Interview with Peishi, Founder of Our Button Nose
Tell us a bit about yourself and your career background?
I guess the best way to describe myself is what my husband calls me, “Duracell Bunny”. Always happy, high energy, patience & motivating, adaptive and of course family orientated person.
I have been in the banking industry for a decade, and given the volatility of this industry, it has developed me as a more decisive and adaptive person which is an added attribute to our business, especially when we started Our Button Nose in the Covid-19 period (things always change).
Tell us about your business?
Our Button Nose started when I was helping my husband to source new products for our business during Covid-19 that can keep children entertained and learning during the lockdown period. And there we go, the idea of our customized colouring mats came to our mind.
To make our product more memorable, we incorporate Melody and Daphne (my daughters, 4yo and 1yo) in our colouring mats. Not only that, to make our mat more interactive, we incorporate it with educational & game elements like finding Milo, counting, and games.
As we always promote under Our Button Nose, we hope all children can learn through play and colour.
All the mats will feature Melody and Daphne disguising in a different setting such as mermaids in Ocean, explorers in the forest, and students in the ABC mat. Adding on, there is a chick named Milo hiding around the mats for the kids to search for.
Parents could tell a story with the mats, find Milo with the kids. Our colouring mats aimed to have more bonding sessions for parents and kids. Allowing the kids to learn through colour and have fun!
What inspired you to start your business?
The inspiration for this business comes from my daughters, Melody, and Daphne. The thought of having your children as part of your product is heartwarming and meaningful. The whole business is run by our very own family too. My husband and I will provide ideas and concepts of the mats.
All drawings are being reviewed by Melody before we publish them to the children’s world. Daphne, being only 1 year old now, will still support us with her sweetest smile.
We are currently at our starting point of a long journey but the happiness and effort put into this business as a family is far better than what we can imagine. And we hope more people can feel our passion and love through our product.
Tell us about your family?
We have 2 girls, Melody and Daphne (4 and 1 year old respectively). My husband and I split our work at home. He handles chores matters while I oversee his princesses.
We do not have a helper as my husband believes to spend more time with the kids ourselves. It was a tiring but rewarding journey as the kids are very close to us! Especially Melody who is more grown-up and expressive now, she will always melt our hearts by giving us tight hugs and kisses. And carrying “I love you” in her sweet little mouth.
What do you find the most rewarding about being a Mumpreneur?
I think being a mum is a rewarding journey for me especially seeing my kids growing up healthily and happily. The same goes for my business where the inspiration comes from my children, seeing how it grow with more awareness and how parents share their positive review about our products which warm our hearts.
Still, remember there is an occasion where we happen to see some kids colouring our mats in a cafe and Melody got excited and shouted “they are colouring me!”.
How do you manage running your business and family life?
I think discipline and sacrifice are important. There is a need to set the timeline of events on the go, and the sacrifice of sleep to fulfill assigned tasks. I am still holding an intensive day job that requires much attention. I am similarly loving my day job which I do not want to sacrifice. My time is fully allocated to the kids after 6pm while the job for Our Button Nose kicks off after the kids are asleep.
What is the biggest business challenge you encountered in your business and how did you overcome it?
I think competition and rejections are bound to have in all business. We must accept rejections, setbacks positively as every failure is a lesson learned and a step closer to a successful outcome. Continue to build a strong brand and constantly remind our “Never Give Up”.
What three bits of advice would you give to a mum wanting to start her own business?
- You need to take that leap of faith that the concept and idea will work. Be prepared to strive hard!
- Scarify your sleep to earn that time for business planning etc.
- Everything starts from passion. If you have a passion for that thing, it can keep you going longer.