Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. Because I made the leap from lawyer to jewelry business owner, I get a lot of questions about career change. If one of your goals for 2020 is to leave behind a job you dislike and find happiness at work through a career change or by starting your own business, this post is for you!

Career change is a topic that fascinates me and I think about it a lot. I often ponder the American work culture, too - for instance, have you ever thought about the slogan TGIF? It was invented because the vast majority of people do not like their work life and can't wait until it's Friday. That's so sad when you stop to think about it! But it's the way our society has trained us to think about work. It's no wonder that if you want to quit your corporate job to pursue something you love, you're going to feel uncomfortable, fearful, and crazy at times. This is because such a decision requires you to go against societal norms.

I think the root cause of the rampant career dissatisfaction in our country is that we're taught to be motivated by money. Ask people why they're working at a job they don't like and I guarantee you that they'll all give you an answer relating to money: "I can't afford to quit" or "I can't make this kind of money elsewhere" or "I'll never make money doing what I love." We all know that "money doesn't buy happiness" but many of us live as though that were true. So, if one of your goals for 2020 is to change jobs or start your own business, my biggest piece of advice for you is this: be driven not by money, but by what will grow and evolve you into a better version of yourself.

Let me address one of your main objections to this idea straight out of the gate, because I know a lot of you probably said, "Yeah, that's a nice idea, but I've got bills to pay." Paying bills is important. Obviously. But when did financial security become the only goal that matters? It's like, we think if we have financial security, all of a sudden we'll be happy and our life will be perfect. Spoiler alert: that's not true. I had financial security in my job as a lawyer and I was a hot mess. You wouldn't even recognize "old Stacy" as I like to call her. So I'm telling you - if the only thing that's driving your career decisions is money, you are in for a big disappointment. Even if you make all the money and get all the promotions, you are going to feel pretty empty at the finish line. And then what will you do?!

Sure, financial considerations matter. If you are struggling to pay your bills, then by all means, now's not the time to take a career risk. You need to honor the season you're in. But for those of you who aren't struggling to pay bills and are unhappy in your career, 2020 is a fresh new opportunity. Money is going to be a factor in the career decisions you make, but let it be just that: one single factor in the overall decision-making process. Let me encourage you to be driven less by money and more by what is going to grow you and evolve you into the next highest version of yourself. It's great if the career change you want to make will lead to both more money and personal growth. But when you're given a choice between the two, choose growth. Think of it as a long-term investment. When you become a better version of yourself, the money follows. It won't be immediate, but if you stick with it, it comes. It really, really does. And earning money from something you enjoy even feels a lot better than money earned from doing something you don't particularly like. It's temporary sacrifice for long-term gain.

Cheers to career change in 2020!

xo,

Stacy  

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. Over the past two years, I've had a lot of aspiring business owners ask me what resources I found helpful in launching my business. You know, things like courses, books, and podcasts. In my opinion, taking a few select online courses are the single best thing you could do before you launch your business, and refusing to shell out a few hundred dollars to learn from others is the most costly mistake you could make. You don't need to recreate the wheel! Invest in some online courses and learn from people who've already made the mistakes, who've already tested all the methods, and who've already succeeded using the tools they'll teach you. Online education is incredibly affordable these days, and there are usually a ton of free webinars out there too. If you insist on doing everything yourself, you're going to waste many, many months and your business will fail before it even gets off the ground. Time is money, and this is especially true in the start-up phase of a business. 

Let me give you an example to back-up what I'm saying here. Let's say you're starting a wedding-related business. Almost every bride turns to Pinterest to plan her wedding. Therefore, Pinterest marketing is going to be important to your success. Now, if you could pay a Pinterest expert $250 to teach you (via an online course) everything they know about Pinterest marketing, wouldn't you? If you try to recreate the wheel and learn Pinterest marketing all on your own, you are going to waste at least 6 to 12 months making all the (costly) errors that this Pinterest expert could have saved you from. Perhaps you saved up only 6 to 12 months' worth of savings to live on - which means your business is doomed before it even gets off the ground. Trust me, paying $250 for a 6-week comprehensive course is one of the best investments you can make in the long-term.

