Some days I think I need to quit, it's so hard, scraping by and sometimes playing catch up. But, I love what I do. I love the furniture and decorating. I love the organizational side of it too, helping clients clean and purge and make their spaces more functional as well as beautiful. It makes me happy and I have made some great friends along the way. there is also the benefit of it working around my children's schedules and I get to go to their events. I don't feel that God would have blessed me with the talents to do what I do if I wasn't supposed to be doing them. But, there are so many hard days that it can seem overwhelming.
I try to give myself a little grace: I'm the only one working on everything, I'm still new to owning a business, I'm working incredibly hard all the time...
Sometimes that helps me feel better, and sometimes it doesn't. I've been having a harder time lately, not that I don't have work coming in, but the work I have is larger in scale or takes a lot more time than I anticipate or would like for it to. I let the pressure get to me occasionally, after all, I have two gorgeous little ones depending on me and they are growing up fast!
When I get overwhelmed I try to think of my mother and what I know she would say. She would tell me to just keep going, "You can only do one thing at a time baby girl. Grab your list and get it done! When you can cross off more than half you know you'll feel better and that will help you get the rest of it done!" She was constantly so busy and so wise.
In this day and age, with social media the way it is, I think people get caught up in the portrayed happiness of it all. I'm not saying that it is all fake, but we really only see the happy moments, so in a way it is fake. No one is always happy, no one is always sad. When all you see is happy moments or staged photos it's easy to think that others have it great all the time. I'm guilty of this myself! I don't like seeing negativity or complaints on Facebook or any other social media. I want people to be kind and happy all the time. I do show off my happy moments, because they are happy and real and meant something to me, especially when they involve my children. But, those moments aren't constant.
I'm saying this, not to be negative but, because it's important for people to know that it isn't always "rainbows and unicorns" here. It's important for people to know that you are going to have seriously hard times. Times when you want to give up. Times when you question what you're doing. Times when you feel like you just can't push anymore. Times when you feel a bit more than just broken. It's important that people know it's HARD to have your own business. That the pressure is intense because your success is in direct relationship with your grocery budget. Every last thing is dependent on you.
There are so many reasons why it is important to know these things. You may not know what someone is truly going through, so be kind. Growth is hard, and a person with their own business is learning about personal growth as well as their business growth. It's good to experience the hard parts, to truly feel them. Your appreciation for the successes, small or large, will be so much greater when you've fought for it all.
Though my business isn't 100% successful yet, there have been great successes. I feel good when I've worked on something challenging and it turns out amazing.
I try to give myself a little grace: I'm the only one working on everything, I'm still new to owning a business, I'm working incredibly hard all the time...
Sometimes that helps me feel better, and sometimes it doesn't. I've been having a harder time lately, not that I don't have work coming in, but the work I have is larger in scale or takes a lot more time than I anticipate or would like for it to. I let the pressure get to me occasionally, after all, I have two gorgeous little ones depending on me and they are growing up fast!
When I get overwhelmed I try to think of my mother and what I know she would say. She would tell me to just keep going, "You can only do one thing at a time baby girl. Grab your list and get it done! When you can cross off more than half you know you'll feel better and that will help you get the rest of it done!" She was constantly so busy and so wise.
In this day and age, with social media the way it is, I think people get caught up in the portrayed happiness of it all. I'm not saying that it is all fake, but we really only see the happy moments, so in a way it is fake. No one is always happy, no one is always sad. When all you see is happy moments or staged photos it's easy to think that others have it great all the time. I'm guilty of this myself! I don't like seeing negativity or complaints on Facebook or any other social media. I want people to be kind and happy all the time. I do show off my happy moments, because they are happy and real and meant something to me, especially when they involve my children. But, those moments aren't constant.
I'm saying this, not to be negative but, because it's important for people to know that it isn't always "rainbows and unicorns" here. It's important for people to know that you are going to have seriously hard times. Times when you want to give up. Times when you question what you're doing. Times when you feel like you just can't push anymore. Times when you feel a bit more than just broken. It's important that people know it's HARD to have your own business. That the pressure is intense because your success is in direct relationship with your grocery budget. Every last thing is dependent on you.
There are so many reasons why it is important to know these things. You may not know what someone is truly going through, so be kind. Growth is hard, and a person with their own business is learning about personal growth as well as their business growth. It's good to experience the hard parts, to truly feel them. Your appreciation for the successes, small or large, will be so much greater when you've fought for it all.
Though my business isn't 100% successful yet, there have been great successes. I feel good when I've worked on something challenging and it turns out amazing.
Or when this gorgeous little girl sees how hard I've been working and wants to contribute so bad that she makes a sandwich board out of whatever she can find and then spends an hour on her Saturday, walking up and down the street trying to get customers to come to the boutique sale.
Then this boy tells me, "You make really awesome things mama! You do such a good job." Or when he tells me that I'm crazy or silly and I know that I'm being his mama as well as doing my work.
Or that first time I saw my brand as a tag on a pillow and jumped up and down, then showed it to my daughter and she did too...in happy tears!
When at the end of this game of checkers (during the boutique sale) this boy asked me not to sell the checkers table because he loves it. Then says that he knows I need to and that is okay too.
Or when this little girl tells me that she wants to grow up to be like me and I'm both flattered and scared.
Those little successes make it worth it. Friends telling you they are impressed, make it worth it. Clients that come back time and again make it worth it. My father telling me he is proud of me...that makes it worth it.
Encouragements and kindnesses help me push through when I'm ready to stop.
Encourage someone with a small business. You may be the person that "makes it worth it" for them that day!
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