Mom to Mom // 06

You all know how much I love to wear DC. It is probably one the best parenting decisions I made from the get go, and it all started with my Solly. I talked this product up a bunch, and it saved me early on from the stresses of "finding the balance," when baby first arrived. That being said, I am beyond honored to have Elle, from Solly Baby, as our last mom of our Mom to Mom series. 

I was so taken back that she was willing to write a piece for us about being a business owner and a mother. She is one of those woman that I talked about in my Momspiration post (here).  She explains how to make your dreams come true with, count 'em, three littles, and it is for sure a most read! 

Thank you, Elle!

Solly Baby started from a pile of knit fabrics from the LA fabric district covering half of the floor of my little sewing nook in Salt Lake City, Utah. My husband was at school night and day, six days a week, so as soon as the eyes of my two little ones shut each day at noon, I would race to that room and work, rolling out fabric and cutting out wraps.

I also ate a lot of chocolate chip cookies and watched more than enough of the reality show “Dance Moms” during this time. Whatever it takes to get you through, right?

I sold them on Etsy, at boutique sales, Christmas shows, blogs, wherever I could until our own site grew. I even sold them at a yard sale once. Looking back, I’m sure a lot of people thought I was a little nuts, but I was driven by a love for the product. I believed in it and I wanted other people to believe in it too.

Three years and another child later, we’ve grown exponentially and my husband and I are able to work side-by-side at our home office in San Diego. Our success consistently surprises me. Most days, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. There’s been a lot of hard work and breakdowns as well, but I am living the life I’ve always wanted to. I’ve experienced enough trial and sadness in my life to know that is a gift.

I still get discouraged at times, but my husband tells me daily that I am a genius and that I could do anything and, for whatever reason, I believe him.

People comment to me almost daily, “I just don’t know how you do it all.” Well, I don’t either. Not that I think I’m a superhero or something, but growing a family and a business at the same time is like spinning ten plates at once. Sometimes they all come crashing to the ground and other times, we get into our rhythm and it just works. 

Running a business with a family takes sacrifice. There is very little security in running your own business, especially when it’s your primary source of income. We try to keep our expenses low so we can build up our savings and in case it all comes crashing down tomorrow. We are fully aware that it could. But we’ve been poor before and we aren’t afraid of starting over. There’s power in that.

That’s where the “keep going” part comes in. I’m convinced the difference between successful and unsuccessful people is not intellect or experience or money or luck, it’s the ability to KEEP GOING. I think if there’s any big “secret” to business, that’s the one we’ve found to be the answer most often.

I almost forgot to mention my most recent epiphany: ask for help! Women tend to want to keep the control. It’s hard to ask for help or to trust someone else to do a good job (or how you would do it!), but we have to!

I’m not sure where I heard this, but it’s stuck with me, “Do what you do best and pay someone to do the rest!” If you can’t pay in the beginning, make a goal of when you will be able to or get creative ask if you can do a trade. If you don’t, you will hit burnout. I promise.  

Finally, be nice to yourself. I know that running a business is kind of the hot thing for moms to do right now and, believe me, I am a huge supporter of this movement, but it’s not for everyone and that’s okay! Being a mother is TEN times harder than running your own business and there is no shame in wanting to “just” be a mom. It’s the most important thing any of us will ever do.