Make It Work – Details, episodes & analysis

👋🏽 Hey there, I'm so glad you're here! ✨
Make It Work 🎙️is your go-to podcast for real conversations with ambitious women redefining success to make space for what matters most—family. 💼💖
🎙️ You can expect bite-sized but power-packed episodes (<45 mins) designed for busy mommas on the move. New episodes drop every other Wednesday!
💡 On my socials, you’ll also find specially curated parenting humor, work-life wisdom hacks, and the best podcast highlights!
Follow along for laughs, tips, and stories to help you make it work! 🌟
And a little about me, Sarah Wong...
🌟 Mom of 2 - Life now with 2 kids under five = beautiful mess 🧒🏻👧🏻
🌍 Home - I’ve lived and worked in Singapore (my current home), India, France, and the U.S.
🎓 Work - INSEAD MBA & first female hire at a Silicon Valley health tech unicorn 🦄. Currently building a dynamic portfolio career!
💡 Interests: Health tech, mentoring women, work-life integration, the future of work, and faith-driven work.
🧗‍♀️ Rock Climbing Buddy? Always looking for partners who don’t mind a kid or two tagging along.
✝️ Faith: Follower of Christ (am married to a pastor - which alone could be another podcast..😅)
📌 Connect with me in all these places!
DM or email me with questions, collab, or just to say hi. 💌
Anyhow, I’m so grateful you’re here. Here's to you, Making It Work! 🧡💙
PS. The podcast started in September 2023, not 2022! 🤦🏻‍♀️ (hello #mombrain)
(intro, podcast, mom, mum, motherhood, about me, parent)
#intro #makeitworkpodcast #podcast #workingmoms #mom #mumpreneur #aboutme

Khatija Aslam is a job-sharing Global Innovation Marketing Lead for Zespri and Founder of Moxy, a platform that ignites important conversations about building inclusive workplaces. Originally from Pakistan, Khatija is a mom of 3 girls. She grew up in Malaysia and has called Singapore home for over 18 years now.

With close to 15 years in corporate life, Khatija was inspired by her own experiences and the stories of other career-driven women, to found Moxy, with the goal of creating environments that support all working women, particularly mothers, in balancing their career and family responsibilities. Moxy has partnered with organizations like Lean In, LinkedIn, and others, striving to foster meaningful behavior change and push for more family-friendly workspaces. 

Khatija and I chat about:

🌟 What job sharing is, how she found her job sharing role and advice if you are looking for such roles

🌟How to tell you boss when you are pregnant

🌟 How Moxy’s card game has helped to spark uncomfortable but much needed conversations around building inclusive workplaces for working moms

🌟How she shares the mental load with her spouse in their own family life

🌟Questions to ask in a job interview to find out exactly how females-friendly workplaces really are.

⁠If you want to get help / advice on how to navigate asking for a part time or job share role then get in touch with Khatija

👋 Connect with Khatija: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khatija-aslam/

👋 Moxy: https://itsmoxy.com/

Helpful resources:

1) Simple questions to ask your future employer : @64b59b9fcb2a3337b2bd1322/t/664c9484cdb56372e43152c6/1716294789224/MU+x+TMP+-+TOOLKIT+PDF++%281%29.pdf

2) The flexibility advantage blog - if you are thinking about what flexibility means the momproject provides a good framework https://blog.themomproject.com/flexibility-advantage-0

Report here - https://work.themomproject.com/hubfs/WerkLabs/The%20Flexibility%20Advantage_Werklabs.pdf

 Some resources on Asking for Flexibility in the Workplace : https://blog.itsmoxy.com/how-to-ask-for-flexibility-in-your-workplace-clvf2zmh8001ji3a1upnc2g0n/

⁠Resources for Job share : https://www.mom.gov.sg/-/media/mom/documents/employment-practices/work-life-grant/job-sharing-implementation-guide.pdf

Build up your working momma toolkit and save this episode! Or share it with someone who might need to hear this!

