How This Mum Made Motherhood Work

And at the heart of it, motherswork founder sharon wong has a passion to empower the next generation of women.

- Karen Tee

It has been an unusually quiet few months for Sharon Wong. Like much of the global population, this dynamic jetsetter, whose business is largely based in China, had her wings clipped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

So Wong, the founder of Motherswork, a retail chain specialising in products for mothers and babies, decided to use the downtime in Singapore to reconnect with her passion for what she does.

“Since being grounded, I’ve been conducting shop tours for new mothers-to-be in Singapore. Having been so absorbed in growing the China market, I’d forgotten that sharing my experiences is one of the things I love most,” says Wong, 56, who has 12 Motherswork stores in China and two in Singapore.

From the start of her foray into the world of baby products in the mid ’90s, she’s aimed to demystify the bewildering world of gadgets and devices. Think prams, cots, sterilisers, bottles, pumps, stretch mark creams and more. Instead of urging women to load up their carts with all manner of paraphernalia, Wong tells her clients to whittle it down to an initial three main investments — stroller, car seat and cot. Others can come later, if needed at all.

“I was just with a first-time mum and she told me she did not realise it was that simple. Sometimes you just need someone to talk you through it,” says Wong.

It boils down to her mission to make the task of parenting easier.

“By using products that take care of their daily routines, mums can spend more time nurturing and playing with their babies. So, success to me is when first-time mothers walk out of Motherswork feeling a little less overwhelmed.”