A homemaker is the most underrated job or rather business in the whole world. Ask a woman their occupation, and if they reply homemaker, you would probably think: "Is that all she does?" A job provider or an employer would say: "Not much "work experience", but you might end up saying: "That's so noble and wonderful, so selfless and the "best job" in the world."
Growing up to be a Leader with two companies of my own, one in which I'm a Solopreneur and the other in which I'm an Entrepreneur having a strong team of project heads, team members and interns who strive so hard to make the common vision come true as well as being a consultant to two traditional and well-known companies in their own domains, myself belonging to a family in which one side had royalty and charity and internationally spread out family. In contrast, on the other side freedom movement, patriotism, education, that's a lot of responsibility.
My family and friends, relatives and strangers wonder where I got my Entrepreneurship and Diverse Skills from. The secret is most of them come from my mom, who is a homemaker.
From a young age, I've seen my mom practise the balance of putting others first vs prioritising herself, speaking up for herself vs speaking up for others. This is a skill I realise is essential to understand and practise as an entrepreneur so that there's less toxicity inside and outside due to the leader and her leadership.
From a young age, I've seen my mother's discipline that even some entrepreneurs lack, to wake up and sleep on time, to eat healthy homemade food and take care of her habits so that her health is good, the routines of her children and husband and family isn't disturbed or affected negatively. This is important for an entrepreneur because leading a healthy lifestyle and having good practices in personal life helps and makes it easier to extend that to the professional life, thus making it more aligned and authentic.
From a young age, I've seen my mom doing the most important things herself for her family, skilling herself, learning all by herself to do it better each time, with quality being a huge priority. When an entrepreneur is skilled, a keen learner and invests in herself, those she leads will follow the example. It wouldn't have to be authoritative than, and it will be easier to make it truly democratic with reduced corruption and toxicity.
From a young age, I've seen my mother building systems in so many areas of life with such ease and depth, from when to eat chocolates, shampoo and oil hair days routine, weekly mealtime menu, Sunday outings, shopping, festival clothes and food themes and planning, dressing up to etiquette of speaking and behaviour, it's impressive how building systems and structures come naturally to her combined with enjoying the rain and getting wet, playing on the grass or ground, being a Leader on the Soil and the Stage, I've learnt it from her.
From a young age, I've seen that my mom prefers to underpromise and over-deliver. She allows her character, intentions and actions to do the talking rather than making unnecessary noise. She would let her actions earn her credibility without any external validation and winning others trust. She believes in taking small steps, testing, then going big with it, be it her recipes or her style, be it systems or beliefs, values and principles, spirituality or health.
My Homemaker Mother has raised me to be a Leader and Entrepreneur through leading by example and being a dedicated parent who strives for Balance and Dignity, Impact and Profit at a personal and professional level, in herself and those she leads.
(Madiha Ahmed is a Socio-Cognitive Development Specialist, Edupreneur and Consultant in different education-related fields and a podcaster at The Edu Doctor.)