My Muslim Mums in Business series focus’s on inspirational Muslim women, who are balancing the art of motherhood along with running businesses.
Please introduce yourself and your business.
My name is Tasnim and I’m a single mother of two. I run two small businesses; makeup artistry and photography services, and also work as an accountant full time.
What makes your business different from your competitors?
My makeup and photography skills are, in a way, secondary. Strange thing to say, no?
I’m almost the anti-makeup makeup artist. I don’t like heavy makeup and I don’t feel comfortable with transformation looks. Less is more.
My approach to both makeup and photography is to get to know you, the client personality and use that understanding to reflect the most confident version of you in the mirror or the photographs. I want to make everyone feel good from the inside out, and feel their own inner confidence emerge.
What I’m really giving you is the tools to boost your confidence, your sense of self-love and acceptance.
What inspired you to start working from home? Did anyone in particular inspire you?
Working from home or on location (rather than fixed studio or salon) gives me the flexibility I need to allow me to work my businesses around my full time employment. As time goes on, I hope to be able to reduce my employed hours and increase my self-employed time.
Is your family supportive of you being a working mother?
My parents, siblings and my children are my biggest cheerleaders. They love and support my work as they see the added confidence it brings me and my clients.
What are the main challenges you face as a mum and an entrepreneur?
For me, mum-guilt is the hardest thing I face. I try to only do location work on weekends when my children are away at their father’s house. I tend to do my admin, marketing, planning, etc when they are with me but keep it to early mornings and evenings only. When my children are with me, I make sure that I’m present with them (in mind as well as body) and spend quality time with them.
Describe a typical working day. Are there specific times in the day that you work on your business?
Most of my weekday time I’m working in an office. I use my breaks and lunchtime to switch off from work and relax my mind. Sometimes in doing that my creativity starts going. I let it flow and jot down my ideas to work on later.
I spend a few weekday evenings each week attending to the business side of my makeup and photography. I am out providing services on weekends (when the children are away) or I’m doing more admin on weekends while they’re sleeping.
What are the pros and cons about being a working mum from home?
The biggest pro for me is flexibility. This in turn comes with its own challenges. The main thing is to not beat yourself up about having a less productive day because of things going on around you. You can catch up the next day. It’s important to be kinder to ourselves and reduce the pressure we put ourselves under.
The hardest thing about working from home is separating work-life from home-life. I set myself up with a separate working space. When I am away from that space, I’m off-duty and fully present for my family and my own needs.
On your toughest days, what helps keep you motivated?
Honestly, on my toughest days when I’m struggling with motivation, unless I have an urgent deadline, I take a break. This allows me to refocus and return to the tasks at hand later when I’m in a better headspace.
When I do have a deadline, I take a walk to clear my head, then I feel better able to power through.
Where would you like to see your business in the future?
I would love to see my recently launched 1-to-1 Personal Empowerment Workshops become my signature service. I want women and men to feel better about themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin.
What advice would you give to mums considering taking the step of being a working mum?
Time management is a critical skill. But within that time management bubble you need leave enough time for enjoyment. That enjoyment needs to be a mix of family time and just you time.
JazakAllah Khair to sister Tasnim for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions! You can connect with her further on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tas_eyespybeauty/
If you are a muslim mum with a business and would like to feature then drop me a message in sha Allah.
This is very inspiring!
Thanks for sharing. It really talks to me at many levels.
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Glad you enjoyed it