A mum has shared how she juggles being a mum and working full-time with life with a very unique weekend side hustle – as a Ms Rachel tribute act.
Rachel Wilson doesn’t just shared a first name with the kids mega-star – known online as Ms Rachel but full name Rachel Anne Accurso – but also spends much of her weekend stepping into her shoes.
While her weekdays include coaching staff at her corporate office, the 40-year-old is an all singing, all dancing performer at children’s parties once she’s left the office.
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And her act is so in-demand that she’s now fully booked through to autumn.
“It has been more popular than I could have imagined,” Rachel, from Birstall, West Yorkshire, told What’s The Jam.
Rachel’s day-job involves training and coaching customer service staff, running group sessions and one-on-one experiences too – something she doesn’t consider all too different from her weekend side hustle.
She said: “In both jobs, there’s a requirement to keep a room full of people engaged during training sessions, interested and inspired.
“So they might sound like they’re worlds apart but in reality, the principles are the same!”
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Rachel’s journey into children’s entertainment started while on maternity leave, amid Covid restrictions in 2020, after having her daughter Evie-Jae, who is now five.
The mum-of-one began doing baby and toddler classes, even leading some whilst breastfeeding Evie-Jae, and “absolutely loved it”, despite balancing being a new mum and following Covid regulations.
She added: “I’ve always thrived when working with young children.
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“Returning to my full-time job made me realise I wasn’t done with that world at all.
“I wanted to keep creating fun, memorable experiences for families, and that’s what sparked the idea for my tribute act.
“That, alongside someone telling me I reminded them of Ms Rachel!”
She says as the real Ms Rachel grew in popularity, so did she – so much so that she’s become known as Yorkshire’s Ms Rachel.
However, Rachel was no stranger to performing – she has been dancing since she was just five years old, attended The Royal Ballet School at age 11 and continued performing until around seven years ago.
She added: “I try to be careful to not ‘over perform’ when I’m being Ms Rachel – she is very genuine and natural on screen so I try to carry that over to my appearances.
“I think it really helps that my real name is Rachel too, it makes it even more authentic.”
Juggling her work at Coaching Lead at Zenith Vehicle Contracts, as well as motherhood and her act is no easy task, something Rachel admits can be “a challenge”.
She said: “Any parent today knows how hard it can be to juggle everything.
“I just try to do my best and be fully present when I’m at home with my family.
“It does mean a lot of my admin and message-replying happens late at night once everyone’s asleep, but that’s how I make it all work.”
As with all jobs, there are highs and lows to the experience.
Among the challenges she’s faced, Rachel says it is her own expectations that have been most difficult to manage.
She added: “I’ve always held myself to a high standard, and working with young children means you have to be adaptable and patient.
“Thankfully, I’ve built a strong connection with the children and their families, which has always been super important to me.
“And the positive feedback shows that the approach is paying off.”
Rachel says being included in “magical early memories” is the best part of the entire process.
She said: “Whether I’m performing at a play venue or helping celebrate a big milestone, it means the world that families pick me to be part of it.
“It’s such a privilege, and I just love being able to create that magic for them.”
Rachel says her act rose in popularity after providing entertainment at a local charity fundraising event – with parents and children adoring the act.
She added: “The reaction has been nothing short of amazing.
“So many parents have told me that they can’t believe how engaged their children have been whilst I’m with them, especially when they are usually quite shy in that environment, or don’t usually like to go to other people.
“One mum told me she had a cry with happiness, as she has never seen her autistic son so happy – it’s a real privilege!”
Rachel has also shared how she deals with competition from other Ms Rachel tribute acts too – by accepting that she’s not the first or the last, and that’s okay.
She said: “There is room for us all, and just like anything else, people will decide themselves who they want to book.
“I do think it’s easy to underestimate how much work and passion goes into doing something like this, and I’ve built up a lot of confidence in my skills, the energy I bring and the fact that people recommend me or attend my events time after time.️
“I pride myself in making real, genuine connections with children and will always be led by them.
“They don’t always want to be ‘performed’ for – they want connection and to be involved.”
Rachel has no plans to slow down in the future, and is even making plans to grow her act.
She added: “I absolutely want to continue doing this, it makes me happy and more importantly, it makes other families happy too.
“Long term, I’d love to keep growing this – I’m actually not sure where it will lead, but I’m excited to find out.
“I’d love to write a book for children and create my own content; we will see where it takes me!”
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