Brands
Striking a balance between motherhood and entrepreneurship
Motherhood is a beautiful journey, one that brings with it many reasons to rejoice and celebrate the most beautiful bond in the world. However, being a mother comes with its own set of challenges like striving to provide the best to your child at every step.
In one such attempt of choosing what is best, I was introduced to the idea of toxin-free natural products during my first pregnancy which happened in the UK. When we returned to India and were looking for similar products, we had to depend on friends and family members living abroad to get us them, which was inconvenient and impractical. On speaking with other mothers, I realised there is a need for natural, safe products, but there weren’t many options.
The Moms Co. was born out of a need to address this problem and to provide natural, non-toxic, effective products that mothers would love to use – right from the beginning of their beautiful journey to every step of the way.
As a mom of two daughters and an entrepreneur, I am always short of time. It’s always like there is so much to do and so little time. What really helps is an incredible support system both at work and at home. Having a set routine for my daughters ensures that I am able to manage my time efficiently. On a typical day, I get my daughters Myraah and Syna ready in the morning and drop them to their stop. We have a board with details of classes they need to go for and a list of ‘what to do if I am bored activities’, which keeps them productively occupied for the times when I am not around. It’s very easy to not find time for home when you are running a startup and there is always so much to do and having routines helps for those times. We always try and be back before they sleep. Reading bedtime stories is a daily routine they have grown up with and really enjoy, we ensure we are around at that time. We also have days allotted to our favourite activities such as dancing, playing board games, Movie time, etc to ensure we find time to spend with the girls. Since my daughters are early sleepers, it gives me time to finish pending tasks and make some calls before going to bed. I also find time to exercise daily, I think it helps me stay energised throughout the day.
I have also learned to prioritise better. Having experienced colleagues and experts on board can help in delegating and taking things off your plate. I try and stick to doing things that need my attention the most and letting the team handle the rest. I also follow the same for home. Since I am mostly in control of my schedule, I ensure no meetings are lined up close to when I need to be at school or need to attend my daughters’ performances. On the other hand, I have also had an investor meeting 3 hours before my daughter’s birthday party! It helps that my daughters are proud of my work and this motivates me to work towards achieving my goals.
At the end of the day, you need to be able to make sure that you’re able to focus on important tasks and developments, be it at work or home. In order to do that, make sure you’re able to use your time efficiently so that your work doesn’t eat into your family time and vice versa. It is important to give your best every day but even more important to feel good every day.
(The author is founder & CEO, The Moms Co. The views expressed are her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
