The importance of having your own vision and mission as a business owner

Veronica Martin caught up with Mukta Purain, Founder of MissPalettable, to discuss what Mother’s Day means to her, the biggest challenges as a mom and a business owner and how to balance them.

How did you come up with the idea to create MissPalettable? Did you start the business before or after you started thinking about having children?

While I was pregnant with my son, my skin became very sensitive and started reacting to the products I was using pre-pregnancy. It got to a point that I couldn’t find options in Dubai and I started ordering products with lighter formulations online. Postpartum, having purchased all my skin care continuously online, I came up with the idea of MissPalettable. You could say I gave birth to two babies around the same time. My son and MissP.

What does Mother’s Day mean to you?

I don’t think I truly ever understood what it meant to be a mother until I became one. Mother’s Day has become even more special for me. It’s the day where I look back and think about all the sacrifices my mother made bringing my brother and I and understanding and connecting with her on a maternal level. It’s a day where I can show her how much she means to me. It’s also the day where I reflect and share gratitude that I have been lucky enough to become a mother to two beautiful children.

What have been the biggest challenges for you as both a mom and a business owner? How do you balance the two?

The biggest challenge for me has been accepting that I will never reach balance between being a mother and a business owner. Up until recently I dealt with a lot of mother guilt, and struggled with the fact that I was finding it so hard to create a balance between my kids and work. If I focused more on work, I would end up not being around as much for my kids. If I focused more on my kids, my work would slow down. I think what has really helped me recently is first to accept balance isn’t going to happen. Second, try to be more aware of your time during the week. For example, if I know I’m going to have a very work heavy week and my kids aren’t going to see much of me, I try to plan something fun for them during the weekend and be present with them. I also try as much as I can to avoid having back to back weeks where I’m just working and not spending time with my children.

How do you think you defined success before motherhood? Has your idea of success changed or stayed the same?

Before motherhood I was working in finance which is very corporate. Success came down to numbers and I defined success based on numbers. I was doing well when my numbers went up or I brought in more returns. It’s a very logical way of thinking of success.

Motherhood definitely brought in more EQ to my definition of success. I started to think more about how I wanted my children to see me in terms of value systems. Numbers are still important, but missions and visions became even more important. As long as I’m growing as a person within my workspace and personal space, and everything I’m working on is making a difference or changing perceptions, then I believe I’m getting close to success.

What advice do you have for other moms who want to start their own business?

Go for it! Moms are the most resilient people in this world. If you can give birth and bring up children, you can do anything. If you have an idea for business but have been hesitant or have told yourself that you’ll work on it when your children are older, please don’t wait. Start working on it right now. The best thing about living in Dubai is that it makes this decision a lot easier. So many support systems are available for moms to work and manage kids and homes.

What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed or burned out? How do take time for yourself while running a business and being a mom?

When I’ve hit that threshold of overwhelm or burnout, the first thing I do is clear out my calendar. I don’t schedule any meetings or appointments for the next few days. I then write a list of things I’ve been wanting to do for myself but I haven’t done any of it because I’ve been busy. I then schedule them into the calendar. These can be simple things like get your nails done, go for a hair treatment, go to the mall, catch up with a friend, get a massage. I usually also tell my husband that I need a bit of a break and have him pick up the reins while I give myself time to relax and rewire.

If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, before starting your business and your family, what would it be?

Things may not always go as planned or go the way you expect, it’s not your fault. Don’t be hard on yourself when shit hits the fan, you are resilient, you’ll get through it all. At the end of the road there will be a beautiful rainbow and your family will be by your side at every moment.