Don't forget to leave yourself a slice of pie

One of the best parts about being at the School of Styling a few weeks ago, was the open and honest conversations we had with so many other incredible female entrepreneurs. It’s refreshing to know you’re not alone in the challenges being an entrepreneur brings. There’s a roller coaster of emotions you face when you own a business, one minute you feel like you’re on top of the world with a “I’m gonna crush this” mentality and the next you’re laughing-crying (trust me it’s a thing) about where in the world your next job is going to come from. Nothing prepares you for it, but being around people who get it was a source of energy we drew from the entire week.

One of the days I was there, I found myself sitting alongside five other successful business women at all different stages in their careers. A woman who has been working for herself for 16 years before Instagram was even a thing, another who was deciding on shifting her entire business model because of her personal ethical values, and everything in between. Even though we were at all different junctures in our careers, we shared a common thread; as small business owners… you do it all. Especially in the early stages; you’re sales, marketing, finance … and then there’s the actual work. Some days it feels like the list never ends and at the end of the day you’re left feeling totally drained and you don’t have much left over for yourself.

Our fellow flower friend, Rhiannon Bosse described this feeling to us perfectly. She said at the beginning of her day she starts with a whole metaphorical pie and throughout the day she gives away slices piece-by-piece. Her family gets some, her employees, her clients, her sweet babies… and she watches this pie get smaller and smaller. Each day her goal is to make sure theres a “slice of pie” left for herself. I’m clearly a very visual person, so this metaphor resonated with me. Most days I feel like I give away my entire pie before noon!

I am terrible at saying, “NO!” I mean seriously, this is something I struggle with on a daily basis. When my family and friends need something, if I can help, I do because I feel like it’s my responsibility and because I genuinely want to. My nice whole pie becomes an empty pyrex dish before noon and then I’m left scratching my head wondering why I’m so tired. The art of NO, it’s a difficult and a beautiful thing. Most days it’s difficult but when I muster up the courage I’m reminded as Rhi told me, “no one is going to die” if you say “no”.

So, now you have this slice of pie, you worked hard to save it, what does it look like for you? Is it taking a class, spending an evening working on a passion project or listening to that Oprah Winfrey podcast you’ve been dying to listen to? A slice of pie is great but if you don’t have the time to eat it, it goes bad. You have to find the time and space for the things you love and inspire you. While this may seem impossible with the grind of a daily schedule, the truth is, there’s always time for pie.

Trust me when I say, I don’t have the secret to life balance but I can say with 100% certainty when I feel burned out or start laughing-crying, that dog walk, that quick check in with a friend, even spending time writing a hand written note (which is a lost art, don’t get me started, that’s a whole other blog post) brings me back to the WHY I’m working so hard in the first place and that feeling tastes SO good.

So this week my friends, leave yourself a piece of the pie. I’ll be taking that challenge with you and I want to know what you did for yourself this week!!

xo

Hafsa