The last business running mama I am featuring as part of the 'business and motherhood' feature from the Niche Market is Jasmine of Adore U. When I approached Jasmine, she was very welcoming and made me feel completely at ease to talk with her about parenting and her business. She was surprisingly very down-to-earth and humble considering her own success, talking with confidence about how her business started and how she got to where she is now. When Jasmine spoke of her little boy, her eyes gleamed with pride and love. It seems as though he was the inspiration for her to become the talented creative woman she is today.
This is Jasmines story and the story of Adore U, starting out small and blossoming into a well known, inspiring Tasmanian business. Like the Facebook page to see beautiful market displays and jewellery by Adore U.
...enjoy...
"When I held our son Ollie for the first time, I knew that this was going to be the most rewarding journey of our life, we had this precious little being, our life was complete, I never imagined that I would have time for anything other than being a mum, but our little man loved to sleep and I love to keep busy. If you ask my friends and family they will tell you I always have a project on the go, in the past these projects involve me spending money, I needed something I could do while Ollie was sleeping and so my search for the right niche began.
The intention was never to start a business, just have a hobby that would keep me busy and give me a creative outlet. The first thing I made was a stuffed toy – an elephant (not so cute, not so successful), then I made some bibs which were really lovely but I didn’t like sewing much, then over lunch a girlfriend suggested buttons, so while Ollie was sleeping I started making button magnets, then button hair ties and after lots of nagging from friends I made earrings – these seemed to really take off.
Our Adore U facebook page grew rapidly and before I knew it I had a hobby/business. My husband has been an amazing support, he encourages and supports me, even though I have taken over two rooms in our house. He might regret it now but he introduced me to resin, which I was not really sure about and a little reluctant to try but from the first thing I made using it, I quickly fell in love and have now extended our range to include a large range of beautiful resin. Until February this year, I was still on maternity leave from a leadership role in Banking, the thought of giving up my new life to return to a corporate position was not enticing and although the financial security my previous position gave me, it was a question of love or money and with my husbands full support I chose LOVE. I no longer have the safety net but I have never felt more confident that Adore U is going to be a secure and successful business.
Work-life balance is always a challenge, a challenge that you never really know if you have mastered. One of the biggest challenges I have faced is my allergy to Resin, it wasn’t until I was completely in love with the product that I started having itchy, spotty breakouts, it took a long time for the doctors to work out what was causing it. I now have the right protective gear to pour safely and are managing to avoid breakouts, my postman Richard has seen me all suited up… “I won’t ask he said has he ran down the driveway”. I really needed that package otherwise I wouldn’t have answered the door.
There are so many rewarding aspects of Adore U and the most rewarding is the life it allows me to lead. Having Adore U gives me the opportunity to stay at home and take care of my two number one priorities as mum and wife. I haven’t missed Ollie’s First steps or any of his developmental milestones which has always been so important to me, I feel so lucky to have the freedom to choose my hours and be my own boss.
I don’t know that there is a key for creating a balance between work and family, every day is different, if there is a key it’s being flexible and asking for help when you need it. I have learnt not to set myself unrealistic goals, I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to have order out the day they came through or the day after, but this is not achievable and certainly causes a lot of unnecessary stress and pressure. Everything is handmade and perfection takes time and I believe customers understand and appreciate this.
Every Adore U items is a representation of our brand so as a perfectionist, I find it hard to allow others to assist, I have had a couple of close friends help out recently, as hard as it was to have someone else assisting it has freed me up so that weekends can be spent with the family and allows me to concentrate on new designs and perfecting our resin range. I now have two people who I can reliably count on which is a huge relief given the busy times ahead.
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I enjoyed chatting with Jasmine ever so much, she maintained a positive outlook and inspiring words the whole conversation and exudes generosity. Her commitment to Adore U is just an extension of her motivation and passion for parenting, life and creating. Thank you so much for sharing Jasmine!
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