Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Like everyone else, one day at a time.
No truly, I am not the most organised person so it doesn’t come naturally to me. Some days I’m so wrapped up in the momentum of the business and other days I’m thoroughly dedicated to family time. I’m not very good at multitasking so it’s all or nothing.
As I’m only in the initial beginning phase, it’s all hands on deck, so in an ideal world I may find a rhythm. Setting boundaries for ‘work hours’ would be fabulous but not so easy to attain at this stage.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Self doubt and social media. Both wonderful tools but massive hurdles to overcome. Self doubt propelled from social media has been my greatest challenge and I don’t think I’ve overcome it but am working on it. It can be very daunting with how much things change, flow and develop on social media. That anxiety of thinking you’re not doing enough compared to others is very overwhelming and hard to squash. I just have to keep reminding myself that just like me we are all self curating our own narrative.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Funnily enough the pro is the con. The flexibility to sail your own ship at your own pace and being able to have 100% creative control; however, this also the con. You don’t have knock-off times, and you have to be able to strategise and self critique your choices.
Just because you personally like a product or idea or concept doesn’t always flow through to your customers, so you have to self critique your own personal tastes. Six years at university critiquing art and learning to recognise my own subjectiveness has been a great tool in life and business.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I’m currently in the midst of product development, so Lepeda can be a creative avenue for me and help cement our brand identity.
My next step is also to establish a physical format for Lepeda. Some close friends of ours at Blatherwick Rise (Farm) on our piece of peninsular paradise (Opossum Bay, Hobart, Tasmania) have some inspiring projects on the go for Lepeda to partake in, which is extremely exciting. These are opportunities to develop community, co-operatively foster our values and cohesively establish a safe space for creativity. Ultimately, I want to find a place for Lepeda to grow within the community.
Head to the Lepeda website to find out more and to view their beautiful range of products. You can also join their supportive communities on Facebook and Instagram.
