Is it really mine?

I’ve never felt like I owned my business till right now.  It’s something that every entrepreneur should feel right? Ownership and pride.  It took me 3 years to get here.

My journey started in a business partnership with a friend whom I love and who just “got me”. We respected each others aesthetic, were interested in fashion and design, shared the same values and we wanted to be change-makers.  We built our business’ vibe together, that is the fun part.  Picking the products, curating a collection, creating the visual, absorbing the stories + filling up with inspiration = that’s the “good” stuff, that’s the place we could live in all day.   BUT that’s just one part, the rest  – fiances, events, scheduling, marketing, website, inventory, merchandising, supplies, taxes, licenses, community building, maintaining the mobile shop + communication these are the things that make the “good” visible and alive. Without them, the “good” stuff just stays in a room with us and that’s no good.

It takes a vision and passion to run a business, but it also takes time, time, time, hard work + sacrifice.  For our business, I’d argue that it takes a bit of unselfishness as well.  The motivation to do good is rooted in taking your self out of the equation and being a part of something that is for someone/something else.  All of these things weren’t in balance in the partnership. Something else creeped up on me very slowly, we were not in the same place in our lives, and it became impossible to build a bond in the business together.  Her friendship is still one of my deepest and our want for the best in each other still is a priority.

With her departure and the business all mine, I felt free and deeply rooted, but also on shaky foundation.  So much had fragmented that I didn’t know how I wanted to move forward.  Until Unreasonable Lab Virginia.  In that space, with those other entrepreneurs and mentors I found my solo voice in my business.  I listened and listened and listened and I found in me through others what I wanted my business to be. The Lab started at the perfect time in my life and it gave me the foundation of true honest ownership in my business.