As a female founded business, Smack Bang has always sought to empower working mothers and obliterate stigma traditionally bestowed to mummas who value both their career and their role as a mum.
To celebrate Mothers Day this year we spoke to Melanie Corlett, the founder behind Mumli, an app that helps you collect, save and share information and treasured moments throughout your motherhood journey, about her own journey with motherhood and how she balances being a mum and running a business.
Who is Mumli for? How did you come up with the concept behind the app?
Mumli is for all mums! We are currently focused on developing content and features for women brand-new to motherhood, but plan to expand that resource base to all stages as we evolve and grow our team.
The idea for Mumli came about when I had my daughter nearly 4 years ago. There was an overwhelmingly large amount of information thrown at me, and no way of knowing what was relevant, what to do with it and then, ultimately, how to make the best decision. After speaking to hundreds of mums across Australia and the US we quickly learnt that this problem was not unique to me. Every single mum expressed the pain of the “mental load” and the overwhelm of information and opinions. Mums are very much involved in every aspect of our product development and are at the core of why Mumli has been such a gamechanger for this market.
How do you “balance” motherhood and business?
I definitely don’t have a set formula for this!! It tends to be very instinctive and day-by-day. There are days my kids need me more, and days where my business needs me more. Over time I like to think I’ve got better at balancing the two, but I think this will forever be a work in progress! The most important thing will always be my babies and if something has to take a backseat – it will never be them.
How do you celebrate motherhood in your day to day life?
Motherhood is incredible. I’ve never felt more connected to other women than through this shared experience. I get to witness that every day with my business. Mothers being so willing to help, share, contribute – you name it! I feel this is the beautiful part of motherhood that often gets shadowed by online spaces that divide and create polarisation … which is unfortunate, but something we are trying hard to improve with Mumli.
What advice would you give to mothers who also want to venture into the entrepreneurial space?
Oh god! Haha! Make sure you REALLY want it. Get lots of advice and council before jumping all in. Get very clear with yourself on your boundaries… what are your “non-negotiables”. Things you know you need on a personal and family level in order to stay sane and feel like you’re not giving too much to one thing. I use these daily to calibrate where and how I spend my time.
The top 3 lessons you have learnt whilst juggling motherhood and business ownership?
1. You don’t need to run yourself into the ground to be successful in business, you just need to protect your time and use it impactfully.
2. You’ll experience guilt, imposter syndrome & self-doubt frequently. This voice is called your “inner asshole”. Make sure you also have an “inner hype girl” and give her a chance to voice some thoughts too.
3. Enjoy the ride.
How would you describe yourself as a mother?
Equal parts ‘respectful parenting’ mixed with a healthy side of “Fine – starve!!”
What are your greatest hopes for the future of the Motherhood worldwide?
That all the colours, shades and seasons of Motherhood are what bring us together, not drive us apart.
