Meet Carolyn Cagney

From Etched In Memories

After a fulfilling career full of travel, conferences and fashion shows, motherhood set Carolyn Cagney in a new direction.

My husband and I currently have two beautiful kids, and I’m the proud business owner of www.etchedinmemories.com.au. The business allows me to work from home, and achieve a much sought after balance in my work and family life!

About 5 years ago, I left a job I loved to start a family. At the time, I was the Executive Assistant to the Director of Sales for an international direct selling company. My boss was fantastic, a truly inspirational and influential woman. I believe much of the confidence, morals, and passion I bring into my business now, stem from what I learnt from her.

My job gave me the opportunity to travel around Australia at least once a year, planning conferences and fashion shows. It sounds more glamorous than it was, but the women that I met along the way were what made it glamorous for me. They were all working independently running their own businesses, and with each of their successes, I celebrated with them.

I was so excited when we announced my pregnancy. My working life had been such a comfortable routine, so although I wasn’t leaving for good, I still had the kind of sadness you get when you say goodbye to a major part of your life. On the last day, I remember feeling numb. I sat in my car not really wanting to go home, and yet so excited to be starting the next stage of my life. As I drove off, many tears rolled down!

Motherhood has brought many experiences. It has certainly been instrumental in setting me on a new career path. Although I returned briefly to my job part-time after my baby, the international parent company pulled out of Australia. I had just discovered I was pregnant again, so I was assisting my boss to set up her own company from home. It really set the ball rolling in my head with possibilities.

After I had my second child, I suffered from panic attacks. I’ll never forget how debilitating, lonesome and out of control I felt. Thankfully, I sought counselling, and together with the support of family and friends, I got through.

Afterward, I was struggling to find my place in society and had no idea who I really was anymore. I loved being a mother, but wanted something for myself as well. After returning to casual employment, I realised it was not what I needed. Long-lost inklings of wanting to run a business from home were resurfacing.

Having come from a Direct Sales background, I looked a many different marketing plans and companies. Nothing I had found sparked enough passion or interest for me to pursue. Though, it is amazing how simply an idea can present itself without you even looking.

I purchased a photo engraved keyring as a gift for a friend, and wondered how it was done.

I began searching the Internet, just out of interest. The more I read, the more I was inspired. Each search took me deeper, discovering suppliers, market trends in the personalisation industry, and how to write a business plan.

I started contacting people and asking questions. My husband and I talked about it, and after months of discussions and research, we began. He helped me get started by purchasing the company name, and getting the ABN, GST and Trading Name sorted. I organised the purchase of machinery, supplies, web hosting, logo design and business cards, and set about creating the web site, learning as I went. Once I finished, I began focusing on advertising and marketing the site.

Trying to juggle everything (wife, mother, homemaker, business owner, casual employee) is not easy. There is no way I can give each the time it requires, as there is just not enough of me to stretch around. My casual employment has really taken a back seat (much to the disgust of my bank balance) and my house is not always immaculate (much to the disgust of me). I try to work my business as intelligently and efficiently as possible, but my family always comes first.

My kids are the reason I am doing this. I want to be able to stay home and be waiting for them after school, like my mother was. I want to be able to spend school holidays with them rather than send them off to vacation care because I have a job to go to.

My dream is to have my business as my source of income by the time my kids are in school. For now, I work casually as required, and do most of the work on my business after they have gone to bed. I have started to set limits so that I have time to myself as well.

The icing on the cake for me is being able to work on my own terms - I can work in the evening, and I can even wear my pyjamas!  I can take breaks from working to play with my kids, put on a load of washing or to take a two-hour lunch break. It’s totally guilt free, and this makes it all worth it.