Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
This is so hard. I always feel like I never have enough time (don’t we all!). Living through a pandemic means having 2 toddlers (3 and 2 years old) in the house every time they show the slightest Covid-19 symptoms, and at the same time having to juggle work, reply to emails and still making sure the kids eat healthily and have enough snacks to last the day. Some days feel better than others, but most days it feels impossible to achieve the right balance.
I make sure I spend time with the kids in the day and not worry about work at all. I will then spend time at night catching up with work. Because of this, I truly feel like I don’t have the time to go at the pace at which I want to grow the business, but I know that this is the best I can do right now.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Throughout the past 3 years, we’ve overcome so many challenges, but the most notable one will be the Covid-19 impact on our business and the cancellation of baby expos. Personally, we have been affected by 5 expo cancellations in the last 2 years and it has been very disruptive. We invested in event sponsorship, event set up, increased our stock levels and 2 days prior to the expo, everything was cancelled. We had to take a significant hit to our cash flow and this had a flow-on effect on our day-to-day operations.
Also, as a small emerging brand, we rely a lot on face-to-face interaction with our customers to build our credibility and trust. With 2020 and 2021 being a write-off, we had to rely heavily on social media to build our following, and marketing in the midst of a pandemic can feel extra hard. Instagram is incredibly full-on and exhausting at times. Thinking of new content to engage with our followers on a daily basis was completely outside my comfort zone, but looking back, I’m so glad it forced me to shoot content videos and overcome the fear of “putting myself out there”.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Let me start with the cons. You know what I really struggle with? My brain is constantly thinking about problems and the pressure of constantly finding ways to grow the business make me tired and anxious. Also, I’m juggling to be the social media marketer, content generator and product developer on a daily basis. It’s hard to keep up being all sorts of things for the business.
But the pros make it SO worthwhile. I feel so much satisfaction building up our brand and community of like-minded parents. I am so passionate about finding practical ways for parents to be part of the solution, instead of us resigned to being part of the problem. And running my own business allows me the much-anticipated freedom to explore my creativity and innovative side when it comes to product development.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
We are constantly working on improving our products and finding solutions to sustainability. In the pipeline, we are hoping to introduce new and improved version of our breastmilk storage bags and also launch more everyday products to bridge the gap between sustainability and convenience for parents.
Head over to the One Eco Step website to find out more and to view their range of eco products. You can also follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram.
