Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family
My belief is that you can always make more money, but you can never get back time. So I’m all about finding ways to take things off my plate. I learnt pretty early on that I couldn’t do it all. There just weren’t enough hours in the day to be fully present and productive. Not when you’re juggling a baby, a husband, a part-time corporate role and trying to keep some resemblance of a life!
My beautiful mum Debbie is my secret weapon. For the last 18 months, she has stayed over once a week, creating space in my week to focus on Monti&Me. We all need a mum like Debbie in our lives!
From a purely functional perspective, pre-packing Play Sets and dispatching in batches has been a game-changer. It’s the best time hack for e-comm businesses!
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
There have been moments when I felt really alone in my own parenting journey. It’s really challenging being the only person in your friendship group who’s saying no to distracting, flashy, battery operated toys… Especially when you understand the why behind why not. Our customers tell me I’m not alone. They too struggle with navigating how to ‘do you’, without offending others. I remind myself that modelling respect for our children starts with genuinely respecting the choice of others. One of the most beautiful parts of existence is the blend of beliefs and approaches. All you can do is the best with what you know. And seek out a like-minded community like The Natural Parent.
Outside of this, the biggest challenge has been managing my passion. Trying to stop myself from talking about it all the time has been tough. Monti&Me has become an amazing outlet for sharing the knowledge with people who actually care!
Day to day, the hardest thing has been discovering how to inspire and educate new parents in a way that is supportive. We’re all constantly learning how to do better and be better – to me that’s what life is all about. But unsolicited parenting advice is my worst nightmare! And I never want to unintentionally make any parent feel less than for their parenting or consumer choices. There is enough shaming and mum guilt in the world.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
There’s nothing quite like directing your creative energy into making positive change in the world. It’s hands down the best part of running Monti&Me. I truly believe we can change the world in a single generation through conscious consumption and gentle parenting. And as the saying goes, “knowledge is power”. By making baby brain development more accessible, I genuinely feel like I’m playing my part in building a better tomorrow.
I also draw a lot of energy from having the freedom to do a mid-morning yoga or F45 class. There is something really empowering about managing your own schedule.
On the flipside, it gets pretty lonely. I’m used to working in consumer goods, as part of a big marketing team, surrounded by passionate people I can bounce ideas off every day. So until we’re big enough to have a small team, I can’t imagine not also working part-time. Humans need daily real-life connection!
I’m an idealist and a dreamer, which makes me prone to depression. Especially if I focus my attention on the gap between mainstream understanding and modern science.
But overall, the pros outweigh the cons, and interacting with customers through email and social media makes it all worthwhile. There are so many beautiful compassionate people in the world, and I swear, all of my customers are part of that crowd!
When I’m completely exhausted, I think about the future we’re co-creating together and re-read the customer feedback. Being told how much you’ve helped a child’s development never gets old!
Hopes and dreams: What next?
More than anything, I want to help every new parent feel more confident, by better understanding the neuroscience and making it easy for them to implement.
I can see Monti&Me expanding into a subscription-style business, where parents can outsource the research and the need to look for activities and toys to us. Right now, our product offering is everything needed for baby’s first year. And our toys remain developmentally appropriate into the toddler years. We’re asked every day when we’re expanding into Toddler Play Sets. I wish I had the answer! It took us over 9 months in development to create our current range. Maybe we should crowdsource the funds to expand!
I lose sleep over big questions like, how can we co-create a world without gender inequality and the wealth gap? How do we step-change social norms when we’re conditioned by culture? So long term, I’d love Monti&Me to build enough influence to lobby Government around education and early learning. I want to see early childhood development become a mainstream priority. For me, that looks like the pre-school years being valued as early learning, not childcare.
I’d love to connect with more like-minded parents and I’d love to see Monti&Me become the online community many of us are craving in real life.
Head to the Monti&Me website to find out more, and join their supportive communities on Facebook and Instagram.
