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MaByLand’s Mumpreneur Sheena Wood shares the highs and lows of mixing babies and business.
Successful Mumpreneur, Sheena Woods is Mum to two children (Siobhan and Brannon) and Director of MaByLand. Sheena shares her story of the highs and lows which led to her successful business ‘MaByland’ with Mums Baby Magazine.
Big Decisions
I was only twenty six years old when I became the youngest and only woman to sit on the Board of Directors as a Performance Executive. It took four years of dedication and hard graft to get there, and I could no longer set my sights any higher, I’d reached the top. My ambitious nature had led me to a cross roads.
Should I jump ship and look for a new role? Perhaps this my chance, the right time to chase my childhood dream of running my own business, I went with my gut feeling…
After ten years my childhood sweetheart finally proposed to me, and visions of my big day swamped my mind. Although I’m Chinese, I have lived, studied and worked in the UK my entire adult life, which left me with a catch?22. I wanted the romantic English white wedding in my finance’s village, but I also wanted to follow tradition and have a Chinese Wedding. I had to make a decision, and as my friends back home weren’t able to make it to my white wedding, my mind was made up, I’d have both!
With marriage thrown into the mix, my attention turned towards our future, and family. Although I am very ‘career driven’, I also believe that no matter how successful I became, it would all amount to nothing if I didn’t have a family to share it with. My mind became overwhelmed with broody thoughts and my entrepreneurial dream; it soon led me to have a ‘light?bulb’ moment! I could combine both my dream of running my own business, and starting a family ? the outcome was ’MaByLand’, my very own baby brand was born.
Everything seemed to be happening all at once, and I had an unbelievable amount to organise and plan.I’d return home from a long day at work in the city, sit back down, and continue my research into the baby industry. I’d work late into the night designing, and on top of all of this I was planning two weddings! Every moment I had, I squeezed the most out of, trying to complete as many tasks as possible. If I wasn’t ringing the florist or tracking down a photographer for the wedding then I was talking to manufacturers, or deciding on fabrics for my new up and coming business. I spent my weekends driving to and from London and Leicestershire planning my church wedding and I used my holiday leave to travel to Hong Kong to meet my manufacturers for ‘MabyLand’ and organise my Chinese wedding too!
My New Life
I got married in December 2007, twice! My weddings were only one week apart, including my honeymoon, the celebrations lasted a month! I returned to work on a high, I handed in my notice which was my first real step towards my dream…My 
husband works as a Doctor, and explained how it can take between six months to a year to fall pregnant, so we starting trying immediately.
On the morning after my leaving party I discovered the good news. We couldn’t believe it! We were going to be parents and we couldn’t be happier. But this left me worried if I had made the right decision to leave my job, but I couldn’t lose my nerve now. Now I had a baby on the way I needed to get the business up and running, so with the help of my husband, the website www.MaByland.com went live ahead of time in late August 2008.
Slowly but surely started receiving regular orders. My first baby girl, Siobhan was born on December 1st 2008. Immediately, this impacted my business as my little girl became my everything, I was a first time Mum and had so much to learn. I’d spend my days doting on her, striving to be the best Mum possible. I breastfed her, so I felt I couldn’t actively arrange business meetings or visit retailers with a baby on my hip, thus I waited until she was ready to start weaning.
Second Time Around
Whilst on my first venture out of the house without my daughter during the summer of 2009, I made my first sale to a local retailer, which reminded me that I was sitting on great products, and I was ready to get down to business. I began running a ‘Mummy Focus Group’ to discuss ideas for my new product range. After a few months everything fell back into place, it was then that I fell pregnant with my second child (during September 2009)
Before I was pregnant I had pre?booked to exhibit at a selection of the largest Baby Shows in the UK! So at five months pregnant I exhibited, our tiny stand was swamped with custom, I didn’t even have time for a toilet break! I had to continuously waddle to and from the storage area to stock up the stall. Although these shows took a lot out of me, they gave me a buzz, and this reassured me that I had designed things that other parents love too! The exhibits also helped me to work through my shy nature and gain a little confidence in myself. Due to this I was able to attend the UK’s largest trade show on my own. However, I was unable to take part in after show social events as I was six months pregnant at this point!
