Moms are known as multi-taskers, right?
When it comes to being mompreneurs, it makes them even more responsible. It demands acquiring more skills. When kids are demanding, and your home and business always need your presence, it becomes a hassle for you.
On this “Mother’s day,” I am so excited to share with you the stories of 4 awesome mompreneurs of our Homepreneurs Club.
Looking after the kids, family, and running an awesome business alongside looks impossible to many, but these moms are slaying it for sure. These 4 confident mompreneurs are sharing their pro tips for managing Business, and home together. Let’s dive in.
Reem – Founder, Paperpixie
Reem was an expat wife since she got married and eventually an expat mum. Amidst shifting between countries every 2 years, she found out her passion someday, which was to be a creative entrepreneur.
“I used to make scrapbook with our life events as a family to document our memories in one place, from birthdays to family trips to school events. The way we used to sit back and flip the scrapbooks makes us all happy and nostalgic which de-stresses the human mind and brings joy to the heart. It inspired me to start gifting my handmade journals and customizing them for my friends, and my kid’s friends. This gave them the same feeling it did to us.” says Reem.
It was then she thought she could turn her passion into a startup, and that’s how her creative business “Paper Pixie” started.
Reem started her home-based business when her kids were in middle school. Being a very considerate mother she wanted to make sure that her startup should never affect her kids’ schedule and their protected time with her. The major hack she used was indulging in her creative spaces when her kids were not at home.
“Once they’re home, I would switch off and turn all my attention to them and their needs. It took a little while to get into the routine but it worked for everyone’s benefit in the end. My biggest support comes from my husband, who encouraged and supported me every step of the way. He never second-guessed my judgment or my decision to move forward with my plan. He was on board from day 1 till this day. My husband is the one to thank for creating the atmosphere that helps me reach my goals.” quoted Reem.
Anupama and Batul. – Founders, Upcycleletstransform
With the passion for sustainability and following a sustainable lifestyle for 5 years, Anupama and Batul were passionate to offer products and solutions in areas they struggled with during their journey. For them, it has been an extremely enriching experience and Upcycle is very close to their hearts.
As mompreneurs, the biggest challenge they face is prioritizing. Since both of them operate from home it’s a constant juggle of meeting expectations of all and contributing time towards the business. Being partners in business and both being mommy entrepreneurs they understand each other perfectly well. The tasks are taken over one another depending upon the skill sets and time at hand. They adjust work between themselves and also give space to each other.
“This is the best decision we have made being there for each other when the other one needs support. By distributing work we can tackle various activities simultaneously,” says Anupama, and Batul.
These 2 mompreneurs show the benefits, and advantages of doing teamwork. When two women join hands, something huge can happen, right?
Ann – Founder, The Craft Safari
Ann is an Electronics and Communication Engineer with an MBA degree specializing in Finance. She is also a Certified Information System Analyst ( CISA- Non-Practicing). After having her elder daughter, the career break was difficult to overcome.
“My husband wasn’t happy with the fact that I was staying at home and not utilizing my talents.”
Meanwhile, her friend Geetha and herself had taken a keen interest in Indian handicrafts. Both of them always dreamed and planned of designing their home “the Indian way”. The lack of options in the U.A.E made them realize that there would be others who had similar tastes but had fewer choices. Soon they discovered that every Indian state has a craft, weave, jewellery, and an art form unique to that place. The reasons for these were many- the influence of civilization, the influence of different dynasties, religious influence, the raw materials available in that location, etc. It was based on this platform that the concept of “The Craft Safari ” was established. In October 2011, Ann and Geetha put in their first capital amount, brought in the first lot of Indian handicrafts- Copper bell and terracotta handicrafts for the Enigma Diwali Bazaar. There was no looking back after that.
“Due to the various roles I play, being a wife, mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, and entrepreneur, every day has its struggles and requires a lot of multi-tasking. The Craft Safari requires a lot of thought processes, and my constant attention to flourish. My everyday motivation is a verse from the Bible ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Prayers keep me sane and give me the confidence and the presence of mind that I require to tackle each day. This is how I handle myself mentally.” she proudly adds.
