We all crave inspiration from time to time. Sometimes we can feel as if we are on our own in this difficult and demanding world. Are you the only working mum struggling to make sense of it all, juggling work, social life and the challenges of bringing up your children? We need to be honest with ourselves and agree that we all experience these ups and downs and are not able to make head nor tail of life, so it's good to get an insight into other people's activities, so that we can get some much-needed motivation to help us with our future battles!

The social media revolution has allowed us to keep in touch with others like never before. Now, we are able to take a glimpse into the lives of complete strangers and to really expand our social circles by interacting with other, like-minded mums.

We have searched for some inspirational working mums on one of our favourite social networks, Twitter. Maybe you will find some inspiration from the writings of these women, but as you dive into the awesome power of the Internet, go a little further and line up some online coaching for your own inspiration. These days, professional coaching can really be the shot in the arm that you need.

We came across Nadine Hill (@businessmum), who lives in the north of England and in addition to being a motivational speaker is also a "fashion lover, biz owner and plate spinner!" She has found that she is good at multitasking, balancing her roles of modern mum and business owner, as she writes a number of different books.

If you want to find out how somebody runs a business focusing on human resource outsourcing, employment contracts and employee related problems, you should follow Carolyne Wahlen (@preventativehr). She is fluent in German, based in Reading and also juggles time as a working mum with Brownie duties.

Angie Stewart (@angiejstewart) has set up a business consultancy with her husband. They have two boys together, but Angie is also able to manage two exciting pop groups — Kill The Jukebox and Live Covers Band.

Nobody is prouder than Brigitte Mehr (@brigittemehr) as we build our entrepreneurial dreams. She loves to collect designer handbags, promotes online coaching and mentoring, while running a successful blog, passing along Internet marketing strategies to entrepreneurs.

If you follow astrology, you can learn all about the phases of the moon, eclipses, how to identify asteroids and those strange twinkling lights in the sky. This outreaching Welsh mum (@serennu) also operates @astrologyblog and has an interest in music and comedy.

Angela Griffin (@angela_griffin) is a thirty something mum of two, who makes a living as an actress and television presenter for Britain's Sky TV. She is, after all, better known as the hairdresser Fiona in Coronation Street.

If you want to find out how to manage money effectively and to free up your life for what you want, then Tina Weeks is the financial life planner for you. Based in Barnet, London, she is also known as the Finance Coach, (@thefinancecoach).

On a serious note, if you are really looking for some inspiration, you should read all about Sarah E Andrews (@sarahsaner), who writes all about her fight with and victory over cancer, even as she developed her career as an aspiring fiction writer and balanced her time as a busy mum.

If you really want some freedom, you should aspire to be a digital nomad. This is just what Lea Woodward (@leawoodward) has done, living independently of any particular location. This business model works exceptionally well for her, even as a busy mum and she wants to help everybody find out all about this option.

Michelle Dale (@miss_Friday) used her experience in career development and her passion for travel to help her establish a successful Virtual Assistance business. She is the entrepreneur's Girl Friday!

Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!

Whenever the school holidays approach, working mums and working parents in general start going through a nightmare, as they start to fulfil their organisational roles. You will have six weeks or more of time to fill for your children, well aware that this is quality family time, irreplaceable for family bonding purposes. Doesn't it seem that the months and years just fly by and you are all too aware how, before you turn around, the kids will be adults and on their way into the future. This makes you feel as if you want to spend the whole of the summer holidays with your children, as you soak in those summer rays. In this respect, wouldn't it be great if you could take a six-week vacation as well?

But reality bites! You could be self-employed, knowing that holidays are almost unheard of for you, as you put everything into the development of your business.

If you are within the ranks of the employed, you know only too well how your boss relies on you and cannot afford to be without you for that entire period, although you hope that he or she is flexible and at least a little accommodating, as this can make it all a lot easier.

You have important decisions ahead and professional coaching can help you to unravel the answers.

This will be the time to explore just how flexible your respective employers are, as mum and dad do their best to rearrange their time to accommodate all the demands. In certain circumstances, dad will take his two week holiday first and then when he gets back, mum will take her two week period. This could take care of four weeks, but it's not really a palatable position to be in. Younger kids will find this very confusing and, as online coaching will remind you, you really need to try and maintain that family fabric as much as possible.

Maybe this is time to investigate the concept of telecommuting, which is becoming much more popular and might be a solution for you? Talk with your supervisor and see if it might be possible for you to operate from home over the summer holidays, or at least during part of this vacation, so that you can be much more flexible and allocate some of those precious hours to the children. If you are thinking along these lines, you should try and introduce this concept slowly before the holidays arrive, to show just how well it could work.

As the kids get a little older, you will find that there are many holiday clubs on offer - a whole range from football to dance and drama. You need to make sure that they are in the better clubs, though, which means that you have to plan early to account for the demand.

Summer holidays might mean that you have to get really creative about how you fit in your work responsibilities, so you will have to plan carefully if you are going to make them as easy as possible. Seek professional coaching to help you with this planning, as there's no reason for you to be floundering around in the dark these days, with so many online coaching resources to help!

Amanda Alexander is the Director of Coaching Mums and a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums across the globe who long for more time, balance and fulfilment in their busy lives. Download our free eBook especially for working mums with 5 easy ways to achieve balance.

