NAME: Mira Khleif
AGE: 36 years old
INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @Mirakhleif and @mirakandm
JOB TITLE: Founder of MkandM
MOVED TO THE UAE IN: 2014
Women-led businesses are a much talked about topics across the corporate world, but for Mira Khleif, Architect and Founder of MkandM, making the move into entrepreneurship wasn’t a natural evolution.
As a successful interior designer and architect, Mira worked on multifaceted projects ranging from urban planning to landmark cultural projects as well as an interior design for commercial and residential design projects. After embracing motherhood, she gracefully left behind the corporate world to raise two independent and emotionally intelligent boys. Her parenting journey made her realize how chaotic and confused parenting can be as opposed to the structure a corporate work life offered. That’s when she birthed MkandM. By combining the common denominator between her career as an architect and her instinct as a mother, she started shaping the minds of her children instead of carving out buildings.
Before conceiving MkandM, Mira worked as a project architect for the renowned Maisam Architects and Engineers. She holds a Master in Architecture degree from the University of East London, the UK, and a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Glamorgan University, Wales. During her impressive stint as an architect, she has been decorated with international recognition like the World Architect Festival Award, The Arabian Property Award, and the Winner of Winner Award.
Mira also loves spending her time behind the lens and practices photography to capture moments, spaces, and emotions to convey ideas through artistic images. She is a member of the Darat Al Tasweer organization in Amman, Jordan. Her photography skills were recognized on an international level in 2014 and 2015 for the General Nature Category and in 2013 for the Local Life Category in Turkey; and her work has since been exhibited in several art galleries in the Kingdom.
Currently, she devotedly invests time in understanding the depths of child development to combine her knowledge and creativity for MkandM’s growing portfolio of products and online offerings.
MKandM provides tools, ideas, and products that inspire parents to spend quality time with their children whilst developing early learning skills. Based on a play-way approach, the brand focuses on holistic development from a new and refreshing perspective and helps by making the parenting journey a fun and loving one. In a short span of three years, the brand has gained precious mind space of educated and working parents. It endeavours to address pressing issues like increasing screen time in children with innovative and playful tools that’ll engage children in the most interesting and beneficial manner.
Being a mompreneur is one of the most fulfilling experiences you can have in life, you get to create your dream job, spend time with your kids, and have a schedule that works for you and your life. However balancing both is no easy task, no day is like the other, and taking you through a day in my life doesn’t give enough justice to the chaos.
A typical day in the life of Mira:
8AM: My mornings start with me. I am very lucky and blessed that our house is only a few mins away from school and I can stay home as I wave goodbye to my boys who take their bicycles to school almost every day, when the weather permits. I gain a bit of extra time from not getting stuck in morning traffic and I sit by the window, drink my coffee while gazing out into the garden. I do my morning pages journaling- Morning pages are 3 pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing. I write all thoughts that come to mind on paper, to empty my mind and welcome new thoughts/ ideas to flow through the day. Self motivation isn’t easy for me, when you are your own boss you sometimes need a bit of a push. I am a true believer in the power that mindset can have over our lives and sometimes getting a little reminder of why im doing what I do can be exactly what I need on days I feel less motivated.
I then head to my “home office”, put on some music, check my emails and do some research. I also prepare some orders, I send out invoices and catch up on inventory at stores, as well as all brand collaborations and events. I give myself 30 mins of social media time, to schedule/ plan my weekly posts, and catchup on follower comments and engagements.
10AM: By this time for day, its usually time for a quick workout; at the gym or at home. On days when I don’t work out I focus on drawing and designing new products for my brand MkandM. I reflect on how we are raising our children as a family as this is usually where the inspiration stems from. I then create ways/ techniques to how to make our daily routine easier and more enjoyable. This is when, and how, new workshops and products are born. It takes a while to get in the rhythm, but once I’m there Its usually a few hours until I move on to the next task.
On days when the creativity is simply absent, I leave the house, I head to the gym, I work out, then I meet up with my clients, vendors and partners; I visit the printshop, carpentry workshop, and check up on my product samples and production. As much as these tasks can be time consuming, it is important I stay on top of the production process making sure my ideas are coming to life as imagined.
12NOON: Camera, lights, action. I work on product photo-shooting either at a studio or at home. I create the set up, the video story line and campaign topic for the day/season. Content creation takes up a big chuck of my time however the creativity involved keeps me motivated.
….
3PM: I pick up my boys (and their bicycles) from school and sit together for a family lunch. From here-on-out, my afternoon is dedicated to spending time with my kids. Our playtime is usually very engaging, I like to create activities that ignite their creative thinking and help develop their brain. We would sit for hours building, baking, pretending and experimenting to ensure their minds and bodies are fully engaged in learning through play (not on screens).
As the cool evening air sets in, we head outside to play in the garden and get some much-needed energy release before the bedtime/calm down routine begins. I find it important for them to expend physical energy before bedtime to ensure they (and I) get a good night’s sleep. I enjoy being there with them laughing and entering their little world of imagination. The more quality time I get with them the more I understand their talents and interests and how to put this in the center of the products I create.
5PM: We unwind in the living room where they get their one-hour screen time allowance for the day (TV or Device) as we pass time until daddy comes home from work. We sit as a family for Dinner and chat about our day, we discuss the things that made us feel happy and/ or sad, we talk about feelings, we include eachother is problem solving and coming up with ideas in situations that made us feel uncomfortable, we suggest plans for the weekend and We play ‘would you rather’ for a nice intriguing discussion allowing for a greater understanding of each others unique personalities and needs.
7PM: The bedtime routine begins… Boys are off to shower, brush teeth and get dressed for a cozy night. Next a quick bedtime story (by mom) and/or a hyper, rough and tumble play with dad (they get to choose and they usually choose both). They can choose to calmly read a story or jump on the bed, wrestle, and pretend fight. Often the story comes after the rough play as they calm down and we tuck them in and kiss them good night. And my favorite part is when we recap the day just before dosing off and we end our day by saying the things we were most grateful for and giving thanks.
9PM: The house is quiet at last, boys are asleep. Both mom and dad get to relax over dinner. We catch up on family weekly plans, travel plans and school teacher meetings. I check my social media handles, I post and engage with my followers then start my own bedtime routine; take a warm bath, drink my night night tea and Just before sleeping I reflect on my day, I write 10 things I feel grateful for and I list the tasks I have accomplished on that day. often times we concentrate on the things we don’t do, forgetting to acknowledge the things that we did achieve and celebrate the little wins of the day.
Comentarios