CHATS WITH: CECILIA ROBINSON
With Mother’s Day right round the corner, we had a good think about the mums (aside from our own amazing ones!), that inspire and motivate us in the business world - and we sat down to chat to them about what makes them tick and what we could learn from their ways - so hopefully you learn something too!
If you haven’t heard of the incredible Cecilia, you’ll definitely know some of her success stories - most well-known as co-founder of My Food Bag, and the more recent Tend Health (which I highly recommend for a great GP service!).
For our gorgeous readers can you please share with us who you are, what incredible businesses you run and who is in your beautiful family?
My name is Cecilia Robinson (37), married to James and we have three gorgeous kids, Tom (10.5), Leila almost 7 and Charlie 17 months. I’m the Co-CEO at Tend health. We’re a full service primary healthcare provider powered by amazing technology and people. My husband and I have founded a few businesses, most famously My Food Bag which we sold in 2016 to a private equity firm (Waterman Capital) who listed the company in 2021. I’m back on MFB’s board since late last year and I’m also a Director of Pie Funds. In a prior life we founded Au Pair Link, our first ever start-up.
Walk us through a day in the life of a busy mum running these businesses?
I’ve always been a big believer in integration but in saying that three kids has totally tipped the balance and I am beyond capacity at present. I have to manage my diary like a ninja to ensure I get everything done (I’m currently writing this from the dentist office where I’m overseeing my eldest getting his regular check-up). Both my husband and I have always been big believers in the “quantity” of parenting, e.g. that parenting is in the days not in the quality “moments”. So we make ourselves very available to our kids, which includes walking the school bus, picking-up from school and being around in the afternoon. But often this means working late into the evening.
Any morning rituals to get you through the day?
Firstly, great routines for our kids has always been the fundamental on how to make our life work. We’re raising our kids to be independent and doing things like making lunch boxes, breakfast, making beds and doing chores is just part of family life. Most mornings I start the day with a cup of English breakfast tea and I also make the whole family a health juice each morning (think beetroot/carrot/oranges/ginger/turmeric etc). Our toddler loves the juice but the eldest tends to turn his nose up. Most days I fit in half an hour of exercise, we’re lucky to have a home gym (so there’s no excuses) and my husband and I have also taken up tennis (even if just 10/15 min in the morning) and try to walk the school bus a few days per week.
How do you manage to balance your time between the two? Do you ever switch off?
No, I wish I did but the truth is that I don’t and I find it super hard. As I said, three kids has definitely tipped the balance and in a way we’re right back where we were 10 years ago when Tom was little. Lucky that kids are so much fun as it really is constant. I do try to think about this as a moment in time, where kids and work has to come first and while I haven’t completely forgotten myself it is down the priority chain. I wish I found more time for my friends but also realise that most of them understand how busy it is and won’t forget how much I love them.
How do you find time to fill up your cup and what's your favorite way to do this?
I have been pretty bad at this but my husband and I try to take some time together. We tend to get a yummy home delivery from Private Fine Dining who does sushi boxes and open a nice glass of wine on the weekend. Waiheke has always been our sacred place where we go to fill our cup and wind down but we’re just about to start construction on our house there so I imagine it will get harder rather than easier.
Since becoming a mum of three, do you still love your work or have your priorities changed? If yes, how?
I love my work more if it’s possible. Because our work is so purpose driven, I am really motivated by building a 100-year healthcare business and transforming healthcare for all our tamariki for generations to come. It’s a big piece of work and responsibility but it gets me up every day and makes me realise how important it is what we’re doing.
What advice would you give to working mums who are struggling with their workloads both at work and at home?
To wherever possible, do what you’re passionate about. I am really aware that I can’t do it all myself and have been lucky enough to be able to outsource the things I don’t love (think washing and cleaning). I’ve had to accept help to enable me to work and spend more quality time with my family. Women in particular carry a huge load so being able to prioritise and do the things that only you can do is an important way to look at your workload. Same goes for work, I’m a big believer in focusing on your strengths rather than your weaknesses.
What's next in the pipeline for you? Any new exciting plans our we can expect?
Ha! No we plan to spend the rest of our life in healthcare so watch this space as Tend continues to evolve our offering to our customers (in particular with focus on women and paediatric health)!