This Mum is on Fire

Mother's Day is just around the corner and let's be real, we could celebrate Mum's every single day of the year. All that hard work and sacrifice deserves acknowledgement (kudos, Mums!)

Being a Mum myself, I see first hand the life that we carve for ourselves: Working around the clock to not only manage a whole business (whoa) but also to co-manage an entire family.

Feeling inspired, I reached out to some fellow small biz Mum's and asked them some questions which I am super excited to share with you all. An enormous thank you to these lovely ladies for taking the time out to be interviewed!

Here's to the Mum that stayed up 'til midnight last night, answering that last email. The Mum that spent the day cradling a sick child, whilst simultaneously packing orders. The Mum that is paving a way forward for her children to have everything they need, whilst sacrificing the bare necessitates of what she needs herself.

We see you, Mum and we thank you.

Without further ado, I give you The Mums!

Zegi Beach Collective

@Zegi_beachcollective www.Zegi.com.au

Zegi was created by me, Kylie. I am the owner and cover all roles in the business, from marketing, designing, processing, and packing orders and I hold regular market stalls. We sell everyday beach & outdoor essentials for the whole family, such as sand free towels, insulated picnic baskets and silicone beach bucket sets, plus more!

My family are beach lovers who live on the Gold Coast, I was inspired to start Zegi because I wanted to create a one stop shop for everything beach and outdoors. It is also important to me to create and stock products that are sustainable and good for the environment.

It is tough to choose just one person who inspires me. I think ultimately I am inspired by the powerful woman I surround myself with, my friends and family. We are all working Mum's doing the best for ourselves and our families. It is great watching everyone pursue their different passions.

Balancing my time can be a challenge, between managing everything to be done in a timely manner for Zegi, making sure the house is tidy and organised, that we have food in the cupboards and I’m not missing out on any activities for the kids either in school or in out of school.

Most importantly I love spending quality time between the 3 kids and not being on my phone or computer 24/7.

I love the freedom, flexibility and showing my kids you can do anything if you’re passionate and don’t give up, even on the tough days.

Cobba Country

www.instagram.com/cobbacountry www.cobbacountry.com.au

image courtesy of www.cobbacountry.com.au

I'm Tiesh, the owner of a country clothing brand. I take care of all the different roles within the business at this stage. We sell tees, hoodies, work shirts, hats and so much more! We were inspired to start the business when we were travelling around Australia 6 years ago. The end dream would be to travel around Australia whilst attending country events with our stall and getting content at the all of the beautiful locations.

At the moment my biggest female inspiration is Kate McDonald is a business coach that inspires me to do well as a women in business. My biggest challenge as a mother running a business is trying to separate work and parenting. I tend to get caught up trying to do both at once and feel that I then create a stressful environment! But I love that I can work around my little boy. I can take him to his play groups and later in life I can be available to take him to and from school and attend his schools events. I hope that I can teach my little one to have a good work ethic and that any dream is possible if you work hard to get it.

Receptive Konnection Virtual Assistant

@receptive_konnection www.receptivekonnection.com.au

image courtesy of www..receptivekonnection.com.au

Hi, I'm Rannee, the founder of Receptive Konnection Virtual Assistant. A specialised virtual assistant service giving rural and regional heart-centred business owners the freedom and headspace to soulfully serve. I knew the 9-5 was no longer suitable for our family so I decided to look for something I could do around my family.

The biggest female inspiration in my life is you Shontelle! The way you have so gracefully grabbed onto VA life and full speed ahead, consistently evolving and discovering your passions! THAT is inspiration! Tori Kopke for making it work in such an isolated part of Australia!

My biggest challenge is finding the perfect balance that works for us. Working out what my boundaries are and setting expectations from the beginning has been a defining moment for me. The criticism of women working from home with their children as a 'side hustle' is degrading. Owning a small business is demanding, and you are always trying to make improvements to yourself and your business to better service your clients.

My love of organisation and structure is my absolute favourite thing about running my own business! I love the fact we ease into our mornings instead of rushing around. As human beings, we all have our own perspective on all things in life, the need to feel heard or have another constructive opinion. Some clients need a sounding board to work through all the ideas and thoughts stuck in their head and at times I am that sound board. I also have the flexibility to be available after hours to suit some business models because that suits us too.

The legacy I want to leave for my children is that failure doesn't define you, learn from the experience, reassess what works and what didn't. Get back up and find another way. You can do anything their minds are set to. Focus on how you can get to your end goal and think outside the box!

If you feel inspired by the 3 incredible women, please show them your appreciation by following their socials! Let's support Mum's in business 365 days a year, together.