Ten women discuss their experiences, challenges, and hacks for succeeding as entrepreneurs while managing a home.
Today is the day to express gratitude to our moms, who have no days off and have no 9-hour shifts. They begin by working in the house from early dawn till late at night and nowadays, many women work in addition to looking after their homes. Balancing the two might be challenging, but our ladies are doing fantastically. As we celebrate Mother’s Day today, News9 spoke with ten mompreneurs who discussed their experiences as entrepreneurs.
Moms do reproduce but they too produce empire
According to Kritika Makker Kapoor who is a wellness coach and director at SK27 GYM, a rich dad or a wealthy husband is not what defines a strong independent woman. But a full-time doting mom with a successful self-developed business or a profession that she runs with her own passion is what makes a woman strong, fulfilled and eminent. As a mom turned entrepreneur, I knew juggling work and family responsibilities would be a challenge but it’s definitely worth the risk.
Many doubts and fears cloud our minds when we question our abilities to manage both work and family responsibilities, but the key is to take the leap of faith and never let your dreams die down by following the basic process of planning and prioritising. One can dedicate certain hours of the day exclusively to work while ensuring that the dedicated time and duties as a mother are not neglected and equally fulfilled wasn’t easy but wasn’t impossible too. The only effort that being a mother when you anyway have loads on your shoulder all you need is to extend your domain of self-confidence and willingness to accomplish the tasks be it as a mom or as an entrepreneur.
How moms fall into the millennial generation bracket
Nikky Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO of Teamwork Communications Group said, “In my experience, mothers have a full-proof formula for entrepreneurial success. They are used to juggling roles, possess grit and perseverance, and excel at developing solutions to fit other moms’ needs. According to a report published by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) in collaboration with Zinnov, between 2019 and 2022, 17 per cent of investment deals in India were raised by startups with women leaders.
Today’s moms increasingly fall into the millennial generation bracket. This group of women might have the ideal background for entrepreneurship, as many of them have spent a considerable amount of time investing in their education and careers before motherhood. From home, bakers to caterers, life coaches to spiritual healers, creative agency owners to education counsellors, soap makers to vacation planners and more – moms are excelling in every field. Several support groups have also come forward to mentor, fund, and provide required help to mothers running businesses of their own. The best part a mompreneur enjoys is the privilege to work where and when they want to, allowing for attendance at important life events – helping maintain work-life balance.
Balancing work-home
Sonica Aron, Founder and Managing Partner, of Marching Sheep, said “At the outset, I am conflicted about the term ‘Mompreneurs’. In a way, it stereotypes and labels mothers. Any parent who is actively involved in childcare and simultaneously building and running their own business can benefit a lot from what they learn from being a parent.
As for my entrepreneurial journey, it began in 2013 when my son was 5 years old and my daughter was 3 months old. I have learned and grown both as a parent and an entrepreneur and it has taught me perseverance, grit, determination, empathy, focus, the ability to laugh at my foolishness and my troubles, to wake up each day and take it head on, to enjoy every success like a child, to brush off every failure like a scrape on the knee. Today my Son is 15 years old, My daughter is 10, and my firm Marching Sheep is 10 too. I am proud of all three.”
Commitment, perseverance and passion
Shilpa Mahna Bhatnagar who is the Founder of Haeywa, believes that her entrepreneurial journey as a working mother has had its fair share of struggles. Managing personal and professional lives as a mother is no easy task but she has always believed that commitment, perseverance and passion are what sets us apart. As a mompreneur, she thinks that they are blessed with the inherent ability to multitask and handle difficult situations in a calm and composed manner.
With over two decades of tech experience, she has been able to strike the perfect balance between my personal and professional responsibilities and run successful businesses over the years. As a mompreneur, she strongly believes that with a dash of imagination, hard work and innovation we can achieve any milestone in our careers.
Family’s support
Kiran Dham, CEO of Globus Infocom Ltd stated that a mother entrepreneur needs to balance two very different worlds while running her business. It and critical to provide the best of both worlds and the whole self should be there while you are with your child and vice versa when you are working. Therefore, for a mompreneur, failing to give their child the well-deserved time and care will only cause the two of them to grow apart.
Sharing her experience she said that she was growing and developing strength in the early stages of her professional career, with a lot of opportunities coming her way, and maintaining this, was not that simple. However, during her journey of becoming a mother, she felt incredibly blessed that her family became a strong support system of mine in helping me in many situations.
She said, “The most important responsibility a mother has is to take care of her newborn. Constant guilt over not being present for the child can interfere with chores and reduce their effectiveness. As a result of this ongoing conflict between passion and duty, I adhered strictly to the powerful solution of work prioritisation and time management. When we have a dream to attain, all other significant hurdles get by with ease, and it is the power of passion that propels us forward and helps us reach that level in life.”