Join our supportive Mommas Making It Work whatsapp community - https://chat.whatsapp.com/GYQ1x8UIBSZFw0ftoBUv0A

Follow and connect with me - https://linktr.ee/makeitwork.podcast

Chapters 

00:26 Intro

00:38 Introduction to Khatija Aslam

02:33  Khatija's Personal Life and Fun Fact

03:39  Career Changes and Job Sharing

05:03 Why Purpose Becomes So Important After Parenthood

09:32  Job Sharing: What Is it??

14:39  Supportive Partnerships and Family Dynamic

17:41  Introducing Moxy: Building Inclusive Workplace

20:23  Innovative Solutions: Moxy Table Top Talk

28:37  How Do You Tell Your Boss "I am Pregnant

31:25  Finding Female-Friendly Workplace

37:53  Final Thoughts and Takeaway

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#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #productivitytips #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Entrepreneur #mom #momlife #women

Carol Loi is a much sought-after expert in an all-important area that has profound impact on our lives as modern working parents - digital wellness. From learning how we and our children can develop healthy relationships with our devices, to figuring out how AI will affect our kids - Carol has the answers. She is a Singaporean mum of 2 young adult daughters and has been teaching on digital wellness for the past decade. Blending her personal story with the tools and advice that she regularly gives to families and organizations, you’ll hear fantastic implementable steps on how we can better parents in this digital age.

Come listen!

In this very practical and insightful interview, Carol also shares on:

🌟 Mom guilt and Carol’s strategies for managing and transforming guilt into positive actions

🌟 Digital Wellness:How to develop a healthy relationship with digital devices in the home

🌟 Interesting and implementable family rhythms to help build trust  

🌟 The significance of having family SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for safety and communication

🌟The value of regular feedback within the family, similar to work appraisals.

Our latest episode “On Parenting Well In A Digital Age with Carol Loi" is available on:

Connect with Carol on:

👋Carol's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolloi/

👋Carol’s linktree: https://linktr.ee/carol_loi

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #DigitalWellness #FamilyFirst #ParentingInTheDigitalAge #WorkLifeBalance #MentalWellbeing #LeadershipInParenting #ParentingTips #MomGuilt #DigitalParenting

Chapters

00:37 Episode Introduction

01:33 Hello Carol

01:38 Carol's Background: 20 Years In Public Service

04:05 Balancing Technology and Family - My Role As your Cheerleader

10:09 The Power of Family Protocols

16:59 Dealing with Mom Guilt

24:20 Ever Heard of the Family Member 360 Appraisal?

27:46 My Three "R"s: Relationship, Reasoning, Rhythm

34:11 Digital Wellness Tips

35:48 Closing Thoughts and Contact Information

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

💼Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/gK3DKTEB

🍏Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-work/id1701442085

▶️YouTube : https://youtube.com/@makeitwork.podcast

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@makeitwork.podcast

Email Us: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Chris Edwards, originally from Australia, lived in Singapore for 11 years, where she had her three kids and launched the well-known Honeycombers website. She is now based in Byron Bay, Australia, and most recently has launched her fourth business, Launchpad, an all-in-one platform and community looking to provide the necessary tools and support for impactful entrepreneurs. From advice on finding good people in your life to tips on how to juggle it all, this conversation is packed with valuable insights. Hint: there’s more “life” in the “work-life balance” equation.

In today’s candid and thought-provoking conversation, Chris delves into:

🌟The importance of prioritization and why she lives by the 80/20 rule

🌟Work-life balance or “life-work balance” as she likes to call it and starting the day by doing something enjoyable

🌟How she effectively retired her husband from his corporate job and how they balance roles in family life

🌟Valuable strategies that can be leveraged both in the workplace as well as around the dinner table

🌟Last but not least, the significance of surrounding yourself with good people in life and how she does it

Don’t miss out the special promotion for listeners to gain ONE MONTH FREE access to Chris’ Launchpad community of business owners (now 700+ members strong)! Use the promocode ‘makeitwork’ (not case sensitive) to join the “world’s kindest startup community”!

