What it’s really like being a Business Development Manager, a Manager, and mum, all before lunchtime
Farida Nurbhai, Business Development Manager at Puma Investments, shares her experience of balancing motherhood with her career.
I often get asked what it’s like to be a Business Development Manager (BDM), a team manager, and a mum, all in one day. Let me tell you… it’s a lot of fun (and yes, a lot of coffee too!).
My mornings start with a cute little toddler handing out hugs, and occasionally throwing my makeup across the carpet in the name of artistic expression. Once she’s safely dropped at nursery, I swap “The Wheels on the Bus” for the Central Line and head to our Puma Investments office in St. James’s.
Being a BDM at Puma is a blend of energy, team spirit, competitiveness, and the genuine joy of raising funds for British businesses. I manage a team of three brilliant BDMs who thrive on building relationships with financial advisers across the country, people who are just as passionate about helping clients reach their goals as we are about supporting them.
I can easily speak to over 100 advisers in a week, learning about their clients, their ambitions, and their financial goals. No two days are ever the same, and honestly, I’m learning something new every single day.
By lunchtime, we’ve all migrated to the snack section, debating which flavour of Love Corn (a Puma favourite and one of our VCT portfolio companies!) is superior, or celebrating Black History Month over plates of incredible West African food at one of Puma’s famous monthly socials.
Change, coffee, and career growth
When I returned from maternity leave, I wondered: How am I possibly going to juggle it all? But somewhere between my mum guilt and my ambition, I found my groove, and even got promoted within months of being back. I learnt that it's important to have a company that gives you flexibility, phased return and most importantly, trust. I was able to thrive knowing that I really can do it all.
Because the honest truth is, being a working mum is wild. One minute you’re crying at nursery drop-off, the next you’re thrilled to be drinking a hot coffee. You miss your baby… but you're also celebrating Puma milestones where they are hosting a private screening of the newest James Bond film at Battersea Power Station or even summer socials where you have a whole circus theme in Regents Park.
I’ve been able to redefine what being a “working mum” really means, and do it my way. Nine months after returning to work, I finally feel like Farida again. My identity doesn’t just revolve around being “mum at work.” I’m me, I’m Farida. The chatty, smiley one who loves talking to people (and possibly talks a little too much before her second coffee).
The mum guilt? Oh, that’s here to stay. I’ve accepted it’s part of the package, right next to the stickers that end up in my handbag. I’ll always miss my daughter, but I remind myself I’m doing this for her too, to show her that she can do absolutely anything she sets her mind to.
And honestly, it makes all the difference to work somewhere you feel genuinely happy, where you can laugh, feel trusted, and have your own little work family cheering you on.
So really, being a working mum - some days it's chaos and some days it's magic, and I wouldn't change it for the world.