Sridevi Manikandan's Inspirational Motherhood Journey That Helped Her Start Business While Searching Pure Honey For Son

With Mother's Day just knocking on our doors, HerZindagi has come up with the Good Mother Project to celebrate mothers who didn't give up and broke the barriers of society to fulfil their dreams. Sridevi Manikandan is one such mother. Sridevi Manikandan defines herself as an independent, honest and confident woman. She doesn't depend on her family or husband or any labours completely. She can win as a businesswoman as well as a homemaker.

Sridevi Manikandan started her Ecomom Honey in 2017 as a sole proprietorship company. Her son is the reason behind the foundation of this company. Since her son had low immunity since his birth, she was advised by an Ayurvedic physician to use pure honey to boost his immunity as all their efforts in boosting his immunity were a big failure. She started searching for organic pure honey in all supermarkets and organic shops but couldn't find original honey anywhere, not only in Chennai but all over India. Since her native is Mettupalayam which is on the foothills of Nilgiris, she approached her father to try and get pure honey from tribals of the Western Ghats. Fortunately, she got pure honey which gave amazing results within one month of usage. Then she shared the honey she got from the tribals with her friends. They also gave her good feedback about this honey.

But one day she lost her job, and that is when her husband encouraged her and supported her to start her own brand and sell pure honey as there is a huge demand for pure honey. And this is how Sridevi started Ecomom.

Difficulties She Faced When Starting The Business

Talking about the difficulties and struggles she faced when she started her business Sridevi Manikandan said, “My son was five years old when I started the company. Since I was new to the business I had a difficult time handling my son, my family and my business. I needed lots of time for my business and a helping hand to take care of my family which I could expect only from my husband. But he was unable to help all the week throughout and could be available only on weekends which is not enough. At one point, I thought about closing my business within six months of starting it. But then I made a firm decision to continue my business and should never give up. I discussed with my husband and family members about sorting this problem and I made him realise how stubborn I'm in bringing up my business. Finally, he understood my passion and agreed to support me. I involved both my husband and my little son in business for at least two hours a day. Then they realised how tough it is to play the role of a mother, housewife and entrepreneur.”

Biggest Challenges

Talking about the biggest challenges of her life, Sridevi Manikandan shared three challenges– spending time with family while handling the business, directly facing clients as a woman entrepreneur, and studying and updating trends in doing business digitally.

Biggest Criticisms

"People ask me how am I running a business. They wonder how a woman can become an owner of a company. Also, they wonder if I could travel with tribals to collect pure honey. Thereby questioning the quality of pure honey. Their thought process is that it is impossible for a woman to procure and sell pure honey as it is available only in the deep forest," shared Sridevi while talking about her biggest criticisms.

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Take On Mom Guilt

Speaking about mom guilt, Sridevi Manikandan said, “Yes. At certain times. But I motivate myself that it is common and it is all in the mind. I also explained to my child about my situation.”

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Does Toxic Glorification Of A Mom Put Pressure On Moms

Speaking about how toxic glorification of a mom puts unhealthy pressure on mothers, she said, “Yes. It definitely puts pressure on mothers. Mothers feel the pressure of always being perfect, but at one point they realise that it is not always possible to be a perfect mother. This pressure directly affects their physical as well as mental health and well-being.

For more such stories, stay tuned to HerZindagi.