Mums in Business featuring Halia Rose

This week as part of my Mums in Business series I’m excited to be featuring Sarah who created Halia Rose, a business that specialises in selling gorgeous teething jewellery and children’s accessories. I can vouch for how gorgeous it is as I own one of the necklaces, and I can’t wait to start wearing it once my baby boy starts teething, although I’m not looking forward to the teething part of it.

Here Sarah tells her story of how she set up the business to safely wear jewellery around her baby. I particularly like how she balances the business around family including extensive meal planning, and avoiding mixing work life and family life. So if you want to read all about these fab business and Sarah’s top tips then read on…..

Tell me a little bit about you, your background and Halia Rose?

I’m Sarah, a mum of two little ones (aged 4 and 2) and also run my business Halia Rose. I live in Hertfordshire, just outside London.

I’ve always had a passion for health and wellbeing and previously worked in the corporate world for a global healthcare company in the UK and Internationally. I had both my children in Singapore where the maternity leave was only 2 months at the time and I didn’t feel ready to go back to work only 6 weeks after giving birth so I took the opportunity to take some time out and spend time with my new baby.

Like all good ideas, they come from a need…after the difficult birth of my son and being exhausted constantly (like all new mums right?!) I wanted to feel like “me” again and being able to wear something designed for me was part of this. My body hadn’t popped back to its pre-pregnancy shape so buying clothes was not something I enjoyed doing at the time but wearing gorgeous jewellery was something I could do, however, I couldn’t find anything that I liked to wear that was also safe for me to wear around my baby. I also noticed that colour really affected my mood and emotional wellbeing and I recognised other mums were in the same boat. The idea for Halia Rose jewellery was born!

The name Halia Rose comes from a mix of my inspiration and roots…both my children were born in Singapore and I wanted something to reflect this as they were (and continue to be!) my inspiration plus also my English roots. Halia is the Malay translation for Ginger and Rose is the flower of England…my daughter also has ginger hair and her middle name is Rose!

What were your drivers and motivations for setting up Halia Rose?

I wanted to provide mums with a gorgeous collection of jewellery to help them feel and look great. It needed to be baby-safe and ethical but also stylish, practical and durable for busy mums. Made of 100% non-toxic and BPA free silicone it can be tugged, pulled, chewed etc and won’t break (the jewellery is also dishwasher proof so you can keep them clean and as good as new every time you wear them!) Not only gorgeous as a statement piece day or night, they are ideal as teething jewellery or fiddle beads when breastfeeding. They are also waterproof and heat resistant, which is perfect if you’re on holiday (with or without children!) as they don’t get hot like metal accessories.

To cater for all ages, I also have a range of children’s accessories and baby teethers.

How do you balance the business around family and childcare?

Time management: It’s certainly not easy but you become quite good at carving up your time and I have lists for everything so I don’t forget things but it also helps me to prioritise. If I’m really busy with work then I quite often set my alarm for hour long slots to focus on getting things done within a set time frame rather than being distracted or procrastinating – I work better under pressure!
Meal planning & preparation: I quite often write a meal plan for the week which saves me time thinking each day what to prepare and it generally means less trips to the supermarket! I also tend to make big batches of food staples so I can mix and match through the week or pop it in the freezer for a later date.
Focus: I try to keep my work separate so when it’s a work day, it’s work and likewise the days when I have the children it’s our time. This is really important to me but also something I’m still trying to fully do – when you have your own business there is always something that needs to be done so it can be tricky to manage!

Since setting up the business what’s been your biggest success to date?

I’m so proud to have received several awards for Halia Rose. Most recently I won Silver in the Made for Mums Awards for my Elephant teethers (see picture below).

What’s your top tip for Mums who are thinking about setting up their own business?

If you have an idea and a passion for something, then you’re half way there.
If you have the opportunity to follow your dream, then go for it! You’ll never know what may happen if you take that first step but you’ll always wonder “what if?” if you don’t. Of course it can be challenging at times but nothing worthwhile in life is ever easy!
Keep going! There will always be negative people (including family and friends!) out there who criticise what you are doing. If you believe in your business then you can make it happen.

Thank you so much Sarah for taking part in my series, it was lovely to interview you, and I wish you the best of luck in the future.

You can find out more about Halia Rose by visiting Sarah’s website or her Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels.

If you would like to be part of my Mums in Business then just drop me an email: thepramshedblog@gmail.com. Or have a nose at some of the other businesses I have featured in my series: Rock The Bump, Engineered Copy, and The Classroom Partnership.

Claire x