{"id":23434,"date":"2021-02-25T12:33:12","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T04:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/parentsworld.com.sg\/?p=23434"},"modified":"2021-02-25T12:33:12","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T04:33:12","slug":"celebrating-sg-women-who-chose-to-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/parentsworld.com.sg\/2021\/02\/25\/celebrating-sg-women-who-chose-to-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating SG Women Who Chose to Challenge!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Article by Puja Chandra Nanda<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n
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With International Women’s Day a week away, we look at some of Singapore’s female self-starters – enterprising women who fought the odds and chose to challenge stereotypes – both in business and society. These women have chased their passion with single-minded determination and grit to pave the way for success! <\/p>\n\n\n
These women have #ChosenToChallenge and we are here to showcase their inspiring journey! It is only befitting that this feature comes in a year that has also been declared as the “Year of Celebrating SG Women”by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).<\/p>\n\n\n
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Here are their stories:<\/p>\n\n\n
Chin Rui Shan, Founder of Gooberr<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n
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Chin Rui Shan with Gooberr products<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
#IChoseToChallengeBias<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n
Q.Why Gooberr? What inspired you to set up this business?<\/p>\n\n\n
CRS: “My mum inspired me to start Gooberr, seeing her go through cancer. She\u2019s one of the strongest people I know, being poked and prodded every week. It gave me my company\u2019s ethos – I just knew that I wanted to help make mums\u2019 lives better somehow; it didn\u2019t matter how big the impact was, I just wanted to do something to help.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
After starting Gooberr, I started having mums write in telling me how they\u2019re so happy that they were able to increase their supply by 20ml and how that means the world to them. Other mums were able to double their supply from 250ml to 550ml or from 180ml to 350ml. Some shared how our Boobkies helped make their milk more fatty and nutritious for their babies. International customers all the way from Canada and Indonesia have also told me they love how Gooberr\u2019s Boobkies <\/strong>are completely free of additives and that they can\u2019t find something like that where they live. That\u2019s something that keeps me going.”<\/p>\n\n\n
Q. Since you are not a mom yourself, how did you relate to the struggles of a new mother including lactation woes and dietary needs?<\/p>\n\n\n
CRS: “Some of Singapore\u2019s most popular gynaecologists are male. It\u2019s also worth noting that some of the biggest brands in the world are built by men for women. Victoria\u2019s Secret, for example: what does a man know about making bras as support for womens\u2019 breasts? For Gooberr, I do my research in creating a product, then I consult and work with professionals in the field to arrive at something that works for my customers and continuously engage them to get feedback on how we can do better for them.<\/p>\n\n\n
I definitely do not presume to know what\u2019s best for moms. However, I believe it\u2019s about living a healthy lifestyle, and eating grains and fruits, unprocessed foods, and less additives. For Gooberr, I ship in ingredients from the US to make sure our mummies get the best. It is pricey, but it is never about sourcing the cheapest ingredients for the highest margins. To ensure that the product works, I also had samples gifted to nursing moms to get feedback. When I received positive comments, I knew I was on the right track, and spent another couple of weeks fine tuning before I even considered launching.”<\/p>\n\n\n
Q. How would you describe your entrepreneurial journey? What are the challenges you faced?<\/p>\n\n\n
CRS: “My entrepreneurial journey was definitely stressful at first. I felt out of my element as it is nothing like what I was used to in the corporate world where I had a superior I could always go to for advice or direction. I called all the shots, and there were so many variables and unknowns. If anything went wrong, it would be all on me.<\/p>\n\n\n
My biggest challenge came with the spread of COVID-19, as Gooberr was only slightly over a year into its launch. Luckily, I made the decision from the start that quality and hygiene will be at the forefront for Gooberr, which is why our products are baked and produced at an SFA Grade A and FSSC Certified Facility. This means hair nets, masks, gloves, and aprons must be worn to ensure we meet global food safety standards. When we saw home bakers forced to close for a period during lockdown, Gooberr wasn\u2019t affected by this.<\/p>\n\n\n
Still, global logistics was a nightmare, so it was hard to get stock of certain key ingredients for products, losing potential sales. Retail shops were also shuttered, resulting in revenue losses as well as losses from inventory thrown out at consignment shops I collaborate with. It meant pivoting to focus even more on Gooberr\u2019s online presence as well as logistics to get our products to our customers fast.”<\/p>\n\n\n
Q. What tips can you provide to budding female entrepreneurs in Singapore?<\/p>\n\n\n
CRS: “Women are increasingly being thrust into the spotlight now thanks to a global movement towards gender equality. I hope as women we continue to strive to propel this and not let it just be something that\u2019s the popular opinion right now – don\u2019t let up and keep moving forward. Take heart in the fact that you made the best decision at a given time with information that was available to you. There\u2019s a lot we can do to help empower each other <\/strong>such as creating an all-women workplace and making it women-friendly, for example, by having a private breastfeeding area for new moms returning to work. This is not only good for business (studies have shown that moms who breastfeed are found to fall sick less often) but also encourages workplace loyalty.”<\/p>\n\n\n
Gooberr, founded by Chin Rui Shan in 2019, is a home-grown brand that specialises in lactation products, skincare, and baby apparel. Read more and shop for Gooberr products here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/pre>\n\n\n
Jasmine J Goh, Founder of Twinkle <\/h4>\n\n\n
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Jasmine J Goh with her range of Twinkle products<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
#IChoseToChallengeAllOdds<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n
Q. What inspired you to set up this business? <\/p>\n\n\n
JJG: “The idea began with wanting to share my mum\u2019s love and traditional formula for my hair when I was a baby and a desire to pass it down to my sons. Now I want to share this secret formula of natural ingredients with others mums so<\/strong> our Twinkle Baby tag line is \u201cMade with Mum\u2019s Love\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
Q. How would you describe your entrepreneurial journey? <\/p>\n\n\n
“I started my entrepreneurial journey at the young age of 7 years. I think the key point is never stop learning, never give up and persistence.”<\/p>\n\n\n
Q.What are the challenges you faced? <\/p>\n\n\n
JJG: “As women entrepreneur, we have so many things to juggle in life like family and kids so we really have limited time and we need to make use of time in the best possible manner to be able to pursue our entrepreneur journey for long term.”<\/p>\n\n\n
Q. What tips can you provide to budding female entrepreneurs in Singapore?<\/p>\n\n\n
JJG: “Tips for budding female entrepreneurs:<\/p>\n\n\n