Make way!! Single Mum on (full) speed.
05:02
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| Little South African Girls in France. ShweShwe Dress by Mathilde & Co. |
And just like that, in
the middle of a business course, inspiration struck. I was discussing my website,
my product, my blog post… started reading
my latest post… well let me tell you, Mathilde & Co is still alive – and I
think I am too!
I woke up to a
wonderful email from a client in Germany for whom my magical seamstress Petula
and I managed to put together the perfect birth gift for a special friend. Over
WhatsApp, her in our little Karoo town of Barrydale, me halfway across the
world in St Omer, Northern France. It takes trust, efficiency and knowing each other
pretty darn well to run a business virtually from either side of the globe. It’s
incredible how every time I’m about to pull the plug, one of my clients sends
me just the right words, just at the right time.
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| Mathilde & Co giraffe in Glamour SA |
Every night, I’m the disruptive
classmate that leaves class early to fetch the kids from school – and got told
off by the teacher like a primary school learner… this is the burden a single working
mother has to bear! After having arrived in Europe, I realised I needed a day
job to keep us going while studied how to bring Mathilde & Co to the world –
I ended up commuting an hour each way for a job that totally destroyed my
spirits, no matter how grateful I was for it. I couldn’t fetch the girls from
school anymore which broke my heart. One day, Mathilde told me “I see all the
other mothers waiting by the school gates and every day I secretly hope I’ll
see your face there too…” I sat down and thought up a plan B (X? Y??) What skills
do I have that would allow me to work from home, earn money, take care of my
beautiful girls AND work on my business plan? Languages. I’m a native speaker
in both French and English – and I’ve been networking like a queen since my
arrival in Europe to get people to know I was here, I was ME, and with a lot to
offer. Working HARD on getting them to remember my name.
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| Freelancing in France |
Hey, another high five!
I did it though. I’m at the school gates each night, albeit a little dishevelled
and out of breath.
I have enough translation
work for two people: that’s what happens when you work overtime, meet deadlines
and grow your network. I’m here for the girls, do homework
with them, we’ve all started dancing lessons again.
So now. I’m focusing
on the cherry on the top: to open up my new shop, distribute my fabrics all
over the world and bring Mathilde & Co back to life in a bigger, brighter way. Yeah,
because I’m a sucker for challenge. And I seem to need 3 jobs to keep me out
of mischief!!
Being a single mum is
no piece of cake. And if it were, Marie Antoinette, there’d be no time to eat it anyway. But with superhero powers, Duracell batteries and hard work, you somehow fit it all in.
Except rest - that’s just a luxury for lazy people.
Except rest - that’s just a luxury for lazy people.
I feed on stories by
women, mothers and entrepreneurs, how they organise their lives, the hurdles
they are faced with, the funny bits, how they juggle being a woman (that bit especially
I like to hear about!!!), a mother and a running a business. I plan to one day
publish these stories and set up some motivational material and events to
encourage all of us to just dive in and live your passion, no excuses accepted.
So please share your
story with us. The REAL story.
But right now, it’s Friday
night. And Friday night is pizza night with my girls (homemade from scratch
with fresh veg and farm cheese I’ll have you know.)
(just kidding - store
bought and they eat while I sit at my laptop. Enough with the perfect mom
lies...).
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| Making time for my girls at any cost |
And that, is simply
not negotiable.
Au revoir for now!
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1 commentaires
Superbe histoire, super mama, super femme. Bravo et et bravo. Ingrid du cap
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