6 inspiring local mum-preneurs in celebration of Mother's Day

Being an entrepreneur and a parent comes with its own set of challenges, and juggling both is no easy feat. 

But there are some out there who prove that it isn't impossible to do so.

In the spirit of Mother's Day, we are spotlighting mothers who have become successful business women. 

Ivy Zerbal Lim of FiftyFreed Beauty Bar

Ivy Zerbal Lim is the founder of FiftyFreed Beauty Bar, a popular local beauty salon chain that has several outlets across Singapore. 

She has a daughter from her first marriage as well as two more children from her second. 

When she was a single mother, she struggled to make ends meet and worked several jobs to support her daughter. 

Later, she took a leap of faith and opened a nail salon with her friend, which was a huge success.  

After the business expanded several times, her friend ended the partnership and they went their separate ways, encouraging Ivy to set up FiftyFreed Beauty Bar. 

Today, the salon has a total of five outlets at Eng Kong Terrace, Cuppage Plaza, Choa Chu Kang, Aljunied and Woods Square, and Ivy manages more than 50 beauticians and manicurists.

Over the years, she has also expanded the range of services offered and the menu now has nearly 100 options. 

Kate Low of Perk by Kate

Kate Low is the mother of two children — a daughter and son — and when she isn't spending time with her family, she is the girl boss at her homegrown lingerie label, Perk by Kate. 

The brand was first launched in 2012 as a multi-label retailer of cult labels like Eberjey and For Love & Lemons, which offered pretty lingerie and sizings suitable for Asian women.

Several years later, Kate started designing her own styles. 

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2020, she gave birth to her first child and had to juggle the stress of running a business and the demands of being a new mum.

Despite the amount of pressure she was under, she went ahead with new product development plans. 

And all that has paid off as today, Perk by Kate is one of the more popular local lingerie labels in Singapore. 

Robyn Liang of Le Petit Society

As a mother of three children, Robyn Liang is familiar with children's clothing trends, so it made sense for her to co-found Le Petit Society with her husband Dylan Ong. 

Prior to establishing the business, Robyn worked at Goldman Sachs & Deutsche Bank as a trader.

She and Dylan formed Le Petit Society in 2012 and since then, they've expanded to three physical stores in Singapore. 

Nursyazanna Syaira of Fluff Bakery

Growing up, Nursyazanna Syaira loved baking and the self-taught baker eventually co-founded Fluff Bakery in 2012 with her husband Ashraf Alami. 

They started out as a home-based business selling cupcakes before upgrading to a physical store in 2013. 

Now, apart from cupcakes, they've expanded their menu to sell other sweet treats like cookies, donuts, galettes and cheesecakes. 

Though running a bakery is time-consuming, Syaira makes time for her son Noah, and sometimes he would even help her in the kitchen. 

Rebecca Ting of Beyond the Vines

Rebbeca Ting co-founded local multidisciplinary design brand Beyond the Vines with her husband Daniel Chew in 2015. 

They are the parents of two boys. 

Beyond the Vines previously was a womanswear label and the couple worked on rebranding it at the end of 2019. 

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, they shifted the focus to accommodate the demands of their customers during the circuit breaker when everyone was working from home. 

Over the years, they've continued to expand their offerings and now even have a menswear collection. 

They've even expanded overseas and have outlets in Thailand and the Philippines.  

Despite the success of the business, Rebecca still makes an effort to spend quality time with her little ones. 

Jenny Lie of Ten Butter Fingers

Jenny Lie, who calls herself an "accidental baker", is the founder of popular cake shop Ten Butter Fingers. 

She's also the mother two children. 

Ten Butter Fingers started as Jenny's passion project in 2015 when she had a mid-career switch.

She had moved from a full-time corporate job to a flexible work life so she could spend more time with her kids. 

With more free time on her hands, she would bake with her daughter and eventually, they turned their newfound passion into a small home-based business.

melissateo@asiaone.com

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