From discrimination and repossession to entrepreneurial inspiration with Jules Hawkins

This is both an extraordinary and, sadly, an every day tale. All over the UK people with children or caring responsibilities compete for shifts or work patterns which fit around them, face the 'poverty premium' or are locked out from opportunities.

"I was dismissed on so many levels," says Jules Hawkins. "I knew I was capable of more and I knew I wanted to be a taxpayer."

Jules' "whole world crumbled" when a new owner of a business she'd long worked for refused to allow her to work flexibly around childcare.

Everything escalated out of control: she had to move to lower-paid work, lost her home, her credit score was destroyed and Jules was hit by "everyone charging me more for everything."

There are so many ironies in Jules' story and this interview illustrates how housing and childcare policies let many people down. But ultimately Jules approached Purple Shoots at a point where she was hugely vulnerable and describes how "they quite literally saved my life."

Jules runs her own businesses now, including the pregnancy bed cushion she designed herself and a business network for single mums. She's repaid her Purple Shoots loan and even pledges a percentage of her sales to support the organisation to help others.

She has lots to say in this interview about childcare, minimum income floors, entrepreneurship, marketing and business development. And she spills the beans on what she said to Rishi Sunak this summer.

What next?

• Jules is director of KIH Products Ltd – https://kihproducts.wordpress.com/ and founder of The Single Mums Business Network, "a Business Network, with a Social Conscience" – https://singlemumsbusinessnetwork.com
• Purple Shoots – https://purpleshoots.org
• Purple Shoots is a member of Responsible Finance. More about Responsible Finance providers: https://www.findingfinance.org.uk