Other Women's Jobs // A Day In The Life & Career Of Kanessa Muluneh

NAME: Kanessa Muluneh

AGE: 34

INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @kanessamuluneh

JOB TITLE: Founder/CEO of MULU & Rise of Fearless

MOVED TO THE UAE IN: 2023

Kanessa Muluneh is born in Ethiopia and raised in The Netherlands. Her immigrant background shaped her into a serial founder and she built businesses from scratch, scaling them beyond seven figures. MULU is a lifestyle fashion label for the entire family, and Rise of Fearless is a mobile game that merges African storytelling with battle royale gameplay.

Kanessa cares about heritage, paying it forward, sharing the knowledge that she's gained and giving back. Quality is non-negotiable. She demands it from herself and with every person who works with her and sometimes even her family.

She's also a mom of 3 (Memphis, Malyché, and Maeven) and married to Remco. Her life is full of business, family, purpose and she truly lives to the fullest.

Today we discover a day in her life and career:

4:30AM:

I wake up at 4:30AM and yes, it’s very early, but it works for me. By 5AM, I’m already working out while the whole house is still asleep, especially the kids. I don’t actually like working out, so I found a way to beat myself at my own game. I do it before my brain even wakes up enough to complain. By the time the day really starts, it’s already behind me.

We built a home gym, which makes it even easier. No traffic, no excuses. My personal trainer meets me there at that hour, and together we get it done. By the time I’ve had breakfast, I’m ready to get the kids going and step into the rest of my day.

For me, that early start is not about loving fitness but more about discipline. It’s my way of staying healthy without overthinking it.

7:30AM:

By this time, the kids are ready, and so am I. I’ve changed into my outfit for the day, and we head out together. This part of our routine is a little different, because we homeschool our kids. Every morning, one of my kids goes to a learning hub which is a place where homeschoolers can do their schoolwork while being around other kids. When one child stays home with a private teacher, the other gets that social interaction.

It’s the rhythm that works for us. By the time we’ve dropped off at the hub, their day has officially started, and so has mine.

10AM:

Because of the traffic in Dubai, getting back home takes quite long. We leave around 7:30, but it’s usually close to 9AM by the time I walk back through the door. That’s when I give myself a little pause of an hour just to breathe. I’ll have my coffee, a small snack, and ease into the day without rushing.

By 10AM, the chaos starts. That’s when work officially begins. My team starts coming in, my personal assistant, staff members, or sometimes people arriving for meetings. Other days I’m heading out to the office or to meet someone across the city. Either way, 10:00AM. is when the hectic part of my day kicks off, and from there, it doesn’t slow down.

12PM:

I’m still in the middle of the rush. It’s peak work time, I have calls, meetings, and decisions to make. I’ve learned that between 10AM and 2PM is my sweet spot. The kids are occupied, and I can focus completely, so I pack as much into those hours as possible.

Lunch usually happens somewhere in between. I never really sit down for it, it’s more of a grab & go while I work. It’s become routine, and honestly, I don’t mind. My husband is just as busy, so there’s no family lunch at that hour. Everyone in the house eats at their own time, with their own diets, and it works for us. For me, lunch is just part of the flow, right in the middle of the chaos.

3PM:

The kids start coming home, the one from the learning hub and the little one from kindergarten, usually brought in by the nanny. That’s when the quiet disappears and the loudness enters lol. I always greet them, ask about their day, but then they dive into their own routines like activities with the nanny, small chores, or just unwinding.

For me, this is the in-between moment. I’m still working, usually checking in with my team, planning for the next day, or squeezing in meetings. Because of the time difference, I often connect with business partners in Europe or the U.S. around this time. Some days I start winding down, other days, the rush continues. It really depends on how heavy the schedule is.

6PM:

My husband is usually home by then, either in the living room or in the kitchen, and the kids are coming back from their activities, whether it’s swimming or something else. Everyone’s hungry, so we gather for dinner.

This is probably the most steady part of our day, our one true routine. After dinner, the little one starts winding down for bed, and we shift into preparation mode: charging laptops for homeschooling, packing bags, making sure everything’s ready for tomorrow. In between, we talk to the kids about their day and just connect before bedtime.

It’s simple, but it’s our family moment where everything slows down.

8PM:

At this time, the house is quiet. The kids are either asleep or entertaining themselves in their rooms, the older one usually with a book, the little ones already asleep. The staff has gone home, and the noise of the day fades out. That’s when we pick work back up.

Evenings are when I handle the unexpected, the things that didn’t fit into the day or the ideas that pop up and demand attention. I’ve always been an evening person,  it’s just when my creativity feels the sharpest. But with kids, I’ve had to become a morning person, too. So evenings are a kind of second shift for me.. it’s calmer, quieter, and more about being creative. It’s where I work on the things I couldn’t fully dive into earlier, when everyone else needed my attention.

10PM:

By the end of the day, I’m usually in bed or on the couch with my husband. Sometimes we’ll order sushi, put on a movie, or just talk about everything, life, work, whatever’s on our minds. It’s simple, but it’s my favorite part of the day.

I’ve always been more of an evening person, so I love those hours when the house is quiet and I can just relax. But I’m also exhausted most of the time so I fall asleep somewhere between 10 and 11PM, which already feels too late considering how early I get up. Even so, I love those evenings but they’re short, yes.