When women move abroad, they rarely arrive with a business plan.
They come for a partner’s career, a new opportunity, a change of lifestyle or the adventure of raising a family
somewhere different. They expect the practical challenges: learning a language, navigating unfamiliar
systems, building a new social circle.
What they don’t expect is how often they’ll find themselves asking the same question:
“Has anyone done this before?”
How do I choose the right school?
Can someone recommend an English-speaking therapist?
How do I navigate the healthcare system?
Where can I find childcare I can trust?
Who understands what it’s really like to build a life between cultures?
For many women, those questions are answered through friendships, Facebook groups and WhatsApp
communities. Someone always seems to know someone who has been through it already.
Looking back over nearly twenty years of MumAbroad, we’ve realised that those conversations don’t just
solve problems – they often create businesses.
How it started
MumAbroad wasn’t created because its founder, Carrie, wanted to become an entrepreneur. It began
because she had become a first-time mum in Barcelona and couldn’t find the information she needed.
“When I gave birth to my first child in 2007, I was living in the beautiful city of Barcelona with no extended
family nearby. Like so many parents, I was looking for activities, services and advice to help me navigate
those early years.
I was surprised by how difficult it was to find reliable information in English. There were wonderful people
and services out there, but no single place where international families could discover them.”
With the help of hundreds of local mothers sharing recommendations, Carrie launched Barcelona Mum in
2008. It quickly became obvious that the need extended far beyond one city. Barcelona Mum became
MumAbroad Spain before expanding into France, Italy and Germany, always with the same philosophy:
recommendations from parents who had been there themselves.
From the beginning, MumAbroad was built on lived experience. Every recommendation reflected someone’s
real experience, because we believed parents were often the best judges of family services.
When Jane joined as a partner in 2012, the website continued to evolve alongside the lives of the families it
served.
As our children grew, so did the conversations.
Playgroups became school admissions.
School admissions became university applications.
The questions shifted from toddler activities to teenage wellbeing, career choices, ageing parents, divorce,
health and menopause.
The community grew because life itself changed.
So did the businesses we found ourselves writing about.
We kept hearing the same story
Over the years we’ve interviewed countless business owners across Europe.
At first glance they seem very different: education consultants, therapists, coaches, childcare providers,
relocation specialists. But when you ask why they started, an unexpected pattern emerges.
Very few begin with a business idea. Almost all begin with a personal challenge. They couldn’t find the
support they needed. So they created it.
Four women. Four problems. Four solutions.
Over the years we’ve interviewed hundreds of business owners across Europe. At first glance they seem
very different: education consultants, therapists, coaches, childcare providers and educators. But when you
ask why they started, the same story emerges again and again.
They couldn’t find the support they needed.
So they created it.
When Sinead Galvin arrived in Madrid, she experienced first-hand how confusing the Spanish education
system could be for international families. Drawing on her experience as both a teacher and a mother, she
founded Steps Into Spain , helping families navigate school choices and the often daunting admissions
process with the empathy and practical insight that only comes from having done it herself.
For Kenza Benmoussa, the challenge was even more personal. Unable to find a school that reflected the
way she wanted her son to learn, she created one. Today, The School of Young Entrepreneurs offers a
structured homeschooling programme that combines self-directed learning, entrepreneurship and life
coaching for teenagers. As she told us, “I looked for a school for my son. I couldn’t find it. So I created it.”
Judith Wides ‘ journey began with her own experience of perimenopause. After years of unexplained
symptoms and no meaningful answers, she channelled her frustration into supporting other women.
Alongside her work with international families, she now helps women understand and navigate
perimenopause and menopause, ensuring they don’t have to face the same confusion she once did.
And when Emmy Yoshida relocated to Italy as a single mother, finding trusted child care proved harder than
she expected. What started as a search for a babysitter became International Babysitters, which later
evolved into Tripsitta , a multilingual childcare service now supporting families across Europe.
Different stories. Different countries. Different businesses.
Yet they all began in exactly the same place: someone experienced a problem, couldn’t find the help they
needed and decided to create it for everyone who came after them.
Experience becomes expertise
Looking across these stories, the common thread isn’t entrepreneurship. It’s empathy.
These women didn’t identify a gap in the market by analysing trends. They identified a gap because they
were standing in it.
Their businesses are built on lived experience. They understand the emotions behind the practical questions
because they’ve asked those same questions themselves.
The result is something much deeper than expertise.
It’s trust.
Whether it’s choosing a school, navigating menopause, finding childcare or settling into a new country,
people naturally gravitate towards someone who says, “I’ve been where you are.”
Looking back
When Carrie launched Barcelona Mum almost twenty years ago, she simply wanted to make life easier for
international parents.
Neither of us imagined that, years later, we’d also be telling the stories of so many women who had quietly
built businesses for exactly the same reason.
Looking back, we realise MumAbroad isn’t simply a directory or an information website. It’s a collection of
women who turned experience into expertise. Women who transformed frustration into practical
solutions. Women who built communities alongside businesses. Women who discovered that helping one
person often leads to helping hundreds more.
Perhaps that’s the real story of life abroad.
Not that moving country changes you.
But that sometimes it reveals what you’re uniquely placed to give back.
Because the best businesses aren’t created because someone wanted to be an entrepreneur.
They’re created because someone needed help and couldn’t find it.
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If your own business has grown from your experience of living abroad, we’d love to hear your story. At
MumAbroad, we’re always looking to introduce our readers to trusted services created by people who
genuinely understand the challenges of international family life. If you think your business could benefit our
community, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Get in touch with us at carrie@mumabroad.com
