Starting a jewelry business was something I never thought in a million years I would do. In 2020, I was laid off due to COVID. This gave me the ability to think and evaluate my life. I was in college at the time and I did not have that drive to finish and get a degree and have a 9-5 job. Nothing wrong with getting a degree and working a 9-5 job! I wrestled with the idea of finishing college for 4 years. I went back in forth and felt like college was a struggle for me, not because I was a bad student. It more had to do with my eagerness to start something. While my friends were off graduating, I was starting a business.
The idea I had of being a business owner was fun and exciting at first. I mean, it its! Don’t get me wrong, having a business is full of everyday excitement but there are many days when that are not as exciting. From financial decisions to low sales. It can be hard.
There were days I flat-out wanted to give up because I felt useless. I felt because I did not know much about business, I was going to fail another dream of mine.
This may not be some business advice for some, however, I hope you take this to heart. The only way I was able to preserver through my difficult times was because of Jesus. Prayer had the power to make me look at my situation and praise the hard days.
The days I had to learn a new skill or read about something I wish I could just hire someone to do were hard days. The days I spent hours working on inventory to only get 2 or 3 sales were hard days. The Tuesday nights I spent learning about digital marketing for 3 hours were hard days. The number of videos I watched, articles I read, and advice given were hard days.
The above photo shows the first item that I stamped. I remember thinking to myself what am I doing? I know nothing about business. If it was not for Jesus... I would not be here almost 2 years down the road pushing each and every day to strive to succeed.
In order to have a successful business, you need hard days. The hard days are what prepare you for the good days.
I once heard someone say, “if your dreams do not scare you are not dreaming big enough.”
My dreams scare me! Not because I do not think they are going to happen, but more so because I know that with my faith they will one day become my reality.
I made a lot of mistakes. Just as anyone starting something will. I may not know everything about having a business. To some, I am still an “intern.” However, to some, they can see me and see that no matter what I did give up and I am still pushing on even on those hard days and they can see me as an expert.
The best advice I can say, do the work. Learn as much as you can. Make those people that criticized you for chasing something that you did not know where it would lead stocked!