Something Borrowed

I read on the news a while ago that Victoria Beckham borrowed money from her husband to keep her business alive. After reading the article, I thought to myself: why is this even news? Some people run their businesses as a side gig while keeping their day jobs to secure an income. Others, use their life savings or borrow money from family, friends or financial institutions. There is not just one right way to run a business, the same way that there is not only one path to success.

There are things that nobody tells you when you start your own business. Everyone gives you advice on taxes, cash flow or how to calculate your cost of doing business, but nobody tells you that when you become a freelancer, especially in the creative industries, there will be times when you won’t get paid-jobs or the jobs that you do get won’t even cover your expenses. Nobody tells you that it is perfectly fine, that it happens to everyone, that even big brands and big companies are drowning in debt and are struggling to make a profit in this economy.

We should talk more about this and give entrepreneurs a little break instead of forcing them to turn a profit before their business idea has even been put to the test. Last week, during a Pathways by The Trampery panel discussion, Tahlia Gray - founder of Sheer Chemistry - shared with us that one of the things that she wished she had been told when she started her brand was that there is no shame in taking on side gigs during the early stages of your business. You gotta do what you gotta do to keep the business running!

Sadly, we don’t hear stories of people starting businesses in their parents’ garages anymore or of people becoming successful after going bankrupt seven times. Those dreamers who persevered until they made it are not role models anymore. Now everyone has to turn a profit in less than two years or risk having their idea thrown in the rubbish bin.

For twenty years I worked in an industry that helped me live more than comfortably but made me feel like an outsider. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. Nowadays, I’m doing the job that I should have chosen for myself out of college, and I have never been happier in my life, even if at times it’s hard to make ends meet. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Success is feeling happy with what you do; the rest is secondary.

Photo credit: behind the scenes taken by Emma Steventon.

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We All Have This Superpower

Last night, I was having a conversation with a very good friend of mine and we were talking about how being friendly opens so many doors. A smile doesn’t necessarily get you everything that you want, but it goes a long way. Ironically, a peer once told me that in some cultures, like in France or some Asian countries, for instance, smiling too much is associated with having a lower level of intelligence. Well, I don’t know if I’m perceived as dumb to some people, but I am a happy person and I smile a lot. And I don’t intend to change that any time soon.

When I used to work in corporate, my friendly and outgoing personality was always perceived as a weakness. I was too nice. Maybe they thought that I was easy to take advantage of, or maybe they were just jealous that I live a happy life. But, even if that always played against me, I never considered for a second smiling less or being less friendly.

I like to surround myself with friendly people, especially when I work. I think that we have enough stress in our lives and jobs to have to put up with the crankiness or bad moods of others. I don’t necessarily think that you have to act like a clown or try to make people happy all the time, but just being friendly and accepting of others really doesn’t cost that much and it makes all the difference.

Admittedly, we are here to work, not to make friends. But, let’s try to make work an enjoyable experience. When I have to put teams together, I obviously look for the best that my budget permits, but someone who is the next best thing but is nice to work with will always be chosen over someone who’s a diva or makes people around them uncomfortable. Life is short, let’s try to enjoy ourselves while we can.

A smile is such a powerful thing to share. Being able to make someone else feel better with just a smile, albeit for a few seconds, should be considered a superpower. So, if we have that power, why not use it more often?

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