Connect with Chris on:

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

👋LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisedwardshoneycombers/?originalSubdomain=au

👋Launchpad: https://thelaunchpad.group/

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

*Special thanks to Bianca Boranda for helping with this episode!*

Chapters

00:00 Episode Snippet

00:33 Introducing Make It Work

00:46 Introduction and Welcoming Chris

02:08 Hello Chris

03:19 Balancing Work and Family Life

05:03 Productivity Tips and Prioritization

12:20 How Do You Find Good People

16:49 On Retiring My Husband...

18:31 ...And Balancing New Roles in Family Life

20:14 Transition from Singapore to Australia

21:45 Reflecting on Past Decisions

22:47 Lessons From Running A Business And Having A 3rd Kid

28:43 Interchanging Parenting and Business Strategies

32:50 How To Reach Chris

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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: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Karen Tay is a Singaporean transplant in San Francisco, USA, and a mom of two. She is the founder of Inherent, a platform dedicated to supporting women through career transitions and workplace challenges. In our intimate conversation, Karen shares her journey from being a senior public servant in the Singapore government to joining corporate America and becoming an entrepreneur. We discuss her viral Her World article entitled  “Modern Motherhood: The Blessings of Not Having It All”, revisit some of her darkest times in her personal and professional life, and explore the lessons she's learned since then.

Join us as we reflect on her work supporting women through workplace adversity and uncover enduring wisdom about navigating difficult transitions, career breaks, and making impactful comebacks. Tune in!

Karen also opens up on: 

🌟 Navigating the challenges of balancing career aspirations amidst limitations in moving to the US as a young family 

🌟 Her personal journey through burnout during COVID 

🌟 The importance of healing and nurturing personal relationships during times of strain 

🌟 Lessons from providing first aid to women in workplace adversity through Inherent 

🌟 How to navigate career breaks and make a comeback

Connect with Karen on:

👋Karen's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenzytay/

👋Inherent website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inherentjourney/

Other resources mentioned:

📚White Paper with Princeton University on Supporting Women Leaders through Workplace First Aid: Pilot Findings - https://drive.google.com/file/d/11rbHF6CGh5_6jj7H7cMg7Kt2M0CvqUTd/view

📚Couples That Work by Jennifer Petriglieri

Chapters

01:09 Hello Karen

02:34 A Day in the Life of Karen

03:47 My Productivity Hack: Calendar Blocking

04:45 The Pottery Connection

06:49 From Optimising Life to Learning To Enjoy Limitations

13:03 Having The Freedom vs Giving Yourself The Freedom

18:17 Struggling with Burnout: A Personal Journey

19:10 Healing and Rebuilding Relationship with My Spouse

21:06 Inherent: Providing Workplace Adversity First Aid

31:12 Navigating Career Breaks and Making Comebacks

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

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

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

➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Amra Naidoo is an Australian mother of an 18-month-old, currently based in Bangkok, Thailand, after years of living and working in Singapore. She is also the co-founder and General Partner of Accelerating Asia, a leading early-stage venture capital fund in Southeast Asia. In our conversation today which is full of personal and professional inspiration,  Amra shared openly about many areas including how, despite her priding herself being an avid fitness enthusiast (practicing Muay Thai, Brazilian Jujitsu, aerial arts, AND yoga sometimes 6 days a week), her pregnancy, recovery and a miscarriage later literally stopped her in her tracks and taught her some of life's toughest lessons. 🥋🤰🏽✨

In our conversation, Amra also opens up on:

🌟How Accelerating Asia’s 4 day work week and unlimited leave has impacted productivity

🌟Why she decided to move to Thailand from Singapore whilst pregnant and cultural differences observed

🌟Her unique philosophy in hiring nannies 

🌟Her story of a difficult pregnancy, recovery and miscarriage later on

🌟The importance of consciously designing one's life and career.

