Independence and motherhood

The step towards independence

We would like to briefly introduce ourselves. We are Tiina and Yvi, we run and run MAIN Design. We have both been moms since 2018. We still remember exactly how we spontaneously founded a GmbH online on a park bench in a playground in Zurich. A step that we have not even regretted to this day.

difficulties

Time management

A sensitive topic. You already have the feeling that you don't have enough time for everything. Now, in addition to the family, there is also the desire to realize oneself. Is it even possible to bring everything together? Playing with your daughter, time with family and friends, household chores, business and where is the time left for yourself? We say yes, it is possible, but in our opinion, everything else is so easy. It takes an enormous amount of self-management and great planning skills.

Self-management

Planning is the be-all and end-all. The best way to help us is to make a plan and divide what will be done and when. In order to keep an overview, the various tasks are noted down. The pending list is often long, and setting priorities is very important. Don’t forget: plan short breaks. Then you can get back to work much fresher. We know from ourselves that breaks are far too short. You want to get as much done as possible.

Stress management

When you are self-employed, the work basically never ends. You can always work more, do more, improve even more. This makes it extremely difficult to switch off every now and then, despite the never-shortening list of tasks. Often there is still a bad conscience.

Missing wages

Despite working long hours with lots of overtime, there are times when you have to endure not earning anything.

Motivation and perseverance

Probably the two most important requirements, without which nothing works. Of course, the motivation is not always the same. That's why it's important to motivate each other. Our satisfied customers are our greatest motivation to continue. And then of course there is our passion, the joy in what we do. This helps us to persevere, even when our energy level is not the highest.

Production and collaboration

For those who don't know, we produce in Bali. We have been working with our producers for several years. Even though Tiina now speaks Indonesian incredibly well, the meetings are not always easy. The language barrier is still there.

At the same time, it is incredibly exciting to come into contact with this beautiful culture. The Balinese are very lovely people. However, the work ethic cannot be compared to that of the Swiss. Everything takes a lot longer. That's why it's important to plan ahead. However, it is up to us to think differently, to empathize with the other culture and to accept that during certain days and weeks when there are public holidays (and there are a lot of them in Bali) sometimes nothing is moving forward. Somehow this also slows down life, which is actually a nice thing. With the right advance planning, delivery times can be easily met.

Satisfied costumers

Compliments, kind words, positive feedback from satisfied customers, friends and family are probably the greatest motivation and the best reward for us. Or when your child is constantly running around in the new bathing suit we designed and doesn't want to take it off anymore. And when you feel how many people are behind you and support us.

Joy in every sale

With a business as small as ours, every sale still brings us great joy and gratitude. Since we store the things with us and pack and ship them ourselves, we experience every single order.

satisfaction and pride

Many small positive moments trigger satisfaction and pride. The inner satisfaction when something is done, when you hold a finished product in your hand, when the website is up to date, when the new collection comes out and goes on sale, when you manage to do it without being an IT specialist the website is running again.

Learning process

You learn an incredible amount. Since there are only two of us running the business, we take on all the tasks, even if we previously had no idea about the many processes. A never-ending learning process, but that also makes it incredibly exciting and interesting.

Example

Being independent as a mom is possible. It fills us with pride that we can show our daughters that you can live your dreams as a mom. They watch us, how we plan, how we work, how we implement things. We hope that we can give our girls the message that you can achieve a lot if you put in the effort and enjoy it.

Price war

Our goal is and has always been to develop sustainable, high-quality products that are also fairly priced. We want affordable products for the vast majority, even if this reduces our margin.

Challenging times

Over the last few years it has become increasingly difficult to keep sales prices at the same level. The fabrics became more expensive, the producers increased prices, and shipping became more expensive. So actually all the means that lead to the finished product. The Covid period was financially difficult for us. It was hardly possible to travel anymore and as we know, the Swiss summer unfortunately doesn't last too long. You couldn't go to the swimming pools for a long time either. And then who needs a new bikini?

Since the production prices have unfortunately continued to rise, we are now forced to increase the prices slightly for next year's collection. The pressure was simply too much. However, we try to increase prices as little as possible so that our products are still sold at fair prices. We hope for your understanding.

A huge thank you

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your support and love over the last few years, the kind words and the good encouragement when things weren't easy. We appreciate each and every one of you so much. Being self-employed and running and operating a small business is not always easy, but we love what we do and hope that we can continue to do so for a very long time.