WHAT DOES IWD MEAN TO YOU?
International Women's Day to me is a chance to celebrate every woman's personal journey. I think of it as a day where we all cheer for the incredible, diverse paths we're all walking. Our whole operation at Billini is a living, breathing shout-out to female empowerment and equality. Every design, every step forward is a testament to women and what we can achieve. It's about more than just acknowledging the power and potential of women, it's about actively living it every single day. Our journey at Billini isn't just about creating fabulous shoes, its about acknowleding the women walking in them and empowering them to achieve whatever goals they have set.
HOW DOES SUPPORTING WOMEN WITH TRAINING AND JOBS IMPACT THE COMMUNITY YOU LIVE AND WORK IN?
Every woman has a right to shine. When we support them with training and development, its like watching them shine brighter and brighter, one by one. This is such an impactful and porud thing to watch, especially those team members who have been on a long journey with us. At Billini, witnessing this ripple effect of empowerment is nothing short of inspiring and keeps me going every day as I work alongside so many talented, passionate and truly amazing women!
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR WORK-LIFE AS A FULL-TIME BUSINESS FOUNDER & MOTHER OF 3?
Balancing being a mother of three and a fast paced, growing business is a daily challenge. Yes, I manage (sometimes barely) by being super organised, planning out my days and weeks in advance, as well as utilising my amazing support network, including my mother who pretty much dedicates every spare minute she has to our family. I am forever using calendars, reminders, charts, task management tools, routines, and everything else in between to keep running this tight ship! Ultimately, my children come first no matter what, even though I set very high expectations of myself and the guilt is real, I try not to be too hard on myself.
WHAT ARE SOME HIGHS AND LOWS YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN STARTING AND RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS?
SO many! Some of the lows would be the jump start into motherhood and how I dealth with that whilst building a young business. Further to this, the constant struggle of being a mother of three, the demands of a business of this size and the impact this can have on work-life balance, the constant strive for perfection and expectations I have on myself. The business has been through highs and lows including COVID, bad seasons, quality issues, growth pains and more which have been some of the more challenging times we've had to get through, but with the support of our team and my support network, we have come out of these times bigger and stronger than before.
Highs include watching something grow froma small operation running out of my garage into the size it is today, as well as the awareness of the brand which I am extremely proud of also. Watching my fellow team members grow and achieve the results we have had over these years has also been extremely rewarding. The opening of our 30th store was a recent pinch me moment that I am extremely proud of!