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Candice Brathwaite: Bringing Black Motherhood Into The Spotlight

Candice Brathwaite is not your average social media influencer. Her refreshingly honest and genuinely funny takes on things have been making waves online. With an ever-growing following, she has worked with big brands such as Pampers, Ella’s Kitchen and recently featured in a Samsung ad. In her spare time, this award-winning ‘mama hustler’ founded the online initiative Make Motherhood Diverse. We interviewed Candice to find out how she juggles it all, turned her platform into a business and the challenges of being a minority within her chosen space.

You went from dream job to stay-at-home-mum, back to working mum. Talk us through that journey.

Honestly, at times it has been exhausting. When my daughter Esmé was two, I landed a ‘dream’ job in the publishing industry. Browsing Twitter one night, I came across an advert for a new scheme being run by Penguin Random House which was trying to encourage those who wouldn’t find themselves in the [kind of] social circles that provoke an interest in publishing to apply. I applied and after a rigorous application process (which drew me to tears) I beat 2,000 applicants to one of four spaces. The experience was a revelation. I enjoyed my time immensely – until it was time for me to move to the children’s department which I didn’t like at all. At that time, my childcare became very inconsistent. With a heavy heart, I decided to resign. However, whilst at Penguin, I had learned about something called ‘influencer marketing’. Still in its infancy, I could tell that this space was going to be big business and I wanted in. I spent all of my free time learning about how to be a force to be reckoned with online, as I knew that this would enable me to do all of the things I wanted [and have] a job which allows me to be creative, have flexibility so I don’t always have to outsource childcare and finally make a shit ton of cash.