Every now and then, something is said in business that stops you in your tracks.
Recently, one of our members was invited to a networking group. The networking group in question did not say up front which group it was. They took payment for the ticket and only revealed the night before that it was actually a competitor to Firefly Hub.
She had already paid, so she went along in good spirits, open-minded, and wanting to make the most of the event.
After the meeting, she was approached to join. There was lots of praise and talk about how she would be a perfect fit. She thanked them for the invite and said she would not be joining. They then said, “You can leave Firefly Hub.”
Her answer was simple. “Why would I want to leave? I am a founding member!”
She got a lot of work and it worked for her business.
And then came the comment: “Well, isn’t it just a bird and her two kids?”
That line has stayed with me.
Because aside from being rude and unnecessary, it says so much about how some people still view women building businesses in 2026. As though having children makes a woman less credible. As though school runs cancel out strategy. As though juggling appointments, clients, invoices, family life and responsibility means you cannot also be building something powerful. The truth is, many women are at their strongest under pressure.
We are managing school runs, doctor’s appointments, meals, logistics, children’s emotions, our own businesses and everybody else’s expectations, and still showing up. Still leading. Still building. Still producing results.
And let’s not pretend the patriarchy has vanished just because the calendar says 2026.
We may have come a long way since the suffragettes, but women are still having to prove, in business rooms and networking rooms, that motherhood is not a weakness and success does not need male approval to be valid.
What I loved most was the response that came next: I named my children. I spoke about them with pride. I spoke about how inclusive Firefly Hub is, how valuable it has been, and how much real work and opportunity it has brought into my business.
As an estate agent, I have built meaningful relationships through Firefly Hub, won invoiced business, and even grown my property portfolio through the connections and opportunities that have come from being part of the network.
At Firefly Hub, we do things differently. We grow through relationships, trust and collaboration, and that same approach runs through the wider partnerships around our network, including events run in conjunction with Santander and Barclays – bit hey ho, just a bird and her two kids.