The Baby Box Co, inspired by the Finish tradition of every expectant mum receiving a box filled with first-year baby goodies, hit the market just two weeks after Edwina’s youngest was born.
Today, the tireless mum engages with NGOs, charities and government agencies to better provide for the women and children of our communities.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever got?
Enjoy the journey. Go into your venture with strong passion and dedication because starting a business is both challenging and exciting – it comes with its bumps and rides! Pat yourself on the back for the achievements no matter how small and don’t let the hiccups derail your vision. If you get so caught up with the challenges you can lose sight of the reasons you started in the first place.
What’s the biggest secret you’ve learned to having a successful business from home?
My biggest secret, which isn’t a great secret at all, is ORGANISATION!! Running a household is stressful enough, then throw in a new business and things can get crazy very quickly. Have a schedule, don’t be afraid to ask for help, delegate, and make sure to take a step back and evaluate if you find yourself getting caught up in work overload. With organisation you will feel calm and in control, so if anything unexpected pops up you can take it in your stride.
What’s the best money habit every successful woman should adopt?
Find yourself an amazing accountant! Seriously, they are worth their weight in gold.
What’s the secret to keeping your career and home life in balance?
This was a difficult lesson for me to learn. In between orders, emails, phone calls and then children, housework and maintaining relationships, things can get quite muddy. Children demanding attention whilst you are trying to speak with suppliers or deal with a customer can leave everyone a little worse for wear. The best thing I’ve done is to be quite disciplined with my time and schedule everything. For example, I block out several hours in the morning once the children are at school to solely focus on emails and calls. And in the evenings I schedule time to put the laptop and phone down and focus on family.
What would you say to others thinking about becoming a Mumprenuer?
If there is something that you are passionate about, don’t let anything hold you back from accomplishing your goal. You can do it! I love the fact that I can support my family and I’m proud to be a strong and positive role model for my children.
The 2016 St.George Banking Group AusMumpreneur Awards are in Melbourne on August 14.
