As the years progress, I’m sure we will have those times when we get it right, but I’m also sure there will be some sacrifice and we have made sure that our families understand why, and if they weren’t on board with that, well we wouldn’t be here today. Just quietly though, I think our kids enjoy the fact that we sell awesome stuff and they get to product test everything.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
We often joke between ourselves and say, “If everyone is breathing when they have gone to bed, it’s been a good day”. For two women running a business and juggling family life with kids, every day is a challenge in retrospect. For myself personally, my health has been the biggest challenge to the business. I have a habit of landing myself in the hospital. This year alone I have been into surgery three times, however I admit bathing the cat wasn’t my finest moment. Cathy has been amazing and handled every hospital admission wonderfully, taking on all the business roles while I do live updates from the emergency room on Facebook.
Apart from health issues, there are always things that we cannot control that test our resolve as a business, such as hackers through social media, copycats, extreme weather forcing market shutdowns and of course who could forget the year of 2020, the brutal force of COVID-19! For us Covid made us sit back and re-evaluate our brand strategy. Previously all of our PR was done through The Pregnancy, Baby and Children’s Expos, but of course they came to a grinding halt and we had to get creative. Which led us to forming some amazing relationships with other women in business. For us, it is always about finding that silver lining in even the darkest of clouds. Sometimes it comes easily, other times it may take a few weeks to find even a tiny piece of silver, but it’s always there and that’s what keeps us going.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Running our own business allows us to enjoy the wins together as families, but we also share in the losses too.
It never gets old hearing amazing feedback from parents about how much their children enjoy our products and that for us is a huge pro, as we enjoy hearing about kids getting to be kids.
As mums of school age kids, a major con is missing out on big milestones in our kids’ lives, due to us being away at an expo or a product sourcing trip. Naturally, we try and plan these things around our kids, but sometimes it comes down to us having to make a sacrifice and believe us, it’s the worst feeling not being there.
But the pro to that, is that our kids can see the hard work paying off. They see us working to achieve our dreams and they in turn are given permission to dream, create and inspire.
Business comes with its ebbs and flows. There is always the natural rise and fall pattern no matter what you do, but as long as you enjoy what you are doing and believe in yourself, then that becomes the biggest pro of all.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Well let’s start with world domination, shall we? Maybe one day, who knows, but for now we’ll just get through the year.
Living in chaos has its benefits as our creative brains are always on high alert for the next innovative product or imagination builder. We take our cues from our kids and as they grow and develop, so does our business. Our goal is to have The Chaos Emporium a household name and to be known for allowing kids to develop with play-based learning, essentially giving kids the permission to be kids.
We have a list of ideas a mile long. Some may seem far-fetched and will possibly always stay in the pipe dream category; others will be making their debut next year as our range continues to expand.
Whatever the future holds for us, you can be sure it will be filled with chaos and we will have fun getting there. For us, launching this business is already a dream come true and there is no better icing on the cake in our opinions.
Head to The Chaos Emporium website to check out their amazing range of innovative, fun and educational products. You can also join their communities on Facebook and Instagram.
