This mumpreneur helped scratch an itch by making eczema child garments

Elevating a toddler isn’t easy- there’s a superb purpose why individuals say that being a mom is the toughest job on the earth. However what occurs when not only one, however each of your kids have extreme eczema? Evidently, this might imply a heavy toll on parents- and Yong Qiao Qing discovered herself in such a state of affairs.

Earlier than this, she had had a profitable decade-long profession in hospitality and customer support, however had determined to depart the company world in an effort to look after her kids.

Not one to be daunted by challenges, Qiao Qing turned this problem into a chance – and has created Little Warriors, a brand new model of kids’s clothes tailor-made to eczema kids.

Preventing eczema – no elegant answer in Singapore

Eczema is sort of frequent in Singapore – round one in each 10 adults endure from the situation, and round 20 per cent of school-going kids endure from the situation. Many individuals no less than know somebody who suffers from the situation. And in kids, it may be significantly difficult to cope with.

“We purchased each model of mittens and eczema treatment accessible, however none may match our necessities. My youthful daughter was nonetheless in ache on a regular basis, scratching herself uncooked and protecting herself in bloody wounds daily”, Qiao Qing shared with Vulcan Submit when requested how the thought for Little Warriors was conceived. 

On high of this, Qiao Qing lower out allergens from her weight loss program, and managed her childrens’ diets to make sure that they’d solely eat meals that will not set off the eczema rashes. She remembers that at occasions she needed to dig meals out of her youthful daughter’s mouth when the she unintentionally ate one thing that she was allergic to.

And her childrens’ battle with eczema was taking a toll on Qiao Qing as effectively. She usually discovered herself in anguish over her kids’s plight, and sleep disadvantaged from caring for her two kids and their medical situation. 

“My psychological well being was in a really dangerous state earlier than I began the corporate. I used to be crying on a regular basis and I simply couldn’t snap out of it. I knew I wanted an even bigger function in life to tug me out from the trenches and Little Warriors turned out to be precisely what I wanted.”

-Yong Qiao Qing, founder and Chief Warrior of Little Warriors

If nothing works, make one thing that works- and make it large

Having tried in useless to seek out merchandise that will alleviate her kids’s eczema, Qiao Qing lastly determined that stronger motion was needed- and he or she got down to create garments that will cease her kids from itching, and forestall them from scratching any itches which will come up.

Typical garments wouldn’t work for her kids, and her kids would pull off the mittens and use something they might discover to scratch themselves, leaving open wounds throughout their our bodies and faces.

And when she tried scratch sleeves, she discovered that the sleeves weren’t appropriate for Singapore’s scorching and humid local weather.

By means of rigorous trial and error, Qiao Qing lastly discovered an answer that will work- bamboo fibre. The fabric was tender and breathable, making it appropriate for Singapore’s local weather, however was extraordinarily delicate, and wouldn’t stand as much as intense scratching. As such, she determined to strengthen the bamboo material with a layer of cotton. 

“We made a number of prototypes with native and abroad tailors and garment suppliers. Every time, we’d convey the prototype house to rub them vigorously throughout our face and limbs, in an effort to simulate the scratching that our infants carry out and to check the safety of the completely different material sorts. With delicate infants being our clients, we had no room for discrepancies in high quality.”

-Yong Qiao Qing, founder and Chief Warrior of Little Warriors

Fortunately for Qiao Qing, her husband was a regional salesperson who had expertise working in lots of elements of Asia. He was resourceful, and managed to seek out the tailors, garment makers, and material suppliers that will make the product idea a actuality.

Collectively, they leveraged Qiao Qing’s expertise in gross sales and operations administration, in addition to her husband’s resourcefulness and enterprise acumen to construct Little Warriors.

And so they have been fairly profitable, in response to Qiao Qing. Having invested round S$10,000 into the enterprise to obtain the primary batch of protecting garments, the enterprise has already made a revenue inside its first year- with many purchasers returning to buy extra garments after they realised that Little Warriors’ merchandise had been effectively designed and effectively suited.

As a testomony to their success, Qiao Qing steadily represents the model and participates in roadshows and child gala’s.

Work-life stability? Attempt work-life integration

Usually occasions, one would possibly suppose that with an extra focus of getting a enterprise to run on high of getting to boost two kids with eczema would possibly imply an entire lack of labor life stability, Qiao Qing begs to vary.

Whereas it’s true that childcare takes a good portion of her day, she nonetheless manages to seek out time to work on Little Warriors every time her kids are asleep: through the day when her kids take their day by day naps, after which as soon as her kids sleep at 10pm at evening.

Even past that, she has discovered a technique to bond together with her kids by means of her business- her elder daughter Shan En helps with packing and fulfilling orders within the evenings, and the time spent engaged on Little Warriors has additionally change into a time for household bonding for the household.

On the similar time, Little Warriors has supplied Qiao Qing with a function to dedicate herself to, and he or she finds the journey extraordinarily fulfilling. The responses to her merchandise have additionally been extraordinarily encouraging, and he or she has discovered a group that may empathise together with her battle and help her enterprise.

At present, the corporate affords protecting sleeves and pants for kids anyplace from six months to 6 years outdated, and there are plans to develop the corporate’s vary of merchandise to cater for older kids.

“I like that I can contain my kids on this enterprise, whether or not it’s modelling for photoshoots, creating social media content material or packing orders. My kids know that Mama spends her time serving to different households who’re struggling in the identical tough journey as us and we’re heartened to know that we aren’t alone.”

Featured Picture Credit score: Little Warriors