Meet Jaime

Jaime is worldly in every sense of the word! Her family hails from Gujarat (India), and Kenya, and whilst she was born in Birmingham (UK) she was raised and educated in Canada before living in and travelling to various locations in the world! For anyone who knows Jaime, her passion for travel, but also her rich understanding of different countries and cultures is clear from the get-go.

Jaime’s career history is equally as rich! Post University, Jaime was selected for General Electric's prestigious Finance Management Program, meeting her husband, Priyesh, around the same time. A shift from Finance to event management prompted some amazing opportunities, leading enormous conferences and getting big global teams on the same page. A passion for Project Management then bloomed, where she specialised in Implementation and Change Management.

Following the birth of her wonderful daughter Mila, Jaime has been working in Product at Canva as an Operations Partner. More recently, she founded a Community for new Mothers called ‘Me for Mamma’ that aims to empower Mothers to be their best selves whilst prioritising self-care and wellness! Throughout her journey, Jaime has always been unrelenting in following her passions and taking risks.

When did you become aware of your sense of purpose?

Jaime’s story of her own Motherhood has been absolutely defining in the pursuit of her sense of purpose. That story - and the struggle within it - is one that she found to be incredibly familiar in her circle of Mothers. Whilst purpose is something that came to Jaime very quickly, she conceded mulling over the idea of a Community ‘for ages’ amid her own challenges with reclaiming time back for herself. As Jaime’s friend, it’s awe-inspiring to see just how much she wants others to succeed and feel empowered and I’ve felt it first-hand. Empowerment, again, is at the heart of her newest venture; Me for Mamma.

“I think it really started when I was seeding the idea of Me for Mamma with friends, mainly other Mothers and there's just this like overwhelmingly positive response to what I was trying to do, and the whole idea was around giving mothers space to regain a bit more of themselves. You lose your whole identity when you have a child”. Jaime was eager to reinforce that this is neither a good or bad thing but simply the reality in spite of all the incredible things that come with Motherhood.

Your biggest goal

I asked Jaime what her most aspirational goals were for Me for Mamma and like a true Ops professional, she had them all written down! One in particular that we spoke to was the goal to build a global community with groups in multiple cities around the world.

“I've moved around quite a bit, and I've struggled with that sense of community. So if we moved back to Toronto, or maybe Vancouver, (imagine if) there was a Me for Mamma circle there, and I could dip into that and find people with shared experience around having children, who are also aspiring to find space for themselves”. Jaime’s drive behind the community manifests in the rhetoric of ‘let's reclaim some space’. Not only space but (Mothers asking themselves), ‘what do we actually enjoy, what do we not enjoy?”. She wants other Mothers to have open conversations about how they’re feeling amid early Motherhood, sharing tips and tricks on how they approach life as Mum, as well as with broader family dynamics.

Your biggest challenge

Jaime and I didn’t struggle to find common ground when it came to discussing the challenge of establishing an online community. In building a community for Mothers though, she vulnerably shared her difficulty with finding the right platform whether that be Instagram, WhatsApp or other vehicles. I was pleasantly surprised with the similarities we’d experienced in juggling between producing content that was optimised for growth and viewership versus content that was truly meaningful and evoked connection and a call to action. Oh yes, and there’s also that small challenge of trying to be the best Mum, husband, family member, team member and Founder all at the same time!

“I still struggle with it. From the outside, it may seem like I've got things all ticked off, but I struggle with that balance of time for myself versus time for my daughter, and time for my family and my husband”. In conceding this, I truly feel that Jaime is doing such an awesome job of living and breathing the very premise of Me for Mamma, and there’s no doubt in my mind that her authenticity and humility will empower Mothers around the world for many years to come.

Your proudest moment

I loved Jaime’s response to her proudest moment so far in her journey as a Founder, which is something that resonated with my journey as a Creator!

“I built my own website in Wix, and as someone who isn’t necessarily super visually inclined, I look at it and I'm like, holy sh*t, Jamie, you did this yourself”. Beyond the creation of the website, the broader launch of Me for Mamma to the public - across multiple platforms - was a defining moment of growth and learning for Jaime.

“Other Mothers who have come out of the woodwork are people whom I haven't spoken to in years and they were just overjoyed to hear about the initiative and wholly agreed that this is something we really need”. There’s magic in that moment of affirmation from those we’re hoping to affect, especially after going through a journey of extreme vulnerability in publicly communicating a message that’s dear to us. It’s been so inspiring as a bystander and supporter to see Jaime take on the challenge!

Drivers & Motivators

Having worked very closely with Jaime and other parents of young children, I’m fascinated by the insanely powerful driver that is not only serving and providing for a child but also the aspiration to be the best role model that you possibly can be. Our motivators and drivers are absolutely defining in our pursuit of perceived success - and of purpose - and there are few more powerful motivators than the want to grow and nurture our young people.

We discussed the concept of ‘kids do as you do’, and were in strong agreement that this is oh so real, in spite of the fact that the concept doesn’t neccesarily prescribe a child’s destiny. Although, you can bet your bottom dollar that if a young person is watching their Mum or Dad founding a successful business or driving positive change in the world, they’ll believe they’re capable of it too. Jaime likened the concept to the importance of exposing Mila to a plethora of experiences and cultures, most recently bringing her along to a sold-out Indian music concert at the Opera House (that was otherwise past her bedtime), which she thoroughly enjoyed!

Your Daily & Weekly habits

As a Mother, Wife, Founder and professional who advocates for self-care at every opportunity, make no mistake, Jaime’s schedule needs to be optimized to a tee. Maintaining balance whilst ensuring that personal wellness remains non-negotiable doesn’t come without its challenges. Although, Jaime spoke to a truth that we all have to wrestle with (parents and non-parents alike); ‘we are nothing without our personal health’. I know that Jaime would agree her health and wellness are the bedrock of her ability to not only assume her many roles but do it with such stoicism, resilience and unbreakable optimism!

Meditation and strength training are key pillars of Jaime’s wellness routine for now, and whilst she’d love to run as much as she did before the arrival of young Mila, she recently completed the Hoka Runaway 10km this year which is SUCH an epic achievement! Of course, I’m pushing this self-fulfilling prophecy that there is an intersection between pursuing purpose and upholding the highest standards of physical and mental health that we can as individuals...

Thanks, Jaime, for adhering!

Words of Wisdom

“If you have an idea, don't sit on it, because I've had ideas in the past, and I've just sat on them. Of course, 5 years later, someone comes up with something reminiscent of what you once thought about pursuing!”.

It’s fast becoming a wonderful pattern of this series; ‘put your stuff out there’, ‘just get started’, ‘don’t sit on it’. I love it and I believe it too! Jaime and I discussed these gigantic blockers of wanting things to be perfect, having an insanely high-quality bar and waiting for that perfect moment. If I’m learning anything from Jaime and the other guests on this series, it’s that the right time is now.

How can we support your cause?

Join Me for Mamma 

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