"MOTHERHOOD makes me want to be a better person and better example to my child," said Cassandra Poon, who aims to make her daughter see the importance of hard work in achieving success.
The 42-year-old associate producer at top gaming development studio, Ubisoft, said just like other working mothers, one of the most challenging aspects is "having to split time and energy between colleagues, family, social life and ourselves".
As a member of the Ubisoft Singapore production family, Poon's job is similar to a project timekeeper, and "we create and maintain the conducive environment and structure to support our creativity to be at their best".
In the early days, according to Poon, the lack of female representation in the gaming industry contributed to the lack of consciousness and sensitivity to female employees' physical and social needs. Mothers, especially, felt this acutely.
"Today, the industry has matured and Ubisoft is making a strong commitment to ensure diversity and inclusivity in its workforce," she said.
Poon said besides having more than 35 nationalities in her company, there is a continually increasing focus on ensuring gender equality.
"We have a nursing room, and maternity leave benefits have been extended to new parents, besides an adoption leave for more than 80 parents," she said.
Poon's daily routine includes waking up as early as 5.30am to reply to messages as she works with studios across the world, with 12 to 13-hour time differences.
"Motherhood has certainly made me a better manager. It has made me see the world in a different light, besides learning to be more patient and understanding of colleagues. At the same time, it has also helped me set better boundaries, and I'm more firm," she added.
BY MOTHER FOR MOTHERS
Major (R) Shera Ann Bosco pioneered an organisation called Caring Moms in 2016 with the main goal of helping women, especially mothers, to be financially independent through entrepreneurship.
The efforts of her dedicated team have resulted in the steady economic empowerment of thousands of women in the country.
Caring Moms has since grown into an entrepreneurial development platform that connects women to a network of individuals and corporations, providing them access to a wide range of opportunities, skills and guidance, as well as empowering them to be independent.
"The entrepreneurial development platform was built from ground up to economically empower mothers and women alike. It strives to provide a safe environment for mothers to transact, learn, interact and gain support to kickstart and grow their businesses," she said.
In the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 45-year-old mother to a 13-year-old boy has been a strong advocate of women empowerment.
"I have met many strong women who seemed to have lost their unique individual identity once they became a mother. Being a mother is a blessing, but years of putting others first, combined with a lack of self-care, has become so common and it is something that we must acknowledge in this day and time," said Shera Ann.
Mothers should start caring and thinking about themselves, like pursuing their hobbies, passion and interests, she said.
GAMING MUM
For 38-year-old Yana Samsudin — an actress, streamer, host, gaming panellist, businesswoman and Galaxy Racer content creator — technology has helped her become productive.
"I used to have a manual calendar to plan my schedule, but now, all of that is in my phone. Feeding schedules were really important when I had my first child, so I would end up setting phone alarms every few hours to remind myself to feed my baby. I still use these alarms today to make sure that my kids are fed on time," said Yana.
In her line of work, there is no such thing as a public holiday and weekends, as she does not have fixed working hours. In a way, this has trained her to be a mum who is always prepared for various circumstances.
As an artiste, Yana needs to keep in touch with her make-up artists and stylists to ensure that she has the right outfit and appearances.
"It's actually quite tough, but at the same time, I enjoy it because as someone of influence or as a celebrity, I can have a positive impact on my fans and also the gaming community.
"I always hear other parents voicing concern about their children playing games, and there's always a negative connotation to it.
"But as a mother, when I got involved in the gaming community, I'm able to help spread the message that gaming can have a positive impact on our youth," she said.
During the pandemic lockdown, Yana found out that she was pregnant, which affected her work as she could not secure film roles.
But she made use of her time to start streaming her gaming sessions to her followers.
"Fortunately, I had already started streaming games for about six months, so I continued with that. However, I streamed at night when I felt more comfortable because I had morning sickness during the early stages of my pregnancy," she said.
Besides streaming games, Yana also fulfilled her responsibilities as a full-time mother and social media influencer, producing online content together with her husband.
THRIVING WITH E-COMMERCE
Akmar Kassim, 37, started her online business in 2015, and the first product she sold was a China-made "Turtle Night Sky Constellations" musical lamp, which she had gotten for her son, Yusof.
Starting with Facebook, Instagram and Blogspot, Akmar said she had to promote her online store and products on a daily basis, and kept herself active on social media to get the word out and gain the trust of customers. During the pandemic, she decided to port her online store to e-commerce platforms.
"I ventured into an e-commerce platform during the early stage of the pandemic, as customers began shifting to online shopping. And I'm glad that I branched out and created my own store on Lazada to reach out to a wider consumer base," she said.
Launched last year, the "Start It Up, Laz It Up" is a three-step registration platform for aspiring entrepreneurs, social media sellers and brick-and-mortar business owners looking to launch an online business. The registration can be completed in less than a minute at zero cost.
Initially, Akmar reached out to the community on Facebook asking how to set up a store on Lazada.
"The Lazada customer service team was very helpful in teaching me the requirements and growth potential of being a seller on the platform. They guided me until I was confident in running my online store called Bambamtots," she said.
Although it is quite challenging to balance between managing an online store and taking care of her family, Akmar said that her family has been her biggest supporter.
"They understand that whenever I'm online, it's work mode for mummy," she added.
HEALTH FOR ALL
"Seven years ago, I gave birth to my third child. The cost of raising a big family was very high and it was stressing me out. I tried to find a way to supplement my family income and cover the high cost of living.
"Fortunately, as I was browsing online in search of answers and inspiration, the idea came to me. I should start selling on Lazada! So, that's how it started," said Kong Wai Theng, 44, who runs Big Care Mart, a healthcare e-store.
Being an online seller for the past seven years has drawn many people to Kong to get insights into how she juggled work and family life.
Kong is the winner of the Lazada Woman of the Year Award 2022, and she attributed her success to having a passion and ambition, along with a supportive family.
She said some people mistakenly think that women may not be as good as men in business, but in reality, women are amazing at multitasking. "We can juggle both — taking care of our family and building a business empire at the same time. It is not easy, but we can certainly do it!"
INSPIRED BY HER DAD
Back in 2010, at age 23 and prior to setting up an online store, Tharishini Govin sold her products on social media.
That was until what she believed was a change in the search algorithm of social media platforms, which made her reconsider a different business approach.
"I then expanded my business on Lazada in 2017, selling specialty ethnic fashion and Indo-Western female clothing. E-commerce was the ideal transition in my journey as a businesswoman, as it was easy to set up my online store, and it allowed me to reach out to new customers across the country," said Tharishini, who started with pre-order Indian traditional apparel and jewellery.
"My passion for business developed from a young age as my family also ran a business. I always accompanied my parents to trade exhibitions and helped out at the family shop.
"My father was a philatelic and numismatic specialist, and he travelled to many countries for business. His experience and determination to succeed has inspired and motivated me."
The mother of three runs her online business single-handedly. Hence, having her online store on a seller-friendly platform like Lazada with hands-on support has given her greater flexibility as a businesswoman and mother.