Journey of a ‘Mumpreneur’

Being a ‘Mumpreneur’ has never been an easy job. Nowadays there is an increasing number of mothers with young children who run businesses on their own. Mehroo Turel is one of them, being a mother of two, a home-maker, a blogger and an entrepreneur. Turel is the owner of SUMMER, an online women and kids’ clothing retailer, and the organizer of the Mums@PLAY Bazaar in Hong Kong.

Born and raised in Mumbai, India, Turel participated in the Miss India pageant when she was a teenager. “I didn’t win the contest, but I’m happy that I did it. It encouraged me to be more independent when I needed to travel alone at the age of seventeen for the Miss Asia Pacific pageant. It was a great experience,” says Turel. She was also very focused on her studies, and completed an MBA in marketing which then led to a corporate job in India. Two years after she gave birth to her first son, she gave up the job and her rising career to become a full time mother. As a parent who has lived in India, London, and now in Hong Kong, Turel thinks that the environment does play a role in the way she has brought up her children. “I felt more relaxed when I was in London - not sure if that’s because my sons were still quite small or whether it was the big green parks and the slower pace in suburban London that contributed to it. For Mumbai and Hong Kong, I think both cities are quite similar in pace, culture and competitiveness put a lot of pressure on parents and hence children to excel.” However the busy environment in Hong Kong motivated Turel to start exploring other avenues that would extend beyond her role as a mother.

As a stay-at-home mum with no helper in Hong Kong, Turel got extremely busy with her children. Her priorities changed drastically, her life became a series of school drop-offs, activities and dinners! She started jotting down these incredible day-to-day experiences and soon started a blog called “From Miss India to Motherhood” to talk to people about the journey of her life. That was five years ago. In her blog, Turel talks about her passions – being a mother, family time, ‘Me’ Time, her days as a model, a Miss India participant and more. “I enjoy being a blogger. I love to share with other parents on my life as a mother. My children have grown up and they are now 13 and 9 years old, but for me motherhood never ends. Blogging not only keeps my hands busy, but has also helped me make new friends, build new contacts in the “mommy world.” Turel also started her own business, SUMMER, which sells stylish summer clothing. “I started SUMMER because that’s my favorite kind of wear. I love wearing casual clothes. We have a good source of cotton from India, which is very suitable for the hot and humid weather in Hong Kong. When I used to wear these clothes, my friends would ask if I could get some for them. There was a demand and that’s how I started the business.” Because the majority of her customers are parents getting clothing for their kids, Turel has participated in various bazaars each year as a vendor. Along the way, she has met other mothers who are doing what she is – managing their family along with running a small business.

“We all faced the same difficulties. We were spending a lot of time and money going to those bazaars. Sometimes it was good but sometimes it wasn’t so good. Especially when we didn’t have a big budget, the organizer wouldn’t understand the obstacles that we encountered. That gave birth to Mums@PLAY. It started as a friendly gathering of mums and mumpreneurs,” says Turel. In May 2016, Turel ran the first Mums@PLAY bazaar in Cyberport. “Naming the event as Mums@PLAY, I want people who join us to have fun at the bazaar. It’s more like a social event than a commercial bazaar. Whoever comes, leaves really happy. Every time after the bazaar I get positive feedback on WhatsApp, Facebook and even on my website. I picked Cyberport as the venue because I believe the place has so much potential. There are residential buildings and schools. It’s like a community there. I hope to bring everyone together through the bazaar.” The 5^th Mums@PLAY Bazaar will take place on September 22, 2017 at El Charro in Cyberport. Whizpa is a partner sponsor of Mums@PLAY.

For details of the bazaar, please visit https://whizpa.com/news/5th-mumsplay-bazaar.

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