Local business woman named as a finalist for National Awards
Jay Young of Young By Design has been named as a finalist for the AusMumpreneur Awards in the Creative Enterpreneur Category, Homewares Category and Handmade Business Category.
The AusMumpreneur Awards presented by The Women’s Business School celebrate and recognize Australian Mums in business achieving outstanding success in areas such as business excellence, product development, customer service and digital innovation. The awards are designed to recognize the growing number of women who successfully balance motherhood and business in a way that suits their life and family.
Jay is a Mum from the Yarra Valley to two young beautiful boys, but her journey into Motherhood wasn’t as smooth as she was expecting. Almost instantly she developed post-natal depression when her first little man was born. Struggling with her new roll of being a Mum 24/7 and was completely overwhelmed by all the baby paraphernalia and brightly coloured plastic toys that now littered her house, not to mention the information overload on how to be the “perfect” Mum. Her midwife said to find something to do for herself. So Jay decided to learn and became a self-taught watercolour artist. Jays paintings made her feel more than just a Mum and gave her the peace she was needing; it was the birth of Jay's business.
Struggling with PND, Jay realised she needed to give herself a space to retreat to with her little one when she felt overwhelmed, so decided to create a calming, neutral and nurturing oasis in their son’s nursery. Jay removed all his clutter and toys and when she went searching for the right wall art, she couldn’t find anything that made her feel calm. It was either mass-produced washed-out prints from Kmart or expressionless prints from Etsy that held no emotions or tenderness. This gave Jay the idea to paint her own series of three woodland animals cuddled up sleeping. They were minimal, tender, gentle and neutral and the autumn earthy tones gave her the warmth she was needing. When Jay’s mothers group came and saw her work they started asking if she could create something for their babies’ nurseries and Jay realised that she wasn’t the only one who needed a calm and nurturing retreat and that her artworks could give just as much joy and peace to others as they do for her. When Jay knew that she could make a business and work from home, giving her the best work life balance with her two little men, Baxter and Banjo, the rest was a no brainer and something that now fills Jay with so much joy and purpose.
Jay is delighted to be named as a finalist in three separate categories and is proud of her achievements, particularly having built her business and website from scratch and is now selling her artworks worldwide helping to create calming pockets of peace in others homes across the globe.
There are many benefits to balancing business and motherhood as Jay Young explains, “Being able to connect with other Mum’s and people who feel the benefits of creating a pocket of peace in their homes [with her artworks], has been one of the most reward things in my life, and to be able to do it from the comfort of my own home where I can still spend quality time with my two boys is honestly a gift I could never take for granted.”
It can be challenging to be a successful business woman whilst raising a family and Jay gives this advice for others thinking about starting their own enterprise. ”The trick is to follow what you are deeply passionate about, write down why you are so passionate about it and stick it all around her home/office. Then remind yourself that you owe it to the world and your children to share your value, whatever that may be.”
Read more at www.ausmumpreneur.com. The winners of the AusMumpreneur Awards will be announced at the AusMumpreneur Awards Gala Dinner in September.
For more information on the AusMumpreneur Awards visit: www.ausmumpreneur.com or contact awards@ausmumpreneur.com
For an interview with Jay Young, contact 0415 216 546, www.youngbydesign.co
jay@youngbydesign.co