When asked about her biggest support for building up her dream, this is what she says:
“At The Craft Safari- every day is with new wins and small falls. I discuss everything with my husband, Kurian- Sometimes he only listens and sometimes shares his thoughts. He always has my back. I have a great inhouse team- Lintu Reegan, The Craft Safari’s Sales coordinator, and Hariharan Swastik, our Kerala Mural artist. They are always bubbling with new thoughts. Also, our team of artisans who I am always in touch with for new products and new ideas. The colleagues and team of artisans are my biggest assets, always brainstorming and working in unison. My house help plays a major role in helping me manage my kids and home. My husband is my biggest supporter and critic. My mother always prays for my success- her constant prayers keep me boosted.”
Mini – Founder, Affility
Mini Madhavan is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and an Ernst & Young alumnus. She has over 14 years of experience ranging from accounting, audit & assurance, financial reporting to management and strategy consulting. She is currently running a Management, Risk and IT Consulting Practice named Affility Consulting in Dubai along with her husband. Raised in the UAE, starting and running a business in this region has been her all-time goal. Apart from being an entrepreneur, she is a full-time mom to a boy and a girl.
Mini especially focuses on empowering women entrepreneurs and business leaders to accomplish their business goals by streamlining and optimizing their business processes and mitigating risks in their path to success.
Mini’s husband and herself left their respective jobs around the same time, and they were providing their expertise as a freelancer to multiple businesses. The inspiration behind starting Affility was – one, being able to merge their services together under one business, and two – to continue giving individual attention to their business clients as freelancers would give. Over the years, they realized the impact a business has on society and how it can positively influence people, communities, and other businesses as a whole. They are currently working on being able to make that positive impact and influence.
“My major struggle is definitely maintaining a work-life balance. Most of the time I feel I have no time for myself since I am either working, doing chores, or attending to my children and family. This was draining all my energy and am left exhausted at the end of the day. When the pandemic started, I was majorly working from home, and it got worse. I slowly overcame it by prioritizing my tasks and finishing them within the time slot allocated. Also investing in someone to help me with the household chores came as a big savior.” says Mini.
Now let’s see what these expert mompreneurs have to share with the budding mompreneurs.
“Always ask for help. It becomes too overwhelming when you try to do and manage everything on your own. Believe in yourself. Things will always fall in place.”, says Ann.
“Follow your heart. Just start, then modify, and tweak. Practice balancing work and home. It takes a few adjustments but then you’ll make it work. Find like-minded people to inspire and motivate you. Believe in your abilities.”, says Reem
“Be kind to yourself. Make a weekly list of things you want to achieve that week and follow through. When you write down your thoughts you don’t need to keep information in your head. Decide on a time window you want to spend on your work daily and stick to it.”, says Anupama and Batul.
“A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu. So, start now. Take one step at a time towards your goal. Firstly, as working mothers, we are bombarded with the responsibilities of our home, our family, our children, and our work. Don’t hesitate in delegating tasks to others. Don’t try to become a superwoman. We are all humans ultimately. Overwhelming ourselves with responsibilities will only drain our energy and ultimately it will take more time to reach your goal. Taking care of yourself – physically, emotionally, and mentally – is very important and should be included in your daily routine.
Secondly, take baby steps to achieve your goals. Every step, every attempt, big or small, every day, is prime. Consistency is key to achieving your goal. Rome wasn’t built in a day and success doesn’t happen overnight. The same applies to your business and achieving your goals. The entrepreneurial journey is tough, and you will have days of struggle, achievements, and failures. Don’t lose hope. Forge confidence and move forward.
Lastly, we need to work to support other women as well. I have seen great brotherhood between men. But when it comes to women, we are always judged, opinionated, pulled down, gossiped on, majorly by other women. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” If you want support from other women, start by supporting other women – in any small or big way you can.”, says Mini.
Is being a mompreneur, a dream for you as well? We invite you to our Homepreneurs Club where ambitious women like you Learn Business strategies from Industry experts and Network with like-minded businesswomen. Never let anything pull you away from your passion, and your dreams. I hope these amazing stories of our mompreneurs would inspire you to come out of the shell, and explore your passion, and dreams. I can’t wait to see you discover your passion, and get into a successful business journey!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautiful mother’s out there!!!
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