The EngageRocket 2020 Pulse of Singapore Workforce survey brought out a number of critical revelations. Principally among these was the finding that working parents, new mothers, and employees with dependents were markedly vulnerable to stress – at a far higher rate than the average professional (2X times). Added to that are the challenges of the new normal: long-to-indeterminate working hours, complexities in work-life integration, and the many problems of managing a home while delivering consistent productivity. Only 12% of the respondents said that they did not face any challenges at all.

 

Clearly, this is a difficult time for the world at large, and in many ways a state of flux, reinvention, and change. And I believe in a post-pandemic world, it is vital to understand what working moms and new mothers experience, along with their expectations, aspirations, and requirements.

 

As a working mother myself, I completely understand the emotional demand of being a first-time-mother to my five-month-old son while also managing the strategic impetus of leading a young and vibrant company.

 

This year, to commemorate International Women’s Day, I spoke to Rachel Lim, co-founder at Love, Bonito, who in my view is one of Singapore’s shining new business entrepreneurs. Earning the title of Forbes 30 Under 30, her multi-million-dollar fashion empire continues to gain new territories.

 

But that being said, Rachel is now also a new mother, a proud parent to a beautiful baby boy, Oliver. I spoke to Rachel about the challenges of being a young entrepreneur, mother to a first-born, and a harbinger of Singapore’s vibrant economic landscape. Our conversation revealed several interesting insights on women in the workplace, entrepreneurship, motherhood – intertwined with Rachel’s personal life story.

 

Between two worlds: Rhythm and balance is everything

As I started speaking with Rachel, I recalled how the launch of Love, Bonito’s fifth outlet coincided with Rachel giving birth! Clearly, this was a cause for a double celebration. She told me how her days are now each strikingly different. From the emotional, mental, and physical changes a mother undergoes, to a gradual process of recovery and a sense of a new beginning Rachel’s journey has been one of several tiny joys and minor curveballs.

 

“It's something that I've really been trying very hard to juggle and I’m taking each day as it comes,” she says, telling me how a flourishing business and raising a child are two uniquely unpredictable paths, each requiring a firm focus on mental health and wellbeing.

 

I wanted to know from Rachel how she dealt with the obvious anxieties that come with this tectonic shift in an individual’s worldview. I mean, parents are known to have worries and uncertainties about giving their very best to their new-born children, while also maintaining a consistent level of quality at the workplace. BBC’s recent survey on working parents’ stress levels during lockdowns corroborates this, not to mention the fact that 20% of mothers and 10% of fathers face anxiety during pregnancy and the first year of parenting.

 

Rachel’s take for handling was deceptively simple but absolutely accurate. She spoke about the essential need for community – finding friends, families, and fellow professionals who can help you build a home, run a business, or nurture a child. “You know, it says that it takes a village to raise a child. I truly believe that it takes a village to build a strong business as well,” she noted, adding that her team has been by her side throughout.

 

But isn’t this significantly more difficult for female entrepreneurs? As a woman, was Rachel’s entrepreneurial story more challenging? I was pleasantly surprised by Rachel’s firm belief in the critical role of mind over matter. She told me how it was always about the mindset – the openness to grow, learn, get better, and keep growing – that is truly the hardest part. A key differentiator here is our ability to be inclusive and accepting of any/all feedback. Openness to feedback is among the most valued traits in a leader, and 62% of business owners in a recent survey said that they regularly invite inputs/feedback from those around them.

 

These two elements, the ability to understand ourselves completely and to seek out everyone’s support – is what Rachel believes is the cornerstone of her success. And, of course, she kept telling me how her team was a genuine support system, constantly helping her before and now even more so as a new mother.

 

We both agreed that it was perfectly switching from one mode to another, sometimes carefully balancing both simultaneously and finding a rhythm of one’s own, that made a difference to us as working professionals and as new mothers.

 

Cheat-sheet for new mommyhood: Ideas and tips

 

I have always believed that managing a business, looking after every detail and juggling multiple hats is ironically identical to being a good parent. And, of course, that one word defines this need to be many people at many points of time across the day – “Learn how to multitask!” Rachel recommends.

