I remember the exact moment my little side hustle felt like a legitimate business… I was sitting in our undeveloped basement with nothing but a desk and computer and I received my first big order. I froze. I didn’t know what I needed to do next. I didn’t even know how to type up an invoice. Where do I find an invoice template? Thankfully, I was working with a business coach and she walked me through it all. I wish I could say that I did it with ease and the ball rolled steadily from there, but in all honesty, it was a bit rocky. There were definitely a few hiccups along the way, but thankfully they were amazingly patient, and I finally got it right. Two and a half years later we are still working together. That first account was serendipitous, and it may be why this little business is now a fulltime gig for both me and my husband.

Building the blocks of anything, whether it’s a new relationship, family, business – heck life in general – can be tricky. Celebrating the successes, no matter how small, is so crucial. Those tiny little victories make the hard stuff worth it. One of the beautiful habits we’ve cultivated is taking time to make sure our work aligns with our goals and that we feel good doing it. I just heard a speech that Hugh Jackman gave and he said “good business is good for everyone… and if it’s not good for everyone, it’s not good business”. I love this. This statement completely aligns with our values of running a business and being decent humans. We’ve had a lot of opportunities to make a quick buck but it’s our core values that keep us in alignment with our vision.

Know your values, spend time designing your dream life. Bask in the feeling of living it each day and you’ll notice your entire life will start to morph into the exact thing you envisioned. DO THE WORK. Get through the messy parts, overcome the failures. GET BACK UP. Take the opportunities, big and small that make you feel good and CELEBRATE them! Show tremendous gratitude for it all.

The good, the bad and the ugly. There is love in all of it.

We all start somewhere. For some it’s a perfectly horizontal tightrope walk hoping not to fall. But for us (and probably most people) it’s always a bit messy, scary and looks more like a windy steep uphill battle. I love the challenges. I am almost never comfortable in my business and while that may seem unnerving to some, it’s what keeps me growing consistently. The vulnerability I feel on a daily basis has given me strength that I wouldn’t feel if things were seamless and easy. It’s a feeling that keeps me on my toes, inspired and eager to keep moving forward. I am proud of the foundation we have built our business on and I’m so excited to see where we go in the future. We have some big plans.

Do the things that scare you. Start somewhere. Just start. And when you get your first big (or little) break, account, client, etc., do a happy dance, show some gratitude, keep going and DON’T stop.

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SO MUCH LOVE to the Breaking Free Foundation, the first big order that started it all for us. They are a YYC based non-profit. We designed #METOO bracelets for them to raise money to provide survivors of traumatic life events with the treatment and support needed to reclaim their lives. Check out their amazing organization HERE.

If you are interested in supporting their cause, you can purchase a #metoo bracelet from their website our ours!