Joanne Tan leads an unconventional life as a working mum by most standards in Asia but is totally thriving in it. She moved to Singapore from Australia four years ago with her family, is a certified and practising counsellor of her own practice The Cultivated Life Project, and also homeschools her three boys (3, 6 and 8 years old).

Yes.. I know.. How on earth does she do it?? Join me in today’s refreshing conversation to find out!

We also chat about:

🌟How and what drives her everyday- juggling between homeschooling and counselling

🌟Her biggest challenge is managing conflicting ideals and desires but emphases the importance of trusting in God's guidance

🌟Common challenges from working mum clients such as adjusting to new relationships and a new identity, the practical challenges of balancing work and family life

🌟The differences between coaching and counselling and how to decide which is appropriate for you

🌟Advice to her younger self

Connect with Jo on:

👋Jo’s website www.thecultivatedlifeproject.com

👋Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mrs.jo.tan/

👋Email: [email protected]

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Counselling

Chapters

0:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:12 Episode & Guest Introduction

00:47 Hello Jo

02:14 Day In A Life

04:57 My Biggest Challenge: Too Many Ideals!

06:35 Motherhood Felt Like My Life As I Know It Was Coming To An End

09:45 Why I Homeschool My Kids

11:43 Advice To My Younger Self

12:35 Common Things I Hear From My Clients: How Tos, Identity, Loneliness

17:22 How I Counsel My Clients: Looking Inward and Looking Upward

19:03 Difference Between Coach and Counselor

20:35 How Do You Choose Between Finding A Coach vs Counselor?

23:15 Takeaway For Listeners

24:15 Connect With Jo About

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured! 

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/ 

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/ 

➡Email: [email protected]

Welcome to Part 2 of our Special Coaches & Counselors Series! 

Originally from India, Vandana Ahuja, HR Adviser, Executive Coach has now called Singapore home for over 6 years. Formerly a Human Resources leader in corporate teams for three decades, Vandana currently runs her own HR consultancy Metamorph Dynamics Consulting. Vandana is also a certified executive coach with the International Coaching Federation.

In this helpful conversation, I had the special privilege to tap into Vandana’s professional experience to shed light on:

🌟The evolution of HR policies and corporate initiates through the decades to support dual working families

🌟The changing attitudes of working parent employees as well as modes of working

🌟Common questions and challenges that her working mum clients bring to her as well as her coaching secrets in address them

🌟The importance of finding a sounding board as well as how to employ some simple techniques to work through the all-to-familiar feeling of being overwhelmed

Check out our latest episode “Becoming a Parent Unleashes Superpowers You Didn’t Know You Had with Vandana Ahuja”. Come join us to get some practical tips on how to make it work! 

Available on:

🎙Spotify (video+audio) - https://tinyurl.com/24dm6vfv

🎙Apple (audio only)- https://tinyurl.com/2ypqmafn

🎙Google (audio only) - https://tinyurl.com/29pallco

🎙YouTube (video+audio) - https://tinyurl.com/24jwedlj

Connect with Vandana on:

👋Website: https://metamorphdynamics.com/contact/

👋LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vandana-s-ahuja/

👋Email: [email protected]

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Coaching

Chapters

00:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:49 Hello Vandana

02:29 Day In A Life

03:21 Challenge As A Young Working Mum In Mumbai & Delhi

04:47 Changing HR Policies Through The Years

06:41 Have Attitudes of Working Parent Employees Changed?

13:42 Coaching Hat On: What Are Common Questions From Working Mum Clients?

16:24 Coaching Secrets For Working Mum 

20:11 Takeaways For Listeners

21:11 Areas to Connect with Vandana On

22:09 Outro

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured! 

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/ 

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/ 
➡Email: [email protected]

Charlotte Teo is Singaporean working mum to three kids ages 9, 12, and 42- with the 42-year-old being her husband - and the founder and Head Coach of Whatssup Charlie Coaching and Consultancy that focuses on coaching bold working mommas  “on the Path of Good To Great”. After a 17 year career as a marketer to big brands, Charlotte experienced a “halftime moment” in her professional life which led her to re-evaluate where she was in life, eventually leading her to explore coaching and is today passionate about helping others going through big life transitions, as she once did.

In today’s light hearted and sincere conversation with the self-described “pom-pom waver” and “lime green highlighter pen”, Charlotte speaks openly on: 

🌟 Her "Half-Time Moment" (aka Mid Life Crisis) and how this pivotal moment led her to reevaluate her career path and to start exploring coaching

🌟 Imposter syndrome as one of the most common themes that she sees her clients come to her with as well as how she guides them through it 

🌟Balancing Work and Motherhood: What is behind the identity crisis that many working moms face

🌟How she worked with her spouse through early transition into motherhood and in her most recent career transition

🌟Why she thinks that it is possible to “have it all”

Check out our latest episode “How I Survived My Midlife Crisis and Why I Think You Can Have It All with Charlotte Teo” for some candor and great advice on Making It Work!

Connect with Charlotte on:

👋LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotteteo

👋Website - https://www.wassupcharlie.com
👋Email - [email protected]

Chapters

00:00 Make It Work introduction

00:11 Episode and Guest Intro

00:36 Hello Charlotte

02:25 Charlotte's "Haf-Time Moment"

04:42 Losing Control of Life as a Form of Identity Crisis / Awakening

07:21 Why I Focus On Working Mums As My Clientele

11:43 As A Coach: Top Questions My Working Mums Clients Ask

13:27 Digger Deeper Into "Having It All": Why I Think It's Possible

15:29 Imposter Syndrome

18:53 Working with My Spouse

22:03 Post Half-Time Charlotte: Personal and Professional Changes

24:59 Takeaway For Listeners

26:28 What I Love Connecting Over

27:26 Outro

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured! 