Someday I'll try to make a list of all the valuable webinars, courses, books and podcasts I've encountered during my business journey, but for now I can tell you the top 3 that helped shape my business:

1. Marie Forleo's B-School Course

Hands down, this course was the most important step on my journey. The jewelry business I was planning to start before this course and after this course looked completely different. Marie is a powerful female personality in the online business space - she has a best-selling book and she's been on Oprah as a modern day thought leader. While the course is not cheap (it was about $2000 or so) it is worth every single penny and I highly recommend you save up for it. In addition to offering extremely practical advice on how to start a business, Marie also teaches how to create a business with soul - one that aligns with your values, purpose, and dreams. This course is also great for helping you to develop not just a business but a brand. Brand is so important in an over-saturated online marketplace. The course is about 12 weeks long if I remember correctly, and there is a lot of homework (do it all!). Marie also offers a lot of free resources online. You can see what she's about at https://www.marieforleo.com/

2. Brilliant Business Moms Pinterest Marketing Course and Facebook Ads Intensive Course

If no one knows about your business, no one can buy from your business. So if you don't like marketing, you might want to reconsider opening your own business! If you invest in just one course, make it an online marketing course. I am not a mom but I took a few free online marketing webinars from Beth Anne, the owner of Brilliant Business Moms, and I found her very compelling. She's built a hugely successful online business selling yearly planners, and then started teaching others how to sell online using marketing tools like Facebook, Pinterest, and email lists. I took her online Pinterest course and it was about $200 if I remember correctly. It had at least 20 different modules (with videos, homework, and case studies). It was so detailed I barely could finish it! I found it so valuable that I took her Facebook Advertising Intensive course too, which teaches advanced advertising on Facebook and Instagram. This course was about $400, but you will absolutely make that money back in sales. The reason I like Beth Anne so much is that she shows you her own Pinterest and Facebook analytics - she is so transparent about how her tools have worked (or not worked) and shows you the data to back it up. She's very credible and also very relatable. She's kind of just this mom from Pennsylvania who's figured out how to build a hugely successful online business - and she made me believe that I can too. Here's her website: https://brilliantbusinessmoms.com/

3. Gabrielle Bernstein's May Cause Miracles (a 40-day guidebook) 

While this isn't practical business advice or data-driven coursework, this book literally changed the game for me. The courses I listed above were the practical knowledge I needed to start grace + hudson, but Gabrielle Bernstein's 40-day practice in May Cause Miracles was the mindset shift I needed to be successful. You can have all the practical knowledge in the world, but if your mindset isn't right, you are going to have a hard time finding success. Through this audiobook, I developed a habit of eliminating self-defeating thoughts. Let me tell you something - if you start a business, you are going to be inundated with doubts and fearful thoughts on a daily basis, the most benign of which will be, "Everyone is going to their 9-to-5 office job - am I absolutely crazy to be trying a different route?!" and "There's no way that I am going to make enough money to live off of this business." Facing self-doubt and the doubts of your family and friends is probably the most challenging part of starting your own business. It will make you want to give up. If you aren't prepared for this, you will crack under this mental pressure. This is what happened to me in my first business in 2010 - I had it for just one year before I closed the doors and I can honestly say that self-doubt (which was fed by the doubts of others) is the reason why it failed. The major difference between now and then is my mindset. I highly recommend you buy this as an audiobook. I listened to each day of the 40-day course while I brushed my teeth and washed my face in the morning, then I replayed it later in the day if I needed to. I think it's a lot easier to keep up with the 40 days if you have it on Audible, as opposed to a paper copy. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/May-Cause-Miracles-Guidebook-Unlimited/dp/B00A2ZJ65I/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

While these were my top 3 most influential courses, yours might look different! We all bring different strengths and weaknesses to the table. But regardless, if you're a business owner, you're going to need to resolve problems and come up with creative solutions every single day. Don't do it alone. You'll find amazing resources on the Internet with just a click in Google. Nearly all online courses that cost money will offer a free webinar - try those out! You'll learn a few things plus you can "try out" the teacher before you invest any money. See if you like his or her teaching style and, most importantly, see if you find him or her credible. You might get overwhelmed with all the online resources at first, but remember this: it is an incredible time to start a business! It wasn't always this way! I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been to start a business in the pre-Internet era. 

