Wear With Grace turns THREE!

Wear With Grace turns THREE!

WOW. Three years old - and i'm reflecting on the last year. 

It's been a real guilty one.

There are so many perks of being your own boss. The freelance flexibility and of course the joy of being able to do something you love for a living - it's a privilege I never take for granted.

I manage my own schedule, set my own goals and hold myself accountable. I juggle the day to day runnings of Wear With Grace alongside studying for an HND, having a social life and of course the domestic jobs of making sure I eat a vegetable every now and again.

I started to realise that the workload I was managing was unsustainable and my routines left me very little space to breathe. Even my little flat had no space to relax in (my sofa looked great but was very uncomfortable). I had designed a life for a woman who never sat down. So I decided to take my foot off the gas, ever so slightly.

I took a leap of faith and slowed down. I decided I didn't need to work at 100% all the time. I didn't need to grow immensely every year. I didn't need to be at EVERY MARKET or EVERY EVENT. I didn't need to release new designs all the time. I tentatively tried to take things a little bit slower just to see what would happen.

What I discovered was that the Wear With Grace world still turned. I could move slower and my little business would continue to tick away in the background. The more I experimented with focusing my energy on other areas of my life, the more confident I became in doing things I hadn't done since I began this journey - simple things like resting.

I know that I am incredibly privileged to be able to take my foot off the gas and still continue to make a living from Wear With Grace and so much of that is because of the community around me. Look at what we have built together - isn't it beautiful?

I had heard the business rhetoric that the first three years are the hardest and once you hit the three year mark - things become easier. I now know that to be true.

I still battle with guilt on the days I take to rest, or the events I decide not to go too but I am a millennial after all. I figure the more I exercise my rest muscle, the stronger it will become and eventually the guilt will fade. I don't need to be productive or building or growing all the time. I can also just be.

The guilt told me I hadn't achieved much this year but when I look back on it all, I find there has still been moments and achievements to be very proud of and i've done it all while being a bit kinder to myself. If that isn't girl boss - then I don't know what is.

Oh and yesterday I ordered a new sofa - a very comfortable one. One I intend to do a lot of sitting on.

So here to taking it a little slower,

Thank you for sticking with me. I am immensely grateful to you all.

Laura x