The Drive: What challenges have you overcome?
There’s been a few. Obviously harnessing and nurturing my grief and turning it into something positive was a huge mountain of transformation for me. I was worried i’d be judged for capitalising on my son’s death instead of people seeing it for it is, which is just a new-found love for my life, born from the love that I have from his existence.
…harnessing and nurturing my grief and turning it into something positive was a huge mountain of transformation for me.
Also, knowing that I was going to expose myself to babies and mothers and how embarrassed I felt doing that, without having a baby of my own. But to be honest, by far the biggest challenge so far has been my marriage and the layer of adjustment we have had to face as a couple on top of already trying to survive through the hardest challenge of our lives. I didn’t have much support from my husband in the beginning, because he didn’t understand. He just thought I’d sell my first batch of stock and then close up shop, get a real job and move on with my life. I felt totally alone and unsupported. He resented how much time the business was taking away from him and I resented how faithless he was. So my biggest challenge was believing in myself and being in that boat all alone until he could start to see what an impact I was making in not only our lives, but others too, until he finally had enough faith to climb on board with me. We’re a pretty solid unit after everything we’ve been through but it hasn’t come without our struggles.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Without a doubt being my own boss is the BEST thing ever! The fact that I am writing this in my PJs in bed is awesome and the fact that I choose how my days look is pretty satisfying. The thing I love most though, is my happy customers. Without a doubt the best thing about it is seeing pictures of their little babes in their baskets and receiving messages of thanks and support from my tribe. The connections I have made with complete strangers and the learnings I have absorbed throughout the whole experience has made me a better person. My business has given me a future I can look forward to and has been such a light in my life in my darkest of days. It’s just the most incredible thing.
The downside though is that my home now feels more chaotic and less homey because it looks like a warehouse/stock room. Another downside is not really ever having a day off, although if I did I’d probably miss it. Working from home, alone, can sometimes feel a little isolating as well.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Well, I’m currently 15 weeks pregnant with our second, so we definitely have lots to look forward to. I’ll be spending the next few months really setting up the business to run as smoothly as possible for when Link’s baby brother or sister arrives, so that I can spend every waking minute with them, knowing the business is still set up to succeed. I’d love to grow my following, add some new products to the store, do some more writing for my blog and hopefully one day, write a book.
Head over to Link & Luna to shop all of the beautiful baskets, and be sure follow Link & Luna on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!
