Mother-of-two Joanna Jensen formerly had a successful career in finance, before moving to Childs Farm in Hampshire and launching her children’s toiletries range of the same name (recently landed at Waitrose, NB). Her vision was for products that were as natural as possible, free from SLS, SLES, artificial colours, petrochemicals and parabens – but she understood that for kids to enjoy using them, Childs Farm must be eye-catchingly fun, too. (Suitable for eczema-prone skin, the range is paediatrician-approved, and suitable for newborns and upwards.) Here’s how she juggles motherhood with marriage – and a start-up business.

1. I take to the saddle. I have ridden horses since I was a child, and for me riding is my meditation. When I am out in the countryside with nothing other than my horse and dogs around me, I get total clarity. It is my ultimate thinking time, and when most of my ideas come. Even being around horses makes me calm. If I am in a muddle about anything, I hit the fields and have a cuddle with the nearest equine friend I can find and suddenly all is right with the world.

2. Remember: we are what we eat. I just love food, but I am very fussy about where it comes from. I like to taste the quality of meat and fish, without jus or drizzles which detract from nature’s perfect flavour balances. We have a wonderful veggie garden at home, and a fruit cage which is brimming with goodies. Cooking a family lunch with your own produce takes some beating.

3. Reading is therapy. I was given a Kindle a couple of years ago, and this has become my greatest indulgence. When I moved house recently, I parted with 90% of the books in my library; I’d read most of them two or three times and rationalised that I could read them again and again on my Kindle. I am a great fan of historical thrillers as well as so called children’s books like Phillip Pullman. Frankly, I’ll read anything and average a book a day when on holiday. I think that’s known as voracious!

4. I’m not afraid to ask for help. Eva has been with my family since 2006, and is like a second mother to my girls. She was always more than a nanny, and has helped us with all parts of my life since she came to live with us nearly NINE years ago. Without her I would never be able to do what I need to do to keep Childs Farm on the road.

5. I like to sing my heart out. My one sadness of moving is that I can no longer sing in my church choir. Again, it’s a form of meditation for me and I adore the sound of a good, practiced choir.

6. Time with friends keeps my feet on the ground. I am blessed with a handful of girlfriends who have been with me through good times and bad. When I announced I was setting up Childs Farm, they offered themselves and their children as guinea pigs and were constantly trying new products. My greatest buddy Emma Johnston is a phenomenal sculpture and artist, and is cursed with terrible eczema so she has been a fantastic advocate of our brand since she first started using it.

7. My girls are my greatest joy. My daughters and their madcap antics and menagerie of animals were the inspiration of the labels on the Childs Farm products. To have them immortalised from their earliest ages in the fun and vivid pastiches created by children’s illustrator Emma McCall is something that I will value forever. My family don’t hold back on their opinions on anything and are my harshest critics but they know I turn any form of energy into positive energy.

www.childsfarm.com