Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
That is something I am always working on. I am a stay-at-home mother and work from home. My family lives on the other side of the world and we just moved to Melbourne from Sydney a few months ago. So, it’s just my husband and I with our baby boy Oliver. I make sure our cups are always overflowing. Self-care is most important for us to feel good as a family and have some to share with others. I slow down on days that I need to and listen to what we are needing as a family. I’ve found that it helps to work with regular set times. To only work at certain times and then am present with my family. I do sessions on the weekends when my husband is home to watch our son and then we do self-care as a family. My husband is very supportive of this work that I do. He is also amazing at making sure I am grounded if I get overwhelmed and knows what to do if I get stressed. He turns on meditations, gets out my essential oils and tells me to go with nature hehe.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Many challenges have made me stronger. The challenges I have faced have given me a deeper understanding and enabled me to relate to the people I work with. I had a massive fear of speaking in front of people, but I knew someone out there needed to hear what I have to say so I overcame that. I used to speak negatively to myself, hated my body and lived with anxiety but I overcame that. I did this by changing the language I spoke to myself, taking self-care, changing who I surrounded myself with, setting boundaries, facing fears, finding self-love, and becoming a yoga teacher. I changed my whole life and now I get to teach others how to do the same. Before becoming a mother, I had done a lot of self-work and thought I was prepared. Postpartum and sleep deprivation shocked my system. I realised how women can lose themselves. I had to take a break from work to go through my transition and fill my cup up. Now I am able to support others through this big transition.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are being able to work from home and be there for my little boy every day. To be able to set my own hours and choose how I want to work.
The cons are not being able to predict how things will be. One week could be amazing and financially I am able to support my family. The next week or for months could be the opposite. You put your whole heart and soul into this, but you don’t always know how you will be supported. When you have a family, you need consistency. As a single girl who started this business, it was okay if I almost couldn’t pay my rent but as a mother and wife, I need to be able to support my family. I know that this is what I came here to do so I do all that I can and trust that we will be taken care of as I support others.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I launched my first book called “Fearless Sunflower” last September. This book is about the journey I went through to get here and a ‘how to’ book for anyone needing some light in their life. For the ones who are on their journey or wanting to start the journey of self-love. I love writing and plan to write another book in the future. For now I am focusing on growing my women’s circle in Australia/New Zealand. Most of the people I work with are in the US or Canada, so I am looking to grow my clientele here. We are remodeling my home office and I look forward to having people in this new space for self-love sessions or aroma dome essential oil sessions.
Visit the Fearless Sunflowers website to find out more about the amazing work Kayla does. You can also follow her journey on Instagram at @fearlesssunflowers and @earthmamaoilcollective.
