I came from a radio interview yesterday morning. My friend, April and I were interviewed for the Steps Project. It was for a show in DZRJ called Mind Your Own Business. The show is hosted by Atty. Nikki De Vega, a lawyer who gives tips and advice to people who want to start their own business. It’s really a cool show and you, guys, should listen to it!
My longest media interview so far!
Before the show, we were chatting and we learned that she (the host) already has a 1 year and 8 months daughter. She had a hard time breastfeeding for a long time since after three days, she needed to go back to work. She was telling us how hard it is to express milk in an environment that doesn’t give much leeway for women. She told us that in her firm, she’s the only woman lawyer and it’s so hard to excuse yourself to do “lady stuff”. Pregnant women or women with children will find it hard to thrive in a world like this.
Not all companies are understanding of what we women go through, especially when we get pregnant and have our children. Not all will understand that you have to excuse yourself from work at least three times a day just to express milk. Not everyone will understand why you have to suddenly leave work at the middle of the day to attend to your child who has suddenly gone ill from eating too much ice cream. Not everyone will understand how important PTA meetings are of how important recognition day is.
Those are the perks of being a mompreneur. You manage your own time and make room for things like these that really matter. Family then becomes your number 1 priority and your career becomes secondary. I’m not saying that the business is not important. What I’m saying is that as a mompreneur, you are your own boss and you call the shots. Yes, the business needs your attention so the skills now that you have to learn are time management and becoming driven.
Not a lot of women make this decision to jump the gun and start their own business. You have to have the right mindset and the “heart” for it. That is why the title of our first mastermind session (which is the second run for 2014, btw) is How to Have the Heart of a WAHM.
I’m sure those subscribing to Manila Workshops’ newsletter get to read about these Masterminds. Ladies, masterminds are not like our usual workshops where people come in and sit and listen. The masterminds is a support group for ladies who want to start their own business or for those who are still figuring out if they want to start their own business. These masterminds are conversations. There is a moderator, but all the attendees do the talking.
I have been to most of the runs of the previous run and I am really pushing for people to attend these sessions. We have had a lot of people realize what they want to do or what they are capable of doing. Most realize that they need to start creating their businesses already. The most important part of these sessions is that you get support and tips from ladies like you, business-minded and all. You can even network and sometimes even get business partnrs or suppliers from these group of people. Lovely, right?
It’s not too late to sign up! All you have to do is go to Mothercare Active Fun on Saturday at 10:45am and sign up. Fee to join the session is at Php 600. The first session is sponsored by Mothercare Philippines and Unilab. BTW, Mothercare Active Fun is along 9th Street in BGC, just across the Honda Car Dealer in the area.
If you want to pre-register, please click on this link: http://manilaworkshops.com/2014/07/wahm-mastermind-1.html
So, hope to see you there!
