Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
When you work for yourself it’s easy to fall into the trap of always working. When you love your business it’s tempting to be on the clock all the time. I find it important to set work hours so I have time with family. However, one of the perks of having my own business is having a flexible work schedule when my family needs me. It can be a challenge at times but I love the flexibility I have.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
In my early days I was taking more orders than I could keep up with. I was working alone but kept thinking “it’s fine I can do this”. I soon realised it put too much pressure on myself and was unfair on my customers as they had to wait for orders. I then took a break for a few months to regroup and now offer products that are ready to send, rather than customers ordering and having to wait for them to be made. The exception is personalised items that are made to order like name tags.
Finding reputable suppliers has also been a challenge. My store only stocks eco products so I have to do a lot of research to ensure any product I stock adheres to this ethos.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I love that I can work hours I want to work. I have a son with autism and this requires me to take him to therapy appointments, etc. I also have grand children I like to help out with. The hard part of it is turning yourself off from the work as there’s no guaranteed pay cheque at the end of the week so it’s important to succeed. I also love having my own business so much that I like to mentor work-at-home parents and small businesses where I can. It can be stressful but incredibly rewarding.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
It is my hope to be an advocate of cloth nappies to help make them more acceptable and main stream. I would like to see my business succeed, not just to support my family, but so I can be a strong, respected voice for reusable products. Sadly, our environment is suffering and every item that is reusable is a great step forward. It is also my desire to help other work-at-home mums to come into the industry successfully, as every new nappy maker means one more advocate for the cause. For every parent that chooses cloth nappies, that’s also a win for our environment.
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