I admire stay-at-home-moms. They have one of the most important jobs in the world. William Wallace, in his famous poem, talks about the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. Do we give enough credit to stay-at-home moms?  Do we give enough credit to moms? T.D. Jake talks about the influence a mother has on her child. She understands her child’s language and sets the garden for the child to grow, flourish, and become empowered.

Charlotte Petit Noble is a business coach, blogger, and podcaster. She is on a mission to empower stay-at-home moms to start and grow a profitable online business in 90 days or less with ease, clarity, and confidence without sacrificing their uniqueness and family life in the process. I like a lot of things that Charlotte stands for in her personal and professional life. I ask her a little about herself and the qualities one needs to be an entrepreneur.

Charlotte, please explain when you say ‘I promote simple and intentional living, working with passion’?

Less is more. For a long time, I made things complicated in my life, but since I came to the U.S. ten years ago, I decided to explore another way of living: simple and more intentional. I stopped comparing myself to others and became more mindful of my thoughts and actions. I always believed in the power of my mind, and that the Universe has my back, but I really never uncovered the ins and outs until I came to the U.S. and had no other choice. My slate was clean, and no one knew me yet. I chose to make the most of it.

In a way, my subconscious prepared me to become a mom someday.

When you become a mom, you have no more time for fluff. Suddenly, time accelerates, and you realize that life is short. Too short to waste your time and energy on things that do not serve your body, mind, and soul. My way of overcoming the fear of missing out with my family and my business, toward my goals. Living with passion allows me to be present and avoid all distractions that a highly connected mom has during one day.

I set boundaries and I keep my promises to others but, most importantly to myself.

Parisian food is important to you. Talk to me about food in your family?

Believe it or not, food has never been a big concern of mine. But what’s true is that I make the time to choose and cook products that will make my family healthy, energized, and happy.

I cook a little bit pretty much every day; I like fresh products. COVID-19 makes it challenging to go grocery shopping every two days, but we found a way that works for us. On Friday, my husband goes to the store, and I cook during the weekend for the rest of the week. I batch so I can keep things under control during the weekdays when I have less time to do so.

I am not a typical French in the sense that I don’t eat cheese, no meat either, and no bread at all. My husband and son do, though, and I am happy to cook for them.

Was moving to LA challenging? What do you like about LA?

I love challenges. When we moved to LA 10 years ago, I did not speak English at all. It was enough of a challenge for me to accept to follow my husband.

I had to quit my corporate job, but that was easy as I felt like I could not grow anymore there.

My plan was to learn English and look for another corporate job that will satisfy my ambition. Nothing happened the way I planned, although I did learn English and fell in love with the language. I did not even think that I could love English that much.

The biggest challenge came right after I knew how to speak English: the job hunt! See I had a wife visa that did not allow me to be hired. Bummer! So I fight. I fight to be hired and find the company that will give me a visa. The Universe had other plans for me, and I followed them.

I became my own boss and started an online business. I freelanced a lot at first. Then I build several businesses. I even went back to school and became a hairstylist. I had big successes and huge failures. I am grateful for all of them because I would not be where I am, who I am, and with who I am without all these experiences.

I see the family is important to you. I want to know about your family and what are some of the important things to keep family together and engaged?

I have known my husband for the past 19 years. We met when I was 16. We have been married for the past 8 years and had our first baby last year in 2019. I said “first baby” because we want more.

Since we met, our love for each other has never stopped growing. It is exponential. We are good people in general, but together we are great. We are a great team that keeps expanding.

One of the things I think keeps us together is that we don’t talk about our work. We support each other when needed. We celebrate our successes. We respect each other decisions, but when we are together, we choose to leave the work hassle out of the house.

We decide to be together to be present for one another. Work is work and when we are together we make the most of it.

I am the one who brings everyone together at home. I am pretty darn proud of it. I am the number one support for our son during the weekdays, which allows me to watch him grow, and that’s the most awesome show I’ve ever watched.

