Love, Bonito’s Rachel Lim: “I’ve made so many mistakes, I’m still learning”

I remember my husband asking me- is it worth it to have nearly lost your life because of the way you’ve been running your life, running yourself? You’re running yourself to death, almost.”

There is a slight pause as Rachel Lim, co-founder of beloved fashion brand, Love, Bonito, reflects on the question posed to her by her husband, Leo. We have just spoken about her near brush with death, and the emotional toll the past few months have taken on her and her family. Now happily expecting their second child  – a daughter, due this September, to join their firstborn son, Ollie – Rachel’s conception and pregnancy journey has been a mix of high highs, and low lows.

Unbeknownst to many (even to herself, at that point in time), Rachel had just experienced a miscarriage – an ectopic pregnancy that ruptured her right fallopian tube, and threatened her life. She details the night she realised something was wrong; the excruciating pain she felt, the rush to the A&E, and her heavy internal bleeding.

“It was a wake-up call,” Rachel shares, one that prompted her husband’s gentle question, and caused her to reassess her pace and purpose. Beyond the physical struggles she experienced, the entire experience has been an emotional one for Rachel, filled with profound reflections on the value of life, the sacrifices made, and the changes she hopes to forge in the future ahead.

A leap of faith

This isn’t the first time Rachel has had to be confronted with the question of life’s purpose. Purpose has, after all, been something that has driven her and seen her through each changing season of her life. From her early days at university when the seeds of Love, Bonito were first planted (the business started off as a humble blogshop, before growing into the behemoth of a brand it is today), Rachel’s journey has been nothing short of inspiring. “I had to drop out of school to start the business,” she shares. Because she was bonded to the government, Rachel was required to pay off a five-figure sum in order to do this.

At a time of growing financial crisis in 2009 however, with her father going through bankruptcy and her mother already working two jobs to support the family, this would prove difficult. “Obviously, I had no means of getting the five-figure sum of money, except through borrowing from my mum,” she recalls. Such was the strength of her mother’s belief in the burgeoning business that this sum was eventually paid off, setting Love, Bonito off on its trajectory. “I think I will forever be in debt to [my mother] and be so grateful to her for taking that leap of faith with me. I realised only later that actually, the sum of money she had lent me was her entire life savings! I think that was also why it drove me so much to ensure that I would have to make this [business] work…I would have to make this succeed.”

And succeed Love, Bonito has, growing from strength to strength as a well-established presence, both in its native Singapore and internationally. With physical stores in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Cambodia, a newly launched pop-up store in the US, and an admirable vision to serve women on a global stage, the brand continues to evolve and grow – and so too, does its co-founder.

Since Love, Bonito’s inception, Rachel has found herself on the Forbes Asia 30 under 30 list in 2016, and Tatler Asia’s Most Influential 2021 and 2022 lists, for her professional achievements. Now, her new role as mother (and the personal achievements that have ensued) continue to stretch her capacity for growth.

Musings on motherhood

“I’ve always wanted a big family,” laughs Rachel. Admittedly however, it took quite a while for her and Leo to conceive – and she also had to wrestle with her own concerns in the process about derailing the progress of Love, Bonito, her “first baby”. “For the longest time, I had put off having a child. I was honestly also coming from a place of fear where I thought that if I had a kid, it would take away time from me running and building the business,” she confesses.

With her son Ollie now in the picture however, her mindset has shifted. “I realise that the thought of “having a kid will take time away from the business” is limiting. I never knew I had that capacity to love and give until I had Ollie, and there’s finally something in my life that is so much more important than work, and there’s truly so much more to life”.

It’s not always a bed of roses, though. Rachel admits that she still struggles to juggle her role as a mother of a toddler, amidst the demands of her business, personal life and marriage. “I think I have dropped some balls throughout the season, especially when Ollie came along, and how I neglected certain aspects of my life that [are] really important like health [and] marriage”. Her anxieties are slightly exacerbated with the impending arrival of the couple’s daughter. Nevertheless, it is something she is “consciously working through during this season”.

Another thing she is taking care to work on? Her marriage with her husband. After noting the distance that had grown between them, following the birth of their son, Rachel and Leo started dedicating quality time to each other to catch up. Since then, they have grown stronger through intentionally coming back together to repair their conflicts, and reconnecting over shared talks.

Taking the time to heal

Rachel’s miscarriage, and the wake-up call she experienced, have led to a reassessment of certain things in her life, changing the way she manages her business, her family and herself. Knowing that she’s not just responsible for own self, but for the people around her as well (her loved ones, family, and team), Rachel views her health as the first foundation for everything. “Every dream, aspiration, ambition, relationship, experience that I have, and yearn to have, is contingent on good health.” And this health extends beyond the physical, into the realm of emotional and mental wellness. 

Rachel remains a strong advocate of self care, and seeking support from loved ones, medical professionals, or support groups. She stresses the importance of giving ourselves space and time to heal in difficult times. “Balancing work demands and motherhood can be challenging,” she concedes. “It’s extremely important to take care of your well-being. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and have to first be nourished before you can take care of others.”

Life through a new lens

Rachel’s willingness to be vulnerable – to share the joys of her successes, in equal measure with her very real struggles – have allowed her to meaningfully connect with her audience. Her platform, Rach Reflects, recognises the power of shared knowledge and experiences. Here, she communicates her honest insights on life and leadership through posts and podcasts – all in the hopes of inspiring and encouraging others along their own unique journeys.

“I think some of the greatest encouragements and testimonies have come in the form of people telling me that my sharings have helped them reflect more on their lives in the sense of the kind of mum, daughter, wife or leader that they want to be,” she says, with quiet pride.

She cites an example that has profoundly impacted her. “I will never forget – one day, this young girl [who had just started work] came up to me and said, it’s so encouraging to see someone who looks like me, be able to pursue her own path and have the courage to define what success is for her. And what [she meant] was [someone that doesn’t] come from elite schools, [or] rich families with silver spoons, and things like that. We come from a path where we believe that our destiny is not set. And I truly believe at the end of the day that we have the power to recreate our own future by learning, relearning, growing, expanding our minds, surrounding ourselves with the right people.”

It is this same goal that drives Rachel to grow Love, Bonito in a way that empowers others. LBCreate, Love, Bonito’s social impact programme, strives to foster a community of support through education. Through this, women are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for their success, in areas ranging from personal development and entrepreneurship, to career growth and financial literacy. As a leader, Rachel hopes to “raise up a generation of leaders, to be able to take Love, Bonito forward together”.

The greater question that she is also asking herself is this: “How can I use the influence and experiences I have [built] for good, and to continue to empower women and serve people around me?”. She remains committed to investing in the lives of others, tapping into her key strengths and passions, and sharing honestly about her journey. 

Her growth, however, is far from over. “Oh my God, I don’t have it all. I’ve made so many mistakes. I’m still learning. I’m still struggling. But to really come out there, to share openly [about the things I’ve learned]…I hope this encourages at least someone out there in her own journey to be able to have the courage to take that next step.” With the determination and honesty we’ve come to expect from her, Rachel adds: “People always say, oh, of course, she has it easy, she has it all, you know, she’s born like that. But no, I’m not. I’ll be the first to raise my hands to say no, I’m not. It’s been an incredibly difficult, yet rewarding, journey.”

And we at makchic cannot wait to see where else the journey ahead will take her.

By Kimberly Lee and Elaine Yeoh

Photo Credit: Rachel Lim 

[The contents of this interview have been edited for brevity and clarity.]

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