Continue to educate yourself after you've started your business, too. The business world is rapidly changing, especially in the online advertising space. It is so incredibly important to learn, educate yourself, and do online research when you encounter a problem in your business. It'll save you so much time (and money).

Last but not least, if you don't invest in yourself and in your business, how can you reasonably expect others to? It's an important thing to keep in mind.

xo,

Stacy

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. In my last few journal entries I've been talking a lot about perspective. Perspective is everything! This week, I want to address a pervasive thought that holds a lot of people back from starting their own business because a change in perspective will do the trick. It goes a little something like this: I want to start my own business, but I'm waiting for the engraved invitation to show up in the mail. Pardon the sarcasm as I'm originally from northern New Jersey ;) but you've probably heard this expression before and it is so apropos here. It's like we're waiting for a rock solid guarantee to show up in the mail or drop down from heaven that says, "Yes, Stacy, if you start this jewelry business, it is going to make oodles of money and you'll never have to go back to a job in corporate America again." And so we wait and we wait, we hem and we haw, we don't do the work because we don't know if it's going to pay off. Well, just like anything else in life, there are no guarantees that your business is going to succeed or make money. Heck, there are no guarantees that any one of us is going to wake up tomorrow! At some point in time, you are going to have to take a risk and decide to go for it (or not). But here's what I want to tell you. Here's the perspective shifter. It's not about whether the business succeeds or makes money. It's about what you learn along the way and how you grow and develop as a person as a result of the life-changing experience of trying to build your very own company. You've heard me say it before and I'll continue to say it again. It's about the journey not the end result.

Here's how I know this to be 100% true. If you've been reading along, you know I quit my job as an attorney not once but twice! The first time I quit, it was 2010 and I opened a brick + mortar jewelry store in a cute town in New Jersey. I had the shop for one year. Although this would be marked a failure to the untrained eye, something really important happened when I owned that shop. Brides-to-be consistently stopped by the shop looking for bridesmaid jewelry. They all said the same exact thing: "I want to buy jewelry to match my bridesmaids' dresses but the pretty jewelry I'm finding is at Nordstrom and I can't afford to purchase $200 necklaces for each of my 8 bridesmaids. The only other colorful jewelry to match my wedding that I've been able to find is at Kohl's and is just too cheap looking." I'm not joking, if I had a dollar for every time I heard this exact spiel, I'd have been rich. 

So what's my point? That first store led me to open grace + hudson 9 years later. When I opened g+ h, I knew there was a huge gap in the market between expensive and cheap bridesmaid jewelry gifts. But I never would have known the ins-and-outs of this need in the marketplace if I hadn't owned this jewelry store in 2010 which "failed." It was a critical stepping stone on my journey. I wouldn't be standing here now if I hadn't had that store. 

And your journey is no different. I'm sure if you think about your own life right now, you can see areas where the dots all connected. 

So stop waiting for the engraved invitation to show up in the mail, inviting you to make the leap to start your own business. Listen to your intuition. If it's screaming at you to start a business and you just know that it's the next step on your path, go for it. Accept the risk and go after your dream with an open heart, knowing that everything you learn along the way is going to make you stronger and better. Trust that all the dots are going to connect in the end. Be smart about it, but know that it necessarily is going to involve some degree of risk.

This idea can be applied to virtually every area where you've got to make a big decision. For example, recently my mother has been thinking of moving from New Jersey to the south to be closer to me and my sister. She's never lived outside of New Jersey and the idea of such a big move is a little intimidating. I told her the same thing - at some point, you're going to have to take a risk and follow your heart. There is no guarantee that if you move, you're going to love it in your new home. At some point, you're just going to need to take the chance. Or you're going to need to accept that you're staying in New Jersey and stop talking about moving. You're going to need to decide and get out of a seemingly endless loop of debating the pros and cons.