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/ 

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/ 

➡Email: [email protected]

“So previously, I wanted to be in a place that was always exciting and that I grow etc cetera, the kind of things you hear about a lot, of course with a nice paycheck and stuff like that. But then I think what happened with motherhood is like, more and more, not just in work, but I think more about what kind of planet or earth or society are we leaving for our kids..”

Noriko Shindo is Japanese who grew up in Japan, the US and UK. She is a mum of two young kids under 4 years old and currently lives in Japan together with her Israeli husband. After a career in Finance and an MBA at INSEAD, she joined Amazon Japan and later left to start her own lifestyle and dining companies - twice over! In this thoughtful episode Noriko talks about:

🌟How motherhood ignited a shift in career perspective to focus on aligning her values and purpose at work

🌟Parenting approaches to teaching minimalism and making conscious choices with her kids

🌟Less-known facts about Japan's generous parental leave policies

🌟Working with her Israeli-spouse on making financial decisions to support her transition from corporate to startup life

🌟Her personal mission: Empowering women in Japan to explore entrepreneurship during motherhood, leveraging support systems.

Available on:

🎙Spotify (video+audio) - https://tinyurl.com/24dm6vfv

🎙Apple (audio only)- https://tinyurl.com/2ypqmafn

🎙Google (audio only) - https://tinyurl.com/29pallco

🎙YouTube (video+audio) - https://tinyurl.com/24jwedlj

Connect with Noriko on:

👋LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/noriko-shindo

👋Email - [email protected]

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Entrepreneurship #Asia

Chapters

00:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:12 Episode & Guest Introduction

00:38 Hello Noriko

01:18 A Day in My Life

03:37 I Did Not Realize How Much Motherhood Changed Me

04:33 On "Shukunin"

05:44 Leaving Amazon and Becoming An Entrepreneur

10:04 Building A World I Want For My Kids

13:17 Working With The Husband

14:22 Any Regrets?

15:36 Mum Guilt

16:17 Takeaway for Listeners

17:02 Japanese Work & Parental Leave Culture

19:40 Connecting with Noriko

20:19 Outro

—-------

Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured! 

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/ 

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/ 

➡Email: [email protected]

“...I was at some point in time presenting to the board of really big companies in Asia, and two weeks later I was sitting with a newborn screaming and crying and I didn't know how to breastfeed..” 

Anna Joke Breimer Bharati, originally hailing from the Netherlands, has called Singapore her home for over a decade. She is mother of three (under five years old!), and has embarked on a remarkable journey, transitioning from her role as a junior partner at McKinsey & Company to becoming the driving force behind her successful leadership development company, The Breimer Group.

In today’s candid and thought-provoking conversation, Anna opens up on:

🌟Why she decided to stop "swimming upstream” in the corporate world to "swim in her own pool”

🌟The ups and downs of navigating first time parenthood for her and her American husband in a ‘third culture” from hers and her spouse

🌟Going through postnatal depression and the transformative turning point for her

🌟The societal pressures and assumptions of a "good" mother and spouse, and how she broke free from these constraints

🌟Strategies and advice on how both she and her husband, also an entrepreneur, create opportunities to be their best selves

Check out our latest episode “On Questioning Assumptions and Designing Her Best Life Amidst Big Changes with Anna Breimer” for some raw honesty, vulnerability, and humour as we uncover insights and challenges to conventional norms about working mothers.

Connect with Anna on:

👋Instagram https://www.instagram.com/itsannapreneur/

👋LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-joke-breimer-bharati/

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Solopreneur

Chapters

(00:00) Make It Work Introduction

(00:12) Episode & Guest Introduction

(00:50) Hello Anna

(01:50) Day In a Life

(03:31) Transitioning from Consulting to Self-Employment 

(06:06) Why "Career Downshifting" Is Triggering

(10:01) Being A Foreigner: Embracing a Different Model of Parenting and Even Starting A Business

(12:29) Getting Through Post Partum Depression

(13:55) Embracing The Trauma Of Being A New Mum

(15:51) Learning True Partnership With My Spouse  

(21:49) Outro

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Reach out to us with any feedback,  comments, or suggestions. PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured! 

Email us at: [email protected]

I'm your host ⁠Sarah Wong⁠, and I'm so glad that you are here. I share a little more about my story in this introduction episode. If you are looking for work life balance inspiration, or ever pondered the age-old question, "Can one truly have it all?", this podcast is for YOU! Join me as I uncover a trove of inspiring tales of modern working mamas in Asia who have defied career norms and create their own paths, whilst putting family first. Bi-weekly wisdom, Asian style, drops Wednesdays. Follow along as we all try to Make It Work!

A little bit more about myself:

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Reach out to me with any feedback,  comments, or suggestions.

PS. We're always looking for great stories to be featured! 

Email me at: [email protected]

Fannie Lim is a former Stay Home Mum to 3, entrepreneur, and now NGO leader in Singapore. In this episode, she shares insights about:

🌟 Navigating the challenges of being a stay-at-home mom after a successful career. 

🌟 Balancing work and family commitments in the nonprofit sector. 

🌟 Embracing leadership roles and the dynamics of working alongside a supportive spouse. 

🌟 Discovering transferable skills gained during motherhood that are applicable in the professional world.

 🌟 The power of reflection, humility, and learning in personal growth and parenting. 

🌟 Unveiling the beauty of prioritizing and embracing different seasons in life.

Don't miss this engaging and enlightening episode with Fannie Lim, where wisdom, vulnerability, and inspiration come together to celebrate the journey of a modern working mum.

Connect with Fannie through the following platforms:

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We would love to hear your feedback,  comments, or suggestions.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured! 

Email us at: [email protected]