The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
The biggest breakthrough was having one of my posts shared by @notsomumsy who had a huge Instagram following. I literally got 1000 new followers overnight and things just grew from there as the post went viral. It drove a lot of new followers to my page, many whom were from overseas, so that helped expand the reach of my brand.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t time consuming. As I mentioned earlier, I mostly worked while my bub was asleep in my arms but after she dropped her last day nap when she was 2.5, I found it hard to find the time. I would be looking at my phone any chance I got but it got to the point where family members were saying “You’re on your phone too much!” so I set some boundaries around it, for example I tried not to look at anything before midday, which gave me the morning to concentrate on my daughter. When she started kinder it allowed me to have more time on it as well. Although I loved what I did, because of the topics I was dealing with I became emotionally drained and found it was really affecting my home life. So I often have times where I need to step back from the business and focus on my family instead, for example, through the recent COVID-19 lockdown – during which I had my second miscarriage – I shut all my pages down to concentrate on my family and my own mental health while in lockdown.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
The biggest challenges for me have been around protecting myself emotionally from people online who want to get into an argument (usually around sleep). Also, that Instagram followers don’t translate into business sales! I’ve overcome this by simply not engaging in negative comments and deleting them straight away as a way of protecting myself. To create a more targeted Instagram following, I created a new page – @naturalmamacoshop – that purely focused on the shop products rather than filling my other page with product posts.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Having my own business has always been a dream but there was much more paperwork than I had imagined! I love being able to work from home and do something that I am passionate about, however driving sales is not my strong point and something that makes me uncomfortable.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
It is my dream that I can one day have a Natural Mama Co. cafe where mamas can come to and breastfeed without being shamed, with an onsite lactation consultant and baby-led sleep consultant, where they can plug in their laptop and get sh*t done while another mum offers to carry their baby around in a sling. Where there is a yoga studio upstairs doing mums and bugs yoga classes for ALL ages, not just the babies, and that mums can come to find their “village”, without feeling judged but supported instead. That’s the dream… but for now I will concentrate on connecting and supporting other mums online and with my packs.
Head to the Natural Mama Co. website to find out more, and join their gentle, supportive communities on Facebook and Instagram.
