WHEN Cheryl Sánchez married a Spaniard, it did not occur to her it would be a business opportunity.

Now the mum of two from East Hendred, near Wantage, has been nominated for three business awards for her bilingual bookshop, inspired by their children.

Mrs Sánchez, 31, has been nominated for Best Startup, Best Niche Business and Best International Business at this year’s Mumpreneur Awards.

The national scheme, sponsored by Amazon, celebrates mums and dads who run their own enterprise while raising children.

Mrs Sánchez launched The Bilingual Bookshop, an online retailer of foreign-language books for bilingual children in the UK, last year.

Originally from Kent, she met husband Juan, now 39, at university in London.

She was studying music and he, originally from Salamanca in Spain, was a research scientist.

After they were married they moved to France, before he was offered a job at the Diamond Light Source at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.

They moved to East Hendred in 2009, and shortly after had Emma, now three-and-a-half, followed by 10-month-old Oscar.

Mrs Sánchez, who teaches at Culham’s Europa international school, said: “Raising two children in English and Spanish, we just found it really hard to find the right reading material.

“A lot of bilingual families in the UK end up going on holiday and packing their suitcase with books for the children to bring home.

“The Bilingual Bookshop’s aim is to help families to fill their homes with language in order to create a home from home for their children.

“Language skills are so important for the future of young children and we need to do all we can to encourage it right from the start of life.”

The winners at this year’s Mumpreneur awards will be announced in a ceremony at the Heart of England Conference Centre, Warwickshire, on November 8.

Mrs Sánchez will find out in October whether she has made the finals of the contest, now in its sixth year.

Speaking about her nomination, she said: “I love the freedom and independence that running my own business allows me.

“I work hard for my business, but also for my children, and I’m lucky to be in a position where I can enjoy doing both.”

To find out more log on to mumpreneuruk.com and thebilingualbookshop.com

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