HELM is very proud to provide grant-funded childcare support to Ontario-based women entrepreneurs. In our series, Interview with a Mompreneur, we get a glimpse into the businesses and lives of the talented moms who are taking part in The Childcare Support Pilot for Women Entrepreneurs. We hope you find these superwomen as inspiring as we do!

For this week’s interview, we are thrilled to introduce you to Illanith Benjamin, the supermom behind Mothering Mindful Daughters.

Tell us about your business:

“I am a holistic wellness coach and help mothers and their daughters build resiliency with healthy mindset, yoga and mindfulness. My coaching takes place all online. I also run international yoga retreats.”

Tell us about your family:

“I have a 3-and-a-half-year-old. I am playing single working mother for my family right now. We have been waiting for my husband’s residency to Canada for two and a half years. I am also the sole income provider and work part time at a high school.”

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

“My previous job as a guidance counsellor didn’t afford me the space to fully share my gifts of mindfulness with my students, and this is where most of the change and healing came from. Being stretched thin with other obligations didn’t give these students what they needed most: full connection to themselves, to me or to others. I realized I was doing everyone a disservice, including myself, by not being obedient to my strengths.”

What is your favourite part of being an entrepreneur?

“I am finally in control. Even though I am not doing less, I am doing what I love and what I am meant to be doing! There is a new energy that comes with that form of motivation.”

What are your goals for your business in the future?

“I would like to build a network of like-minded individuals and hire them to share my programs worldwide.”

What is your biggest Mom vs. Career challenge?

“Time! There is never enough! I wake up at 5am or earlier just to find a quiet and zoned-in space where I can fully concentrate and give my business the time it needs so I can give my daughter the full time she needs. It’s hard and painful if I’m not disciplined.”

What are your strategies for creating work/life balance?

“I’m still working on this one. This childcare support program for moms who are entrepreneurs is going to kick-start the importance and value of balance. I’ll probably never turn back!”

What are your tips for other mompreneurs?

“Schedule in your ‘me time’ just like you schedule in time for others. Put it on your calendar and look forward to those times. Next, zone into your children fully and unconditionally, because what could have been a five-minute mindful interaction might have otherwise turned into a full night of fragmented attention turned into a very, very difficult night. Give your all to everything.”

To learn more about Mothering Mindful Daughters, visit their social media! Follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Need a babysitter?

The HELM App is your control panel for life as a parent. Find and book a babysitter, book kids’ camps & classes, see what’s happening this weekend, plus so much more—all in the tap of a button. Download the HELM App for free:

Are you a mompreneur in need of childcare support? Datenight Babysitting —a HELM company— is the proud recipient of funding from the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E) at Ryerson University to help women entrepreneurs with childcare support. Click here to find out if you are eligible to participate in this program.