Entrepreneurship – Page 5 – Coastal Carolina Soap Blog

How Indies Beat Stress

I am a member of a great organization called the Indie Business Network. There are oodles of benefits to being an Indie, but I would have to say that our Facebook group jumps up to the number one reason for me. It’s like having a support group at my fingertips 24/7 for anything – questions about business; rants about the increased cost of shipping; or support when home, school, and business all overwhelm me. It’s also a great place to celebrate that huge stack of wholesale orders and to laugh with other business people. I know from experience that, when one member is just totally sinking, the leader of the organization, Donna Maria, will reach out to that member by email and/or phone to lend personal, one-on-one support and guidance. Been there, done that, still enjoy putting that guidance into practice. (“Mom, can you wash my clothes after my sister’s?” “I’m not in charge of laundry. You’ll need to ask your dad.” Oh my gosh, that felt soooo good to say yesterday!!!)

There comes a time in every Indie’s life and business, though, when the stresses get to be too much. Money is tight, supplies are low, and when you go to look for your customers, you hear crickets instead of cash registers. On top of that, one of the kids is sick, the cat has to go to the vet, and the septic tank is backing up. What’s a business owner to do?

This came up for discussion this week in our group, and I offered to compile all the suggestions, including some of my own, into a blog post to share with everyone. We all have our own unique ways of handling stress, and you hopefully can find inspiration from our ideas. I promised anonymity, so there will be no names attached to these.

Drunk elephant riding

(1) “Get drunk and ride an elephant.” One member did this as part of her personal retreat to re-evaluate her business. It’s come to represent to me doing something so totally different from your personal norm that it shakes up how you view things. Closely related to this is…

(2) “If there’s no elephant available, get drunk and ride a hot guy.” Because, seriously, unless you’re in Asia, Africa or a zoo, elephants are hard to come by. Sex is great stress relief! (My husband suggested making the UPS guy verrrry happy. Hmmm… “What can Brown do for you?” just takes on a whole new meaning when you put it that way, doesn’t it?)

(3) Spend time taking care of you first. I love this message about taking care of yourself for 24 hours. Do things just for you. Call it being selfish, if you will, but that time can make you such a better parent or business owner.

(4) Cuss. A lot. Loudly. To hell with acting and sounding like a lady! If a man building a house were to hit his finger with a hammer, he’d be cussing up a storm. A woman building a business takes her hits, too. She should feel free to express her anger, hurt, and frustration in crude, primal ways.

(5) Be in the moment. Do what feels right for you in that moment. Cry. Laugh like a maniac. Whine. Gripe. Scream. Experience the catharsis.

(6) Enjoy some chocolate and wine. Dark, milk, or white. Liquor-filled or basic Doves. Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, or Sweet Muscadine. Indulge responsibly. I have found that a glass of dry white accompanied by some dark chocolate m&m’s can greatly improve my outlook on life.

(7) Get yourself into some hot water. Whether your prefer a milk soak, bubble bath, or bath salts, grab a book, maybe some wine or chocolate, possibly even the guy from point #2, and sit back in peacefulness. Leave your stress in the tub and watch it go down the drain.

(8) Escape. Take 15 minutes to yourself. Take half a day for a trip to a day spa. Take a night away in a B&B. Take two nights. Or three. Or a week! Unplug. The world will survive without you for a few days. Close the doors on the business for a while and come back refreshed and recharged. I try to take 15 minutes to myself each evening and an overnighter at least every other month. These times away from my business and family make me a happier mom and a more productive owner. As I said in our group, I love my girls, and I love them even more after some healthy separation.

(9) Exercise. Yoga, running, walking, lifting weights or whatever works for you. Just do it. Get those endorphins going and cleanse your mind as your sweat out the stress.

(10) Finally, reassess. After going through any or all of these de-stressing routines, determine what you are gaining from your business. Is it spending money? Is it extra income for your family? Is it the reward of being your own boss? Your business should be benefiting you in some way. If it’s not, then it’s time to assess whether this is the best choice for you. Stepping aside and looking at your business from a new angle can help put things in the right perspective.

I’m sure you have your own ways of beating back stress, frustration, and hopelessness. What works best for you? Share them so we can learn from each other.

Flip Flops Featured in My Maker Box

Back in June, I received an email from my business mentor, Donna Maria, asking if I would sell her some flip flop soaps at wholesale. It was a large order, so I agreed. These flip flop soaps were part of a 90-bar production series the girls and I tackled in a mere 3 weeks. Oh my gosh, was that a lot of work, and did we get sick of pouring these soaps! It was too much of a good thing.

Those soaps were for the premiere My Maker Box, a fabulous box loaded with at least $150.00 worth of products, which shipped out in August. My Maker Box is made by makers, for makers. You can hear dM herself tell you all about the August box here. You can see my soap at around the 3:40 mark.

