Get inspired by Khalida Aitsi, owner of the Beehive
I was very lucky to speak with Khalida Aitsi, who manages to be a truly inspiring mompreneur, a talented creator and mother to 3 small children under 5 at the same time! I asked her about her 4th baby, the Beehive:
Q: What is the Beehive?
A: The Beehive is a creative atelier that was born from my love of restoration and giving old furniture a new life instead of consuming it and throwing it away. I named it Beehive because for me, the bee is the most courageous animal and I feel that with its constant doing it resembles us women. A Beehive is a community, which is exactly what my atelier is — a community of creating women.
Q: Tell me about yourself and your background?
A: I was a headhunter in Paris, working 12 hours a day, but I always liked crafting. After having my first baby I decided to stop my career as a headhunter and search for something I can do parallel to being a mom. As a teenager, I was often lonely and spent a lot of time home watching my mom sewing. At 15 I made my first dress and from then on sewing and crafting became my way to escape and charge my batteries. I restored my first piece of furniture after moving to Switzerland and haven't stopped since!
Q: how did the beehive come into your mind? What was the inspiration to open it?
A: At first I wanted to have an atelier for my furniture restoration work, but I realized that as much as I like restoration, I don’t like to be alone. I decided to share the space with other like-minded women so I can do two things I like at the same time, create and socialize. I can help other women in their creative process, teach them something new, or we can just share a moment and have a coffee together. So in the end, instead of an atelier for one person, it became an atelier for all women! They can come here, shake off their everyday life and struggles and just create. (If I am here we share a moment, if not then as members they can enter by themselves and start working on their project.)
Q: Have you had experience in this field or in a similar business before?
A: I have no experience working in an Atelier, but even as a headhunter I always did my work with my heart and this is the experience I bring into the Beehive as well (note: this absolutely comes across!) .
Q: What is unique about the beehive?
A: What is unique about the Beehive is that there are no limits. We are all different and have different ideas. The Beehive helps to realise these, whatever they are. There is an abundance of materials and equipment in the Atelier, but if you need something that we don’t have, I am more then happy to look into it and help you bring to life whatever you imagined.
Q: What is the best thing about running the beehive
A: Probably two things:
- I meet amazing women every day! Here, they feel secure to share their real self and I get to discover diamonds each time!
- I run the business my way. As a headhunter I always had a boss, who told me “this is not profitable” or “don’t waste your time on this”. Now I can do business the way it feels right to me. If I feel I want to spend more time with a person or make a workshop longer because it feels right, it’s my decision.
Q: What are your future plans (5 years from now) for the beehive? Where you want it to be?
A: I am a dreamer, but I am also ambitious. I dream of a bigger place, so we can have even more space to create and maybe eventually beehives in other cities. Luzern? Zurich? Who knows…
Q: What was your mission at the outset?
A: My mission was to create a safe place for women to have fun and get inspired in. I want women to come here, leave their chores behind and go home energized and happy. If I can help only one lady to achieve this and she feels better as she goes home, I already won.
Q: What services do you offer?
A: The Beehive offers:
- Memberships: as a member, you can use the Atelier and it’s equipment as much as you want (during opening hours), much like a co-working office for co-creation.
- Creative Workshops and Courses: come to learn new creative skills, from sewing to creating with concrete. If you have other ideas that the beehive doesn't offer, Khalida is happy to accommodate custom workshops as well. This can also be a Birthday, Hen due, or a team building event.
- Host your own workshop: if you are a creative professional and are looking for a place to host your own workshop the Beehive can be rented for this purpose.
- Furniture upcycling: I offer unique furniture restoration, saving old objects by giving them a new life/purpose.
Q: Describe in a sentence life as a small business owner in Switzerland?
A: It is absolutely new! I discover new things every day and have so much more to learn about. But what I like about Switzerland is that people are very trustworthy and I appreciate that. For example, when I finish a piece of furniture for a customer and he takes it home, I can rest assured that he will pay. I never have to worry about things like this.
The big challenge for me is not having a new business in a “new” country, but having a new business with three small kids! Finding the “perfect” balance to manage work and family life. It’s hard to find this balance between a moms life and the women/entrepreneurs life because there is always the guilt you feel for taking time for yourself.
My biggest learning since opening the Beehive is that now I do something for myself, by myself and I feel that I became a better mom because of it. Taking time for yourself makes you more positive and gives you more energy that you can then share with your kids. I might spend less time with them, but that time is of a higher quality.
I think the answer to that last question is a great learning for all of us! As the saying goes: “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. So if you feel it is time to fill your cup, why not join a workshop at the Beehive or become a member and have a constant refill :)?