Cheers to recognizing areas where you're stuck - areas where maybe you're waiting for a guarantee before you make a big decision or a big change. Evaluate the risks, listen to your heart, know there are no guarantees in life, and move forward.

xo,

Stacy

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. With 2020 on the horizon, people are starting to reflect on the year that's coming to a close and plan for the year ahead. If you don't want to be in the same exact position next year at this time, you have to take a long, hard look at what'll motivate you to make a change. I'm seriously fascinated by this topic. Why do some people stay stuck year after year? Why do some people have the courage to take a big leap? Why do some people die with a big dream in their heart, while others believe their dreams are worth pursuing? I heard someone speak about this on a podcast and he said that people are generally motivated by one of two things: pain or inspiration. (You can listen to the full podcast here). I couldn't agree more.

Unfortunately, most people don't make a big change until something bad happens and it's their only option. This was the case for me! I was 100% miserable in my career as a lawyer for about 11 years when my father passed away. He was just 65 years old. After processing the grief with the help of a therapist, I decided that I needed to make some changes. Life is short. And it's certainly too short to feel stuck in a career that brings me nothing but anxiety, stress, and unhappiness. My dad worked his butt off in a corporate America job, saving for retirement with the hopes of moving to the beach in his golden years. He never got there. What a cruel joke, right? Work your whole life with the promise of a happy retirement, only to die one month after turning 65 years old. The pain this caused me motivated me to make some big changes. I didn't want to wait until retirement to "start living" like the American culture teaches us.

Pain is a motivator for a lot of people. Think about it. There are so many famous authors, actors, etc with a rags to riches story. There are so many stories of people who had a near-death experience like a very serious a car accident and completely changed their lives after it. So many stories of people who hit rock bottom and then turned it all around and fulfilled their dreams. Why does pain motivate us? It's simple. When the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of making a change and stepping outside of your comfort zone, you'll make a change. Read that again. Do you get that? It's a math equation: Pain of Change < Pain of Staying the Same. Generally speaking, humans are creatures of habit. We feel most comfortable in familiar situations. We don't particularly like change. Even if your current situation doesn't make you happy, at least you're in a predictable routine that you can rely on (and that does bring comfort; albeit negative comfort). We'd rather be with the devil we know than the devil we don't. But when the pain of that situation becomes too heavy to bear, and the pain of getting out of our comfort zone is lower, we'll go ahead and choose to get out of our comfort zone. 

The other avenue to big change is inspiration. My message to you is to not wait until a tragedy strikes to make a big change. Move from a place of inspiration instead. When you are inspired to make a change, it can happen more intentionally. For example, you can choose the timetable (you're not acting when tragedy unexpectedly strikes), you can save money for it, you can put together a plan. 

So the question is: how do you get inspired? I think the most powerful source of inspiration is to connect with people who have already made the change you're dreaming about. You can do this in person or, if you don't personally know anyone, you can find books and podcasts by people doing what you'd like to be doing. I think this is the most forceful source of inspiration because these people are real life examples of what can happen if you gain the courage to make the change. 

It is with this idea in mind that I've decided to start offering some support resources to all of you who have found my story inspirational. I get messages to this effect all the time and I've realized that many people are craving a change (whether that be a career change or something else) but just don't know how to make that leap. I love connecting on this topic so much. It's been a big part of my messaging since the first day I launched grace + hudson. Right now, I'm contemplating small group coaching, a private Facebook group, a virtual book club to discuss some of the books that I found most helpful on my journey, and one-on-one coaching. I will definitely keep you posted on these offerings as things unfold, but I know one thing for sure: the mission of these offerings will be to inspire you to make a change, and not wait for pain or tragedy to be your catalyst.

