likes their own space, so making time for myself first thing really sets the tone for my day and gets me in a positive mood. 

I start work at 8am when our childcare starts and work nonstop for around 4 hours and get the main tasks done. I’m very focused and am able to get a lot of work done in a few hours – I don’t check social media at all which is a huge disruptor for productivity. 

My mornings at work usually consist of checking in with our app developer, logging into our admin portal, checking our social media calendar and speaking with my PR Manager to see what articles are going live and any new interview requests that I need to answer. I also have a meeting with our COO to discuss any changes to our strategy, our new brand partners that are coming on board and get any admin done.

A well-deserved break

At around 12pm my son comes home where I have lunch with him and then put him down for a nap. I then get any last admin bits done and reply to emails I received in the morning. As soon as my son gets up we head to the playground, soft play or meet friends and then it’s dinner time at 5pm. Once my son is in bed at 7, I log back in and make sure any scheduled social media posts have gone live, check in with any last-minute PR requests and then it’s bedtime at 9pm! It’s definitely a juggle, but making sure that I get the most important tasks done in the morning means that if my afternoons are a little all over the place, at least I’m on top of things.

The most challenging part of my day is making sure I get up before my son. I know how important that time is for me, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy especially when it’s cold, rainy and dark outside.

The most rewarding aspect of my day is the occasion where I feel like I managed to juggle it all - the days where I get lots of work done in the morning, my son had a good nap in the afternoon, we met friends and he’s happy. This definitely isn’t every day but when it happens I go to bed feeling so content and fulfilled. 

Relaxing after a busy day

I try to make sure I’m off my laptop by 8pm each night. I then make it a priority to either use my sauna blanket, meditate, have a bath and put a face mask on. I’m also a huge herbal tea drinker and drink chamomile tea most evenings before bed which helps me relax and unwind. My other half is also very encouraging of me having time to myself and he often reminds me if I’ve been staring at my laptop for too long!

My evening routine consists of taking care of my skin, putting a face mask on, either getting in my sauna blanket and reading a book or having a bath and then having an early night! I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to my evening routine and for me, sleep is the most important so as long as I’m in bed asleep by 9pm, I’m happy!

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