What makes women good entrepreneurs
Shilpa Khanna, CEO of Chicnutrix shared that in the demanding business world, mompreneurs have emerged and thrived by balancing their families and entrepreneurial journey. They demonstrate the harmonious coexistence of motherhood and entrepreneurship. A journey that is marked by passion, determination, and resilience as they overcome obstacles, seize opportunities and make their dreams come true. Being a mom or giving birth itself is like jumping into an entrepreneurial journey, it gives you the ability to be patient, multitask, and be adaptable to different situations at the same time.
She highlighted the fact that similar qualities are required to run a business and that is what makes women entrepreneurs so good at running a business. Being a juggler by nature, mompreneurs effortlessly balance their family and work responsibilities. By pursuing their aspirations without hesitation, mompreneurs demonstrate that motherhood is an advantage that drives their motivation to succeed, contradicting the idea that it limits career options. They make it possible to pursue and achieve their dreams, regardless of the challenges they may face. They inspire others to pursue their passions, embrace their roles as mothers, and embark on courageous entrepreneurial journeys.
Way of life
According to Nidhi Khaitan Modi, Founder and CEO of Mamily, “The art of successfully executing my business idea came from the flair of prosperously running my family. When there’s glory in the house, the glitter of success shines better on the work front. I knew I had to be available for my daughters as I wanted to truly live those moments of parenting! Alongside this, I wanted to devote time to my start-up. So, in the trade-off between the two of them, I chose both! And it became within reach with a great deal of support that came in from my husband and in-laws. While women are great at multitasking, the support empowered me to confidently set goals and achieve them.”
She mentioned how reading bedtime stories to her daughters ended up with juggling between excel-sheets for her while they were asleep. Being able to well-manage a home with two little girls gave her enough room to manage her work, eliminating the chances of imbalance in work and life. With this, the mother in her never influenced the entrepreneur in me and vice-versa.
Mompreneur- not a cakewalk in our society
Geeta Singh, Founder and Director of The Yellow Coin Communication talked about how being a mompreneur is not a cakewalk in our society where women are assumed to meet expectations without any grimaces on their faces. She said, “I am fortunate to be blessed with an adorable daughter, Ojasvi, who is about 3 years old. No matter how hectic is my work schedule, I always spare some quality and intriguing moments for my daughter to let her explore this beautiful world and address her inquisitive questions, which often make me awe-struck. But, instead of feeling irritated over her naïve questions, I love to respond to them with patience and affection.”
She said that she cherishes and celebrates motherhood without ignoring my entrepreneurial responsibilities because the former is my love and the latter is my passion, and none is a burden to me. A wholesome lifestyle that is organised, healthy, happy, realistic plans, and a focused work approach can simplify even the toughest tasks. According to her once you start leading your life with a positive and progressive mindset, challenges automatically turn dwarf in front of your determination. So, life is all about smart management, and challenges are catalysts to our winning spirit.
Proud single mompreneur
Dr Gagan Bhatia, founder of Uniqaya, a premium skincare brand suggests moms never limit themselves when they can pursue their dreams while being an incredible mom. Sharing her journey she said that she got married at 20 and was blessed with a child at 21 and it was a challenging yet rewarding journey for her. She stated that being a proud single mother wasn’t a commendable tag of honour in the 1990s, but instead of taking a toll, she set foot on a spiritual journey to awaken her belief in herself and understand life from a spiritual perspective.
With a sense of hope and gratitude in her heart, Bhatia started her entrepreneurship journey and credits her struggles as learning opportunities that enabled her to express her willpower and stay afloat. She believes that each one is a beautiful creation of God and aims to ensure that people believe in themselves and should make the best of what they already have.
The hardships
Neha Pandey is an Independent Indian pop artist/playback singer and entrepreneur who believes that
mompreneurs are women who have chosen to start their own businesses while also raising children. Mentioning the hindrance that mompreneurs face, she said that finding enough time to dedicate to both their business and their family can be challenging during the startup phase when they may need to put in long hours to get their business off the ground. To overcome this, many mompreneurs have found ways to streamline their work processes, prioritise their tasks, and set clear boundaries between work and family time.
Another hindrance that mompreneurs face is the lack of support and resources. They may not have access to the same networks or funding opportunities as male entrepreneurs and may face discrimination or bias due to their gender and family responsibilities. However, many mompreneurs have found support through online communities and networking groups specifically for women entrepreneurs.
Overall, mompreneurs have excelled as entrepreneurs by combining their passion and expertise with their love for their families. They have found creative ways to balance work and household responsibilities, overcome obstacles, and find support within their communities. Their success serves as an inspiration to other women who aspire to start their own businesses while also raising a family.
After sharing ten beautiful journeys of these hard-working women, one thing that has emerged is that they are great parents and company owners.
Happy Mother’s Day to all Supermoms!