Announcement posted by Kayley Couture Australia 20 Aug 2020
JENNIFER SMITH of KAYLEY COUTURE AUSTRALIA has been named as a finalist for the 2020 AusMumpreneur Awards in the PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Making a Difference (Business), HANDMADE BUSINESS and FASHION categories.
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.
Jennifer is a mumpreneur based in Gold Coast, Queensland. She has backgrounds in customer service, banking and finance, fashion, modelling and events. Happily married and a stay-at-home mother to her two lovely daughters namely Angeli Franchesca and Elisha Kayley, whom the latter is also the face behind the name of her girls' clothing business, Kayley Couture Australia. KC is an online clothing store of vintage inspired, luxurious, and ethically handmade dresses for little girls. The range and styles are unique, the exceptional quality and beautiful scent of the dresses paved the way for the success of this fast emerging business which was only established October, 2019.
March of last year, Jennifer’s sister was murdered back in the Philippines. Suffering from postnatal depression and grief, Jennifer wanted to do something productive which she was passionate about, that will help her cope and motivate her. Fashion is her passion, as much as she loves styling and adores dressing up her beautiful two year old daughter Elisha Kayley. She wanted to make her sister proud who was like a mother to her and had always encouraged her to follow her dreams. Jennifer turned her sadness into something beautiful, and this inspired her in starting her fashion business.
Jennifer is delighted to be named as a finalist and is proud of her achievements, particularly during the bushfire crisis, she was able to raise funds and donated a huge amount from profits to different agencies who volunteered and most importantly to the bushfire victims. Also last March 2020, her brand was one of the major sponsors in a charity fashion show supporting "Bravehearts", one of the leading child protection organisation in Australia. Beautiful girls walked on the runway wearing her dresses, including her own daughter. But for her, the greatest achievement was being able to inspire other mums to always choose to be kind and practice "Pay it Forward." Jennifer didn't just establish a business, she built a community of loving, generous and caring mums.
There are many benefits to balancing business and motherhood as Jennifer explains, “I love that it gives me a sense of achievement and fulfillment. I have always believed that being a mother should not stop us from living our dreams. Our life does not have to end because we became mothers. Being a mother should inspire us that we can achieve anything we dreamt of, if we put our heart into it. Being a mumpreneur motivated me and gave me a reason to continue thriving and living everyday. It gave me a sense of purpose. I also love that I am able to help my husband with finances and love that I was able to meet and made friends with many gorgeous mums and their kids.”
It can be challenging to be a successful business woman whilst raising a family and Jennifer gives this advice for others thinking about starting their own enterprise. ”My advice would be to not underrate yourself. Find your passion, put your heart into it, focus on your goal and just go for it. Work hard but do not forget why you are doing it in the first place. You have to put your heart into it because customers will feel if you only see them as profit, or you see them as people genuinely supporting your products.”
Vote for Jennifer on the PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD through this link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AUSMUMQLD
Select
1. Making a Difference Award - BUSINESS
3. Jennifer Smith - Kayley Couture
Read more at www.ausmumpreneur.com. The winners of the 2020 AusMumpreneur Awards will be announced at an online event in September.