Connect with Amra on:

👋Amra's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amranaidoo/

👋Amra's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amranaidoo/

👋Accelerating Asia website: https://www.acceleratingasia.com/

👋AA's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accelerating_asia/

Chapters

0:00 Episode and Guest Introduction

01:06 Hello Amra

02:39 Daily Routine and Productivity Hacks

06:50 Why The Move to Thailand

13:09 My Company’s 4 Day Work Week & Unlimited Leave Policies

16:47 Becoming A Mom: What I Didn't Expect

25:08 Why I Hated Pregnancy... And Lessons Learnt

33:34 Final Thoughts: Not 1 but 2 Takeaways For Listeners

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

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

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/ 
➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

#MakeItWorkPodcast #Resilience #MotherhoodJourney #EntrepreneurLife #PregnancyJourney  #ProfessionalGrowth #GlobalCareers #Inspiration #WomenInBusiness #CareerDevelopment #VentureCapital #StartUp

Carolina Yeo is a Singaporean mom of two living in Germany, and founder of &ahead, a talent platform that has enabled more than 4,000 professionals who have taken career breaks to relaunch their careers.  Our episode covers a wide range - Carolina reflects on her early corporate life in talent management that brought her all around the world before becoming a young mom in a country where she could barely speak the language- whilst working on her startup. Drawing from her experience of working with thousands of career relaunchers in Singapore and Germany, Carolina also shares about how the two countries' societal contexts impact career and family choices, and why she thinks fathers need more support as caregivers. 

In our conversation, Carolina also opens up on:

🌟Her global journey from Singapore to Germany

🌟Simultaneously managing the zero-to-one phase of baby and startup

🌟Finding community and family overseas

🌟Empowering career transitioners through the &ahead platform

🌟How policies in Germany and Singapore affect career and parenting choices

🌟Her Takeaway Lesson: The importance of cheerleaders in your journey

Connect with Carolina/ &ahead on:

👋Website: https://andahead.com/ 

👋LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinayeo/

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerTransition #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Entrepreneur

Chapters

00:00 Episode and Guest Introduction

01:02 Hello Carolina

01:13 Carolina's Global Journey: From Singapore to Germany

02:31 The Birth of an Entrepreneur: Starting a Business Abroad

09:34 Navigating Career and Motherhood: A Personal Tale

11:56 Building a support network overseas

19:47 Germany and Singapore: structural differences impacting parents

24:31 The Need: More Progressive Parental Leave Policies

27:30 Advice for Returning to Work: Overcoming Fear and Finding Support

30:48 The Importance of Cheerleaders in Your Journey

—-------

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

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

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

➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Rachel Tan, an e-commerce whiz based in Malaysia, has made waves in leadership positions at the likes of Shopee, L’Oreal, Nuffnang and Oxwhite, the Malaysian retail company famous for selling 2,500 white shirts in just three hours. She's also the founder of In Real Life, a digital publishing platform, which was sold in 2020. But that's not all. Rachel's story takes a unique turn after welcoming three children into her life.  She realized the potential to merge her love for nurturing kids with her marketing prowess, leading to the birth of The Nurts, an innovative venture that offers books, toys, and games designed to foster precious parent-child bonds.  For those intrigued by the concept of fractional work, Rachel also shares her journey of securing a two day a week marketing leadership role at Oxwhite, whilst growing The Nurts, her own business inspired by her kids.

Rachel is also extending a special offer to listeners of Make it Work for products purchased on The Nurts' online store. Valid until 30 June 2024, use the code, MAKEITWORK10 for a 10% discount with a minimum spend of RM 120 (~ USD25)! 

In our conversation, we chat about:

🌟Juggling Mum-preneurship and 3 kids

🌟Fractional Work: How Rachel Found a 2-day-a-week Marketing Leadership Role

🌟Combining Work and Play: Starting The Nurts

🌟The 3 Most Important Relationships 

🌟The Importance of Knowing Thyself

🌟How to Overcome Self-doubt

Connect with Rachel on:

👋The Nurts https://www.thenurts.com/

👋LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheltan88/

👋Email: rachel@thenurts.com

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #FractionalLeadership #TheNurts

Chapters

0:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:02 Episode and Guest Intro

