Happypinaymommy.com’s Work-at-Home Mom of the Week has a long list of happy and satisfied clients, as she makes available super nice and affordable accessories for soft structured-carriers (SSCs). She is of course, a baby-wearing mom to her adorable baby girl, Audrina and she finds so much bliss in being a wife and a mother.
Without further ado, let me introduce to you:
Happypinaymommy.com’s Work-at-Home-Mom of the Week: Mommy Jelly Lagman-Victor of The Baby Depot Manila
Ask any member of The Baby Depot Manila (TBDM) Facebook Group and they’d say that this FB Group is one of the happiest and most enjoyable they have joined and this is because Mommy jelly makes it super, super lively with her sharing, games, and of course, online friendship.
Of course, the baby-wearing mommy members are all waiting for the latest designs and stocking of TBDM’s accessories for Soft-Structured Carriers or SSCs, plus other products like bandana bibs, and Audri dresses.
Before getting married, Mommy Jelly worked abroad. When she became a wife and a mom, she decided to stay home. Her entrepreneurial heart though tugged at her, so while parenting 24/7, she established TBDM, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Sharing with you excerpts of our conversation with Mommy Jelly:
HappyPinayMommy: When did you decide to be a WAHM?
Mommy Jelly: I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. But technically, I became a WAHM since May 2014, 3 months after giving birth to my daughter, Audrina.
(Post continued below)
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HPM: What made you decide to be one?
Mommy Jelly: I am an independent and enterprising person. Even while I was still studying in college, I was already working for a market research company. At the age of 20, I left my home and family to start a new life as an OFW in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Those were some of the best years of my life. I decided to come back to the Philippines when I got engaged to be married. Being a wife and mother is bliss! But I missed earning for myself, so I decided to put up an online business selling locally sourced fabrics and stuff for babies bought from the US. Now TBDM has grown and transformed, selling more products and reaching out to more customers.
HPM: What is the greatest challenge you have faced in relation to being a WAHM?
Mommy Jelly: The greatest challenge? Definitely time management! Haha. Admittedly, I’m not great in time management and having a clingy, curious and active toddler plus a new day job makes having a schedule to stick to impossible. I am mostly without help in running my online business, so my day and nights are crazy busy!
HPM: What advice can you give to those who may want to become a WAHM?
Mommy Jelly: It may sound cliché, but stick to something you love. Whether it be sewing, baking, teaching, etc, focus on something you will enjoy doing. I love babywearing and collecting carriers so I got the idea of making and selling accessories for soft structured carriers (SSCs). Up to now The Baby Depot Manila is primarily known for our inexpensive but quality SSC accessories. Which leads me to my second piece of advice, don’t be obsessed with making money. Of course you have to earn something, you are running a business after all. Price your items fairly. Be genuinely nice to your clients and treat them as friends, not merely people who patronize your business.
HPM: Who inspires you?
Mommy Jelly: My clients turned friends inspire me! Hearing or reading words of appreciation from them makes me want to do better. Totally warms my heart knowing that they are satisfied by our products. Being around young entrepreneurs inspire me too. I work with a group of smart, intelligent people under 35. Their success inspires me to reach for higher goals.
HPM: How does your husband/partner support you?
Mommy Jelly: I am blessed to have such an easy going and supportive husband. Honestly, he doesn’t have much say in the business I run—it’s all me. But I’m so thankful that he puts up with all the mess in the house. Our house is transformed into a stockroom/warehouse filled with fabrics, clothes and other products, but he doesn’t complain! For Christmas I’m going to ask for my own mini warehouse where I can store my goods. I hope he will give in, haha!
HPM: Can you tell us how your usual day/week goes?
Mommy Jelly: On days when I have to go to work, I wake up at 5AM to get ready. Need to leave the house by 6:30AM to beat the morning rush to my office in Quezon City (I live in Rizal). Work, squeeze in Facebook, work, answer TBDM emails, and work til 5PM. Drive back home. Reach home at around 6PM. Yaya leaves and I take over. I feed Audrina, bathe her and breastfeed her to sleep. Then I work on snapping and packaging our SSC accessories, packing orders to be shipped the next day or answer inquiries. I usually sleep at 12MN. I also source for fabrics and other materials and supervise production. But despite the busyness with online selling and working by day, I have an active social life. I enjoy going out with my college barkada, my girlfriends, my mommy friends and of course my family. Needless to say, I don’t have an idle minute to spare!
Like in our past WAHM of the Week Features we also asked around about Mommy Jelly’s products, and definitely her clients are raving about her products.
Mommy Blossom for instance, super-super adores TBDM Products. “I so love TBDM mainly because of 1) Quality and affordable products 2) seamless and quick transactions 3) very kind seller. She has become really successful over the last few months (or maybe years), but she keeps her feet on the ground. She is still the same kind, accommodating mompreneur as when I first ordered from her a few months back. She has her heart on the right place, helping other people in need, even hosting and donating for raffles for a cause. These are the things that keep us coming back for more!”
Another happy TBDM Client is Mommy Iya. “I’ve always been a hoarder and TBDM allows me to buy a lot of things for my baby without hurting my pocket. The seller, Jelly, is also nice and understands how expensive baby stuff are and she makes sure her merchandise are priced reasonably. The designs are all adorable and eye candies. Also, you’ll love “hanging out” in her group because her games are unique and definitely fun. She sure knows that every mom deserves a break.”
Mommy Tricia on the other hand is one of the many, many happy TBDM Members. She actually won a Tula Carrier. “If it weren’t for The Baby Depot Manila’s raffles, then I wouldn’t have a Tula carrier by spending only one hundred pesos! It is also heartwarming how Mommy Jelly is being able to help other mommies in making income by letting them resell some Audri dresses.”
Mommy Julie Anne Ramirez on the other hand is a proud TBDM fan. “The Baby Depot Manila is a place for everyone. It’s a lively page both for working at home moms and stay at home moms. When I first knew the page, I thought the items being sold were expensive but I was wrong. I was able to purchase my Tula set at a very reasonable price. I am a repeat and will always be a repeat customer because I am so satisfied with the service and the product. It got me interested to be one of her many ‘suki’ when I learned that TBDM is not just mainly about profit but also about helping the people behind it. It’s like when you buy at TBDM, you also help the family of the sewer, the ‘boy’ and many of her helpers too.”
Mommy Malay is another proud TBDM “suki.” “Here’s why I highly recommend TBDM: 1. Cute prints – TBDM’s SSC accessories makes my Tula have a more stylish look. The suck pads serve as fashionable teething pads as well. 2. Audri dress – Na-cu-cute-an ang lahat ng nakakakita sa LO ko while she is on a Audri dress. It can definitely be used pa for a long time (currently as a dress for my 7-month old LO, and then as a pretty top in her toddler years) 3. Reasonable price – P300 for 6 pieces Audri dress.. definitely a good bargain! 4. Games, games, games –If may pa-game si Ms. Jelly, my mindset is I NEED to join. Though I have not won YET, very worth it naman ang effort and time mo because you get the TBDM items as a prize 5. Very Fast transaction – I usually get my package only one day after I send info on payment.”
So there you have it. Hope you have all been inspired with the WAHM story of Mommy Jelly, as she shared with us her experiences in running a business as a work-at-home-mommy. If you have a Work-From-Home-Mom that you would want to be featured, please feel free to head on over to my Facebook Page and leave me a message. Please hit the like button too so you could receive updates from Happypinaymommy.com directly on your newsfeed.
A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!
Leaving you with a video on Tula Baby Carriers:
http://happypinaymommy.com/2015/10/19/newborn-and-baby-photo-studios-in-the-philippines/
