For small business owners, the juggle of work-life balance is tricky to get right. With so much on your shoulders, it can often seem like an insurmountable task.
Amy Doan opened her own cafe just over two years ago. She didn’t do it for her own sake — she started the business in the hopes it would provide her son a stable and reliable employment. Doan’s son, Koh chan, lives with Kabuki Syndrome, a rare condition where individuals may suffer from a range of disorders including congenital heart defects, growth problems, and intellectual disability. There is no cure.
For Doan, one of the most challenging aspects to owning K Cafe Flavours of Vietnam is balancing her responsibilities as a parent alongside her responsibilities as a business owner.
“I can’t 100 per cent focus on the work, especially because my son has a lot more challenges because of his medical conditions,” she told Women’s Agenda. “There is the guilt of not fulfilling my responsibilities as a mum and not 100 per cent devoting myself to the work.”
Doan described the hospitality industry as “very tough”. Before establishing her Macquarie Park business, she’d been in a corporate job for over 15 years. She started her small business owner journey alone. There were not many female small business owners in her area. Sadly, she remains a minority in her suburb in north-western Sydney. Doan is among the 35 per cent of women in Australia who make up all business owners. She’s also among the third of these women who were born overseas.
Doan invested everything she had into the cafe — something she said was difficult, because the fear of failure was always present. “I quit my job to start my own business, which was a huge pressure on myself and on my family.”
But she knew there was no looking back. Despite the lack of financial assistance from the government, and disruptions to her business caused by ongoing Transport for NSW constructions around her cafe, Doan is remaining positive about the future of the cafe.
For one, she is relying on the support she’s receiving from regular and local customers. “My regular customers and local community has kept my door open,” she explained.
A recent national study of women entrepreneurs in the hospitality and retail sectors commissioned by Door Dash found that women business owners continue to face significant barriers, including caring responsibilities and access to finance. One of the major challenges cited by the study’s participants was that of recruiting, retaining and managing staff.
Luckily for Doan, she has managed to build a reliable team of staff, allowing her flexible time to care for her son and meet his needs.
“I have been very fortunate and proud to say that after two years I have this team of amazing staff who work very hard and support me,” she said. “I can spend more time with my son, his therapies, school, and doctors’ appointments.”
“What has helped me through these challenges is my son and my motivation of making my dream become true.”
The Door Dash report found that Doan’s experience reflected many female business owners: several participants noted their ability to make their own hours after starting their own business. For some, that was the primary reason for starting their own business.
Doan said the most critical skill she has practised throughout the last few years since starting her business is that of organising.
“Organisation skills are very important, trying to be on top of everything,” she said. “Instead of physical work, I try to manage and teach my staff with the skills needed for them to be independent in their roles. I spend a lot of time training staff to make everyone an all-rounder, which also helps staff to find more interest with their job.”
Doan’s cafe now partners with DoorDash, one of the country’s biggest delivery platforms. It’s been beneficial for her cafe, she said, because it means more exposure, leading to more customers. She wants to extend her enthusiasm for food beyond her team members.
“My staff love working at K Café,” she said. “It is not only their jobs but something that they find joy in. You can see their passion for food and their care for me.”