I'm an independent businesswoman who doesn't need a man to raise a child – now I can start a family whenever I want | The Sun
A CAREER-driven businesswoman has opened up about the decision to freeze her eggs so she can start a family by herself whenever she pleases.
Amela Smailbegovic is a hugely successful real estate magnate and entrepreneur who operates across the USA and has “never depended on a man for anything."
The 37-year-old fled what was then Yugoslavia in 1994 as a brutal civil war erupted which eventually saw the creation of five separate countries including her native Croatia.
Arriving in the USA with just the clothes they were standing in, Amela's parents – father Dubravko Smailbegovic, 68, and mother Alma Smailbegovic, 67, instilled in her the importance of being independent after they rebuilt themselves from nothing.
Amela, a top female manager in a world-renowned timeshare firm that generates $30- 40 million in annual sales, credits this upbringing with giving her the grit to succeed in life alone.
Speaking to Jam Prime, she said: “I guess my main mantra has always been female empowerment and women succeeding in business.
“I'm one of the few women in my position because it's always been led by men.
“You have to fight extra hard for your voice and for your spot.
“Maybe that's why I’m 37, not married and settled because I focused all my time on getting myself established.
“All of my houses are paid off. All my cars are paid off. Businesses doing great. I've never been dependent on a man for anything and never will be. That's kind of been my main drive.”
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Amela, who lives in Orlando, Florida, had always given herself until she was 39 to have a child.
Many of her friends have already settled down and had children and she now feels that she has done enough “groundwork” to comfortably have a family.
But the currently single entrepreneur has revealed that this will happen whether she finds the man of her dreams or not.
“I always said that I have a child by 39 so that gives me two years,” she explained.
“I was so focused when I was young on being successful and independent that it never dawned on me that the biological clock is ticking until recently.
“Even as a young girl, I was never one of those girls who can't wait to get married, settle down, and have kids.
"I stray from the societal norms they place on us and would rather have a loyal, healthy partnership.
“I couldn't wait to get my career uprooted and be established. I couldn't wait to have my own company – that was my driving force.
“That's just my personality trait – wanting to do a lot but that has taken [the] time and you kind of get put on autopilot.”
It was only during the pandemic that she realized how much she wanted to be a mother.
“I turned around and I'm like, ‘oh my gosh like I'm [in my] late 30s’. So I did IVF (in June and October)," she said.
Initially, she planned on having a child by herself which would not have been an issue because she has a good support system with "my parents and amazing friends – many of whom have their own kids.
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"However, marriage or not, I prefer my child to have a great father and male role model which is why I held off.”
While ideally, she wants her child to have a father, Amela will press ahead if she doesn't find Mr. Right.
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