Routines are a big part of our life. I believe I could not do it all without our rituals. It’s like dancing around our life. Routine makes it simpler and easier for us to enjoy each other presence.

I am a big believer in empowering women with their finances. Talk to me a little about this concept?

Absolutely agree with your statement. I believe most women have limiting beliefs and blocks when it comes to money. Depending on your education, there are still beliefs that hold women back from making the money they deserve.

Money and finances are a big part of how we, as women, feel about ourselves. It has a huge impact on our ability to feel confident and overcome the imposter syndrome that holds most of us back to accomplish more and earn more.

Money has become the number one way for most of us to feel recognized.

Owning a business involves work. What are some of the qualities one should have to be successful in online business?

Flexibility is my number one tip. Chaos will happen, no matter what. Controlling what we can’t control is a huge mistake. It drains our energy down, and it makes us unhappy. The only way out of it is to go with the flow and enjoy the process along the way. We all come from the same place, and we all go to the same destination.

Time-management is my number two, and even more when you are a mom. That’s one of my favorite topics. I believe that you don’t need to work crazy hours to build a successful business, and I want all moms to know it. Anything is possible with a little organization, dedication, and of course, passion.

Last but not least, focus. Celebrate others’ successes, but keep moving forward toward your own goals. It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Your uniqueness makes the road you take unique. Get inspired by others, but never compare your pace and successes to others. This will save you time, energy, and headaches.

How has marriage and motherhood changed your life?

Totally for the best. I am becoming my best version, thanks to my marriage and motherhood. I explore new awesome things in my life, thanks to my husband and my son.

Love has become exponential and life has been much more fun and interesting since marriage and motherhood happened.

My marriage and motherhood have made me complete. It is not just about me anymore. It’s about finding harmony, dancing under the rain, and loving being wet.

It is messy and chaotic sometimes but I love our mess and chaos. Overall that’s my best way to live my life.

I want to know how you define woman empowerment?

To me, woman empowerment is allowing every woman on Earth to live their life fully. It’s to allow them to be themselves and follow their wildest dreams knowing that anything is possible. Women are resourceful, and they need to know and embrace their superpower.

The post Empowering Stay-at-Home Moms appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Amarilla Nirmala is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Whizz of WeDO5, based in Vienna, Austria. WeDO5 believes in the power of women, especially women who want to make a difference. The focus is on female-led impact start-ups, that not only create businesses that make money but also push the status quo to be more ethical, transparent, and create equal opportunities. They support female entrepreneurs, who are driven to establish long-term business solutions.

WeDO5 contributes to the value chain in the start-up ecosystem through community building. They are the first yes for early-stage Startup-founders and offer support from idea generation to conception until growth and internationalization.

Amarilla has years of experience in executing and developing marketing strategies in the UK and Dubai. I am a big believer in start-ups. It is small businesses that are the growth engine of the economy and that create jobs. I talk to Amy about her life in Vienna and what she wants her legacy to be with female entrepreneurs.

Amy welcome, I want to know a little about you?

Hi, I am Amy; I am an Indonesian living in Austria. I have lived in 4 different countries in the past 12 years. I have 2 kids, and currently am a social entrepreneur. I have several businesses that focus on giving back to the community as a business model. I love cooking, gardening, paddling, and in my spare time, I love to play a tourist in my own city.

Talk to me about your social entrepreneurship and what WeDO5 is all about?

WeDO5 is the new name of KulturenReich (German words for Culturally Rich). We started as a social initiative focusing on immigrant women and Austrian women with migrant backgrounds. Austria is a rich country. Vienna has won the #1 city with the best living quality for several years in a row. However, for many foreigners, they find difficulties in starting their professional life again upon residing in the city. Most of them spend years to fully integrate, mostly because of language capability, and tight competition.

KulturenReich focused on empowering foreign-born women to be professionally successful and financially independent, through various activities such as workshops, focus groups,  and on the job training.