 

She told me how being part of a management team meant a daily schedule for multitasking several responsibilities, and how those skillsets learned are now extremely useful to her now as a mom. An interesting study published in the journal BMC Psychology suggests that women might be naturally more equipped to multitask (8 percentage points higher than male professionals) and take on multiple cognitive responsibilities at the same time. Indeed, the Love, Bonito story encapsulates Rachel’s determination to take a tiny seed and turn it into something incredible. Launched in 2006, she has grown the company to not only a strong online presence but also an equally large retail presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia. She is an inspiring example of how women can be both entrepreneurs and mothers, growing their company and building a family with equal focus and confidence.

 

Next, I asked Rachel to share with us a few pointers for women who want to be entrepreneurs and either have children already or are planning a baby in the coming months. Her answer was surprisingly candid: “Be honest with yourself. If you can’t manage and can’t cope, you need to get help. That has really kept me sane in the last 10 weeks with being a new mom and going back to work. Don't be overwhelmed by yourself. Reach out.”

 

She also told me how any business and, correspondingly, planning a child is in many ways a decision best taken and not delayed. There will always be other things, other problems, and the tendency to over-plan possibilities. However, Rachel believes it is vital to take the plunge, seek support when needed, and believe in our fundamental, instinctual selves.

 

Taking care of one’s own: Looking after employees with family obligations

 

At EngageRocket, we firmly believe in the importance of employee experience, engagement, and a healthy work-life balance. I feel employees who feel happy from within, loved and nourished by their families, who find the time to look after their non-work-related responsibilities will always bring their very best to the workplace. In the US, Germany, and India, for example, BCG found that employees happy with their social connectivity were 1.9X to 3.2X more productive than their counterparts with poor work-life balance. And as a new mother myself, I now feel these ideas are more important than ever before to my work ethic and business strategy.

 

I asked Rachel how she felt about this, her possible transformation after becoming a mother, and the responsibilities companies have towards supporting and understanding employees with family obligations. Rachel told me about the challenges and opportunities that a young company faces in these situations. She and Dione (the company’s COO) are aware of the fact that other members of the team are older, working parents, who’d require a different sort of work-life balance. This is why Love, Bonito has paid emphasis on those little things that make all the difference – a nursing room in the office, stretching work timelines beyond the limitations of a 9-to-5 routine, and, in general, being more aware and attentive to the concerns of employees with young or existing families. And needless to say, she felt that becoming a mother has now made her only more aware and conscious of how much the organization can do for working parents.

 

As we were closing the conversation, I enquired on what Rachel thought was the best way to empower our fellow ladies in our lives and also in the workplace.

 

Again, inclusivity was critical for Rachel. Being open to ideas, suggestions, and feedback, creating a space where sharing opinions and thoughts is actively endorsed, and sometimes seeking out constructive advice is Rachel’s mantra for entrepreneurial – and parental – success. “At Love, Bonito, we have a group chat on Slack for the mommies where I constantly get advice and suggestions on certain topics. It's about consciously carving out space for them, or whichever group that you want to address and cater to.” For instance, Linkedin launched a similar initiative at the beginning of the pandemic with its Parents at LinkedIn (PAL) Employee Resource Group.

 

For 2021, Rachel has two clear goals. She believes that being present with Oliver whenever she spends time with him will help her be a part of his journey, nurturing, protecting, and loving each of these special moments between mother and son. Second, her vision for Love, Bonito is the chance to offer her team and team members a space or platform where they can truly discover themselves, and become the finest version of who they are.

 

“Your employees must be able to experiment, to take risks, make mistakes, and learn and grow so they can become better versions of themselves.”

 

This was a truly insightful conversation, where Rachel gave us a glimpse into the mind of a successful, young entrepreneur, as well as into the heart of a modern working mother. What are your goals for supporting working parents and empowering the women in our lives for 2021?

 

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