The juggle is real...
I am writing this blog post from my sofa as my little boys play with their train track and it's like a ticking time bomb... how long will the peace last and how long will I have to update some images and write this blog... I will let you know.
The purpose behind this blog is that I feel like it's important to share my journey as a business owner and one thing I have come to learn is that the JUGGLE is real [four stuffed toys have just been put on my lap to "watch me work"]
When I started the business I didn't really anticipate the rate in which the brand would grow and how I would juggle the summer holidays, running the business, navigating a house move and all of life's other demands. I have always been relatively good at spinning multiple plates and I am known for my swan like persona [Fox has been taken away because he doesn't want to sit with me anymore]
[Fox has now returned... "she changed her mind"]
When you start a business you really are the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker and the reality is that there's just never enough hours in the day but also not enough money in the first year to outsource, so it really is a case of doing the best you can and allowing yourself to prioritise some things and let some things sit and marinade for a while.
[Just refereed an argument about whether the word "school" has an S or not and also had a to confiscate a school bus from my youngest because he couldn't fit in 100 cars and wanted to break the doors off...]
It may come as a surprise but my main priority is making jewellery... but to sell jewellery I have to carve out time for marketing [just been asked a million questions about why I haven't fixed the meerkat stuffed toy who's insides are falling out] but I also should be doing SEO work on my website and this is where I start dropping those plates. I am happy to admit that although it should be a priority, I never seem to be able to find the time to get stuck in. Add in the rest of the jobs - ordering materials, design work, photography, REELS ON INSTAGRAM [grrrrrr] packaging, accounts - the list goes on and sometimes all I want to do is sit at my bench and create. What I have realised though is that I am only able to do the best I can and that I am going at the pace that having 3.5 and 4.5 year old children allows me to go at - also, I simply can't do everything, even when I want to...
[quick break to feed the boys]
I am not complaining about life, its madness and chaotic but utterly fulfilling in so many ways and I am so happy to be able to even take on the task of juggling... I just think [let the dog out] it's important that as a startup it’s easy to display success and talk about how this life changing decision has been the best thing I’ve done… but it’s good to be real and say, I have so many unfinished “to do” lists, my very expensive and great business planner remains unopened for days on end and has so many blank pages it’s embarrassing, my website stays untouched and unloved at times, I don’t put pen to paper to design new collections, I forget to buy important ingredients for our dinners when I do the shopping and sometimes I have to let my children watch Netflix so I can just get one blog written and published!
The main things for me are progress - no matter how big or small. It’s imperative that I don’t give up and quit because the juggle gets overwhelming - it’s about allowing myself to strip it back on occasion and just be the best I can be on that day, in that environment and in that exact moment in time. And the most important thing is to be kind to myself… I’ll get to things, just not all at once and that’s OK.
I’d love to hear your experiences of juggling life, work, business, children… you don’t have to be a business owner for any of this to be relevant - Just juggling life can be tricky! Any tips, please send them my way! Now I’m off to make a cup of tea because there should always be time for that…
