First, my village. That consists of close friends and family, my mum and dad especially. They all pitch in to help. I come from a huge family and I married into a fantastic family. They help us all so much with the kids and with support. Without them we would truly not be able to do what we are doing.
Second, family night. Once a week (every Tuesday) we have one afternoon where me and my husband take off work and pick the kids up from school and that’s our family night. We always do something cool, which doesn’t even need to be extravagant or expensive, it can be playing on our bikes at the park and fish and chips. But it’s all about being together, having fun and just enjoying the presence of each other. Full undivided attention on all of the kids, so no work and no phones.
We also have certain days, like every second Friday one of us will spend alone time with one kid, to make sure we all stay connected and each kid feels important and special.
Third, routine. My husband is huge on routines. We have a solid morning and night routine. We drive him absolutely crazy with how we all completely ruin this routine most days, but the method is there and we try our best to stick to it.
And lastly, probably not healthy, but we work late hours. We work all day while they are at school and then when we pick them up we devote our attention to them until they go to bed, and then we work a little more. Sometimes, if things are hectic, we get up before any of the kids wake up and we work to get through whatever it is that we have on. This won’t be forever (we keep telling ourselves). This is just a season in our careers and our lives where we have to roll up our sleeves and just get stuck in!
There it is, it’s not pretty, but we have happy, healthy, beautiful kids! Our businesses are starting to head in the right direction and with another big push we will (hopefully) be on our way to achieving something that resembles a ‘work-life’ balance.
Maybe. I’ll have to keep you updated haha.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Our founder Jesse, an inspiring, strong woman, in 2015 was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She has been battling this from every single angle medically and holistically, but sadly she decided this year it was time for her to focus more on the family and doing what she loves: cooking.
It’s been a challenge taking someone else’s business on, someone else’s baby. For a little while you feel like you’re sleeping in someone else’s bed, in someone else’s home that they built from scratch. The even bigger challenge was getting my head around the logistics of the business and fitting it into my crazy, hectic life.
My husband and I run three small businesses and we are full time in those endeavours along with four kids.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I want to create a successful family business that my kids can watch mum and dad build together. I want memories of all of us packing cookies and laughing at names and spelling out addresses. I want time with my kids and I want them to see Mum and Dad work hard to achieve their dreams. That’s the biggest pro of running your own business.
Another of the pros of running our own business is that when we have sick kids or a school athletics day, etc. I can just take that time with them – I don’t need to ask anyone permission, I can just adjust my schedule. But on the flip side to that, the work doesn’t go to anyone else. Any job not done that day is piled up and is waiting for me and some things are really urgent. Because we are a small business, we don’t have the backing of big corporate, so one missed meeting could mean we lose an entire deal that our family was relying on. I need to stay up late or work over the weekend or after the kids are in bed to make up for any time I get to ‘have off’ and look after the kids.
The pros absolutely outweigh the cons, but one drawback in the top of my mind is that work is never switched off. You always have your work hat on no matter where you are – on holiday, on the weekend, after 5 pm, date night, you name it!
There is no real off button when you own your own business because the only person that determines whether you will be successful or not is you. You can’t hide anywhere, you can’t blame anyone else, you either make it or you don’t – and when you have everything riding on it and your kids watching, who wants to fail?
Nothing is more satisfying though than working towards your own goals and ticking those milestones off. Goals that will see you and your family succeed. When you see something that you work so hard on start to take off, the feeling is almost addictive.
One huge benefit for me personally is I get to work alongside my mother, who has given up her time to help me with the business full time. She has come out of retirement after having a very successful career herself, to help me with my cookie business. She is a very inspiring woman, a mother of 11 and a mother figure to 1000s. I am fortunate to say that every day I get to work with a great woman who would love nothing more than to see me and our business succeed.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
If anyone asks me what line of work I am in, I tell them I am in the industry of changing lives!
To struggle as a mother is something I know. Add on struggles with breastfeeding and it is absolutely soul-destroying. If I had known about these cookies when I first started breastfeeding, it really would have changed my life. To feed, to nurture, to provide – all natural instincts of a mother and I struggled with this.
I love that these cookies have already changed 1000s of lives all over New Zealand, helping kiwi mums feed their babies so that Mama can get on with the rest of her life.
We have so much to do every day, when we cannot feed our baby our world implodes. Mamas if you are struggling with breastfeeding, get a box, eat four immediately then one a day – then you will understand what I mean.
My hopes and dreams for this company? Reach more mamas. Change more lives. We will expand here in New Zealand first and then move into the international market. We are locked and loaded with some exciting new products and plans for 2020. Watch this space!
To learn more about Totally Devoted and their delicious lactation cookies and products, visit their website and join their communities on Facebook and Instagram.