For now, let's say a cheers to reflecting on 2019 and thinking of all that might happen in 2020!

xo,

Stacy

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. This week's journal entry is about the negative comments and criticism you are going to encounter if you decide to open your own business (or make a big career move, or make any huge, significant life change) and how to best deal with it. No matter how much you believe in your dream to own your own business or decision to make a big change, there are going to be a lot of people who won't. Heck, some might even laugh in your face. And some of these people might be close friends or family members (cue the tears and self-doubt). Starting a business or making a huge life change is scary and takes a lot of courage, so if you aren't prepared to encounter a few doubters, haters, and criticizers, you may quit before you know it. Instead, I want you to know ahead of time that this is completely normal and just part of the journey. And if you're opening your own business, I'd call it the first real test you're going to encounter as an entrepreneur. If you can move beyond the criticism of your friends and family, you'll be able to move beyond the criticism of clients, customers, or onlookers (because the bigger your business grows, the more criticism you'll encounter). 

Let me tell you a story about my first business - a brick and mortar jewelry store. I was 29 years old and had only been practicing law for about 3 years when I quit my job to open this store. The economy was crashing (it was 2010) but I didn't want to hear it. I was going to open this jewelry store no matter what - that's what my heart was telling me to do and, come hell or high water, I was going to make it happen. My mom wanted to just about strangle me. She did not have the opportunity to go to college and the idea that her daughter with a law degree would throw it all away after 3 years and give up a six figure job was too much for her to handle. She just couldn't understand and I don't blame her. We have two extremely different perspectives on career and, now that I think about it, money too. We argued and shouted about this a couple of times, but I proceeded to quit my lawyer job and open the store without getting 100% support from her. That was tough. But no one, and I mean no one, was going to stand in the way of the dream that was placed in my heart.

The point I'm trying to make here is this: you need to believe in your business dream or the decision to make a big life change so much that not even your closest family member can steer you off track. This requires a knowing intuition that this dream or decision is your life's path, your purpose, the reason you are here. You can't, for one second, imagine doing anything else. I don't like the word obsession, but it's kind of appropriate here. Anything less than full on obsession isn't going to be enough to get you through the hard, trying times and the nasty, ugly criticism.

Allow me to make a distinction among the negative comments you're going to encounter, especially as you begin to talk about your business idea (or big life decision) for the first time with others. There are negative comments worth ignoring, and there are negative comments worth listening to. I like to call the latter category "market research." Let me illustrate with an example. You're a millennial. You tell your millennial friends that you want to open a bookstore downtown that targets millennials. Each and every one of your millennial friends tells you they can't remember the last time they were inside a brick and mortar bookstore, and encourages you to abandon your business idea. You run away each time, questioning their friendship. Here's the deal: if someone you ordinarily respect responds with negativity that also contains some rationale or reasoning behind it (here, the fact that they can't remember the last time they saw the need to go to a bookstore), you'll want to file their rationale away as "market research" and consider it later after you've cooled down. In this particular case, you'd want to look into a few things if you hadn't already done so: (1) research the age of the average bookstore consumer, (2) identify whether or not your bookstore is going to offer something innovative and unique to draw millennials inside, and (3) research the profitability of brick and mortar bookstores in the Amazon Prime era we live in. Do you see the difference between negative comments, and comments that appear negative but have some value and should lead to market research? With this in mind, the next time a friend questions your business idea or big life change, rather than run away or get ticked off, just reply with "thanks for your concerns - I'll look into some of the things you suggested." 

Now, let me talk about the negative comments you're going to hear that have no value, reasoning, or rationale behind them. These are more difficult to handle in my opinion because they can't be researched or reasoned with, and are just plain hurtful. But my advice to you is this: remember that the people who reply in this manner are acting from a place of fear. For example, in my case, I knew my fellow lawyer "friends" who talked about me and my jewelry dreams behind my back were acting from a place of fear and dissatisfaction with their own career. The fact that I was moving on to an exciting entrepreneurial journey was threatening to them because they didn't have the guts to make a move and seeing someone else do it brought up some deep rooted emotions. But you know what? They're still complaining about how much work they have or how late they stayed up to finish an assignment, and I'm over here making pretty jewelry. I know this sounds kind of crazy, but every time you encounter people who hand you these negative comments, do two things: (1) silently wish them happiness and (2) say a word of gratitude that you were blessed with the courage to make a big change.

