Five Years of Isabella and Us.
/What an incredible five years it has been - full of so many ups and downs. Thankfully more ups than downs and I’m so grateful to still be here doing this five years later!
It feels like such a huge achievement to have got to five years in business, amongst all of the things that life throws at you.
I set up Isabella and Us when Isabella was just 4 weeks old in January 2018 and this December she turned five.
So as my small business turns five I wanted to share five things I’ve learnt about running my own business as a mum.
Having my own business and my own ‘thing’ has helped to keep my creativity alive and give me an outlet - Those first three years of Isabella’s life I really struggled with my identity as a mum, who was I outside of being ‘Isabella’s mummy’, where had ‘Emma’ gone? Having my business and having something to focus on gave me somewhere to go for me, yes it was so tightly entwined with motherhood, though it gave me something to hold on to for me.
It allowed me to develop in confidence - Sharing my own story, publishing the magazine, recording podcast episodes, speaking at events, helped me to develop my confidence. Although I have been a teacher for nearly 10 years there is something very different about putting yourself out there and sharing your story or your creation.
It helped me find me - I owe where I am today to all of the experiences, learnings, insights, qualifications I have gained on this journey, they have all helped me work out who I am, what I want from my life, and what truly brings me joy and this has allowed me to show up authentically as me, and feel more me than I ever have before.
The importance of saying yes (or no) - In these five years I have had many opportunities to share my work, share my journey and share my magazine and podcast. Sometimes these opportunities have felt aligned with who I am and what I do and so I jumped in feet first. Sometimes they haven’t. In these five years I have learnt that saying no when something is not truly aligned is important to growing your business authentically
It has allowed me to help so many other mums - The one thing I am most proud of in these past five years is how many other mums I have been able to help, through my social media posts, the Positive Wellbeing Zine for Mums or through coaching. It is such a honour to support others to thrive and to spread the insights and learnings I have had a result of my journey.
So as I reflect back on the past five years, both the highlights and the lows of juggling motherhood and running a small business, I am extremely grateful to have been able to grow such a wonderful community around Isabella and Us. And as I head into 2023, in the fifth year of my business, with my life having changed considerably in the past 12 months, I am excited for what is to come and the learnings that I will have as a result of this rollercoaster which is motherhood and small business.
