Slow It Down

Our goal for 2020 is to slow down...in life and in business. I know that hearing a business owner say that is confusing, but let me explain. 2019 was a building year. It was a year of saying "yes". It was a year of filling up the calendar with events, phone calls, and opportunities. Many sacrifices were made. I'm grateful for the growth and chances to expand our business in so many ways...incredibly grateful. And I will admit that in a way, it's difficult to say that and not ask myself this question: as a young business, what if we "undo" everything we have done in this short amount of time by slowing down??

Y'all, life flies by too quickly and saying "yes" and running myself ragged is not beneficial to my business or my personal life. I cannot lose my life to my business. I must slow things down this year in order to take better care of myself so I can take care of my family and my business the way I should. We must remind ourselves in life that business, money and success are not everything!!! Why do we feel like we always have to compete and keep up with the next person? I know that social media can make my mind play tricks on my mentality. Seeing other businesses and business owners doing certain things and running their businesses in certain ways can impact my mindset in a negative way. Even though this is only our fifth year in business, I recognize that the pretty photos we see being posted by other brands and businesses are wonderful, but there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes. I realize that of COURSE we all only post the fun, happy moments. There is nothing wrong with that at all. I just have to remind myself to go at my own pace and that we all have our own struggles. In order to not fall into the trap of comparing myself and my business to others, I truly have to be aware that we are all humans and focus on my own happiness.

+++DO MORE LIVNG AND LESS SCROLLING+++

The passed few years have taught my husband and I so much about ourselves. He's been very patient with me. He's attended all of our events. He's missed work. He's lost sleep. He's loaded and unloaded trailers and the shop so many times. He's bathed children and gotten them ready for bed while I'm printing away. I want to give him a little time back, too. I have missed some bedtime moments. Heck, we missed our son's first set of stitches while at a wholesale show in Mississippi. Lucky for us, he's accident-prone and we got to be there for the second set of stitches this Fall. But our kids are little...and only for a little while. I am confident our business isn't going anywhere. And I don't plan on not putting as much effort into growing it; I just want to be more efficient. I have goals to streamline things in our life and I would like to just share a few of those plans with you all in hopes to inspire you to do the same.

We have stopped working in the evenings...not every evening, but most evenings. We draw zeros on the calendar. There are literally days set aside to do nothing. We have to-do lists, but I only put three things on my daily to-do list as those are priority. I will occasionally charge my phone in the other room to prevent myself from looking at it as often. We play games in the floor with the children. That's what they will remember. I read inspiring books. I don't watch much television, but yes, I love some reality tv, okay? I also take time with Gia in the mornings after we drop Bennett off at school to just cuddle and watch tv or play a game before the day gets wild. I know that once I start production, it’s very difficult for me to stop because I want it all done! (I’m working on this, too!) I also do my best to stop working when Bennett gets home from school. I used to never love a routine with my crazy Nursing job schedule, but with school being a tacit now, a routine is helpful. I also delegate tasks within our home and business. We have help with our home as far as cleaning and laundry every week. It's a life-saver (and time-saver). I'm so thankful to know so many talented people in my life who can help me with my business and my life. I cannot do it all, nor should I (I can barely write, muchness draw designs-so, thank you, Angelique!!). I'm truly hoping to have slower times in 2020 with more freedom for the things that matter most! Joy comes in the ordinary moments and we don't want to miss those moments in life.