Celebrating Equity in Enterprise | Parents World

Hello, my name is Jasmine. I'm a publisher of Parents World Singapore. And today we celebrate International Women's Day with Things. The founder of Sunny Step, one of the fastest growing footwear brand in apec and Sunny Step was born on the traumatic experience of things life. Let's hear from Things to share the experience with us.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm Ting, the founder of Sunny Steps Step. I'm also a mother of three. So I started standing step a few years ago after I had a very, very bad spine injury in my postpartum. In postpartum because all the baby duties, I started to have back pain. So unfortunately I took a Pilates class that went wrong. So I was giving all the wrong exercise. So my spine condition was exacerbated.

Because you just gave birth and then you take Pilates class and it's too much on your spine.

Yeah, there was nothing wrong. Pilates itself. But I wasn't giving the right exercise at the time, so I wouldn't be able to do any exercise that pushed my limit. So I ended up having a very traumatic spine injury. And so I couldn't sit down at all for almost two years. And I was in pain almost every day. So at the time, I couldn't wear any of the shoes I was wearing before. The sports shoes are very heavy and the flip flops don't give you any support. And the traditional orthotic shoes are very clunky and heavy and also pricey. So that's how I started Sanistead because I wanted to wear the most comfortable walking shoes. Wow.

You know, guys, I think women have never had enough shoes. And, you know, thanks to Ting, now he created the most comfortable shoes for us ladies. Yeah. So what is your, you know, brand unique selling point?

Sannistead was born because I was having a lot of pain. So that's a time when I realized how important mobility is to our life because I couldn't get out of my house for a long time. So I think the brand mission is to help people move freely and happily. And we want people to know the shoes is not just about a fashion statement. The shoes actually need to provide a primary function of supporting your feet, supporting your body. I think that's what Setting Step is about for our product. We make sure we design our shoes to minimize stress for the feet and their body. So we have our own proprietary instrument, insole technology, to make sure that the insoles support your feet really well. So you can walk for the whole day with no pain.

Amazing. You know, we Women walk a lot from the start. We wake up in the morning till we go to bed.

Right.

So this shoe is going to make us like walking on the cloud. I'm sure that's the aim. Yeah. Okay, great. Is there any specific saddestep shoe that you recommend for parents, especially mum who just gave birth and. Yeah. Do you sell children's shoes?

Yeah, so definitely. So this shoe right at my hands here is a classic Sadistep balance runner. So this is our oldest design and there's a huge loyal following behind this design. It's classic, it's very lightweight. It's very lightweight. Wow.

Really nice. It's soft. The leather is very nice. Yeah, I can hold it with just one hand.

Yeah. And the insoles, as I mentioned just now, we have our own proprietary and removable insoles. We have extra cushioning at the back of the insole, acupressure, massage points to elevate the muscle strength. So, yeah, I think this is going to be good for pregnant women or women in postpartum because it's very important to minimize stress our body has to go through.

Understand? And yeah, I see you have super cute little children's shoe.

Yes. We haven't launched it yet, but we are going to launch it this year. Our case range is from 20, size 26, 26, 35, 33 years and above.

3 years and above. Okay, great.

Okay. We are still working hard on it, perfecting it first before market, having the right support, having the right posture. Yeah. It will be very important for the growth.

I fully agree on that. And you are a mother too. Has it been hard for you to steer a business, you know, to success along with raising your own kids?

Yeah, I think it's always a struggle for women to balance. Balance family life and balance work. So I think the. But what I want to share here is like, let's don't beat. Beat ourselves up to it. I think we should always, you know, pat our own shoulder, gave ourselves our own hug, you know, like to, you know, to tell ourselves, you know, you are doing great. Right. We might not always be there for every single birthday. You know, we might not always be there in the office 24 7. But I think we are trying our best and like, we need to find a balance and the balance is different for everybody. Right. I think there is no one look of success and we should embrace, you know, whatever choices we make. Whether you want to focus more on family, focus more on career, or you want to, you know, try to balance both in the ways that you Think you can manage? I think all these options should be celebrated.

