In 2014, women made up just over a third of all Australian business operators (34%).
(A Profile of AUSTRALIAN WOMEN in BUSINESS Report prepared by the AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS for the OFFICE FOR WOMEN, 2015)
Cara Nitsos from Cara Jane talks about what it’s like running a business with your husband and having a family.
Our journey began in 1996 where we decided to start our own business initially selling home wares and then moving into children’s dress ups. I work closely with my husband, we share roles in the business. We have learnt that we each need to have separate, defined areas that we are responsible and accountable for.
This has worked well as it pushes to exceed our own (and each others) expectations. Working together can be difficult sometimes, I have to remind myself that a colleague might not necessarily act the way a husband or wife would and vice versa. For example, when I do something that accelerates the business most people get to go home and share this with their partner and get a pat on the back or a congratulations, but we see each other working on it day in and day out and we can forget to celebrate the wins. This can lead to feeling unappreciated and that feeling can be hard to leave at the office. However, we have learnt that having strategies in place to discuss these wins is paramount to our business having longevity. Various systems allow us to shift the focus back onto the business and the goals we are working towards. Learning how to agree to disagree within a business partnership is different than in a personal one. In our personal relationship we are better at doing it because we want a peaceful home life, for each other and our children, in business, as both of us are passionate about what we think the best thing to do is and sometimes we can caught up in this, once again we implement the systems we have in place and go back to our business goals to see how best to solve it.
Our path has had lots of turns and obstacles, when we started our business 22 years ago we had a niche product that was in demand, throughout our journey we have seen the major retailers bring in their own rivalling ranges and this has had a huge effect on our business. During our experiences there have been changes in retail where it has gone from physical stores to online. Social media is now a valuable tool across most industries and this is something we have had to learn to keep up with the changing scene in our industry.
We decided to move our family and therefore our business from Sydney to the Central Coast to be able to offer our children and us a better work/life balance. This required us to move our warehouse and business, in doing so we were able to get by with less staff, which for us has made it easier. Staffing is something we have struggled with, partly I believe due to the dynamics between my husband and I , sometimes staff would be privy to disagreements we were having and while we were able to move on and let it go (as you do after 20 years together) staff would find it harder to do this.
I am a mother of 3 children with the youngest being 2, so it is fair to say the last two years have been a challenge. It is tough to keep focused on customers and business when you are exhausted and running on empty. The focus has lapsed over this period, and I see it in the figures. It was so hard trying to pack orders, invoice, restock shelves, product design, freight logistics etc with a new-born. I’m so glad I am over that period of my life, having said that it is those manic moments where I performed at my most passionate and best .The pressure was intense and after 2 years of doing this, he and I were ready for day care. I still take him in to the office/warehouse sometimes and end up cleaning up water mess, playing games trying to keep him entertained and sometimes I feel like my time there is wasted but I love having him with me, and as I did this with my older children and can the positive results in them by doing this, I know it is worth it in the long run. I guess this is the key to dealing with the pressure in the moment, knowing that it pays off in the future.
“The woman business owner is at the centre of a network of various relationships that include family, community, and business. In other words, when a woman starts or acquires her own business, in her view she is not creating/acquiring a separate economic entity, rather she is integrating a new system of business-related relationships into her life. Australia’s women business operators are more likely to be married and more likely to have children (and dependent children) than any other employed people, except for women who work without pay in a family business. Being in a family may be seen as providing support to women business operators. Studies have found that family support and encouragement helped women cope with the stresses of running a business, and were positively related to women’s entrepreneurial success.”
A Profile of AUSTRALIAN WOMEN in BUSINESS Report prepared by the AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS for the OFFICE FOR WOMEN, 2015
I enjoy seeing my children involved in the business, they have confidence and are assertive. Both of our older children have been involved in all facets of the business, helping pack orders, being models for our catalogue, helping out at trade fairs or even just doing their homework in the office while I am working. I feel this exposu
re has opened their minds and eyes to what mum and dad are doing, how we keep them fed and a roof over their heads, building in them a work ethic and an appreciation for material goods. It has also made them realise they can achieve anything they want, if they put their mind and energy into it.
“…becoming an entrepreneur appears to provide a solution to the problem of maintaining a balance between work and family responsibilities. It not only allows women to have careers that are vital and challenging, but it also gives them the power to decide when, how, and where their work gets done. Note that it is not a decrease in hours worked that women seek, but rather the flexibility to accomplish goals on their own terms.”
A Profile of AUSTRALIAN WOMEN in BUSINESS Report prepared by the AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS for the OFFICE FOR WOMEN, 2015
I have learnt is that you need to find the best balance for your business, your relationship and your family for it to all work. Sometimes it means one thing will get more time or energy than the other, but they are all entwined. A typical day for me now is that I have built my business where I can leave my office every day at 3pm so I can be home for my children, I can cook, clean and be the mum I want to be. This keeps me feeling fulfilled. The pressure is always present from when I wake to when I finally fall asleep (for those crazy 3 hrs I manage to get). I have really loved running my own business and I feel as a family we respect challenging work. It is nice working with my husband, together building something for our children. I also appreciate having flexibility and control in my life.
We are very positive for the future of our business and have learnt to enjoy every day.