01:32 Hello Rachel

01:46 Rachel's Journey: From Marketing to Motherhood and Entrepreneurship

03:58 Childcare Arrangements - A Different Experience with Each Child

05:53 Starting a Business Amidst Family Life

07:35 Rachel's Career Shifts and Embracing Flexibility

10:51 How I got a 2-day-a-week Marketing Leadership position

16:56 Advice for Pursuing Flexible, Fractional Roles

18:40 Balancing Entrepreneurship and Parenthood - Know Thyself

21:19 Inspiration from Parenting: The Birth of The Nurts

23:49 The Role of Supportive Partners in Entrepreneurial Journeys

27:42 Reflections and Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

30:43 Connecting with Rachel Tan

Rajani Patel and Anu Shenoy are the co-founders of FemTech Startup Veira Life. Presently based in Singapore, they have diverse backgrounds - Rajani was an engineer turned stay home mom and later pursued a career path in early childhood education whilst Anu is a former management consultant. What they share in common is that they both took career breaks to care for their children and later found their second calling to start Veira Life, an online platform which provides personalised coaching for mothers from pregnancy through to their post-natal journey, early childhood parenting and transitioning back to work. Or in their own words, creating the support system they wish they’d had. Join us as we chat about how they are filling a gap for women and empowering spouses along the journey too. 

Today, Veira Life is extending a very special offer to listeners of Make it Work. Use the code MIWFREE to get access to all their virtual prenatal classes FREE when you register on their website.

In our conversation, we also discuss:

🌟How they navigated multiple career changes

🌟Veira Life: Anu and Rajani’s venture to change the way support is given to mothers

🌟The biggest lesson learnt after interviewing hundreds of mothers across geographies and age groups

🌟What keeps them motivated as first time entrepreneurs in their 40s and 50s

Connect with Rajani and Anu  on:

👋Veira Life’s website https://veiralife.com/

👋Rajani’s LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajani-patel-4141876/

👋Anu’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupamashenoy/

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Veiralife #CareerTransitions

Chapters

0:00 Make It Work Intro

00:12 Episode and Guest Introduction

01:36 Hello Anu and Rajani

04:44 Challenges Faced as Working Mothers

06:32 Rajani: Figuring Out A New Career After 8 Years As SAHM 

10:05 Anu: New Motherhood Taught Me A Tough Lesson: To Be Kinder To Myself

15:21 Veira Life: Providing The Support For Mothers We Wish We Had

17:21 Why Support Spouses?

19:30 What Keeps Us Going as Entrepreneurs Despite Our Life Stage

27:49 The One Thing to Takeaway From This

29:56 Outro

Nila Bhattacharyya is currently based in Bangalore India with her husband and 3 year old. Prior to embracing motherhood, Nila's career spanned diverse roles; from serving as an oil rig engineer in Brazil to working as a global-traveling management consultant based in the United States.

However, following the arrival of her first child, Nila made a pivotal decision to return to India, leaving consulting and starting a new career in product management for a healthtech company headquartered in the United States. Join us to hear how and why Nila made these significant shifts to balance family needs whilst staying true to her career ‘north star’.

In today’s honest and practical conversation, Nila also shares about:

🌟The structured framework guiding her career transitions

🌟Candid observations of parenting in the US vs India

🌟How she expanded the proverbial village to her workplace, breaking taboos by integrating pregnancy openly into professional life early on

🌟How embedding frameworks such as “Jobs To Be Done” and “Operational Key Results” help her prioritize her parenting goals

Connect with Nila on:

👋Email: nilanjana.bhattacharyya@gmail.com

👋LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nilanjana-b-3b36651a

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #UStoIndia #CareerTransitions

Chapters

00:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:11 Episode and Guest Introduction

03:07 Motherhood: An Internal Shift In Perspective Toward Work

05:58 It Takes A Village.. Which Includes Your Workplace

09:03 Getting Help And Figuring My Priorities

09:57 Exploring Career Options - Why I Pivoted Into Product After Motherhood

15:55 Making A Geographical Shift For Family - A Move Beset With Doubt

18:19 Parenting in US vs India/Asia: Some Big Differences Observed

22:28 My Spouse Is My Biggest Cheerleader

26:54 Looking Back, What Would I Do Differently?

29:51 How I Embed Jobs To Be Done and OKRs In Parenting

31:54 Key Takeaways: New Ways to Define and Grow Your Village

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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: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com