Stepping Into the Business World after a Long Hiatus!

The business spectrum had always been an area of fascination for me, especially since my father was a businessman.

I loved the freedom of expression a business owner has. He can express his ideas, and even if they are bizarre and highly unfeasible, no one will dare laugh at him; however, they might tell him nicely to try a different approach.

Since I was all about the strangest of the idea, establishing my own company was a no brainer for me.

Being a Business Woman

I had a degree in computer science. I could have become a software engineer, but I thought of creating my brand.

I developed an application that would be a personal stylist for the woman of today, and later I even added a version for men. It was an online retail store, which was significantly different from the average internet sellers.

In my app, the user would not type the clothes category she wants to buy, but the occasion she wants to buy it far.

For instance,

If you are shopping for a wedding that you have to attend as a guest, all you had to type was a wedding reception, and your screen would be inundated with all the different options of style you can choose from.

You could select a style that appeals to you, and then you would have gotten more versions of the same on your screen.

Now, for the best part, the app would not just provide you with a dress suitable for the occasion, it would also tell what to pair it with, from shoes to jewellery and even the makeup and hairdo as well.

My business was a success. I had started it by acquiring loans for people on benefits, and I was able to repay that loan within the first six months.

Taking the Step Back

A year after I had established my business, I became pregnant. I was extremely happy for the privilege of being a mother and an entrepreneur.

I had given my very best to my business until the day I delivered my baby. But after that, I felt my time was always divided.

I could neither give my 100% attention to my baby, who needed me more than anything else in the world,

Nor was I very focused on my business.

When I forgot all about a meeting with a potential investor, I knew I had to take step back from my company.

I was not able to juggle between caring for my child and managing my business. I also knew that if I continued at the pace I was continuing at, I would make the two most important aspects of my life suffer.

I could not give my baby to the care of a nanny, I just could not. So, I let my company go.

I did not sell it, this was not something I had the power of doing. I just became a sleeping partner, who would have zero roles in the day to day functioning of the company.

I hired my replacement. He was competent, he was experienced and his vision matched mine towards the company and its future.

Trust me, letting go of something you built from scratch is not easy at all. Those initial few weeks, I felt like I was in a funk, getting out of which became almost impossible.

But I did get out of it, and my husband and my baby are the reasons why.

I commend those women who can get back to work after having a child because, for me, that was not possible.

Re-emerging in the Spectrum

Until my baby turned 1, I kept a close eye on my business and its daily operations, at least as close an eye as I could have given my schedule.

My company was doing better than it was under my guidance, and the numbers were looking extremely promising. It was then that I thought to myself that I had taken the right call. Both my app and my baby are benefiting from my decision.

So, to say that I regretted it, would be unfair and only as a lie.

However, it was almost was two years later that I received a call from my replacement saying that he would have to leave the country because his wife has gotten a great opportunity in the USA and he wants to be there for her like she was there for him.

That call stunned me too much to think of a response, and he took my silence as an agreement.

So, after three years of being away from my business, I was forced to step back in, and I cannot say that I was opposed to the coercion.

My baby was three by now, and she did not need me as much. My husband offered to cut back on his hours at work to help raise her, and we were all set to reopen a chapter in my life that I had closed three years ago.

Getting Used to the Change

Day one back at the office was nothing short of a disaster. My company had changed so much in the time I was away. I am by no means complaining; all the changes have been signed so far.

It is just that I would need some time to get acclimated with the changes.

Every day I was learning something new, something that I never thought of myself, and something that awed me to the point of being speechless.

We had even started developing our clothes and accessories to add to the app, and with the latest update, we had become international.

We had acquired a manufacturing unit in India to serve the needs of our customers in Asia, and they were many.

This year, we were all set to complete the target of 1 million orders successfully, and I had every intention of celebrating that milestone with a grand party.

Even after being back for more than a couple of months, I still feel out of place sometimes. And to believe that this company was my idea, I still have to pinch myself sometimes.

I am glad that I took the break when I did because my company benefited tremendously from the fresh approach of a new set of eyes. The fact that I was able to raise my daughter the way I wanted to was more than just a benefit for me. It was a blessing that I would be forever grateful for.