How To Balance It All As A Small Business Owner

My Spring collection is live and I am oh so proud of this line! Not only do I adore each and every scent, I worked really hard on the aesthetic and designed it all myself. I'm so happy with how it all turned out.

It's been a goal of mine for a long time to expand into other complimentary products to go with candles, but I learned from Shark Tank and Dragon's Den University the importance of going deep before you go wide. Working on the new room sprays and body lotions was so fun. Tinkering with recipes and formulations, packaging, labelling, it all sparked my creativity and brought me so much joy. And oh boy could I use some joy right now. 

February was a rough month. Really rough. Not only for my business, but for my mental health as well. Inflation is hurting everyone in every way. Yesterday I went to our local grocery store and when the cashier scanned my bag of clementines I thought I was seeing things when it said $17.47. Pardon me? I asked if that was real and when she said yes I said that'll be a pass for me. No Vitamin C for my kids this month thank you very much. 

So many small businesses in my local community are closing down. In fact, when I look back to those who were around when I started, almost none of them are still in business. And that's a very unsettling feeling. I've started to question my own relevance and if I'm at the end of the natural life cycle of a brand. 

Yesterday I had a great session with my business coach. She helped me get out of my head and reframe my thinking. The negative self talk and the self doubt are not serving me, and in fact they're negatively impacting every area of my life. P.S highly recommend tapping (aka Emotional Freedom Technique) for anyone interested in emotional regulation and shifting your thinking.

This month is going to be a busy one, and I'm ready to tackle it with a clear head and an open heart. The One of a Kind Show is at the end of the month, which has been a goal of mine since before I even owned a business. It's a huge commitment both financially and personally, and I need to make sure I'm going into it in the right headspace. 

I felt compelled to share some more about the space that I've been in lately because so often I get asked how I keep everything in balance. The honest answer is that I don't, and I truly don't feel anyone does. We only have so much energy to go around, and it shouldn't be the expectation that everything receives 100% of us. For me, something is always being prioritized over something else. So the times that my business is thriving and keeping me so busy, it's more than likely that I'm missing social events or not connecting with Ryan. If my social cup is full, my health and fitness cup might be empty. You get the gist right? 

I hope that I haven't contributed to hustle culture, but if I have then I'm here to say I'm making a conscious effort not to romanticize business (busy-ness). It's unrealistic and inauthentic. No one can pour from an empty cup. Instead, my goal is to show up authentically, do things with my whole heart, and give myself grace for the cups that are less full than others.

Onwards and upwards friends!

Nic