“My businesses actually happened to me.”
In every edition of Glamial we highlight a glamorous power woman. This time: Janine Kho. She is a mother and an entrepreneur, in that order. She put influencer marketing on the map in the Netherlands and now has several businesses in events, marketing concepts and fashion – from her own &Kho Agency to the lifestyle community Leading Asians and clothing brand Amis Amour.
Designer bag with diapers
“The funny thing is, I didn’t previously have a clear plan that I would become an entrepreneur later. My companies actually happened to me,” she tells Glamial. About thirteen years ago, she became pregnant with her eldest, and noticed that there was no online platform for her, as a ‘fashion-conscious mom to be’.
“As a pregnant woman, I – like most expectant mothers – was online all day long, shopping and looking for tips on how to style my baby bump or pram beautifully, for example. Which designer bag fits diapers and a bottle? That would be nice, a Vogue-like online magazine for pregnant women and new mothers, I thought. This is how Prêt à Pregnant was born, and that turned out to be a gap in the market.”
Not an influencer
“People often think I’m an influencer, but no… Prêt à Pregnant was the platform I promoted on my personal Instagram. And therefore also the brands that fit well with this. Well-known ladies in my network from my PR background, such as Leontine Ruiters, Renée Vervoorn and Lonneke Nooteboom,” Janine shares. She managed to communicate smartly with her crowd of ‘cool moms’, set up unique events, and forge special bonds between great brands.
And that was a lot of pioneering! She shares: “Now you see these kinds of celebrity activities every day, but thirteen years ago this was completely new. That made an impression on several brands.”
Greatest happiness
This is how her company grew into an impressive enterprise, as did her family. Fabian was followed by daughter Jade-Ming, who the proud mother describes as ‘her greatest happiness, her pride, and her everything’. “So when I found myself on my own at home, they became even more of a priority.”
“No, I’m not saying my ex-husband and I divorced because I was working so hard. But it didn’t help. I still find it difficult to let go and not be available to my clients: ‘I really have to record this,’ I often said. Or I would retreat to quickly answer an email,” she shares candidly.
In her own words, her divorce was a ‘real eye-opener’. “The time when my children are little is so short. How could I organize my work around their school times? Around their clubs and playdates? And what did this mean for me business-wise?”
Ultimately, Janine made the decision and chose to go back to basics: “I canceled the lease on my expensive office building and went back to the basics where I once started: doing business at the kitchen table.”
Real Housewife in the making?
As an enterprising glamor woman, Janine might seem like the perfect match for The Real Housewives of Amsterdam. She also regularly receives questions about this from followers via social media, she reveals.
“But no, I’m not made for that. That drama is not for me and I am not looking for the fame that comes with it. That’s not criticism. Some ‘housewives’ are dear friends and I love watching them, but I don’t see the benefits in it; I’m busy enough as it is,” she shares. Clearly!
Interview: Agnes Hofman | Image: Marinke Photography