I didn’t want the business to fall behind again, so I decided to hire someone to help, and found myself an office on a quaint little street in Wimbledon half an hours walk from my home. I kept Siobhan away from the office by taking her to playgroups whilst the renovation work was going on, I had so much on my plate at the time that I didn’t realise until two days later that I had been having contractions! My baby boy Brannon was born in June 2010.
Melt Down
It was a big part of my dream to have both of my little ones with me in the office; I wanted the freedom and flexibility that most working parents don’t have. My child had their own little play area setup, so that I wouldn’t miss a moment of watching them growing up. However, I soon realised that this was a farfetched fantasy.
Running a business, controlling a toddler and looking after a new-born baby became too much for me, and the most difficult six months of my life followed. My two little ones set each other off crying, they both seemed to want my undivided attention, which I was simply unable to give given the circumstances. It was difficult for Siobhan to adjust to the new office environment, she became protective of her space, and she’d wail if a customer came in to browse the products and touched ‘her’ things! My son wasn’t sleeping through the night, the initial first few months I had expected this, but I never imagined his sleepless nights to continue on for six long months.
Brannon was only three months old when we journeyed together on our first business trip abroad to Germany, where we were exhibiting at the largest European Baby Trade Show. It was a surreal experience; I’d breastfeed behind a poster and during business meetings. We worked long days and late nights which took its toll on both my son and I. I was still running on very little sleep, as Brannon’s feeding and sleeping pattern was no different from a new-born baby’s. I worked into the early morning hours, getting only a couple hours of sleep. I ran my business during the day, and took care of my babies in the office.
It was at this point that I began to suffer severely from stress related illnesses such as painful ulcers, terrible mood swings, and I longed for my own mother who was thousands of miles away in Hong Kong – all of which built up and caused me to break down, leaving me feeling like a terrible mother.
New Beginnings
I soon had a break from work, and travelled to Hong Kong to show off my little family to all my friends and relatives. After receiving so many compliments about my little ones, and how great I was coping, I soon regained my confidence, and put together a plan as things had to change.
On New Year’s Day 2011 I decided to try ‘controlled crying’ (a method used by many parents to reduce the time taken to get little ones to sleep) as I hadn’t had an uninterrupted night’s sleep for over six months and I was utterly exhausted. I was apprehensive of using controlled crying as a method and it was difficult, but it miraculously worked, and within three days my son was sleeping through the night.
I decided that two year old Siobhan was now old enough to go to nursery; she was like a little sponge that soaked up anything new. Siobhan now loves nursery, she enjoys making new friends and learning new songs! As for Brannon, I still take him to the office with me; he loves crawling around and creating mess! I am now able to focus my attention on my third baby, ‘MaByLand’. It is finally beginning to take off, and I am more than excited about what the future holds.
Looking to the Future
I believe all parents build thick skins, they will have already achieved things they thought were never possible! I wish to encourage Mums and Dads alike to follow their hearts, and go with their gut instincts; there will be highs and there will be lows, but it will all be worth it when they look back with no regrets.
Mums Baby Magazine would like thank Sheena for her time and would like to wish Sheena and her family all the best for the future.
Bringing British Back, Jenny Gore speaks to MBM about Jambaroo, a unique outlet online.
Thanks to the internet, finding original clothing for our little ones needn’t be difficult. Mums Baby Magazine speaks to Jenny Gore about how she setup ‘Jambaroo’, a British Children’s Clothing website.
Jambaroo started out as a desire to source better quality and unique clothes for my three nieces. I got sick of the high street, everything was made in China and every second child wore the same. I started to look online at what else was available and found that there were lots and lots of small suppliers but that many didn’t have the time or skills to produce a viable website. Others sold through other "craft" sites such as Etsy or Folsky but still the options available seemed limited.. I must be one of the only people to work backwards through Google!
My day job is an IT projects manager so i have a broad understanding of IT and web development. I wanted a project in which i could get hands on, thus Jambaroo was born! The entire project is run from a laptops in my city centre flat in Leeds.
A lot of suppliers are shocked to learn that it isn’t a money making venture for me, it was simply about improving my skill levels in IT and bringing something unique to the market for other parents. I decided to keep it British as I couldn’t find anything which required importing which we couldn’t do as well here in the UK. I also discovered quite quickly how difficult it can be for small cottage industries to thrive.
