Meet Mimoza Cendey | Singer, songwriter, content creator & office manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mimoza Cendey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mimoza, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My life is about trying to find the right balance and that is exactly what I’m trying to get better at! My dad is a professional coach and he always says that work-life balance does not actually exist; sometimes it is more about work, sometimes it is more about the rest of the things, sometimes one side of the scale is heavier and sometimes the other side but the pair of scales is never balanced all at the same time. My life has a lot of different scales that I always try to balance: my actual 9-5 work, my music career, my social media with my brand partnerships and then of course, my family, friends and my me-time. So for me, some weeks are more about music, some weeks are more about going out with friends, some weeks are filled with content creation. I love this busy life I created for myself, but I do talk about this “trying to do everything all at the same time” topic with my therapist a lot too!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
To be honest, it is always very hard for me to describe “what I do” but just recently, I decided not to get shy when I describe myself with labels so, here I go: I am an office manager in a global company, I am a content creator on Instagram about my life in Barcelona and my travels and I’m also a singer songwriter. I guess this is what sets me apart from others: a variety of things that I do at the same time, with a lot of love and passion for each.

I have always been interested in music, I played the violin for 13 years straight (and I still sometimes do!) but what really gave me the push to do it more professionally was the pandemic actually. During the pandemic, I started learning playing the guitar at home and wrote my first song. Luckily, one of the best producers of Turkey liked my song and decided to produce it! This gave me a motivation to continue creating songs and now my goal is to earn my life from making music. But I know that this is not a change that can be done over a night, so along with my 9-5 job, I’m trying to create as much as I can meanwhile increasing my audience in Instagram to reach more people.

I guess the biggest lesson I learnt along the way is to take a step, even if it is the smallest step ever, towards whatever the big goal I have in mind. During the pandemic, when I was questioning what I am doing with my life, I realized that I would actually love to do more music. So, I thought, if I want to be a singer and earn my life from this, well, what is there that I can do right now to walk towards that goal? Learn a couple of chords on the guitar! That’s how it all started! The big goal can always look scary, but when you divide it to little steps, you see that it’s actually doable

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love this question because I live in Barcelona and there are so many exciting things to do in this city! Firstly, I would walk with them in the old town, show them around the narrow streets and little squares of El Gotic, El Born and El Raval. I take them to Bar Centric for some delicious tapas and then to Marula bar to dance! I would show them all the beautiful architecture of Gaudi, especially Sagrada Familia, which is still not finished and under construction! A visit inside is a must. I would take them to have a picnic in the bunkers at the top, to see the sun set over the beautiful city view. I must take them to El Born for some bar hopping and go to my favourite bars Creps, Paradiso and Farola! One day could be a beach day, but I would prefer to take them outside of the city, by train, to either Sant Pol de Mar or to Sitges. A lunch with a paella is a must do in Barcelona, and the best places for a long lunch is either Xiringuito Escriba or Pez Vela.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would have to shoutout to a lot of people who helped me become who I am today but I guess it’s mostly my parents. My parents have always supported me in whatever I wanted to do. By signing me up to music classes and volleyball, they opened a whole world to me where I learnt the importance of hard work and discipline. They supported me to move to England and then to Barcelona for my studies, which gave me the opportunity to see different worlds and lives that I was not exposed to in my home country, Turkey. Barcelona is where I started my instagram account, where I started working for the first time properly. They helped me find the best contacts when I said I wanted to produce my first song too. So yes, my biggest shoutout is to them.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mimozaeverywhere/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MimozaCendey

Image Credits
Kaya Sensev Tyler Franta