I understand and I fully agree totally with that because mom always feel guilty, you know, we don't spend enough time with our kids, with our family, and yet we, you know, as a woman nowadays we have to work, you know. And yeah, I think this is really good advice for mums who works and our moms who are also entrepreneur.

Yeah. And I think you mentioned giving time to family, giving time to, you know, your business. Right. I think it's also important to give some time to yourself.

Yes. Give time to ourselves.

Like take care of your own body first.

Yes.

I think only if you feel physically strong and mentally shocked, then you can take things for other people.

Yes, I fully agree. Take care of yourself more. Love yourself more. So do you have any tips or insight to share with moms who want to set up their own business?

I would say my number one tip is that you have to do something you are passionate about and you feel there is a purpose behind it. I think that's how I felt when I started Sunny Step because I suffered so much from it. So I knew my solution can potentially help so many people out there. So that's what motivated me. Every day when I go out there to see people wearing Sunny Step shoes, we receive reviews. You know, people talking about their shoes make a huge difference to their lives. I think that's what motivated me to keep going, to embrace the challenges and uncertainty. So I think for mothers out there or women out there who want to start up their own business, I think it's important to find something they feel passionate about and they feel there is a purpose behind it. I think the business itself is larger than the person the business, it's about creating value for the customers. People can then the business can survive and sustain. So I think that's probably my number one advice.

Do you think that, you know, women have to feel guilty or they think that they have to be woman entrepreneur to be able to feel that they.

Are something or someone, you know, or definitely not. Right. I think some women might choose to be a full time housewife.

There's nothing wrong with that.

It's an extremely tough job. Yes, it's an extremely tough job.

Full time mom is like 24 hours, right?

Exactly. So I think they should be celebrated. Right. If some people decided to do part time and part time job and take out the family at the same time, they also should be supported and celebrated its own choice. I think we shouldn't be ashamed of the choices we make.

Yes.

And we have to know, you know, different people have the different purposes.

Yes, I agree. So I think just be who you are, whether you want to, you know, do part time job, you want to do your own business. I think everyone have their own strength and I believe that nothing is wrong, nothing is perfect. Just be who you are and be happy. I guess.

I think even in business there are all sorts of different businesses out there. You can have a small business, you can be self employed. Right. You can build a big team. I think that we shouldn't be ashamed of our ambitions, but we also shouldn't be ashamed of being a housewife. Or you want to travel around the world for one year or you want to start a family and to focus on family. I think we shouldn't be held back by what the society thinks a woman should do.

Yeah, I agree. So yeah, don't think of what other things about you, but think about yourself first, I guess. So finally, what does International Women's Day Team 2023 embrace equity means to you? And how would you embrace equity in your personal and professional life?

Yeah, so I was sharing with you. I have three girls and they all have very different personalities. So equity to me is about giving people the tools they need to be successful. So for my older girl who is a little bit shy, so I always encourage her to speak up, have more confidence. For my second daughter who is very bold, I will ask her to be a little bit more cautious. Don't fall down, you know, So I.

Think, very kind mommy.

Different personalities, so they need different tools, different advice to succeed. So same in workplace, different people have the unique capabilities or weaknesses. So I do have a female staff who is almost 60 years old. So she might be a little bit lagged behind technology, but she's experienced, she's mature. I think she deserves the same opportunity and chance as other younger girls out there to succeed. So I think it's about empowering them with the right tools so everybody has an equal opportunity to succeed.

That's good. So thank you for having us today and share your experience. So let's cheers to Women's Day. Cheers. Happy Women's Day to all the women there. So I have a present for you.

Thanks.

And this is for you.

Did you create this?

Can you tell me more? Yes. So I created the tea which is single herbal ying. It is very good for, you know, good night's sleep and antioxidants. And it's made from flower roots and fruits, so no caffeine so you can have a better sleep at night. And I created the palm as well to like with the lavender is cooling. So for stress relief, headache, cough, you have a tired muscle and then, you know, tired shoulder. So you can have a good night's sleep for all you know. Especially for a woman who is busy holding outside.

This is all I need right now.

So I hope you enjoy the present from us. And thank you for having us. Thank you.

Let's cheers for having me. Cheers.

See you next time.