I had been thinking to do this for long time & now I’m so excited to launch this interview series for all you lovely readers of my blog. This series – “Women Who Inspire” will feature interviews of some lovely ladies that I know. I love what they do & I admire them a lot. I thought of passing some inspiration to all of you too! This interview series will give you a little sneak peek into the lives of these women.
Today, let us hear from Surekha Jadhav (SJ) who owns an online store My Dream Shop.
SJ is a homeschooling mother of 2 enthusiastic kids, 12 years old daughter and 3 years old son. She has completed a degree in computer science. She holds special interest in early childhood development and has experience in working with children of different age groups. She left her career for children and recently she has started a small venture of manufacturing wooden open ended and educational toys.
Click here to go to her Online Shop & Facebook group
Her open-ended wooden toys are also available in the shop section of this blog HERE.
K : Think back to five years ago. Did you envision this is where you would be?
SJ : No, I didn’t think of doing exactly what I am doing right now but yes I wished to do something in early childhood development.
K : What ignited the spark in you to start a new business venture? How did the idea for your business come about?
SJ : I always eyed on couple of toys for my children. But because of their unavailability in India or the cost factor, I was unable buy them. Considering the benefits of toys, I thought of giving it a try to make some toys myself and it worked out pretty well! Further, I thought of selling them so that parents in India can buy them at affordable prices. This gave birth to My Dream Shop – handcrafted wooden toys.
K : Describe/outline your typical day.
SJ : This question is really hard to answer. I start my day before my family members wake up so that I can get some me-time. I do some exercises / yoga and then start with routine chores. But yes, before I start working on my business, in most cases, I try to spend time with my children. We are a homeschooling family and I try to involve my children in work, whether its business or house work. They are keen learners and support me to best of their abilities.
K : How many hours do you work a day on average?
SJ : Now this is yet another difficult question to answer. As I am momprenuer, I work at even and odd times. Some days I work more, and on some days, I don’t work at all. I just spend time with my family. It really depends of business work load. But I really wish I could have more than 24 hours.
K : Tell me about a recent setback and how you recovered?
SJ : Till now I haven’t gone through any major setback. Everything is working out smoothly. I am trying to move ahead slowly with minimal risk. But if in future I get any setback, I will consider it as a learning opportunity and change my directions accordingly.
You can check out all the interviews in this “Women Who Inspire” series HERE.
K : What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
SJ : Satisfying moments have become a part of life now. Every other day, a toy reaches to a new home and feedback of those parents makes all our efforts worth it! On personal note, my family loves to see me as a working woman. We have small celebrations for every small victory. So these small and sweet moments satisfy me a lot and give me immense energy to work harder.
K : Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
SJ : No business or company as such but I admire the work of a software engineer. I love doing programming whenever I get some me-time.
K : Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?
SJ : Actually I haven’t thought about it. I believe that I have to work honestly and creatively. I trust my hard work which will definitely pay off.
K : If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
SJ : You have penned down all the questions appropriately. I don’t think there is anything left!
Thank you so much Surekha for taking out time for this chit chat! It was a wonderful talk session and I wish you good health, peace, happiness & success in your business venture!
You can check out all the interviews in this “Women Who Inspire” series HERE.
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Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!