Cashmere & Cocktails is one, y'all! While I'd hoped to be getting tanked in our backyard with friends for the occasion, the pandemic stunted all in-person plans and we will be having virtual drinks instead. You win some, you lose some, folks! It's hard to believe that it's only been 12 months since the blog's creation. A lot of nothing happened for the first bit, followed by a lot of everything, and now I can't wait to see what year 2 has in store. As I reflected on the past year, I realized that I've learned a few lessons that may be worth sharing with all of you. Here are the Top 5 Things I've Learned This Year and if you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe! 🙂
- Invest in yourself. When I decided to start the blog last June, I initially refused to pay for a domain name. I couldn't justify spending the $130 annual fee. Then I asked myself why? I don't spend money on a gym membership. I don't golf, or play tennis, or have a seasonal ski pass. I don't go on shopping trips. When I really thought about it, I couldn't think of many places where I spent money on myself aside from the occasional pizza delivery. By this point, I was three glasses of wine deep and clicked purchase. Unfortunately, the scarcity mindset hadn’t yet left my psyche. "I love natural light, but I’m constantly chasing the sun. I could get so much more done if I had artificial light," I said to my boyfriend recently. "Then buy it," he responded. There it was. No justification needed. Buy it. It was that simple and it finally clicked: it’s ok to invest in my passions. By investing in myself, I'm able to create a new source of income for our household, while doing something I love, which is pretty fucking awesome.
- Be deliberate with what you send out into the universe. Last summer, I wrote down a list of goals that I wanted to achieve by the end of year one. When I did this, I wrote “when” and not “if”. I was deliberate with my wording, both in writing and spoken, and was unwavering when telling others of my plans. Often, I was met with lukewarm responses such as: “Your plans don’t need to be so set in stone," and "It's ok it you don't achieve this stuff right away. Good things take time." While none of the advice was wrong, I refused to let it apply to my goals. The thing is, rarely do people achieve crazy dreams without hyper focus. I highly doubt that an Olympic runner wins gold by running just sometimes. No. If you want to win at the Olympics, your life focus will be on training for the Olympics. Obviously, I’m not an Olympian (like, at all) but I think you get the idea. Now, you may be wondering where the universe comes into play and quite honestly, I ask myself that question daily. I have a part to play in my successes, I get that, but I think when you're headed in the right direction, the universe finds a way to help you along. I don't pretend to know how the universe works, I just trust that it does.
- The difference between thinking you're shit and thinking you're the shit. If you think you're a talentless nobody whose business will never take off, then you'll be a talentless nobody whose business will never take off. Who the hell is going to believe in you if you don't believe in yourself? I often find myself sounding like the Little Engine That Could. I’ll pursue a goal, whether it’s a task I’m comfortable with or not, simply because I believe I can. Also, being a solopreneur requires you to have the ability to sell the hell out of yourself. When you’re pitching to brands, you need to convey that you are the absolute best person for the job. It's not enough to just say it. You have to believe it. Which leads me to my next point...
- No doesn't mean never. In the world of business, rejection is inevitable. I'd be lying if I said that I've never pitched to a potential client and had them decline. It doesn't mean that I won't pitch to them again, and it doesn't mean they won't want my services down the line. No doesn’t necessarily mean never. Sometimes no means not right now.
- You're able to adapt better than you think. If 2020 has taught me anything, it's that I'm far more adaptable than I ever imagined. This ability to pivot in a different direction when needed has enabled me to grow my business and chase dreams that I’d previously dumped onto the “Not Now” pile. No daycare due to global pandemic? More time to spend with the kids. Wedding clients forced to cancel? Offer to reschedule them and focus on food related work in the meantime. Can’t shoot during the day due to a screwed up work schedule? Order artificial light and learn how to mimic natural light instead. Pivot, pivot, pivot!
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