015: Annie Ridout – launching The Early Hour and keeping going when things get tough

In this episode, I talk to fellow Parentpreneur, Annie Ridout, founder and editor of The Early Hour.

The Early Hour is a fantastic online parenting and lifestyle magazine, with articles and interviews published daily at 5am.

Her articles are honest, touching, and include interviews with many great parentpreneurs including Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post) and Paul Lindley (Ella’s Kitchen).

Annie also blogs for BabyCentre and freelances for other publications including The Guardian and Red Magazine.

In this interview, we explore how Annie started The Early Hour, and delve into the times when things got so tough she nearly stopped the project. We learn how Annie balances work and family life when she’s having to work to tight deadlines, and what’s helped her the most to build her new business whilst freelancing to pay the bills.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

1. The Prince’s Trust
2. The Early Hour: What it’s like to… become a dad through surrogacy
3. The Early Hour: I wish I wasn’t so disappointed with my post-birth body
4. The Early Hour: Truth about motherhood
5. Yoast plugin for WordPress
6. Book: Miracle Morning (Hal Elrod)
7. The Early House: Mark Lemon
8. Annie Ridout: Is it OK to ignore your child just a little bit?
9. The Early Hour: Carrie Anne Roberts, Mère Soeur
10. The Early Hour: Alex Hoffler, Meringue Girls
11. Book: Lean In (Sheryl Sandberg)
12. Book: Sleep Revolution (Ariana Huffington)
13. The Guardian Business Network
14. Twitter: Annie Ridout