To celebrate the end of summer and the fact it’s still flip flop weather here, these flip flop soaps will be 40% off all week.

Don’t those treats look like so much fun?! I’m personally lovin’ that earcuff. Which of these treats would you love to have?

I Quit!

CHOC Walk 2009 (Photo credit: Denise Cross Photography) – Thought this was appropriate, as one of our movies was “Aladdin.”

Last week, I quit. I quit work for the most part. I quit the business for a week. In fact, I quit everything but motherhood. My older daughter was at camp, leaving me home alone with my younger daughter for a whole week. What a treat, as we haven’t gotten to do this in about a year!

We did all sorts of fun things! We went to the library and got books. We went to the beach with my mom. We got haircuts. We watched movies – lots of movies. We read books. And we cuddled. That was the best part, that cuddling.

I checked my business email once a day, and the Wee Princess and I went through boxes and boxes of soaps to parcel out which ones we’d be donating. Then she helped me organize those in my storage space. I made phone calls, did housework, and made products while she napped, A couple of days, I napped, too. So, I didn’t quit completely; it wasn’t a planned break, so I didn’t think it would be fair to my customers just to close up shop completely for the week.

The break was restorative and a great lead-in to beginning school this week. It taught me something valuable, too; it taught me that I can, in fact, give myself a break from running my business full-tilt, and the world won’t come to an end. It reminded me that my goal isn’t to build a lasting legacy through my business. My primary goal is to raise two kind, compassionate, giving, loving, brilliant daughters. Teaching them those character traits is the legacy that’s most important to me.

Email as a Productivity Suck

Think Different Wordle (Photo credit: Ian Aberle)

Email. Love it or hate it, most of us rely on it as a speedy, efficient way to communicate. I use it for everything from general shared things (links and pictures), to grocery lists, to business matters. It’s faster than old-fashioned “snail mail” but less invasive than a phone call. I’m in the habit of checking my primary two email accounts daily, and I used to check them both every morning while sipping my pre-breakfast water. But an article I read which one of my fellow Indies posted changed that. (That link is well worth the read.)

As I read this list, even in the midst of our absolutely insane last month, two things resonated with me the most: #2 – “Don’t check your email first thing in the morning,” and #6 – “Define your goals the night before.” Wow. With two events and three large orders, how easy it would be to implement at least those two goals in order to be more productive. So, the next morning, I denied myself the obsessive urge to check my business email. I skimmed my Facebook feed, tidied up my Gmail a bit (that’s my social email address), then ate breakfast and read for a few, completely oblivious to what might be in my business inbox. After breakfast, I showered, then focused on some of the items I needed to get done for my events and customers. In fact, it wasn’t until early afternoon before I ever got to my email, and nothing needed my attention. That night before going to bed, I wrote my to-do list out on the dry-erase board and slept soundly, knowing there wasn’t anything that I was forgetting.

The article points out that reading email first thing in the morning makes a person more reactive than proactive. The day before, my time was my own, focused on my goals and my agenda. There was nothing I had to deal with that had cropped up, leaving me free to work as I wished. The second day, I got cocky and checked email in the morning as was my habit. In amidst the usual notifications and alerts, there was an email from one of my wholesale stockists. Yes, I read it. While I didn’t respond to it then, it stayed in the back of my mind until I did deal with it, distracting me from giving my tasks 100% of my focus and attention. That alone was enough to encourage me to stick with waiting before checking my business email.

It’s been ridiculously easy to liberate myself from looking at my business email first thing in the morning, though I have had to become even more intentional about that since fixing the email app on my phone. It all comes down to boundaries. During the day, my time belongs to my girls, my business and myself. While my customers are certainly the lifeblood of my business, there are many times when my business itself needs to be my focus, when I’ve got to be OK with putting off emails and phone calls until that batch of soap has been put to bed, or while that batch of lip balm is setting up. There are other days, though, when my lovely customers come at the top of my day, and I can push other things to afterwards.

The to-do list has been a harder discipline, not because I don’t know what to put on one, but because I keep adding to it all day. During our academic year, I would identify 2-3 key goals for that day, and if I just met those goals for my business, then I could keep things going just fine. This time of year, that list expands to 6-7 items just for my business, nevermind the plethora of household tasks that demand my attention. However, my nights are more peaceful and my days more productive when I take 2-3 minutes to create a list before going to bed.

What tips do you have for improving your productivity each day? Feel free to share for everyone’s benefit!

Unplug Yourself

About three weeks ago, my mom, daughters, and I struck out on our Epic Spring Break trip. We told my daughters for over a year about this “beach trip” we were taking for our Spring Break this year and how much awesome fun it’d be. I knew what the treat would be – a 3-day Disney cruise on board the largest cruise ship in the Disney fleet, followed by 3 days at Walt Disney World.

