Business Update

I didn't set out on pivoting. Mid 2020, as I was building a business as a Personal Branding Coach & Consultant in Zürich, drawing from years and learnings from building multiple projects and professional training as a visual storyteller, performing artist and digital marketer, I went through the most life-altering experience.

Around the end of summer 2020, right when my business income was growing and I was feeling very excited about next steps with my business as a Personal Branding Coach & Consultant in Zürich, I found out I was pregnant and the changes (physical, psychological, social, psycho-social, economic etc) that came with that are still the wildest, most challenging and complex that I have gone through to date.

My brain slowed down and I couldn't function very well in my coaching sessions so I had to close my calendar, pause the coaching and offer refunds to clients who had pre-booked, because I didn't trust that I would be able to offer a quality service to them. Alongside this, my health also took a hit as an ongoing nausea, throwing up, loss of appetite, body weakness and extreme exhaustion took over.

(It was very hard for me to accept this change in pace because I was already struggling with feeling behind in life and my career, after my move to Switzerland.)

As a result, I started to descend into deep depression and struggles of acceptance of the new life season, which led me to a whole new universe- the bittersweet world of motherhood and the unspoken realities that come with the title.

I was amazed at how little I knew about the changes I was experiencing, and constantly in shock at some of the symptoms that pregnancy brought me. This was especially surprising to me because two of my closest friends are mothers and I had been in their lives for many years up till that point, yet I had never heard them voice some of the struggles I was facing. How could I have been so close to mothers, and yet somehow so unaware or unprepared for the challenges motherhood brought me?

Reflecting on this led me to investigating further through an Instagram series I did, which led to me writing an e-book, and later through a series of events, birthed: The Mamas' Circle, a safe space & community for mamas in East Africa and beyond; and more recently, Mamas in Zürich- an online resource center for English speaking mamas in the Zürich area.

I thought I would be able to go back to my previous business after I had my baby, but now 18months later into this motherhood journey, it is clear to me that too much has changed.

In the past year of running The Mamas' Circle, I have learned about soooo many challenges and injustices against moms that I can neither unhear nor ignore. I can't go back to my life before I knew all the things I know now and the changes I have experienced.

It’s so personal for me now and I know I need to do something about it.

Navigating this transition into mamahood has uncovered a new purpose for me - a relentless mission to create mamacentric & innovative solutions that make life just a little easier for mamas.

And that's why I know I will most likely be creating solutions for moms for the rest of my foreseeable future.

• The Future I Foresee

A next step I'm looking at now is exploring Femtech & maybe even Fintech into the solutions I create for mothers in Uganda and Zürich.

After over a year now of supporting mamas using already existing tools and platforms (like our current private Instagram Community), is creating a dedicated app with more functionalities to support mamas even further.

I have the unique resource of a very responsive community whom I can test solutions with so it is very exciting to see where this can go.

That said, I'm taking everything one step at a time, as my pace is slower now, but once I get back on my feet, I will be pursuing funding/investments and mentoring in the direction of Femtech - with a specific focus on innovative solutions for a range of challenges faced by mothers in Uganda and beyond.

• What About Brand Coaching/ Consulting?

Right now I am using my Branding skills in my own ventures- personal rebranding, music and personal projects (the communities for moms and also monthly events that we have started to run.)

Because I really did enjoy Brand Coaching & Consulting, I think when I relaunch my Branding services as well, I will be interested in linking that to the work I do with moms. One idea I have right now is to offer discounted services to mompreneurs, with the goal to eventually only work with moms.

That's a little bit about where I am at right now.