NAME: Miriam Lindholm
AGE: 37
INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @femique_lingerie
JOB TITLE: Co-Founder and CEO of Femique
MOVED TO THE UAE IN: 2019
Miriam Lindholm founded what is quite possibly the prettiest nursing lingerie brand we ever did see. There are also options for those not in the nursing phase of life, so do check out this gorgeous female founded Swedish brand.
Miriam was born in Sweden, in the small seaside town of Fjällbacka, and raised on the West Coast. As the Co-Founder of Femique, she has worked diligently alongside her fellow Co-Founder, to pursue her dream of creating a luxury maternity wear brand, designed to empower the wearer. Miriam feels like together they are true pioneers in the mother care industry, having successfully launched Femique in Sweden, and now focusing their attention on global expansion, tackling the GCC market now. The brand and its products have been created from scratch, tastefully combining artful, alluring designs alongside an impeccable fit that allow women to feel beautiful, inside, and out, without compromising on comfort or style. All pieces are designed to be the foundation for women feeling strong and powerful in their bodies throughout all stages of womanhood.
Miriam's routine changes from time to time depending on priorities and what happens in her life. Right now, she shares what is her most typical day, but as with every business owning mother, it can get blown up into the air as something always ends up happening - one of her kids gets sick, she gets sick, there is an emergency at work etc. For Miriam it’s about accepting that every day can be different and that it’s normal. She has learnt that she's able to adapt quickly, and not get set in particular ways and think that things should always be a certain way. Otherwise, it becomes too mentally challenging. Miriam considers herself lucky as in general, as she is a person that enjoys change so for her this works well.
Over time Miriam has thought a lot about daily life. How to optimise it (but not get stuck in having it too optimized), how to be healthy, how to feel present with kids and husband, have a friendship group, but also be able grow a company to fulfil her own ambitions and to be a good role model for her kids. Miriam and her husband made it their priority to sit down together and talk about what works for them as a couple and what they envisioned for our lives. Planning tools, excel sheets and dividing responsibilities in the household have been imperative for them keeping on track as a family and keeping the machine running. Mariam advises that you have to find your way of doing things and what works for your family and their schedules. There’s no one way that works for all. And it can change constantly, as you change, and your kids grow.
Learn a little more about Miriam's day:
5.30am, my day starts. I’m the first one to get up in the house. I am a morning person, so I take the kids in the morning and get them ready, and my husband takes the evenings. I think this is my favourite time of the day! I prep lunchboxes, have a coffee, and enjoy the stillness of the day. I love how calm and quiet the house is. It allows me to wake up on my own terms. “Do not disturb” is still on my phone as I really try not to look at any messages until my workday starts. It doesn’t serve me anything positive to know if I need to answer an email or message or what I need to do during the day at this time of the morning. It just stresses me out and my mind starts to think about the never-ending to do list coming my way!
I always like to check my Oura ring app on my phone in the morning. It’s a sleep ring that shows me the quality of my night’s sleep and how my recovery was. I’ve had it for 3 years, and I know now that if I get less than 5 hours sleep a night, I have to recover it that same day, otherwise I will crash in the afternoon. Because I am a morning person, I am easily fooled by my level of alertness, so by checking in with myself, it helps prevent extreme fatigue or impatience with my kids later on in the afternoon.
6.20am, I wake up my two eldest kids and get them ready for school. We have the school bus for pick up and drop off. It helps us so there’s no additional workload if one of us is travelling. And I honestly find it so distracting having to break up my day right in the middle of it to do pick up. As a result, this allows me to be more present when I come home instead.
7.05am, the school bus comes and picks up the girls and I go and get the baby who usually is awake by now. I then get her ready for nursery and drop her off at 7.50.
8am, I usually send my first voice message to Angelique, and we discuss the priorities of the day. I’m always grateful my Co-Founder also has three kids as we can relate to one another and give each other grace. Lately, I’ve changed my workout routine and rather than squeezing it in during lunch, I’m going to the gym in the mornings instead, so I have it completed and done for the day. Strength training and walks are my thing. Having had a baby 13 months ago, my body is still recovering and I’m still building back my strength. I have realised that exercise makes such a massive impact on my health and how efficient I am, so I make sure to prioritise it.
10am is usually when I officially start my day. All days look different! As it’s just me and Angelique, we have a mountain of work to get through daily. I like to start with the boring admin and work my way up from there, just to get it over and done with. We’ve found a few key people that help us when we need it when it comes to specific parts of our operations, but for the most part it’s just the two of us, so it’s absolutely key to plan well and distribute the workload evenly so that we both cope. Angelique and I have opposite knowledge and abilities, so we have clear responsibilities for who does what. We use Monday.com as a system and I love checking in with the Eisenhower matrix every now and then to get a clear view on priorities. Google it, I promise you will love it!
12pm is lunch time, but honestly, I’m a bit of an eremite at my co-working space and just eat and work simultaneously, and then go for a 20 min walk around the lake close by to keep the energy up.
4.45pm, I leave the office and go home to the kids. We usually eat dinner at 5.30pm/6pm together and have this time reserved as a family until bedtime. Some days they have activities after school and then my husband and I alternate taking them so that it feels equal. And some days we just chill at home. I do try to squeeze in more work here if I’m the one taking them to activities but try to be present otherwise.
7pm is bedtime for the kids. I do the bedtime for our 13-month-old daughter and my husband does it for the older two. We do bedtime reading and cuddling before sleep time.
8pm, I am usually dead by this time. Previously, I always thought I could do more work at this time but most of the time I can’t, unless there is an important deadline.
Date nights are on Thursdays to maintain my relationship with my husband. For the past 6 months, we didn’t have any help at home and although it worked well, because we are good at planning and both help out with the kids and housework, we found it very intense! It worked but it wasn’t living. The time that it ended up taking away was our time together and we found ourselves talking only about logistics relating to the kids. So, we’re grateful for having found a person now that’s helping us out during the days, so we get our life puzzle working a bit more smoothly. She’s there when the kids come home from school and helps us out to cook dinner, so everything is ready when we come home. It helps massively! Coming from Sweden where it’s not as common to have this help, I’m very thankful for being able to have it.
10pm, it’s lights out and I’m off to sleep, preparing my mind and body for yet another crazy day or night as you never know what the night is going to be like when you have young kids.