I left my laptop in the car, and while I took my mobile phone with me on the ship to snap some pictures to text to friends, I turned it off and stowed it in my purse before we left the port. I could have paid for satellite access for my devices, but instead I opted to take advantage of the opportunity to completely unplug for the duration of our cruise.

This was such a great choice, because it forced me to focus entirely on Mom, my daughters, and the many fascinating things there were to see and do on the ship. I got along splendidly without text, email, and Facebook for a few days. Those who needed to find me in an emergency could, and everything else could survive just fine without me.

When we arrived back in Florida, I turned my phone back on to face the bombardment of messages, particularly as my husband was heading to Orlando to meet us (another surprise for the girls). I didn’t bother with emails or FB, though. Even when we settled at our Disney resort, I got online just to check my personal email, because some soccer-related things had come up that needed my attention as coach.

For an additional three days, I avoided social media completely, save for the occasional picture posted from my phone. In the meantime, I made some incredible memories with my family, my mom, and my friend Marci. This was the first cruise for my daughters and me, and this was my younger daughter’s first trip to Disney World, and it was more important to watch the magic come alive for her than it was to check in on my social media accounts.

This video perfectly encapsulates the value of putting down the phone and paying attention to the people around us.

I put this into practice yesterday as I spent time with my friend April talking about everything under the sun. My phone vibrated in my pocket off and on for five hours, and I studiously ignored it. When one of my friends asked where I was, honestly believing that “meeting for coffee” would only last an hour or so, I asked him, “When you go out and are looking around, how many people are buried in their phones?” He replied, “Way more than I like to see.” I was determined not to be one of those people, and it left me able to enjoy the face-to-face time. After all, chick time without kids is rare, but I can check my phone any time.

How do you unplug? Can you unplug to spend time with loved ones?

The Value of Relaxation

I’m a busy woman. I’m not bragging about that at all. I don’t use my busyness to get out of things if I can help it. I don’t take pride in my busyness. If anything, I feel ashamed of it sometimes, because I think, “Maybe I can manage my time better.” But, the fact remains that, between running my business, teaching my girls, chauffeuring them from Point A to Point B, managing the household and coaching soccer, I am very busy. But not for long. Those running around days are coming to a close. The soccer season won’t last forever. And our Summer Break starts at the end of May. There will soon be time to breathe.

Given all this busyness, all these responsibilities, all the minutiae of things that need my attention, it is very hard for me to stop to chill. I have two children who demand that I stop to play with them every so often. Last week after their swimming lessons, they asked if we could do free swim some. I said, “Sure.” OK, in my mind, I was saying, “But I’ve got to type that blog post and take those pictures and get through our academic lessons…” The “Yes” won out, and we enjoyed an hour-and-a-half or so in the pool together, swimming and playing… and laughing. By the time we got home, I was feeling very mellow and relaxed, which set me up for a very productive afternoon.

Last Wednesday, I blew off a small group study on raising better kids to enjoy coffee and smoothies with an acquaintance-turned-friend. I was looking forward to it with a little trepidation. Would April and I have enough to discuss to fill the hour-long break we had from motherhood? Oh yes, plus some! When the time was coming to a close, neither of us was ready to get back to the demands of motherhood, having enjoyed getting to know one another better and discovering all we have in common.

Last weekend, I took time to liberate myself of all responsibilities. My best friend and I had planned for me to come for a visit after our soccer games were over. My heart blossomed as I spent time with his daughter, and he said a few times, “She opened up to you more than she had the whole time she was here!” We shopped; spent time with his mom, who’s one of my dear friends; went out to a great dinner; attended church (can I get an AMEN for rich spiritual nourishment!); then chilled with Netflix for a while. We talked and laughed and cut up, and I left feeling completely recharged. Not once did I check my business email or worry for a second about the batches of soap awaiting production.

Then came yesterday. So much to do, and only one car between hubby and me (his died last week, so he’s been using mine for work). Swimming lessons and hair appointments and necessary Easter shoe shopping for the girls and… A rain day. That meant he didn’t have to work, so I had the car to get things done. Unfortunately, the timing never worked out with the girls’ swim teacher, but Hubby worked with the girls on their techniques, our youngest, especially. I was going to sit and watch, using my phone to catch up on emails, blog posts, and so forth, but at the almost last minute, I grabbed my suit and towel and decided to swim myself. How wonderful it was taking this opportunity to exercise and play in the pool! We also managed to get everything else done.

I needed these breaks. I needed the mental breaks with my girls, new friend, and bestie to play and laugh. I needed soccer and yesterday’s swimming time to exercise. I needed to fall asleep on the sofa last night to refresh and rejuvenate my mind and body. I needed to stop for a while, because it was only in allowing myself to stop that I could once more go full speed ahead with fresh ideas, goals, motivation, and agendas.

What do you do to stop yourself in order to get a fresh start?

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles