It becomes stressful and you lose the drive and passion that fuels what your business is about, and you can lose interest. I believe small goals are always the best way to go. I believe it’s valuable to you and your business if you have a day away from social media too. Organising social media posts and stories in advance and scheduling posting make a huge difference. Yes, we are all human, we need breaks from technology sometimes. I feel it improves your productivity and overall health. Having a day of rest from social media gives you the opportunity to reflect on your business and self, relax and allow you to unwind from the hustle and bustle of it. YES – your Instagram and Facebook accounts can survive without constant supervision for one day.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
The challenges I have overcome would be: 6 weeks after launching my business, I had noticed a lot of online website traffic but zilch in the orders. I was feeling really deflated, stressed and worried that I had made a mistake. There seemed to be such a great amount of interest in my brand but yet my stock was still waiting to be sold. I was searching for reasons about why this was and was driving myself insane. At that time, I was participating in my mumpreneur workshops so it helped with gaining different views on what was happening. I thought, “I need to find an easier way to express my brand, what it is I stand for, what I want my brand to represent and to be able to offer more payment options.” I connected with my customers and asked them if they wanted a “Buy now. Pay later” option. In a unanimous vote of YES, I decided that that was what I needed to offer. In order to do that, I had to move my entire website to another website host and rebuild it to accommodate an Afterpay option. The web-host I was with wasn’t compatible with Afterpay.
I knew my customers would appreciate having another payment option, so over 3-5 days I transferred my domain, all of my content and rebuilt a website from scratch. It was very challenging, tiring and scary! I kept thinking, “Am I doing the right thing? Will people really want this?! Do people really like my business that much that this will be the breakthrough that I need?” It truly was a blessing in disguise, because it gave me the chance to view my old site and really take note of what needed condensing, or removing, or adding, to improve the overall experience. It was a good decision, as I got to use my creative flair again and, because I had everything on the original site, it allowed me to move policies and info straight across and tweak it if need be. That really saved A LOT of time! After I completed my new website, I felt amazing. I finally found what it was I wanted my business to represent and how I would like my brand to be seen. Even now, I will still go back to my site and review it. I tweak if need be, I rework business ideas, create new concepts and strive to improve wherever I can!
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Well, for me, there are so many pros and less cons.
Pros: having the flexibility to work at any time of the day, I get to look after my son at the same time, I have flexibility to have appointments scheduled without stressing about ‘taking time off’, I can exercise my creative skills, interact with my customers, share personal passions, learn about other people, support other mums and feel good about myself.
Cons: Working out costs, organising manufacturing, tax stuff, accounting, not taking a formal wage, not getting annual or sick leave. Working on your own can be tough especially when you want a holiday, and sometimes feeling alone in the business.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
My hopes and dreams would be to have more than just tees. I haven’t really worked out what else I would like to include but I know it definitely can’t stop at tees! I’d love to be manufacturing my own product very soon and possibly moving into a factory. Being a known sponsor for not-for-profit organisations – an example would be PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia). My biggest goal though, is to have a workplace that offers a child-friendly work environment to assist mums re-entering the workforce and, of course, reduce the strain and keep costs down with childcare.
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