2012 Winner of the Telstra Victorian Business Woman of the Year Awards and Founder of Carmans Kitchen, Carolyn Creswell, talks to me about the 20-yr journey with her business and how she stays happy juggling her responsibilities at work and her family, complete with 4 kids!
Carolyn is no short of amazing, with a cheerful disposition as she recalls her journey and speaks of her children and supportive husband who, she says, she is so proud of. So proud, that she took them on stage with her when receiving her award for the Business Woman of the Year Awards.
Carolyn says this about her journey as a working mum:
I’ve certainly delegated more since I’ve had kids. The evolution and growth of the business since then has been great to experience. When I first started my business no one had a computer or email and here we are today. Technology has been quite liberating, being able to communicate with anyone anywhere around the world.
I didn’t take much maternity leave with the first 3 children, but I was actually quite sick after the birth of my fourth child, that I was forced to take the time off and I took 6 months off. My team are amazing. These days, with technology, they would email me and I might be sitting up in bed at night responding and checking in.
How she makes it work:
I think it’s about being more organised, having good time management is the crucial thing, being able to delegate well and documenting how I can get information in my head onto paper. I’ll often email myself ideas and then they’re in my inbox when I’m back at work, to action. I also try to clear my inbox every day and being able to be quick on phone calls. This makes me much more efficient on getting through my goals for the day.
I put in a big effort to make sure our home is organised and tidy, so I can be completely focussed and in the moment.
On her family:
When I came home last night I asked the kids “What do you want to do together?” We ended up doing beauty together, putting special creams and facial masks on our faces. Seeing their little faces light up at the simplest things is so joyous to me.
My husband’s fantastic. He’s a wonderful hands-on dad. We have a very happy home life. Being in the food culture, we often sit around the table and chat. I get invited to a lot of swanky events, but I love my family, I love being at home.
I do quite a bit of public speaking. I like to use the money I earn from public speaking to take my family on trips.
What she does for her employees/her workplace:
Firstly, we’ve put in a mindset that family is first, work is second. We have to create some balance around it. Go and watch your child’s sport day or special assemblies.
I think it’s great that our kids know where their parents work. We often allow the kids to come into the office; we might give them little jobs and reward them with a little spending money. It makes them value and understand what their mums and dads do when they go to work.
Author: Elysha Stephens, Marketing & Communications Consultant
Posted by mums@work: mumsatwork.com.au
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