Today, MUMMY TALES has a chat with Kami Munderu, mother to a 6 month old baby girl. Kami, a former model, is now a work-at-home-mom. From the comfort of her house, she runs her entrepreneurial online shop: Baby House.
MT: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
KM: I am known as Kami which is short of Mukami. I am engaged to the most awesome partner life can give and we are parents to our little girl called Gabrielle. We call her Gabi.
I have always been pro-business and the thought of looking for a job would always hit me – but i’d hit it right back to where it came from! My mum is a nurse but she still finds time to do business on the side. I am the last born; my elder sister is also employed and still doing business as a side hustle. So I guess the business gene runs in the family.
MT: What did you do before launching your own business?
KM: Before Baby House, I was a model cum fashion stylist for a local magazine. I enjoyed my job but with baby on the way, I had to make some changes. I had tried a few businesses here and there but didn’t quite know which one I wanted to fully pursue. It was not until baby came that I realized I want to deal in baby items.
MT: What helped you make your decision to be a work-at-home-mom?
KM: I can’t say that I ‘decided’ about that; let’s just say that God made it possible for me to be near my baby. I started Baby House from my house and it’s gradually taking care of itself. I must add that I prayed a lot about it. There is no mom who wouldn’t mind spending extra time with their babies you know…
MT: How does a typical day look like for you?
KM: My day usually starts at 7:30am as that’s when Gabi wakes up. I proceed to prepare her breakfast then feed her. When done, I then have my breakfast too.After taking a bath, Gabi is then good for some play time with Mommy or Daddy (if he isn’t too busy).I then pick up my laptop and its biashara time. If I have any deliveries to do I package the stuff and make my way to town or have someone do it for me. My hubby assists me with this, doing the deliveries for me especially if it’s on his way.
MT: Do you stick to a certain schedule or is it all determined by Gabi?
KM: My world revolves around my little angel. Sometimes she wakes up and just wants to play and play. If it was up to her I think we’d play the whole day so there are times I’m forced to hide in the bedroom and work! I don’t want disappointed clients so I have learnt to balance work and Gabi.
MT: How do friends and family view your decision to work from home/stay at home?
KM: To most of them, all I hear is “haujapata kazi bado? Uusijali, utapata”. They don’t consider my working from home employment. Our society still doesn’t appreciate or still hasn’t embraced the concept of working from home.
MT: Exactly how do you work while still take care of your daughter and do other household chores?
KM: I have recently gotten a new nanny after staying without one for about 6 months. We just never got along well with previous nannies, so I quit on them. So what I used to do was hire someone to come over and do the normal house chores (a dayscholar housegirl). However, I did all the cooking for the family and taking care of baby.
Working was an interesting juggling act because I would work while holding Gabi with one hand, typing with the other and still playing with her- talk about multitasking! My hubby, Alex, was especially very supportive during this time, and has always been there for me.
MT: What is the most challenging thing about working from home?
KM: Doing deliveries can be quite challenging since, just like me, not everyone can give directions quite well so you end up getting lost so many times. Sometimes a client wants to personally come see and test the stuff I’m selling, and though I understand the fear, I can’t have all sorts of people coming to my house to see and test stuff. People have to embrace the times we are in, times of shopping online are here!
Also, having to ignore Gabi when I’m working really makes me feel bad.
MT: The good parts?
KM: Flexibility!
MT: You mentioned something about not getting along with previous housegirls. How was that?
KM: Horrible! When I had my first housegirl, I was 8 months pregnant. I was used to having my kitchen treated with utmost cleanliness. So I kept going to the kitchen to check how she was cleaning my utensils and how she was wiping my stuff….let’s just say that I had my session with OCD.
I once had a housegirl who came and left the following day just because I couldn’t take how she cooked and cleaned in the 24hours she was there. I sometimes feel guilty that I didn’t give some of them a chance to learn and prove themselves. It’s a valuable lesson that I’ve since learnt. My new housegirl is really nice and she loves baby. Most of the times, it just boils to the relationship with baby.
MT: What is the best part about being a mum?
KM: Is there really a best part? All are awesome but having someone love you the way a child loves you cannot compare to anything else in this world.
MT: What is the most important piece of advice you’ll give your daughter?
KM: Simple; to love God and thyself.
MT: Advice to any mom contemplating quitting their career to stay / work from home?
Do some research about what you want to do, go in full armed incase of anything and most importantly, pray about it.
my baby sister, so proud of you
Congrats Kami…keep up the good work gal
Kudos Kami. . i totally love the working-from-home concept! way to go gal. . im a follower of Baby House on FB n totally love everything about the page. . i especially loved the photography session photos n you can rest assured you have yourself a client (once i get baby no 2) God bless you n the work of your hands Kami
A very insightful article, especially the part about people not understanding that working from home is equivalent to working at an office. When I complain about how tired I feel, people are always dismayed because they think I should be well rested because I work from home. Thanks for letting women know that motherhood does not have to end their careers. Thanks Kami for being so candid about your journey. Good luck!