The addition of the Clean Out Bag service has been a huge breakthrough moment for my business in the short time it has been open, in that I was able to quickly adapt and find a way to solve the problem faced by busy mums – the lack of time – by doing the work for them!
As a busy mum myself, it is such a rewarding feeling to know that you can offer a service that can help other families give a new life to their beautiful kids clothes. Being able to do something that I love and to help others is a wonderful thing.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
One of the main drivers in wanting to start my own business was to have a greater balance around my family life and I have learnt one thing for sure, it is not easy!
It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to work around the schedules of my family, but some days it can mean trying to juggle too many things and I am often working at nights and weekends and just doing what I can when the kids are home.
As with anything when it comes to parenting, it’s all about just doing the best we can. Some weeks seem to go to plan and I manage to fit in all the kids activities and work, and then other weeks don’t go quite so well. But I know that this is just life, and I just keep turning up and doing what I can.
At the end of the day, I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to spend time with my kids whilst they are young, and it’s something I am grateful for every day.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Running my own business has been a dream I have had for a long time. One of the biggest challenges I have faced is learning all there is to know about running an online business. There is always something new to learn, which can be exciting and scary!
Creating and maintaining a complex multi-vendor marketplace is not as easy as I had previously imagined – even though that would seem obvious to me now! There are often new technical challenges that I need to resolve, along with finding ways to improve the customer experience for my users. It’s a huge learning curve, that is for sure!
It is also safe to say that taking the leap into running my own business has forced me to face my fears and trust in myself as best as I can. It helps to surround myself with like-minded people and business owners as it really helps to hear others going through similar challenges and how they have overcome them. It also helps to have some people who are willing to cheer you on, even when you are having a bad day.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I have to say that I am so grateful to be able to be working in my dream job! It’s wonderful to be able to work around my life and my family and to decide what schedule will work for me.
It can get a little overwhelming running the business on my own and it can be hard to overcome the challenges that arise and to juggle the demands of everyday life. That’s why I am grateful to have a supportive family and business friends who help me to take one step at a time.
I love being able to work on something that I believe in and that can help create a better future for the next generation. I have the freedom to make this business reflect what I am passionate about, and in doing that, I am able to support some wonderful charities and also do my bit to help the environment. What’s not to love about that?!
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Jumping Jack is still fairly new on the scene, and I can’t wait to see how it grows and evolves into the future. I have so many ideas of where I would like Jumping Jack to go to next, but it’s often better to wait and let it naturally evolve. Plus it’s more exciting that way!
I would love to see Jumping Jack become the site of choice for Australian families to buy and sell their quality baby and kids clothes.
At the end of the day, my biggest hope is that I can continue to grow, and in doing so, help out many more families and do our bit for a better world!
Head to the Jumping Jack website to get started, and follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram.
