Women are the provenance of life. Without them, humanity would not exist. But in such a world, whether deliberately or unintentionally we harass her. The world puts her in situations of humiliation, accusation and oppression.
In a globalized society, education and workforce are all becoming feminized. Nayanathara Wanniarachchi; a loving young woman, wife, mother and as a whole, an independent woman and entrepreneur, spoke to the Youth Observer sharing her thoughts on standing out as a resilient woman.
Q: Tell us all about yourself?
A: I am a graduate of the University of Kelaniya. At present, I am reading for my Masters at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and an educator by profession. I work in a reputed international school in Sri Lanka and I also have my own institution which is an examination providing centre for the British Council.
Apart from those, I own a small business in customizing baby room decorations. Recently I was crowned with one of the most prestigious titles – the title of the “mother”. I am the mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old baby girl.
Q: How do you handle work-life balance?
A: This is very important to me; I don’t mind working a lot but when I am home, I am intentional about being present. I have found just being present where I am has helped me balance these two. It is easy to let your workday run into your family time, but when you are at home, you have to be home. Especially I commit a lot of time to my baby girl while I am at home, but that doesn’t mean I miss the responsibilities of my work and business life. Having a good plan and foresight, along with the ability to manage time has helped me a lot to handle my work-life balance.
Q: Do you worry that as a strong female entrepreneur, you’ll intimidate men?
A: Oh, I don’t think so. If we spent all of our time worrying about men nothing would ever get done!
Q: Have you ever been discriminated against?
A: Most likely, yes. And that is not only from men, but from women as well.
Q: Don’t you feel intimidated being the only woman in your business?
A: I asked this question myself when I first thought of launching babyroomdecors in 2020. My main intention was to introduce something which was new and sophisticated at the same time. Ideas were flooding in my mind and all I did was to start little. The path was slow but steady for babyroomdecors.
Sometimes being the only woman in a business means you have to fight to get your ideas heard, but showing that you know your stuff is empowering. Showing off our confidence in a society full of imitators is a superpower and helps shakeoff the feeling of intimidation.
Q: How do you do it all?
A: I am not alone in this journey. Although the business is solely handled by me, I do get a great amount of physical and emotional help and support from my husband which I am really grateful for. There were times when I faced hardships to continue the business due to my higher studies and my baby’s work but then he was always beside me reminding me why I started this venture and what my aim in life was. Also, he reminded me of the struggle I went through to make my business stable and also a brand in Sri Lanka. So, I would like to call this a joint attempt.
Q: What are the secrets to your success?
A: There is only one thing I follow and that is “Be Yourself”. I think that it has helped me a lot to build up the authenticity in what I do. I have come across a lot of new businesses who have tried to copy what I do. That is NOT what you should do if you need to create a brand of your own. Always try to be yourself. Think out of the box. Always bring your BEST to the table. Watch yourself grow!
Q: How did you persevere through tough times?
A: I am a strong believer in Karma. Whatever that happens to us is a result of something that has been committed by us before or in a previous birth. So, I try not to worry too much about things because it directly affects our life. The only way for us to live our lives to the fullest is to learn how to have perseverance and deal with the challenges that life throws at us. Over time, life can get better, and you can get stronger when you persevere.
Q: What are your tips for growing or a start-up entrepreneurship?
A: The main goal I had when I launched my business was to establish my brand and start growing the business. But it didn’t happen overnight. Growth is an ongoing process that requires hard work, patience and dedication.
There’s no special step or secret way to surpass other businesses in the industry or achieve immediate success.The first thing I followed was reducing risks. Risk is an inevitable part of starting and growing a business. It’s impossible to control everything, but there are many ways to limit internal and external threats to your company and its growth.
I invested only according to my capacity and client base, always had a business plan, and always implemented the right customer policies which were the key points to grow my small business. Also I focused a lot on my customer experience. Customers’ perceptions can make or break your business. Deliver quality experiences and products, and they’ll quickly sing your praises on social media; mess it up, and they’ll tell the world even faster. Fast growth depends on making your current and potential customers happy with their experience.
Q: What inspired you to develop your idea?
A: Starting up a business of my very own was a coincidence. When I was pregnant with my baby, I came across a nursery décor which was done by one of my friends in Europe.
I too wanted to design my baby’s room with such nursery décor but I was unable to find those types of framed nursery decorations anywhere in Sri Lanka. So I designed those figures which I had in my mind by myself and got them printed and hung them above the crib of my little baby.
Later on, a lot of fellow mamas asked me the place to buy such types of nursery décor after seeing the photos of my baby’s room. So I thought of venturing this in Sri Lanka because just like me, the other mamas too loved to make their baby’s rooms beautiful, but such products were not available here in Sri-Lanka. I initiated this in Sri- Lanka with customized baby nursery frames a few years ago. At the current stage we provide the customers with a variety of products, ranging from pregnancy announcement necessities to toddler educational toys.
Q: How did you establish your culture?
A: I always tried to have a well-defined and positive company culture because it sets the tone for how your company interacts with clients, suppliers, and the outside world at large. It helped attract the right kind of talent, the right kind of client, and the right reputation to help expose my business to bigger and better opportunities as it grows.
Q: What leadership traits and characteristics or indeed strengths and weaknesses do you feel are required or hinder you in your pursuit of excellence in your field of expertise?
A: There are few leadership traits that I believe to have worked very well with me to achieve excellence in my field of expertise. First is decisiveness. Effective leaders are those who can make decisions quickly with the information they have. Effective decision-making comes with time and experience. As you become more familiar with your specific industry, you’ll be able to make decisions faster, even when you don’t have all of the necessary information.
Other leadership traits such as integrity, problem solving, self-awareness, situational awareness, excellent communication skills, Effective negotiation skills and collaborations have helped me a lot to achieve excellence in this journey of babyroomdecors.lk.
Q: Final thoughts?
A: I like to give a small message to my fellow working mamas and momtrepreneurs. If you’re looking to start your own small business, you may be wondering where to start and how to avoid the mistakes other women make along the way. The very first thing that you would have to do is to figure out what your brand values are, and stay true to them in everything you do. Always stay true to yourself. Even in a competitive market where you have to constantly innovate and adapt to stay competitive, don’t lose sight of your brand and core values as a business owner.