As a young mother, Lisa Warner struggled to get her family to gather around the dinner table and talk. In a flash of inspiration, she wrote questions on some pieces of paper. The homemade cards transformed her family’s mealtimes. In 2008, Lisa decided to help other families communicate by turning her cards into a business, and Fink Cards was born. Building on the successful launch of the Family Edition last year, she now offers a range of products to encourage family interaction, available on her website, through online retailers and in stores across the UK.

I had four children by the age of 25. I was a stay-at-home mother for the best part of two decades. Three years ago, my husband bought a business, and I helped him run it for two years. It was an intense, amazing learning experience. When it was over, I asked myself, “What next?” I wanted to do more than just go back to being a mum.

When my children were young, I wanted us to sit round the table. I had an image in my mind of this family laughing and talking. It was so far from what we had. With four small children, there was a lot of arguing and complaining. To distract the kids, I made some cards with questions on them. They were just cut-up bits of paper, but they loved them! Ten years later we have exactly what I wanted: we gather around the table every day and sit there chatting for hours. We’ve got a really close family bond.

Fink stands for “Family Interaction Nurtures Kids,” and our aim is to get families talking. That’s what our first product, the Family Edition, is all about. It seems so simple, but not many families these days sit round the table. In fact, some don’t communicate at all.

After the family edition was so well-received, I realized there were things we needed to discuss with our teenagers: teen pregnancy, obesity, drugs. To get people talking about these tough issues, I created the Teen Edition with Sarah Newton, a teen expert, author and TV presenter.

I love hearing from parents. After Christmas, I received several wonderful emails, including one that said, “Your cards brought together all the members of our family, aged 7 to 70!” I also hear from a lot of teachers who have bought the family pack for themselves, then used the cards in the classroom. A teacher emailed me the other day and said the children in his class are always asking, “Can we have another one?”

• Have a positive attitude. It helps you look for solutions. Otherwise, problems can seem insurmountable.
• Know what’s important to you. At Fink Cards, we believe in open and honest communication. That’s the basis for the way we run our company.
• Learn from your mistakes. I’ve made quite a few, but when I look back they always seem to have led me in a new direction.
• Gain an in-depth understanding of your product and market. When I launched Fink Cards, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my product.
• Network. A network of people gives you a whole wealth of experience and knowledge to tap into, which is invaluable if you haven’t been in business for 20 years.

I’ve spoken to a lot of young mums. It’s been great to be able to say, “I was a teenage mum. It doesn’t mean you need to write off your life.” I would like my experiences to inspire and motivate them. If I can do it, anyone can.

Lisa is coached by Vangelis Kassotakis, Marketing Director, Cartier UK and Ellen van den Broek, INSEAD MBA 09. The coaching’s focus is on the marketing strategy.