Summer is here and with it the call of the great outdoors. Before long, the memory of those elongated winter days will seem a distant memory. We really do look forward to the summer holidays and with every reason! This time, however, we are well aware how family budgets have taken a hammering due to the effects of the big economic recession. It is not easy to make ends meet, to pay the mortgage or rent and put food on the table, let alone find money to pay for those special summer trips.

It is traditionally very difficult to strike a balance when planning your budget and meeting family expectations and this is where professional coaching could help to put you on the right track. Consult with your online coaching expert to find the best way to win this battle according to your particular circumstances. In the meantime, we have used our professional coaching expertise to scour the Web, to find 10 great days out for you to consider this summer, an eclectic collection, each for under a tenner.

Kids love models and grown-up kids do as well, so why not try Bekonskot Model Village in rural Buckinghamshire, where you can marvel at this "eccentric" recreation of a model Village, complete with mandatory model railway. www.bekonscot.com is your place to find out the details.

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, check out the location that inspired Hogwarts at Alnwick Castle. This is the realm of dragons and medieval knights and can be a splendid place for children to release their imaginations. www.alnwickcastle.com/

Go way back in time by visiting Hadrian's Wall, a place where you can view numerous artefacts from the Roman era and see some of the best preserved castles and forts. Visit www.hadrians-wall.org/ to get a list of all of the locations you can visit for less than a tenner.

You would never have thought that frightening dinosaurs could have roamed the countryside in such a pleasant place as rural Norfolk, would you? These beasts hold a fascination for kids and they are almost certain to love the Dinosaur Adventure Park, as they learn about how these ancient creatures interacted. www.dinosauradventure.co.uk

Harry Potter turned us into an army of believers and we want to know all there is to know about witchcraft and wizardry, so there can be no better a place to visit than picturesque Alderley Edge. There is something for all the family here though as well, at this national trust designated site. www.alderleyedge.org.

There was a time when the Welsh relied on coal as one of their primary economic drivers. While this may well have been a very long time ago, the Big Pit National Mining Museum can still elicit a sense of excitement amongst the children as they journey down into an old mine shaft, dressing up as one of the miners and seeing how they lived. www.museumwales.ac.uk

When it comes to music, we all speak the same language and during the summer, BBC Proms Plus is staging a number of free events for families. Now is your chance to make sure that the kids know what "real" music is all about! BBC Proms Plus http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/plus.shtml

Kids love trains and even though today's modern versions are not as evocative as the steam belching railway locomotives of old, just see how your kids are inspired when they see 100 or more of the old-timers at the National Railway Museum. www.NRM.org.uk

Walk down memory lane and bring the memories flooding back for you as well as giving the kids a glimpse of the past. Admission is free at the Museum of Childhood. www.museumofchildhood.org.uk (East London).

Finding something to do in London at no cost is quite a tall order, so why not try going to the Tower of London, where you can even enjoy a treasure hunt on the beach! www.hrp.org.uk.

We hope that some of these trips can be inspirational and if so, think how you could make your life as a working mum even more pleasurable throughout the year, not just during the summer, by looking at online coaching alternatives.

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working moms that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!

Ten year anniversaries of your birth date are always exciting and are a definite cause for celebration!

When you get one of those milestones, pause and look back at what you have gone through, how successful you have been and what you have enjoyed. For others, reaching such a milestone can be a bit troubling, as you may fret whether you have really achieved enough and where you might be in another ten years.

We should all reflect on our stage in life, where we are personally, financially and emotionally. It's also quite common for a woman, busy raising a family, to think about her sexual appeal and its effectiveness when she gets to the big 40.

It's very true to say that we all become more philosophical as we age. Being philosophical is a result of experience as we have a lot to reflect on and a lot of positive knowledge to put in place. During our development as a human being, each milestone that we get to represents a significant achievement and a time for us to reflect and reinterpret our memories. As such, considering whether you are sexy or not as a 40-something mum will undoubtedly unveil a whole list of different answers than it would if you were 30.

Those of us who have experienced and loved being a 40-year-old mum, know that our sexuality owes a lot to our maturity, from an emotional and mental perspective. Dignity comes naturally at this age and those elements of insecurity seem so far away.

Whenever problems arise, we rely on our sassy approach to dealing with these situations, breezing through such problems with apparent ease and feeling good about it while we do!

Often times, professional coaching is a marvellous boost for mums, whatever page of life they find themselves on and especially if they find an upcoming milestone to be challenging. It's important to understand what "sexy" means and most importantly of all, what it means to you.

Maturity teaches us to celebrate everything we have, and make the most of how we look, even though we will certainly be different today than we were back then. For example, do as the old screen sirens did - learn how you look better in certain lights and always present your best side to a camera! Emotionally and mentally, however it is likely that you are much sexier and more appealing for every year that you age.

You have achieved a lot so far and should be proud of it and fully secure. Your children are a great reflection of you and you should be proud or both them and your partner. You have to love yourself before anyone else and this is at the essence of making life enjoyable. In most cases, online life coaching experts can be consulted whenever you are feeling a little down about those upcoming big milestones, so important to everyone else!

You have to believe, think and above all act young and I often, when coaching for women, remind them that their life begins at 40. If you did not know, how old would you say you were, right now? And no, it isn't “90”! Now, go strut your stuff, fabulous 40 mum!

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working moms who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working moms that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!