Karen
Scott

Speaker Profile

From humble beginnings and a lack of publishing experience, Karen rose to success with the creation of Tots to Teens magazine. Growing up in South Auckland, Karen trained as a nurse and worked as a model before backpacking around the world. Her travels led her to Australia, where she had two daughters. Returning to New Zealand as a newly single mother and needing a way to support herself and her pre-schoolers, Karen launched the parenting magazine Tots to Teens.

Tots to Teens is a free-to-parent magazine for families with children aged 0 – 12 years. With regional editions in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, Tots to Teens offers local business access to their local market, while providing national advertisers an excellent vehicle to reach parents across the main centres of New Zealand.

With no job, no money, but a drive to do better for her kids, Tots to Teens was born. Without journalistic or publishing knowledge, Karen delivered the first edition to Auckland parents in August 2003.

An initial circulation of 55,000 quickly turned into 60,000 due to reader demand. In June 2004 the Wellington circulation began, and in August 2004 Christchurch jumped on the Tots to Teens wagon. The magazine now circulates no less than 130,000 copies every edition!

In May 2005, Karen bought Kids New Zealand Ltd – a parenting website and directory. At purchase the site received around 2,000 unique browsers a month – as of January 2009 it receives over 85,000 unique browsers a month and is New Zealand’s number one parenting website. In 2006 Karen sold 75% of this website to an Australian company and rebranded it to Kidspot.

In June 2005, Karen was awarded both “Most Inspirational Role Model” and “Best New Business” at the Her Business Awards. In 2011 Karen sold her business to be a stay-at-home mum. Between Karen and her husband Mark they have six children, ranging in age from six to twenty years old.

In 2014 Karen published her first book Another Mother’s Love. The book is her raw, honest and deeply moving account of one woman’s attempt to reach out and nurture a child in need. Still grieving for the loss of her little boy, Karen hopes that by writing this book she can assist other foster families and help to change a system that, despite the best of intentions, often fails the very children it is trying to help.

Karen shares her journey from single Mum to Managing Director, as well as her success in business and her personal life.

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