Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
To be honest, this is something I’m still working on and at the beginning it was hard starting up a new business with young kids. Thankfully, both my daughters are now at primary school and kindergarten, which gives my husband and I the chance to do as much work as we can during the daytime. We then have family time when the kids come home but it’s quickly back on our laptops again in the evening when the girls are in bed.
As much as I love working, we have a rule where we limit work on weekends as this is when we spend time together as a family. I’m a strong believer in looking after ourselves so it’s important to give yourself a little break every now and then. One of my favourite things to do is go out on a lunch date during the week when the kids are at school. It’s amazing what some fresh air and time away from your computer screen can do!
Ever since my husband started working full time at Mod & Tod, we’ve been able to share all responsibilities with work and family, which has made everything a bit easier. Working from home has been a bonus too, except during school holidays haha.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Starting from nowhere and building a new business from the ground up as been a challenge in itself. Especially when we were completely new at e-commerce. We just had a great idea and a product that we loved but didn’t really know how to make it all happen.
I remember spending countless hours late at night learning about web design, digital marketing, and market research etc.
Being a new business, it’s difficult to get momentum going in the beginning, especially when nobody has heard about your brand. Even if you have a flashy website, you won’t get any traffic if you don’t have a presence in the online world. Which is why I think it’s so important to utilise social media in this day and age. Before we launched, we used Instagram to post content about our products, mainly to build brand awareness but also to build hype before our official launch.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The best thing about running my own business is that I get to do what I love most, on my own terms. Knowing that I have the freedom to be creative and get to turn my ideas into products that are loved by customers all over NZ and AUS is very motivating for me. I’m also in an environment that’s constantly changing which means I’m always learning something new.
Getting the chance to know my customers and hearing from them every day about how our products have made their lives easier or how much they love our products just makes my day, and there’s absolutely nothing that makes me happier.
On the other side of this, there’s a bit of risk involved with running your own business. You’ve got to know your numbers and it’s important to make the most out of your resources. You must have the desire to learn as much as you can.
A lot of people think that life is easy when you’re working from home and don’t have a boss to answer to. But one of the biggest challenges for me is time management. Although I do have more flexibility, I still find myself working long hours late at night. Because we’ve put everything on the line, we’re more motivated and driven to do whatever we can to succeed.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I’m a person that wants to continue to learn and obviously the goal is to keep growing the Mod & Tod business. It would be fantastic to see more of our products being stocked by other retailers. Plus, it’s important to focus on educating new mums about our products and getting our name out there.
I absolutely love what I do, and I want to continue making beautiful pieces for mums that are practical. But most importantly something that puts a smile on their faces as well.
Head over to the Mod & Tod website to check out their products and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
