For years I mentored mums in business and I was bloody great at it. The problem was I rarely took my own advice or did the work I was telling them to do.
Find my nearest Circle
For years I sat across from women in business and helped them see things they couldn't see themselves. I watched them build beautiful businesses. I was good at the work.
But quietly, behind all of it, I was doing the exact thing I told them not to. Spending all my time IN my business and almost none of it ON it. Brilliant at being the coach. Avoiding being the CEO. Everything I was building was held together with reactivity and bandaids.
Not because I didn't know better. I knew exactly what I needed to do. The actual work I had been preaching for years. I just couldn't make myself sit down and do it.
And it caught up with me.
I felt shame and guilt every time I thought about it. The work I knew I needed to do was the work I couldn't bring myself to start. The longer I avoided it, the worse the shame got. The worse the shame got, the harder it became to start. You know that loop. Most of us know that loop.
Until one day I was meant to be sitting through an online training, and instead I quietly opened a different tab and started powering through all the things I'd been putting off for months. I didn't plan it. I didn't have some big revelation. I just started doing the work and I couldn't stop. Everything that had felt so overwhelming was suddenly just… easy. While I could hear everyone else around me talking.
That was the moment.
I didn't need more discipline. I didn't need a better calendar. I didn't need another course. I needed other people in the room.
That is where Village Circles came from. Getting shit done is just easier when we are together.
It was also during that same chapter that I noticed something else. Almost none of the mums I was working with were actually using AI properly in their business. And I knew why. It feels scary. In fact, 47% of women say AI tools intimidate them.
To me, that is such a wasted opportunity sitting right there.
So we are adding Claude training into every Village Circle. Now I am not an expert yet, but I am working on it. And honestly, you do not need to be either. You just need to know how to talk to AI so it stops being the thing you avoid.
Small group. Face to face. Every fortnight. Thirty minutes of learning together, and then an hour to use what we just covered on your actual business, with me in the room, while everyone else is doing the same.
A Village Circle is a small group of women in business. Max 10 of us. Same women every fortnight. Same room, same time. We meet in person for two hours. Twice a month.
Check-ins, what is going on, what is stuck. The kind of talking that happens when women who actually get it sit at the same table.
A short lesson on something you can actually use. How to talk to AI. How to use it for your own business. There is no shortage of AI training out there. Most of us have downloaded one, paid for another, watched ten minutes of a third and quietly closed the tab. We are doing it the opposite way. Small bites, in person, every fortnight. You chip away at it slowly with other women learning the same thing next to you.
You work on your own stuff. I am in the room. So is everyone else. If you want headphones on and silence, do that. If you want to ask a question, ask it. You set the rules for your hour. Quietly working alongside each other is the most underrated productivity tool on the planet, and it is what makes the impossible thing finally get done.
I didn't realise just how much I was missing that sense of community until I walked back into a circle of women who just get it. Running a business as a mum can feel isolating, and this space reminds you that you're not doing it alone.
It's more than networking, it's real connection, clarity, and momentum.
HayleyPebble & Vine
Body doubling is not a vibe. It is real, and it is backed by research. Here is what is actually happening in the room.
When you have a specific accountability appointment with someone you respect, you are 95% more likely to actually do the thing. Not motivation. Not willpower. Just the appointment.
Sit beside a calm, focused woman and your brain quietly drops into focus too. It is called co-regulation. It is the whole reason you can finally start the thing you have been avoiding.
Most underrated productivity tool on the planet. Especially for ADHD brains. Just having other people in the room makes the impossible thing possible.
When you work for yourself, you wear all the hats and carry everything in your head. It can be a pretty lonely gig when the only ones you're bouncing ideas off are the dog or your family. The fortnightly catch-ups have been so good for that.
I really love that half of our sessions are proper working sessions. Actually sitting down and doing the task you've been avoiding. Having that coworking space keeps you on track, you don't drift off or get distracted as easily.
The regularity is a big thing for me too. I need the accountability, and Sandra genuinely keeps track, checks in, and is truly interested in you and your business.
JessRustic Wren
I started Village Circles because I spent years mentoring other mums and not taking my own advice.
I was in my business instead of on it. I knew exactly what to do. I just couldn't make myself do it.
And the shame I felt because of that had me burning it all down and walking away as an escape. I thought starting again would fix it, but really what I needed was co-regulation and other people.
I know how to do what I need to do. I just need to borrow other people's vibes in order to actually do it. That is where the Village Circles come in.
It's easier together. We don't need to do it alone.
Sandra x
Four Circles currently running across Adelaide. Pick the one that suits your schedule, your suburb, or your vibe.
Goodwood Community Centre
10–34 Rosa St, Goodwood
Tuesdays · 10am – 12pm · fortnightly
6 spots leftPrices Fresh
463/465 North East Road, Hillcrest
Mondays · 10:30am – 12pm · fortnightly
8 spots leftMaxwell's Grocery
206 Port Rd, Aldinga SA 5173
Tuesdays · 10:30am – 12pm · fortnightly
8 spots leftVintage Chef Co
19–20 Alexander Ave, Evanston Park
Thursdays · 10am – 12pm · fortnightly
6 spots leftWe are looking for the right venue and the right women. Join the waitlist and we will let you know the moment doors open.
Village Circles works best when everyone in the room is in the same season. Here is what that looks like, honestly.
That is not a judgement, just a truth. The Village works on consistency. There is no shame in coming back when the timing is right.
I am there to hold your hand, kick your ass when you need it, and teach you Claude. The other women in the room are there for the same reason. We are accountable for how great our lives are, and my job is to remind you of that. No more "one day." No more "it's not the right time." There is never going to be a right time. We just start.
Yes. The second hour is body doubling. Headphones on or chat as you go, your call. Most members tell me they get more done in that hour than they do in a full day at home.
No. We start where you are. Most women in the room are starting from scratch. I am not an expert either. We are learning together, slowly, in small bites, with time to actually ask questions.
These sessions are child-free. We want you to have two hours that are entirely yours.
No elevator pitches. No business card swapping. No pressure to perform. Max 10 women in the room. You can be the quiet one and still get everything you came for.
Your seat is yours for the term. We do not run make-up sessions or refund missed dates. If you cannot make it we miss you, and we will be ready for you next time.
Not at all. Pick the location that suits your schedule, your suburb, school drop-off, or just the day of the week that works.
Because connection needs consistency. It is hard to feel safe and honest with strangers who drop in and out. Committing to a term lets the group actually bond, which is the whole point.
