Rae Yun of @theramengirl: How you can run a business and be a hands-on mum too
PUBLISHED ONDecember 06, 2019 4:31 AM
You may know Rae Yun as @theramengirl on Instagram and are perhaps her customer too. She is the mumpreneur behind lifestyle online store Oh Happy Fry.
When her first child turned seven months old, Rae decided to quit her full-time job as an assistant marketing manager to run online business from home.
Oh Happy Fry, which stocks children's clothing, accessories, toys and home decor from around the world, is also an outlet for Rae to push her creative boundaries.
"It takes strength and courage to walk away from a good career with attractive benefits, especially in the initial months when you're starting out to build a brand. But an online business allowed me the flexibility to work from home and care for my child," says Rae, who used to do marketing for brands such as Tangs, Goods of Desire and Dr Martens.
The huge risk she took paid off. From just managing one to two online orders from home a day, she now has an office and sends out hundreds of packages each month with the help of two part-time staff.
Despite the challenges of being a mumpreneur, Rae still insists on being a hands-on mum to her two kids, Jun Jie and Nicco, and cooks for them every day.
What are her secrets? She shares more in this interview.
WHAT'S A TYPICAL WEEKDAY LIKE FOR YOU?
My weekdays start at 8am where I'd have breakfast with the kids, reply emails and work from home.
What I've realised is that the secret to a productive day is to get up before any of them need my attention so I can prepare for them and the coming day.
Sometimes I'd go to the market to stock up on fresh ingredients. I'd have lunch at home with my younger daughter before I go to office or attend meetings and events.
I try to schedule all my appointments in the afternoon and I don't attend evening events.
I'd finish work by 5pm so I can make it in time to pick my son from school and prepare dinner. After my kids go to bed at 9pm, it's some me-time (think K-drama, Instagram browsing, YouTube etc). I usually work till 2am.
AND HOW ABOUT YOUR WEEKENDS?
We are lucky we get invited to events and openings but the kids are very happy to stay at home all day actually.
Sometimes, we'd do baking, play dough or drawing. They'd also play with their Lego, construction blocks, Wobbelboard for hours.
WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS TO KEEPING YOUR HOME LOOKING CLEAN AND TIDY?
I try to stick to white and natural colours; it's always white, wood, rattan and bamboo.
HOW DO YOU TEACH YOUR KIDS NOT TO OVERLY RELY ON YOUR HELPER?
My (social media) followers tend to think that we don't have a helper, but we do! I'm not a superwoman. I have a business and I have two active kids.
But we only decide to get a helper because both my parents and in-laws live in Malaysia. We need someone to be around to help care for the kids if we are tied up at work, or help out when the kids are sick.
I feel that even if life is busy, we as mums need to at least show the kids how we care for our things and be involved in household.
Also when it comes to picking up toys and tidying up, I always make sure they do it together with my helper. Kakak (Indonesian for older sister) is only here to help us, she's not here to do everything for you.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU COOK FOR YOUR FAMILY?
Every day, except sometimes we eat out on Sunday. I like to pick up recipes from Mogoo channel on Youtube. Pinterest is always a good source too.
Our current helper can only cook very few and simple dishes so she mostly helps out with the preparation of ingredients. I would still need to do most of the cooking.
ARE YOUR KIDS PICKY OR ADVENTUROUS EATERS?
Sometimes they can be very fussy. They'd tell me they want noodles and if I cook noodles the next day, they'd ask for rice!
I'm sorry but there are only two options: eat or go hungry. And absolutely no iPad, books or toys during meal times.
YOU'RE INTO BAKING WITH YOUR KIDS THESE DAYS. CAN YOU SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE RECIPES?
Sugar cookies. All you need is a good basic cookies recipe and you can play with different cookie cutters for different occasion.
HOW DO YOU FIND TIME TO BUY THE INGREDIENTS, PREPARE AND COOK/BAKE?
We live in a very convenient neighbourhood with 24/7 supermarkets. Plus, online grocery shopping is so easy these days!
I feel that it's easier to whip out easy meal at home than to head out with the kids.
HOW DO YOU FIND TIME FOR YOURSELF, AND COUPLE-TIME WITH YOUR HUSBAND?
As a homebody, our favourite place to hang out is - at home! Haha.
This article was first published in Young Parents.