Hi eve sisters! My name is Eleni, a mechanic and founder of Galmatic, teaching Australians basic car maintenance.
The ladies at eve workwear asked me to share my insights into the wild world of mum and work life. I’m sure many of you are facing the struggle so let me share my wisdom.
Grab a cup of tea, let me roll up the Garage door for you and show you around our metaphysical garage Galmatic and how our all-gal team manages the working mamma juggle.
I am the Boss Lady at Galmatic. That means Chief of Stuff. Yep Stuff. Head of marketing, sales, accounts, and grease monkey (fifties slang for mechanic).
It also means a headful and handful of things to manage in the day to day running of the business and home. At Galmatic we teach car maintenance know-how to women and teenagers with interactive workshops, school incursions and online courses. It’s outside in the sun, getting your hands greasy fun!
As 2021 sees me turning 50, I have started reflecting on the highs and lows of running a business and what I have learnt along the way – I hope these tips help you too.
1. Plan your day the night before
Do a brain dump of everything that you need to do and prioritise the top 3. Put them in time specific order.
Write everything down, use a planner and refer to it every morning.
You have probably heard of the importance of a morning routine of meditation, green juice and journaling. This is for the life of the child-free. Everyone else usually goes without their green juice.
Don’t worry about morning routine nirvana! Just do the things that will get you and the kids out the door stress free.
2. When you have small kids
Wake up before they do and get yourself ready first. If a major catastrophe like forgotten homework arises or you need to find materials for a science experiment, at least you will ready!
Again, use a planner. For sports uniforms, assignments, early classes, cake day. The more planned you are the less surprises.
Use your network. Ask for help. Accept the offers from other mums to do drop off and pickups.
Don’t fall into the martyr trap of ‘doing everything’. No-one is keeping score and no rewards are on their way!
3. Sing your praises
I know your mum told you that it’s rude to gloat – but letting people know of your achievements and success is crucial. Nominate yourself for awards, tell your manager of your achievements and successes. I have been nominated for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards 3 times and twice didn’t go through with it. Who am I to think what I do is special? In 2020 I accepted the nomination and made it all the way from 22,000 nominees to finalist (of 4 people in my state category). Sing your praises darling!
And the little things:
- Wear the good shoes
- Look for the people that understand you and keep them close, discard the ones that treat you poorly
- Wear sunscreen and a hat (everyday)!
- Moisturise the back of your neck
- Wear gloves when you wash the dishes
- Practise your winged eyeliner – social media is going to capture your bad cat eye liner days
- Read, laugh and love – every day
- Don’t cry too long over a broken romance (there are so many more possibilities ahead)
- And don’t stress. It will pass. You will smile again
*Eleni is the founder of Galmatic that teaches over 100,000 Australians a year basic car maintenance and how to feel confident behind the wheel. She is the 2020 NSW Telstra Business Women’s Awards Finalist and has featured on Studio 10, The Morning Show, The Today Show, The Sydney Weekender, ABC and SBS news. Check her out here.
