The Mail is asking you to nominate mothers who have created businesses from scratch, while also caring for their children, for our first ever Mumpreneur Of The Year Award, in association with NatWest everywoman Awards. Today’s nominee is Petra Wetzel, 40, a divorcee who lives in Glasgow with her son, Noah, nine. She set up her own business, the WEST brewery, in 2006... Listening to the Italian businessman on the other end of the line, Petra could see pound signs in front of her eyes. He had heard about the huge popularity of Petra’s bottled beer. Now he wanted to meet to discuss importing it in bulk to Italy. It was a fantastic opportunity. But, as she consulted her diary, Petra — who runs one of Britain’s most successful small breweries, knew what her answer had to be. Petra Wetzel, 40 (pictured), is a divorcee who lives in Glasgow with her son, Noah, nine (pictured). She set up her own business, the WEST brewery, in 2006 . ‘He could only offer me a two-hour slot bang in the middle of my son’s sports day last year,’ recalls Petra. ‘I had to say No. I’m a businesswoman, but I’m a mum first.’ Blonde, attractive and the founder of one of Britain’s most successful small breweries with an annual turnover just shy of £10 million, Petra may well be every man’s dream. But she says with a laugh: ‘I sound like a real catch. But the truth is I’m fiercely independent, stubborn and work long hours. The only man in my life is Noah. He’s my priority and the reason I drive myself so hard.’ As a single mother, running a hugely successful business is a tall order. What makes Petra’s success even more extraordinary is that she started her company when Noah was just a baby — and in the wake of a broken marriage. Petra’s flagship beer, St Mungo lager, is stocked in 100 branches of Waitrose in the UK as well as in branches of Tesco in Scotland. And later this year she is opening a second brewery in Glasgow to cope with demand. The germ of the idea came in 1994 when Petra, who was born in Germany, was having a drink with her father, Herbert, in a pub. ‘I was studying at Glasgow University and Dad had come to visit,’ she recalls. Petra (pictured) was inspired to start her own brewery when her father visited her Glasgow and she realised that the city didn't have its own brewery . He ordered a pint of local lager, took a sip and winced. Then he asked what the best Glasgow lager was and, to my horror, I realised I didn’t know. ‘In Germany, every village and town has a good brewery. It’s something people are proud of and want to show off to visitors. He couldn’t believe that a city like Glasgow didn’t have its own brewery. It got me thinking.’ Twelve years later, Petra opened a small brewery and beer hall/restaurant with her then husband, Gordon, with the help of a loan from her parents. ‘I met Gordon at university and married him in December 2000,’ recalls Petra. ‘We both had first-class business degrees and, naively, I thought that meant we could easily run a business. I was working as a lawyer, so we agreed Gordon would take charge and I would take a back seat.’ WEST Brewing Company opened in March 2006, just eight months after Noah was born. ‘He was conceived on a trip to Chicago, where we’d gone to learn about brewing,’ Petra recalls. ‘I had been told that I could never have children so, although the timing was terrible because of the new business, we were both ecstatic.’ She adds: ‘We had bills to pay, so I was working three days a week just two months after Noah arrived. With my legal job and a newborn, I didn’t have time to think about the business. Besides, I thought it was in safe hands.’ The WEST Brewing Company opened in March 2006, just eight months after Petra's son, Noah was born. She initially started the company with Gordan, her then husband . However, in October 2006, when Noah was just three months old, Petra’s life went into free fall when her marriage fell apart. ‘I was so devastated, I decided to step away from the business. I focused on looking after Noah and my job.’ However, in December 2007, a little over a year after the break-up of their marriage, Petra had another shock: the business was in crisis. ‘Gordon was away when the butcher who supplied our restaurant rang and threatened to set fire to my car,’ she recalls. ‘It turned out the company owed him thousands. ‘When I went round to the company’s office. I filled a black bin liner with our unpaid invoices, went home and spent the night going over them. We had debts up to our eyeballs.’ Many women would have quit. But looking at her son, Petra realised she didn’t have a choice. ‘It was sink or swim. Noah gave me the confidence I needed,’ says Petra. ‘We had ploughed my inheritance into the business. It was all I had. Besides, I knew I’d hit on a great idea. All it needed was graft to make it work. My parents agreed to look after Noah for seven weeks in Germany. The company went into administration. I called in a brilliant firm of accountants and worked flat out on a plan for the future. Petra (pictured with Noah) says her son gave her the confidence she needed to carry on with the business even after the initial struggles . ‘It was tough. Noah went into full-time day care and most nights I would still be at my laptop at 1am. Many times, I sobbed myself to sleep. I felt way out of my depth, but I became good at multi-tasking. ‘I quit my legal job and bought the assets out of the hands of administrators and began building it, single-handedly, into the thriving company it is today. We are now a beer brand as well as a restaurant and beer hall. And our flagship beer, St Mungo lager, is sold worldwide. We are just about to send a consignment to Hong Kong. Of course, I have to make tough choices. I could beat myself up about not being there enough for Noah. I’ve lost count of the number of times he will be in the car and I have to shush him because I’m taking an important call. ‘But feeling guilty is just a waste of energy. Noah knows he’s my priority. We are a very tight unit — particularly as his father now lives in America. We have the most wonderful full-time nanny, Helen, who Noah adores, and I spend every second I’m not working with him. ‘Recently he said: “Mum you are a brilliant Mum and a brilliant Dad.” That meant the world to me. ‘And thanks to the business, we have a great lifestyle. For my 40th birthday I bought us a treat: a speedboat. It’s moored at Loch Lomond and zipping up and down the water at weekends makes a tough working week worthwhile.’
There are more and more mothers setting up thriving small businesses . The Mail is asking readers to nominate successful mothers they know . This week's nominee is Petra Wetzel who set up the WEST brewery in 2006 . Petra, 40, lives in Glasgow with her nine-year-old son, Noah .