Can Women Really Have It All? We’re Asking the Wrong Question

Sharon Wong walked away from a high-flying corporate career with zero retail experience and built one of Asia's leading mother and baby brands across four countries. Twenty-eight years, one pandemic after another, and an expansion into China that started with doors slamming in her face. She calls it insanity. She might be right.Now, at 60, she's not slowing down. She's scaling faster than ever, and she's rewriting what everyone assumes about age, ambition and rest.In this episode, Sharon talks with Stephanie about the real cost of chasing having it all, the mindset shift that let her treat every crisis as just another season, and the parenting philosophy that shaped three kids who still call her their best friend.There's a secret recipe behind her success, a rapid fire round that gets brutally honest about the worst parenting advice she's ever received, and one theory about luck that has nothing to do with money.Can women really have it all? Or are we asking the wrong question? Sharon has an answer. You might not expect it. Click play.What You'll Take AwayWhy the founder of one of Asia's biggest baby brands says she's never actually been stressedThe real formula behind her success, and why one letter in it changed completelyWhat it took to get a single Chinese mall to finally say yes after every other door slammed shutThe parenting rule she and her husband set before they even had kidsWhy she thinks "having it all" is the wrong question entirelyThe rapid fire answer that flips conventional parenting advice on its headWhat her ten year old son did with his Christmas presents that turned into a decade-long family tradition IN THIS EPISODE:00:00 | Can Women Really Have It All?01:05 | Welcome to Growing Pains01:22 | Meet Sharon Wong: Building Motherswork From a Personal Mission02:20 | Why Every Entrepreneurial “Down” Is Really Change06:55 | Entering China With Courage, Naivety and No Funding09:07 | How to Keep Moving When Life Feels Overwhelming15:08 | Raising Children With Kindness, Courage and Clear Values19:29 | Sharon’s Formula for Success: Passion, Product, People and Luck27:03 | Stop Asking Whether Women Can Have It All32:48 | Why Sharon Believes in Seasons, Not Mum Guilt36:23 | Scaling at 60: Reinventing Yourself at Any Age41:30 | Writing Whoa, Mom and Choosing Vulnerability44:00 | The Giving Tree: Teaching Children to Lead With Kindness48:00 | Legacy, Motherhood and the Advice Sharon Lives By50:00 | Stephanie’s Top Three Episode TakeawaysAbout the GuestSharon Wong is the Founder and CEO of Motherswork, one of Asia's leading premium mother, baby and kids' retail brands, with stores across Singapore, China, Vietnam and Thailand. She left a career as a Regional Tax and Treasury Director to build the company from scratch with zero retail experience, and 28 years later her team calls her "the CEO who bakes." She's the author of Wo(Mum): Living My Life as a Warrior, Woman and Mum, Chairwoman of MITAS (Maternal and Infant Trade Association of Singapore), and a mother of three.Connect with Sharon and Motherswork:https://www.motherswork.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-wong-motherswork/https://www.instagram.com/motherswork/Connect with Growing PainsGrowing Pains is HoneyKids Asia's podcast for the conversations you want to have after the kids go to bed.YouTube: @growingpains.honeykids Instagram: honeykidsasia Website: https://honeykidsasia.com/Hit subscribe so you don't miss an episode. If this one hits home, send it to a parent who needs it.Growing Pains is produced in partnership with Poddster, Singapore's podcast studio.#GrowingPains #HoneyKidsAsia #SharonWong #Motherswork #WomenInBusiness #WorkingMothers #MumGuilt #FemaleEntrepreneur #MotherhoodAndCareer #ScalingAt60 #Parenting #Entrepreneurship #Podster