How Motherhood Shaped My Strength: Building a Business While Being Loved for My Imperfect Self
Tomomi Ito, CEO of NAMOW Co., Ltd.
Interviewer: Satomi Sugano
Satomi (S): Tomomi, you are currently running a company while raising two children as a single mother. I understand that you decided to start your own business when your children were only five and seven years old.
Tomomi Ito (T): That’s right. At the time, my youngest was five and my eldest was seven. While working as a researcher at a cosmetics company, I felt I had reached the limit of balancing work and childcare. I realized that unless I could work on my own terms and manage my own schedule, I wouldn’t be able to protect the time I had with my children. So I chose a path where I could pursue both.
S: Now that you’re a business owner, do you feel your experience as a mother influences the way you lead?
T: Absolutely, I feel it every day! Being a mother means constant multitasking with unpredictable “urgent situations” appearing out of nowhere due to the children’s needs, and emergencies requiring split-second decisions happen one after another. This is exactly what happens in management. You juggle countless responsibilities while making the best possible decisions on the spot. All those years of “motherhood training” have shaped how I lead today.
S: They say “mothers are strong,” and you’re living proof. Tomomi, while you are giving your all to both work and parenting, what are the moments when you truly feel glad to be a mother?
T: It’s definitely the moments when I see my children grow. As a single mother running a business, my housework and parenting are far from being the “perfect mother” people might imagine. I worry that they’ve had to be too patient or feel lonely. Yet, my children accept my “imperfect self” with all their hearts and greet me with the most innocent smiles. In those moments, I feel filled with an indescribable sense of love.
Childhood memories of her two children.
A family trip to Tokyo Disneyland.
S: Sometimes it feels like we’re the ones being saved by our children’s unconditional love, doesn’t it?
T: It really does. When I catch small glimpses of how much they’ve grown in the midst of all this, I’m moved to think, “Even someone like me was able to raise them this far!” In reality, it’s the children themselves who have worked hard, but I’m grateful to be allowed to feel like I’ve contributed a little to that journey (laughs).
S: How would you describe yourself as a “mother”?
T: I think I’m a “bumpy” mother, far from the so-called “ideal mother figure” that children might wish for. But I have no intention of trying to be perfect. I just want to show them my authentic self, living life with everything I’ve got, and I hope they can learn something from seeing that.
S: Finally, do you have a message for other women who, like you, are working hard to balance motherhood and a career?
T: Simply being a “mother” makes you magnificent. Just by fulfilling that role, you are already doing enough. The way a woman lives her life, giving her all for someone else, is truly wonderful. But please, from time to time, return to being just “yourself”—soothe yourself, care for yourself, and praise yourself. If you value yourself, I believe your children will love you for who you are.
Now, her daughters are in junior high school and high school, continuing their journey together.
Discover the skincare philosophy born from Tomomi Ito’s journey as a mother and entrepreneur.
Explore the world of Beauté de Pivoine.
Editorial Note (Satomi Sugano)
I handle communications at NAMOW Co., Ltd and Tomomi is someone overflowing with energy. Of course, there are times when she is exhausted, but she is always leading NAMOW with a forward-looking attitude. As a mother myself, balancing work with raising two boys who play baseball, I often feel overwhelmed by the endless “to-do” list. However, seeing Tomomi move forward with such determination always gives me the energy and courage to keep going.
