We caught up with Rachael Peedom, Australian mother of three young children and owner of The Sea Shanty Villa in Bali. Read on to discover how she has managed to achieve the perfect balance between family priorities and running a business from home!

Tell us about you and your career, and what you were doing before?

I’ve been in the travel and hospitality industry since I completed a Science and Aviation degree, twenty years ago. I began my career as a pilot and tour guide flying tourists over to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Thanks to a sliding-doors moment, I took a role in operations for a regional airline in Sydney, and then found my way into the corporate world with American Express Travel, running their airline programs for Asia Pacific.

After moving into the world of luxury travel, running start-ups and boutique travel businesses, I met the man of my dreams who literally whisked me off my feet to Singapore. Keen to uphold my financial independence in the early days, I launched myself back in the corporate world, running a conference, meetings and events business in Asia Pacific for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, before I gave birth to my first child.

At this point (with a young daughter) I could maintain a full-time job and travel, thanks to wonderful domestic help in Singapore. However, when the news came that twins were on the way, priorities shifted quickly! I found my dream job (working for Microsoft running their travel program for Asia Pacific), which allowed me to work from home and enjoy the best of both worlds. But my real moment of epiphany came when we finished building our dream home in Bali and decided to set it up as a holiday villa rental business. I quit full-time work and began running the business remotely from Singapore. That decision changed my life.

Being Responsible For Your Own Destiny

As much as I enjoyed life in the corporate world, travelling, attending functions and conferences, meeting great people and loving the comfort of job security, there was something always missing. I never knew what that was until I decided to take the plunge and set up my own business. I then realized what had been missing was the risk taking: the challenge of having to watch every dollar you spend and not really knowing if you were going to succeed and, most importantly, doing something that was making a difference and having a positive impact on other people. I learned that you discover so much more about yourself when you are responsible for your own destiny. I feel like I am finally at the helm of my own life journey and finally have that perfect balance of work, life and family. I grew up thinking you can’t have it all, but you absolutely can. I will never look back.

Believe In What You’re Doing And Make A Difference

Setting up my dream business has been a game changer for me. Being able to put everything I have learned throughout my career and now being able to channel that knowledge into my business today, doing something I love, is very rewarding. Not only because I realized my past career and experiences did not go to waste but also because I now feel like I am drawing on my strengths more and I am better able to outsource my weakness to others. There are still days that are challenging. But I would rather be up at night worrying about my business than worrying about whether I really believe in what I am doing. To me, believing in what you are doing and making a difference is more important than any money in the bank.

Finding Help And Advice In Networking Groups

Knowing where to start looking for help or advice has been the biggest challenge for me. When I first launched the business I did courses, attended meetings and conferences, and read as much online advice as I possibly could. But there is so much information out there I found it quite overwhelming and, at the end of the day, I just needed help to get stuff done – especially the tasks at which I am not proficient. But thanks to networking groups like Athena, I managed to find people with the right skills to help me and outsourcing has been my greatest revelation so far.

Giving Back To The Local Community

Being able to provide guests with a relaxing and memorable experience in our villa makes me very happy. Our history with repeat guests tells me we are doing something right. Also, being able to give back to the community in a third-world country which needs assistance so much more than we need a holiday is very important to me. Having a purpose to our mission and working with local communities to promote sustainable tourism and contributing towards an income stream for them gives me great joy.

Trusting My Instincts And Believing In Myself

My biggest lesson in life has been to trust my instincts and believe in myself. After having three children and ongoing medical issues after the twins were born, my confidence took a battering and I lost the ability to believe in myself. I was constantly questioning if I was able to be a good mother and wife, and have a career at the same time; and feeling like I was never really succeeding at any of them. However, a meditation and mindfulness journey to Bhutan with a group of smart, talented, wonderful women literally changed my life. I discovered a way to believe in myself again through meditation. It was a real turning point for me, as the belief brought back the confidence I needed to maintain the momentum with the business.

If I Could Do It All Again

I would have outsourced admin and social media management earlier. Cash flow would have been under pressure, but my stress levels would have been lower! And having more time to grow the business while someone helps me out with the admin and social media (not my strong point) would have recovered the extra overheads earlier anyway. You live and learn!

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