There's one more thing you should be prepared for and I already hinted at it. When you make a huge life change, oftentimes your friendships are going to change. Some friends will be incredibly supportive. Some will call you crazy. And it's very hard to predict which friends are going to do which (you'll be surprised here). Friends might distance themselves from you because they don't want to deal with the emotions your journey and your courage is stirring up inside of them. And that's ok. You can't take it personally and it's best to accept that your friendship was meant to last only for a season. On a related note, YOU are also going to want to make new friends - friends who are on a similar path as you.  If you're starting your own business, you're going to want entrepreneurial friends to bounce ideas off of, friends who understand your challenges as a business owner, and friends who have a similar schedule as you (adios 9 to 5! hello midday breaks with new friends!). I've said it before and I'll say it again - the entrepreneurial journey demands your own personal development and growth. You'll evolve so much as a person and - no matter whether your business fails or succeeds in the end - you'll walk away a stronger, wiser, more interesting person. 

Cheers to making big life changes that get you closer to the life you've always wanted to live!

xo,

Stacy

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. This week's journal entry is about the growth stages of a start-up business. Everyone wants to know how long it takes to return a profit, right? Right. But spoiler alert: it's a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to find your first clients and customers, it takes time to launch new services and products, it takes time to grow and scale your advertising efforts, etc. It takes money to do these things, too. So you've got to plan wisely in the beginning or you'll run out of steam (and money) before you've even given your business a fair shot at success. It's not fair to expect your business to return a profit more quickly than the average business so don't set yourself up for disappointment by thinking you can make it happen more quickly than most of the business owners who've gone before you. That's kind of like expecting your newborn baby to walk in month 4 instead of month 14 (like the average baby) and then throwing in the towel altogether on your baby's ability to walk when she's only been in this world for 4 tiny little months. Ya feel me? Like anything that's brand new in this world, it takes time to grow and develop. And while businesses vary widely, I do think there are 3 common growth phases that every new business goes through.

The first phase of any business, no matter what type, is the investment stage. You put money into the business to create a logo, manufacture your products, create advertising campaigns so that people know your business exists, etc. Any revenue you manage to generate goes right back into the business so that you can continue to build a solid foundation for your business and tell people about it (i.e. advertise). Your business is like a newborn baby that needs constant nurturing and care. It deserves every last drop of your attention. You're not going to be able to take a paycheck yet because your business needs that money more than you do. You likely acquire some business debt to help cover all of these expenses and that's ok. I once heard someone say on the television show Shark Tank that if a new business doesn't have any debt, the owner isn't spending enough money on advertising. Debt is not a bad word. But acquiring more debt than is reasonable or wise is bad, so be smart about it, keep the dollar amount low, and don't feel any shame or guilt over it. Know that every new business is going to acquire at least some type of debt during this phase (unless maybe you have a trust fund or an incredibly rich spouse or family member?). My rule of thumb: don't acquire more debt than you could pay off if you're business failed a few months from now and you had to return to your full-time job. This means that a lawyer who has a six figure income potential can comfortably take out more debt than an hourly wage worker in retail. Bottom line: be smart about it. And if you don't know how to be smart about it, you need to educate yourself on business financing before you invest one cent into your dream.

The second phase of the business is the cash flow stage. Your business has grown from a newborn into a toddler meaning it can do some things on its own, but it still needs constant oversight and a ton of nurturing. You're starting to see cash flow: money is coming into the business at a consistent pace, but going out at a consistent pace too. You have more cash from increased sales and you're using those dollars to increase your advertising efforts so that more people can find out about you. You're also using that money to improve your products or services, as you've started to seek out and receive customer feedback. You're testing ideas and strategies like crazy, to see what works and what doesn't. You may need to hire a few employees so that you can begin to serve more people as your advertising begins to really work. You'll be able to take some cash out to pay yourself, but maybe not every single month. You aren't racking up more debt. Woohoo! But you are not yet paying off the debts you did acquire in the first phase. Don't have any guilt or shame about that though - paying for everything with cash generated by your business is something to celebrate. 

