The Challenges of Being a Mother in a Start Up
You've probably heard the phrase, "it takes a village to raise a child." Well, it also takes a village to run a business. When you're working in an e-commerce environment that's constantly changing and growing, it can be hard to stay on top of everything that needs doing at any given time. That's where your team comes in! I am lucky that my co-founders are there for me when things get tough - they're able to help out by taking on extra responsibilities or picking up slack when things get busy. We also have some incredible part-time contractors that assist areas of our business.
In addition to having an amazing support system around you every day in the business, there are other benefits associated with being part of this start up community.
The Challenges of Being a Mother in a Start Up
Being a mother in a start up can be challenging. Time management, stress and work-life balance are all issues that come with working in your own business.
The first challenge is time management. You may find yourself working long hours just to keep up with everything that needs to be done on a daily basis. This can leave little time for family life or housework! It's important not to get too stressed out by this though, if you do then it will affect everyone around you (including your children). The same goes for feeling guilty for working on your business at times when you might prefer to be spending time with your family. It does not serve you or your family to feel guilty, so just be mindful that you need time for both your business and your family.
It's also important not to neglect yourself when working in your own company as this will have an impact on how well you perform at work which could lead down another spiral of negative consequences for both yourself and others around you.
Try to remember to have fun in your life as well as work.
The Rewards of Being a Mother in a Start Up
The rewards of being a mother in a start up are many. The flexibility to work from home, or anywhere else for that matter, is an incredible benefit to have. Having an e-commerce start up you can work around children’s activities and bedtimes is especially handy, as you can work in the evenings and weekends (the internet never sleeps!).
There is also the idea of what you are modelling to your children. You can show them what hard work and purpose driven work looks like, and especially for my daughter, I think about showing her that Mum can do all sorts of jobs and experience success in a number of areas by having a go. That way, she knows she can try new career opportunities when she is a woman and a mother herself.
A start up can be a long time before the financial rewards come in, as you must reinvest in your business to get it up and going. But you have the hope that the day will come when you can see the rewards of your start up in the bank account.
Finally, the benefits of working in our particular start up business include this purpose-driven idea behind our business at Hemprino that I don’t want my children to inherit a world and a land where textile waste is filling up landfills and polluting the waterways with microplastics. By developing a unique blend of natural fibres that can biodegrade at end of life and provide all the benefits of natural fibres during their long, wearable life, I am working for a future of fashion that I want my children to inherit. Being a farming family, I also love the connection to the land and New Zealand merino product that our knitwear reflects.
We are working hard to grow the business and improve our range. We have plans for expanding our product range, which will allow us to reach more people and make more impact on reducing textile waste. As we gather momentum, we take our children along the ride with us.
As a mother, it can be difficult to balance your work and family life at the best of times. However, there are benefits to working in a start up that I have found during our journey to date, and I trust that in the long term, I will be proud that I managed to build Hemprino alongside raising my children.
Siobhan O’Malley, co-founder, Hemprino