Last week I was honoured to be asked to moderate a panel at the regions first baby show The Baby Expo Dubai.
The panel was on the main stage, part of their Mumpreneur Collective initiative, with the title Mum Boss Mindset: Balancing Business Brilliance to Family Flourish. I have been known to roll my eyes and wonder why there is not a Dadpreneur Collective asking the Dads how they balance it all, however the 'Mum guilt' and ever present concern over whether we can really have it all seems to me to be a much more female experience, and as you'll know from season 2 of the podcast, I really do want to learn from other Mums in business about how they manage the juggle.
Spoiler alert, my first question for them was for time management tips and they all laughed, so even succesful Mumpreneurs are trying to figure it all out still.
I was joined on stage by 3 inspiring entrepreneurs, and these were my main takeaways from each:
Mira Khleif, Founder of MK&M
Mira Khleif has used her experience as an Architect, paired with the inspiration of her own children's development to create educational toy brand MK&M.
Mira used the analogy of the Gardener vs the Carpenter, one I hadn't heard before, but in both parenting and business she recommends you to sow the seeds and let them grow and flourish instead of being the Carpenter working away on every tiny detail.
She also explained a new practice she does of journalling 3 pages each morning in a free-flowing style writing down whatever may come into her head. She really praised this for emptying her mind but also enabling creativity which is so necessary in her role.
Paz Gonzalez Zebeballos, Founder of OG Media
I loved Paz Gonzalez' energy and just do it mentality. She reminded me to not neglect self care, to schedule in a manicure, shopping trip or whatever you enjoyed before having children and a business because you really deserve it and can't pour from an empty cup.
But what Paz praised her success on was finding the right business partner and surrounding yourself with the right people. This is something that all panelists agreed with, and honestly, I didn't realise was so important until I got going in business myself.
Amanda Jenner, Founder of My Carry Potty
Amanda invented My Carry Potty 20 years ago so was able to share the reality, the highs and lows of business over the years. My personal take away from talking to Amanda was patience, something I am personally struggling with 7 months into launching my business. 20 years in she has now sold 1 million potty's worldwide, but Rome wasn't built over night so we need to be kind and realistic with ourselves.
What was reassuring to see was that these are real, ambitious, Mums still trying to find balance themselves . The common denominator was that they were super passionate about the businesses they started which they felt was very important to keep you going in the hard times and keep you enthused about your business in the long run.
