Four Things Running Poonami Has Taught Me
I’ve been running Poonami for a while now, and if I’m completely honest, most of what I actually know about running an e-commerce business I’ve learnt by getting it wrong first. Building a successful brand while managing life as a mum to two young girls is a juggling act.
This is what I have learnt so far.
1. You have to actually show up as yourself
When I started Poonami, I didn’t want to be the face of the brand. I’d just had my second daughter, Sofia, and between the two girls and the business, I genuinely didn’t have the time to be doing photoshoots and talking to the camera. But, that wasn’t the whole reason. I also didn’t have the confidence to back myself or to put my name and my face on something and say, this is mine, I built this. I was subconsciously worried about what people would think of me, especially if it failed.
So, I hid behind a brand personality I thought people would resonate with and find funny, relying on product photos instead of showing who I was. And I think the content suffered for it. People couldn’t connect with a logo the way they can connect with a person.
Not to mention, I’m not just the founder of Poonami; I’m the exact person (or “target market,” to use marketing jargon from my past life) it’s for. I’m a mum who got caught out in a shopping centre with an empty nappy bag. Hiding that made everything harder to relate to, not easier. Turns out, you can’t build a relatable brand while staying unrelated to it yourself.
2. I outsourced too much, too early
In the early days, when the business wasn’t making much of anything yet, I handed a lot of it over to agencies. Partly because I told myself other people knew better than I did. Partly because it felt like the “professional” thing to do.
There were two major problems with that approach. First, it cost real money at exactly the point the business could least afford it. Second, and this one mattered more long-term, it put distance between me and the actual mechanics of my own business.
I wasn’t learning how things worked, which meant I couldn’t make fast decisions when I needed to because I didn’t have the full picture. I was reliant on someone else to tell me what was going on with something that was, at the end of the day, mine to understand.
What I’d tell anyone starting out: in the early days, learn all of it yourself first. Even the boring bits. Even the bits you’re bad at. You can hand pieces off later, once you actually know enough to tell whether they’re being done well and to know the right questions to ask.
3. It needs to be treated like a real job
Working from home with two young kids sounds flexible in theory. In practice, it means the washing is always right there, the meal prep always feels more urgent than it is, and there’s always an appointment or an errand that can technically be slotted in “while I’m home anyway.”
None of it is that important on its own, but all of it adds up to a business that doesn’t get the hours it actually needs.
I’ve had to get much stricter about this. I now have protected work time, real boundaries, and I have that conversation openly with my husband so we’re both clear on when I’m working and when I’m not. It’s not about loving the business less than the family. It’s about being honest that if the work doesn’t get proper hours, it doesn’t get done. Pretending otherwise doesn’t help anyone.
4. My rituals aren’t separate from my work anymore - they’re part of it
Being a mum means there’s always a lot on my plate, and a heavy mental load even when nothing looks urgent on the surface. Add managing Coeliac and Hashimoto's disease to the mix, and self-care becomes non-negotiable.
Meditation and journaling, most days, are how I get myself into a headspace where I can actually think clearly rather than just reacting to whatever is the loudest. It’s also where I tend to land on what needs my focus that day and what my intuition is telling me. This is something I have started to tune into more frequently on my journey, and I’ve found it to be a powerful tool in grounding me and making decisions.
Exercise is also essential for my mental health. It is hard to find the time for it, but when I can manage, I always feel a million times better. Sometimes it’s a proper Pilates class or gym session, but even a walk with my dog, Gigi, helps. Some weeks it’s harder than others to fit in, but when it doesn’t happen, I really notice. Now, I try to actually plan for it. My husband and I each schedule this time in for ourselves and prioritise it as much as we can. We are both always a lot happier for it.
I don’t think any of these lessons are unique to me. I suspect most people building something from scratch learn versions of all four, usually the hard way, usually later than they’d like. But if any of this saves someone else a bit of the money, the time, or the midnight spiral I went through learning it, that’s worth sharing.
Ella x