In 2020 we changed our name from KulturenReich to WeDO5, the number 5 stands for the fifth point of SDG by the UN, gender equality. We are now focusing on women impact entrepreneurs, those who aren’t only making money but also giving back to the community.

Help me understand mental health and your group Sahabat Jiwa?

Sahabat Jiwa (means soulmate in Indonesian), is a project that basically started in 2013 by my partner Anya. In 2019 I joined the organization as I believe I need also to give back to Indonesia, my home country. Mental health is a sensitive issue where people with problems receive stigma and often they also don’t realize they have issues. We provide literacy about it, and free consultation for young adult Indonesian people with mostly SES C- and below. The consultants are professionals with license, so even though free of charge but it is reliable. However, we do not accept life-threatening or emergency cases.

I want to know a little about the city you live in, the food and the culture?

I’ve been living (again) in Vienna since 2017. I came here in 2011, but moved to different countries in 2013, came back here in the middle of 2017, and found out the city has been changing quite fast!

Vienna is a classical city with beautiful landmarks and parks everywhere. The size isn’t big but very convenient as many things are easily reachable by public transportation.

What I like about the food here is that we have high standards, from eggs till meat, vegetables till desserts!

We try to buy our food from organic farms, and meat from local Austria as it provides certain standards and quality. We are quite concerned about where we get our food from. Things like how the animals slaughtered, how the chicken that produces eggs, what kind of banana we have, how sustainable the honey is, etc. And I must say that many people here are also thinking the same.

What does women empowerment mean to you and how is the modern Indonesian woman different from a few decades ago?

When people think about Indonesia, they think about the exotic paradise Bali, and it is a Muslim country. The fact is, Indonesia has the biggest Muslim population, but we aren’t a Muslim country. Since I was a child, I grew up reading some powerful and inspiring Indonesian women, such as Christina Martha Tiahahu from Moluccas province, or Cut Nyak Dien from Aceh province who bravely led an army to fight colonialism.

My mother, she was also a career woman, independent but also a loving mother. She worked in a British bank with high responsibility, oftentimes she came home late. But in the morning she was the first who wakes up, prepared stuff for my father and us, the kids. She didn’t have a me-time at all, because she spent her time caring for others.

This isn’t bad but she should have taken good care of her life too! So if we are talking about empowerment in Indonesia, it isn’t about women not getting an education or being forced to marry at a young age (although this is also still some cases in several provinces), but moreover about less judgment to women. Let them choose what they feel right. We still expect women to perfectly manage all aspects of their lives. People still expect women to do everything from cleaning the house and raising the child. Household responsibility needs to be shared. People need to be less judgmental to women who are still single.

Tell me a little about your role as a mentor in micro-entrepreneurs?

Currently, I am also active in Micro Mentor; I am giving free mentorship for micro-entrepreneurs in Indonesia.

My current mentee is an Elementary school teacher who produces brown sugar with low glycemic as an alternative for diabetes people.
I am giving guidance on how he should market his product, from marketing strategy to basic branding knowledge. We have 12 sessions, 1.5 hours per week.

You have a Masters in Design & Brand Management. Are you using it presently?

Yes! It has helped me helping female entrepreneurs market themselves.

How has social media changed your country and life in general?

My private Instagram is basically about things I find amusing. It can be a beautiful pic of Vienna, my plants, everything.

But currently, I am using Quora Indonesia to also share my knowledge about branding and marketing, giving advice and some simple steps about career and education. I believe social media is a powerful tool we can utilize for anything. Selling your products? Creating your professional persona? Building your company’s image? Or getting your 15-minute fame as Andy Warhol said last time.

It all depends on us; we just need to be careful about what kind of image we’d like to be remembered.

For me, my focus in life is about legacy. Surely I won’t win a Nobel prize, but I still can help some women who start their small business, I still can inspire young Indonesian people to decide their career path better, and also making good memories with my kids

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