Getting To Know Rachel Chiel
Mompreneurs We Love
Being a mother is hard enough for many women. Being a mom who is also an entrepreneur can be a whole other level of challenges. About Eve love talking to mompreneurs for we get a lot of inspirations and insights on handling challenges and balancing work and life. For this round of Mompreneurs We Love, we had a chat with Rachel Chiel, who is a Co-Founder of kiddy123, a Malaysia's online parenting directory.
Eve Writes | 13 June 2019
We don’t exactly need a special day to celebrate moms.
We know most women don’t need a day to remind her of why she love being a mother. She does not need a corporate sponsored, scheduled celebration time. She does not need an arbitrary day of obligation to prove to her you’re glad she birthed you.
What she may potentially need is a quiet morning, to feel the wind blowing through the trees outside her window, the bed sheets pulled softly against her skin, her favourite mug filled with warm coffee roast (or tea) and her mind silent enough to drift back to all the moments that changed her life because of us (you) – the moments that turned her sideways, pitched her forward, and made her realise that being a mother has irrevocably shifted her spirit into another dimension.
About Eve is about supporting women, especially all the mumpreneurs out there.
For it is a balancing act like no other. to use an ‘overused’ word to describe a mumpreneur daily ‘multi-tasks’ – from a day job or running a home business that blends into taking care of spouse and children’s needs, and at some point in her life, perhaps her ageing and ailing parents. It's really little wonder many mum-preneurs felt that they barely have time for themselves.
So here is how we will celebrate these women.
Moving on, we will be running a regular series of introducing these ‘power-ladies’ and their work and we are open to you writing in to let us know of someone in your life (the everyday mum, business woman, social worker, etc) whose work deserves to be recognised and supported, both for their work and their commitment as a mompreneur.
Mompreneurs We Love
To kick off our series, we spoke to Rachel Chiel, a Co-Founder of kiddy123, a Malaysia's online parenting directory of all your Early Childhood Care and Education needs.
Tell us a bit about your business. Why and when did you start it?
Kiddy123.com is an online media platform for children education in Malaysia. My co-founder (aka my husband) and I started the business back in 2013, when I was pregnant with my second daughter.
The reason we started Kiddy123 is because - "We want to help parents save their time by organizing the information about children education centres in Malaysia."
Back then, we were looking for a suitable preschool for our eldest daughter whom just turn 3. We tried to search online but there's nothing much we can find. We would then have to ask around friends and family for recommendation, and also spent weeks driving around and make visits to the schools.
We felt that it was taking too much time, especially for working parents, most will have to take leave to personally make the trips to the different schools.
Then the idea popped up - "Why not we create a website to list all the preschools available in Malaysia, so that they can just get the details of the schools they preferred, filter by location or programs, before they pay a visit by shortlisting the schools that they like?"
We decided there and then to embark on this venture.
How many children do you have now and how old are they?
I have 2 lovely daughters. They are 9yo and 6yo.
Describe us what is your everyday like.
Basically: wake up - get ready - transporting kids to school - go to work - fetching kids from school - lunch - back to work - transporting kids to and from classes - dinner - homework guidance/play – watch some movies & sleep
How do you find the balance between work, family, and me time?
Time management is the key. Always find ways to save time. eg: stay nearby my kid’s school and office, find classes for my kids in nearby area, set routines, shop online, prepare meal plans and most importantly be close to family members (they are the best support when it comes to helping out with my kids)
What is your biggest challenge as a mompreneur?
I am in a constant loop of never-ending tiredness and guilt.
Eg: I am exhausted after work and feel like I deserved a good rest and me time, but at the same time I feel guilty for not spending enough time with my kids. Arrggh!
How did you fund your business and how did you manage your day-to-day operations?
Kiddy123's is a growing business with good revenue and are able to self sustain at the moment. We have a team of 16 people now and is expanding. I manage my daily operations by delegating some of the tasks to my team members and give them freedom to do it their own way, as long as it solved the problem.
As a mompreneur,
you need to be positive.
Things are never as
bad as they seem.
What is your vision/dream for your family, business, and yourself?
For my family - I wish all of them healthy and live a happy and comfortable life
For my business - My vision is for Kiddy123 to become the leading Children Education portal in the region.
For myself - I just wish for good health, so that I can continue to work towards my dream and to be able to take care of my family.
Where do you work from?
Both office and home.
If from home, what is the biggest misconception you’ve had from others?
"You're not working?"
What advice would you give other moms who want to start their own business?
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Find the business model that works. To keep your business running and serve as many people as possible, you need to start thinking about generating revenues from day one.
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Focus on what's important. Don't get distracted by non-important ideas, offers or competitions
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Always, always find a smarter way to save your time.
We’re finding it awe-inspiring, hearing about how mums are turning their lives around and starting their own business from home. “Mumpreneurs” - Love or hate the title, the women out there who combine motherhood with running their own business deserve a truckload of respect, and then some more!
From figuring out on how to start a business (for most, and by far the least uncommon!) from their own living room to finding a sane space to work in that Lego-strewn "war zone" to quickly sorting out a plan B when the childcare arrangement falls through at the last minute - there’s a lot to juggle and keep in check.
About Eve thought we’d say a big fat “hurrah!’ to the mums who are making it work for them. Excuse us while we pile a whole lotta love onto these butt-kicking ladies! Whether it’s creating and selling something that will help others, to running workshops or making things like jewellery, candles, organic skin care or children’s fashion; it’s so interesting finding out that it’s possible to create a thriving business while raising a family. And without losing your mind while you're at it!
We’ve learnt so much from our series interviewing mumpreneurs, so far. From how to get funding, to how to balance it all and how to deal with the niggly thing called mum guilt.
So keep an eye out because we have many more mompreneurs to feature and we're excited to share with you our next mompreneur who creates a line of organic products, which started out as a mean to help her special child and now has grown into a full-blown business!
