Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
This is a challenging one – I have 2 young children, work part time as a dentist and also run Little Vessels on the side. When I’m not tending to the family or working at the dental clinic, my mind goes full speed, non-stop just thinking about how to improve Little Vessels. I am very grateful to have a very supportive husband who understands my passion for the business. I do have to stop myself every once in a while and remind myself of the people around me who need me to be present. WORK IN PROGRESS!
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
The challenge – past and ongoing one, is figuring out how to market this brand and business so that more mothers out there will know of our presence and recognise the Imani i2 as a great breastpump. In a market that is saturated with all different kinds of breastpump brands that are super well established, it can be quite daunting. Every day as I receive more orders and great reviews, I know that we are achieving something. I just have to remember that this is a long game, and that I have to remain patient and steadfast.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are that I am my own boss and I get to call all the shots, haha. I love having the authority to be able to run the business with the ethics and ethos that I believe in. That is to make every single mother out there feel appreciated and valued – they deserve the very best because navigating motherhood can be challenging and isolating at times.
The downside of running your own business is that work never ends! It is not a 9 to 5 job, it keeps going. Emails and enquiries pour in late at night, orders come in at odd hours of the day and I can’t help but to drop everything I’m doing to tend to them. Like I said, work in progress.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
My dream is for Little Vessels to continue to expand and that we can, some time in the near future, penetrate not just the New Zealand market but also Australia. I’d like for the Imani brand to be a household name in these countries and be seen as a worthy competitor to the other well-known breastpumps.
Visit the Little Vessels website to find out more and follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram.
