In 2012, Mitzi started Mori Notes after she discovered her passion for creating journals. She also wanted to support other women through her social enterprise, especially mothers who could not leave home for work. We spoke to Mitzi about making workplaces mom-friendly.
NN: How does Mori Notes cater to or support Moms?
Mitzi: Mori provides a home-based (or community-based) livelihood for women to have work that utilizes their skills, and enables them to earn an income while taking care of their children. We work with women from different backgrounds, these include artists, crafters, and sales advocates.
NN: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started Mori Notes.
Mitzi: At the age of 23, when most of my peers were climbing the corporate ladder, I decided to leave my corporate work as a marketer in a leading quick-service restaurant to stay at home and search for my life’s meaning and purpose. I wrote my reflections in a journal and because I enjoyed making crafts, I soon started creating journals for myself and as gifts for friends. I realised through my soul searching, that one of my purposes is to utilise my creativity not only for my own benefit but to bless other women around me as well. So in 2012, Mori Creations was established.
Rachel Lin (Co-founder, Mori Notes) graduated from the National University of Singapore (Business). In 2015, we met online while she was reading up on social enterprises in the Philippines. We started chatting and soon became friends as we shared our common dream to reduce poverty through fair employment and product value creation and innovation. Rachel opened the doors for Mori in international markets.
NN: What is stopping Moms from coming back to work and how can society/businesses bridge the gap?
Mitzi: A lot of moms find it difficult to go back to traditional work because their children need them at home to prepare meals for them, take them to and from school, tutor them, etc. Businesses can bridge the gap by providing opportunities for them to earn in the comforts of their home, by making the workplace child-friendly, or by giving them the option to work in the pockets of time most conducive for them.
NN: Do you feel Mothers bring some additional (Mom) experience to any workplace?
Mitzi: I feel that mothers bring the culture of family to the workplace. They have an innate nurturing trait that makes people around them feel loved and supported. I remember on one particular New Year's Eve, there was a fire in the barangay (neighbourhood) of one of our Mori moms in Quezon City. So the next day, which was New Year's Day, the other Mori moms decided to do what they could to help out this Mori mom whose house got burnt down. Having this motherly compassion urges them to think of the welfare of the company and of other people.
(At the Nüshu Network, we're celebrating Mothers all through May. We are bringing you some awe-inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs who are Moms to others who are running successful enterprises catering to Moms, or even employing Moms. These are their stories of success, zeal, and resilience.)