The world-schooling mum of six and founder of Mums in Business International will bring together over 100 women from a community of more than 450,000 globally for her first-ever live conference.
MIB CONNEX LIVE, being held on 11 November, is more than an event, it’s a rallying cry against the quiet epidemic affecting thousands of female founders: the loneliness economy created by social isolation.
In a world that celebrates independence, the rise of online businesses has left many women building in silence. Despite followers, revenue and momentum, the reality is often hours alone at the kitchen table, no one to bounce ideas off, and a constant stream of pressure to perform, post and push through.
That isolation can quietly erode confidence and threaten the very businesses these women are working so hard to build.
“Success is about more than strategy and hustle,” says Leona. “Businesses don’t just fold because of a lack of funding or information, it’s the isolation of the hustle that wears people down. I’ve lost count of the number of women who’ve told me it’s not the work that breaks them, it’s doing it all alone.”
MIB CONNEX LIVE is Leona’s answer to that silence, and the one-day, in-person experience has been designed to replace performance with presence, pressure with support, and burnout with belief.
The stage will be shared by women who know the truth about growing a business, the highs, the lows, and the cost of doing it in a vacuum.
Held at The Custard Factory, once the home of Bird’s Custard and now a thriving creative hub, and being visited by a 6 foot bear called Hope, the event is a celebration of what happens when women stop building in the shadows and start building together.
Guest speakers include:
- Jo Proud, founder of Mood Bears, the mental health plush loved by all five Dragons on Dragons’ Den
- Holly Matthews, former Byker Grove actress and founder of The Happy Me Project
- Gulshen Bano, founder of Strike Back Self Defence, working to make streets safer for women globally
- Danielle Serpico, international NLP trainer and headline sponsor, delivering a keynote on mindset and visibility
Together, they’ll reflect the real, raw and rewarding journey of entrepreneurship, and the power of community to keep going when self-belief is in short supply.
Leona concludes, “While over 100 women are stepping into the room this week, they represent the tip of something far greater. What began as a Facebook group has grown into the largest global support network for mums and women in business, and it proves that when women reject isolation and choose connection, they don’t just survive, they rise together. Success isn’t about doing it all alone, it’s about being seen, being supported, and building something lasting on your own terms.”
Event Details:
MIB CONNEX LIVE
The Custard Factory, Digbeth, Birmingham
Tuesday 11 November
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Tickets: https://mib.international/product/networker/?ref=0olas5
About Mums in Business International:
Founded by Leona Burton, Mums in Business International is the world’s largest community for mums and women in business. With over 450,000 members in more than 35 countries, the organisation offers strategy, support and sisterhood to women navigating entrepreneurship in a world that often tells them to do it alone. In an era of hustle culture and hyper-productivity, MIB offers something radical: genuine connection and the belief that no woman should have to build in silence.