Rachel Cachia is one of the top influential figures in Malta. Starting her career in 2001 on Where’s Everybody? on one of Malta’s top talk shows Xarabank, she then moved on to start her own media company with Martina Zammit, at the age of 23 years old. Apart from being the CEO of VSquared, for 12 years, Rachel is also a TV presenter on the popular show Gadgets, a social media influencer, a wife, and a mother to little Eva. Scroll down to listen to the full podcast with our host Trudy Kerr!
‘I had Eva 3 years ago and since then it’s been a rollercoaster and I’m still trying to get the hang of motherhood. I don’t like romanticising parenthood. I will bluntly admit that it’s the toughest job ever and I’ve done quite a few jobs in my lifetime. I love my daughter to bits but it’s not an easy ride. I’m still trying to understand what works and what doesn’t, and I had to give up being a perfectionist. As long as my daughter is safe and happy, being perfect can come second!’.
Rachel admits that finding time for herself is very challenging, but she thinks that it is necessary to feel good yourself first in order to make others feel good in return. Her favourite me-time is binging on a Netflix series!
‘I’m still trying to find my work-life balance. I have to admit that I’m very career driven, and I love my job. However, when you become a parent, you have to think about your child and your partner too. It’s not easy, but you have to find that balance. Spending time with your partner is just as important as spending time with yourself and with your child.’
Both Rachel and her husband have challenging careers and they both work full-time. However, their priority when they get home is always Eva.
‘Asking for help is something I do very often and if people offer help, I take it. In my life, I learnt that if I cannot make it, asking for help will help me get there.’
Rachel admits that the pressure is definitely high when women become mothers.
‘Since the day I had Eva, automatically you feel that responsibility falls on you, especially since the father does not have paternal leave. I think that it is still ingrained in society, sometimes subliminally, that the mother should be the person to take care of the child. There’s a lot of pressure on working mothers, thinking that priority will not be given to the child if they still have a career. Sometimes working mothers are not seen as the ‘perfect’ mothers. However, as long as Eva is safe and happy, I’m ok with the life that we are both leading’.
Apart from being CEO, a wife, and a mother, Rachel Cachia is also a social media influencer.
‘Social media is a new medium and there’s quite a pressure to adapt to these different mediums. I love Instagram because it’s a platform in which you really connect with people. I’m more consistent on stories rather than on my feed. I like that you can pass positive affirmations to people. People are interested how I manage that work-life balance with my career and daughter. It’s a lot of hard work to stay consistent on social media and people underestimate this role’.
Rachel claims that the key to success is being surrounded by like-minded people who do not necessarily think like you, but they have the same drive as you.
‘Entrepreneurship is a buzz word nowadays, but you get a lot of punches and lows. The highs are minimal but very rewarding. Not a lot of people know this, but I had another small company before VSquared called 4 People. I definitely got my creative bug from Xarabank but I started 4 People after I lost my dad. That loss, disbelief, and confusion, put me into survival mode and pushed me into doing things that I wanted to do. After 4 People, Martina was very determined to start a new company and that’s how VSquared came about.’
Rachel Cachia and Martina Zammit were two young women entering a male dominated industry.
‘It was all the reasons why we could have failed. We went through a lot of ups and downs and trying to fill in the gaps of each other. We come from different backgrounds and have different personalities and I believe that this is what makes us successful and why we complement each other so well.’
Heading towards 40, Rachel feels that maturity will only make things better. Her final words of advice to women are to always follow their passion.
‘Do something you love. Don’t be afraid of challenging the status quo. You will know deep down that this is meant for you and if it will work for you. Believe in yourself.’
It was a pleasure having you on our podcast, Rachel! Thank you for the wise words and for giving us an insight into your superwoman life!