We have all felt the impact of the ‘spiralling economy’ over the past few years.I am all too aware of the cost that British made products can often drive us back to purchasing from mass produced sweatshop products. However, when it comes to buying for a loved one, or items for special occasions then there really is no substitute for original, quality items which is exactly what Jambaroo is about.
Mums Baby Magazine would like to Thank Jenny for her time and wish her luck in her business venture!
Make it work! MBM speak to Naime about her return to work after having her little boy Eren.
Naime Azmi gave birth to Eren Azmi on 21st December 2008. Although she planned to return to work throughout her pregnancy, Naime tells MBM that her return date seemed to come around far too quickly… After suffering from a fourth degree tear during the birth of her son, Naime felt that she had barely recovered by the time she was due to return to the working world.
Although Naime wishes that she could have extended her maternity leave she stuck to her original plans and returned on the original date agreed by herself and her company.
Naime’s maternity scheme offered 90% pay for the first six weeks of maternity leave and then reduced to only SMP (statutory maternity pay). However, Naime was lucky as she is a share holder of the company and therefore received monthly dividends.
Upon returning to work Naime left Eren in the capable hands of his Grandparents. Naime feels that they have an excellent bond with their Grandson and is not at all worried about leaving him with people she trusts. However, when leaving Eren Naime still feels on overwhelming sense of guilt as many Mother’s do when leaving their child with somebody else.
Naime explains that since having Eren her priorities have changed completely and now that she has returned to work she feels that she is missing out on making friends with other Mums at playgroups and Mum and Baby groups.
Naime plans to continue working but feels that a change of career (possibly into teaching) might be needed in order to try and spend more time with her son.
Naime tells us the pros and cons of being a working Mum:
The Positive Aspects of being a Working Mum
Regardless of how hard it might be to return to work, often it offers a change of scenery which can be a healthy thing!
It’s nice to feel like you are contributing to the household bills
If your child is in nursery then they will get more social interaction and therefore obtain skills such as sharing and communication.
If you are serious about your career, returning to work can/ will help you to progress up the career ladder in your industry.
Being away from your children for time makes you appreciate them, Naime tells us that she prefers nothing more than holding her little man in her arms at the end of a working day!
The negative aspects of being a working Mum
If both you and your partner work then someone else will be raising your child/ children.
Employers can sometimes create issues if you require time off (with children)
The feeling of having a range of roles (wife, girlfriend, Mum, employee) can sometimes feel overwhelming.
You may feel guilty for leaving your child with someone else and like you are missing out on key milestones of your child’s/ children’s life.
If your child is in nursery or with a child minder then this can prove costly.
ADVICE FOR MUMS RETURNING TO WORK
We asked Naime what her advice would be to other Mums planning to return to work. Naime explained that if you must return to work then you must not feel guilty. Remember that you are going for a reason and helping provide for your family. Naime suggests that you try to be as organised as possible in order to avoid feeling out of control of a sense of being overwhelmed.
NAIMES TOP TEN TIPS FOR MUMS RETURING TO WORK
- Make a plan and try and stick to it so that you can try and mentally prepare yourself whilst trying to let go of any guilt that you may be feeling.
- Make sure that you are fully comfortable with the childcare arrangements you have made for your child.
- Ensure that your employers are child friends as sometimes you may have to leave work for appointments such as baby clinic and immunisations.
- If you can try a trial run with the nursery/ childcare provider prior to returning to work.
- Try and pack your child’s bag the night before returning to work, it will be hard enough dealing with the emotions let alone worrying about forgetting the essentials!
- Ensure that you get as much rest as you can, you will need it once you have to juggle work and a baby!
- Write lists! Sometimes it helps to write things down which need doing in order to remain in control.
- Give yourself time to adjust to being back at work, it may take a while to feel fully motivated and back into a routine.
- Get stocked up with ‘easy food’ (perhaps cook and freeze your food in advance) so that you can eat easily when you first return back to work.
- Take pictures of your child/ children into work with you, you can look at them throughout the day and it will help you to feel closer to them.
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