Interview: Chriselle Lim on Bümo and expanding her career beyond fashion

But underneath those amazing outfits and gorgeous facial features, there is also a stellar mother and entrepreneur who has started Bümo (@bumoparent), a company that is reimagining what the future of family and work looks like for modern parents by bringing licensed educational childcare to the workplace.

What is Bümo? And how it is changing the game for working parents? We'll let Chriselle break it down for you in this tell-all interview.

So, we've heard that Bümo is a new co-working space concept. Can you tell us more about this new project and how you came to kickstart this?

I pivoted my career after having my second daughter Colette. The millennial population is changing: they are becoming parents. As a millennial, I quickly realized that these millennial parents needed an inclusive community that champions the needs of the modern parent.

With my business partner Joan Nguyen, we built Bümo to help millennial parents as they both embrace and tackle parenting. This new venture has been so fulfilling as it’s really expanded my breadth of knowledge. For so long, I lived and breathed only fashion so it’s been great to feel challenged and find a new source of intellectual stimulation.

You also extended a few other divisions of it including Being Bümo ( a podcast) and BümoBrain, a virtual child education platform. What sets it apart from what we have so far in the market?

Bümo is a company of great endurance with a suite of offerings that cover the needs of parents at all stages.

Bümo supports working parents end-to-end, from offering support and advice for expecting parents and child care (so parents can go back to work or just have a break on weekends) to after school programs when they are school-age, and then even tutoring and college prep when they are college-bound.

Bümo’s mission is to create accessible and on-demand support for parents. We will disrupt the broken child care system using tech-enabled child care, making it as easy to book child care as it is a restaurant reservation.

The past two years of the pandemic have certainly been a whirlwind for all of us, how did you manage your own mental health and general well-being as a mother, influencer and entrepreneur?

It was hard. It was certainly an emotionally charged few years full of anxiety, isolation and fear. That said, I also felt incredibly grateful that I had a safe home to quarantine in, the resources to continue to provide for my family, and of course, BumoBrain to keep my kids engaged and learning whilst their schools were trying to sort of remote learning.

Children are so resilient but at the same time, we also have to remember that they are sponges and they absorb the same grown-up worries and stresses that they feel in their environment. My approach with my kids has always been to put what they know, give them space to share their fears and worries, and then offer comfort and honesty.

As an entrepreneur running several businesses and managing different teams, it took us some time to transition to remote work and set up new processes. However, as all my businesses operate as start-ups and start-ups by nature must be a bit more nimble than bigger corporations, we were able to pivot and find our footing a bit faster than other businesses which I am so grateful for.

As a leader, not only did I have to ensure that my businesses kept running and provide job security for my employees but I also had to ensure that they felt emotionally and mentally safe and secure during this period. Frankly, over time, I did find myself burning out from carrying all this weight and pressure. However, I started to give myself permission to feel the way that I felt and to be vulnerable.

I took proactive steps and practiced being kind to myself and allowing myself the feel the impact. I had to remind myself that I had to take care of my own mental and emotional health.

As a working mother of two, what are the most difficult challenges you face that are often left out in the conversation?

There are so many challenges that working mothers face, especially entrepreneurs. That said, I think the biggest challenge that I continually struggle with is finding balance in my life. Whether you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom (which, by the way, is just as hard as being a working mom), it’s really difficult to find that magic balance between the different aspects of your life.

I think so many of us women feel completely and utterly drained all the time as we give so much of ourselves to all aspects of our lives and sometimes, we forget to take care of ourselves.

What people see on social media is the perception that I intentionally and purposely paint as that is my job. I broadcast all my exotic travels, my fancy wardrobe, and all of the good moments with my kids but what people don’t see is the gruelling hard work that goes into running my business. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that I keep private.

Drawing boundaries is key to building sustainability in this business and also key to maintaining healthy emotional and mental health.

The world has truly shifted full force into the digital space during this period, which is your home ground. How has that affected or changed your work?

It is wild to think how much the space has evolved. In certain ways, I am nostalgic about the past as a decade ago, social media seemed to be so much simpler. There weren't sponsored ads all over our newsfeeds, photo editing was best left to the professionals, and social media was largely for the purposes of keeping in touch with others.

Now, scrolling, thumbs-upping, swiping and double-tapping is just as much of a reflex for us as blinking is. There is a lot of conversation surrounding the negative impacts that social media has but has been so crucial in moving our society forward.

Social media can help individuals connect and deepen their relationships. Social media can also encourage individuals to learn, grow and have access to things that they otherwise would never have access to. And of course, social media is so powerful to empower people to build and bring awareness to their businesses (like mine)! The digitization of our world has presented me with so many amazing opportunities - opportunities that I never would have dreamed about 10 years ago.

As one of the most prominent social media personalities of today, how do you keep it all together and strive to achieve so much?

I feel grateful every single day to be able to do what I love and to make a living from it. At the end of the day, I am a creative and I am driven by my passions, curiosity and relentless desire to learn and grow.

My career has lived so many different lives and has continued to evolve over the years and this not only has allowed me to stay passionate about the work that I do, but it has also allowed me to stay relevant in this ever-changing industry.

Social media can also be a double-edged sword. How should one navigate through this space?

Surround yourself with people that you can trust and that can keep you grounded. Whether you are a social media influencer or you run your own business, invest in your team as your team will be your greatest asset.

I've been so blessed to have found incredible business partners in my various business and I attribute so much of my success to the people that I’ve surrounded myself with. Also, have friends that don’t work within the social media realm.

Working as a content creator is an all-consuming line of work and it is easy to start merging the realities of social media and the real world which is not always healthy. Friends that can get you off social media and off your phone are so important!

What are your most memorable moments this fashion month, from New York to Milan and Paris?

It's been so amazing being back in New York, Milan and Paris for fashion week. The energy has been so exciting as this has been the first season where all the designers have shown their collections in person and most of the international KOLs and editors have attended since the pandemic.

It’s been so wonderful seeing my friends again, friends that I haven’t seen for over 2 years. I will say that one of the biggest pleasures of being in the business that I am, are all the amazing friends that I have made from all over the world. Having friends in the industry is truly a blessing as we inspire each other to be creative and we all understand the hard work that goes on behind the scenes with the work that we do.

With that said, the war in Ukraine however has created a blanket of somberness and I will say that designers and attendees struggled with finding ways to balance declarations of solidarity with the glamour and spectacle of the shows. However, it’s been amazing to see designers use their catwalks to show solidarity and offer heartfelt tribute to the people of Ukraine.

As we slowly return to normalcy, what do you look forward to the most?

The small things- enjoying a nice dinner indoors at a restaurant with my parents, taking my kids to Disneyland, and of course, seeing my daughters’ smiles without a mask at school when I drop them off.

If you can impart one message/a lesson you’ve learnt as a mother, what would it be?

Don’t cry over spilt milk (don’t sweat the small stuff)! The age-old idiom encourages us to let go of the little things -- there are bigger things that are worth our energy. When you become a mother, you learn that fretting over a small misstep isn't worth the effort it takes.

This will help you find greater peace, joy, and harmony within yourself and your home.