The Cost of Bad Foundations - My Story
Starting a business can be exciting but the way entrepreneurship is portrayed online is not always aligned with reality. Things don’t always start out with sold out stores and insta-stardom. More often, there are many sleepless nights, brain fatigue, and lack of motivation. What once was an exciting venture, quickly becomes the thing separating you from the things that really matter. In the beginning, this became my reality and for a minute I paid the high cost of not having a strong operational system.
The Beginning of the End
The only way to describe this period of my business journey is heartbreaking. Most days were overwhelming because there was so much about my business relying on my physical and mental labor. I was doing everything from making wigs, customer service, marketing, and more. This led to sporadic results, as I wasn’t putting 100% into any one area. I was spreading myself too thin. It was a toxic cycle of just doing enough to get by but not enough to scale. I was doing everything and my brain would never turn off. I felt like I could barely get any sleep because there was always something else to do. The worst part is…my business issues effected more than my business.
Real Life Mom Guilt
Not only was I completely overwhelmed with work, this left very little time for me to enjoy life with my family. This really dawned on me with my first child. As a baby, I spent a lot of time running the business but I would try my best to manage motherhood at the same time. This meant many times my son or husband wouldn’t get my full attention.
I knew I was missing out on precious time with my family when playtime, bedtime routines, and casual memories were meshed with screen time or didn’t include me at all. This wasn’t the family life I envisioned for my child, my husband, or myself, so I knew this had to change before there was no turning back. My business was important to me but not more than my family or my overall health. I knew there had to be a better way so I found solutions.
Transformation Begins
Once I had this epiphany, I took a break to get things together. I started my journey by replacing manual tasks with automations. This freed so much of my time and I didn’t feel so much like a robot. Even when I wasn’t there to answer an email, process orders, or nurture new clients this was being done for me through technology.
I learned all I could about my Shopify website, creating lead magnets, sending email campaigns, and scheduling content in advance. During this process, I realized there so much in my business that I never took time to do because I was so wrapped up in day to day operations. Now that these systems were setup, my business saw tremendous growth from my sales, to my audience, to my overall piece of mind. Business was no longer something that stressed me day in and day out. Finally I felt free.
This biggest reward to this decision is the change we’ve been able to make within my household. My top priority is always going to be my family and conquering this hurdle has made our lives so much more fulfilling. Not only have we expanded our family since then, I have the freedom to do whatever, whenever I choose. I can literally take my kids to the pumpkin patch, arrange special appointments for my son with autism or go on a spontaneous vacation with my husband. Whether I'm working or not my business still runs and sales don't stop because I pulled back. Life has changed drastically and I now enjoy all parts of it.
My Advice
I’m sure many wig makers can relate to this experience and I just want to encourage you. Change can happen and it doesn’t have to be sacrificing home life. You can have a successful wig business and still all the other things you love. Whether you're a mother, a wife, or just a woman with dreams there is a way to run a wig business effectively. I figured out how, now I'm teaching you in our newest program Operational Excellence.