The third phase of the business is the profit stage. Your business is generating enough money to pay all of its expenses with some left over. You take home a nice paycheck on a regular basis (and you never skip a week). You have money left over at the end of the day to pay down the debt you acquired during the initial growth of your business and the balance slowly but surely comes down to zero. You also have enough money left over each month to increase your advertising efforts so that even more people will know your business exists. You've tried lots of different strategies and tested lots of different ideas by now, so you know what works and what doesn't. This means you only spend time on tasks and ideas that work, so things become more efficient. And this means you have a little more free time in your schedule. Ahhh...breathe a sigh of relief. You have achieved positive cash flow status and it looks like your business is going to make it! 

I write about these phases because I want you to go into a business with eyes wide open. They say that it generally takes about 2 years for a new business to start returning a profit and I've found that to be true in my own experience. Can't save up enough money to get you through two years? That means you'll need to start your business as a side hustle while you keep your full-time job (note: most people do this, so don't feel disappointed if this is you). Or there might be different options for you to consider depending on your situation. For example, maybe you'll decide to finance your business by selling your condo and downsizing. Or maybe you'll get a part-time job on top of your full-time job and put that extra money into an account for your future business. Get creative. Turning your dream into a money-making business is hard work and you're going to need to be creative the whole way through, not just when it comes to finding money to start it. So, if you are completely overwhelmed by the idea of finding money to start your business OR if you're not willing to make a single sacrifice to make your dream a reality, chances are owning a business is not for you. Why? The entire start-up phase is going to require creativity and sacrifice and it's going to be completely overwhelming at times. Yep, that's a whole two years (on average) of feeling overwhelmed on again and off again. If you aren't built that way, that's ok. Be honest with yourself up front and consider whether the entrepreneurial route is for you - it might not be! They say entrepreneurs are a special breed.

Keep in mind you can always start small, too. Very small. And take baby steps toward your goal. For example, if it's your dream to open a storefront selling organic baby clothing that you manufacture yourself with a small in-house team, perhaps you can start with making organic baby clothes on your own for your friends and relatives who've just had babies. Gift it to them and seek their honest feedback in a few weeks after they've had a chance to use it, wash it, etc. Do they rave about it? Ok, what can you do next? Perhaps you set up an Etsy account and list five to ten pieces of your baby clothing for sale. And don't just leave it at that! Do research online for articles about "how to stand out on Etsy" and "marketing on Etsy." After a few months of tweaking your shop and trying different strategies to stand out among other sellers of baby clothes on Etsy, your shop starts to generate a few sales per week. Ok, what's next? Perhaps by this point you have generated enough money to sign up for a vendor booth at the popular holiday market in your city, so you sign up and use the money you've generated on Etsy to buy enough supplies to make the clothes you'll need for the market. And on and on your journey will go...

So there it is in a nutshell. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And all those quotes about enjoying the journey? They're true. Enjoy every step. You'll learn so much along the way, and you'll grow tremendously as a person whether or not your business ultimately succeeds financially. Beware: when you're in phase one, you're going to want to be in phase two, and when you're in phase two, you're going to want to be in phase three, but resist that. Enjoy where you are and celebrate every stage.

xo,

Stacy

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! If you're new here, I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. This week's journal entry contains my top 10 pieces of advice for someone thinking about opening their own business. I wish it was easy to list all of the tips, pointers, and things I've learned over the past few years but that would take up an entire book (one that I've begun to write by the way!). Hopefully this list will get you started though. My hope is that if you decide to take the plunge, you'll go into it with eyes wide open. That'll greatly increase your chance of success. So here it goes, my top 10 pieces of advice for the aspiring business owner:

1. Determine what is unique and authentic about your product, your service, and/or your brand and emphasize that.
In today's oversaturated marketplace, you need to find a way to stand out or you're going to be lost in a sea of sameness. Customers have hundreds of options these days, so why are they going to buy from YOU? You need to determine this before you open your business and you need to emphasize it in your marketing, otherwise I don't think you have a fighting chance to make it in the long run. There's just too much competition these days (and if your business is an online one, you're competing with companies around the globe). The best way to distinguish yourself? Tell your story. What makes you authentic, or what makes your product authentic? People love a good story. 

2. There is no checklist.
In school, and even in work, we are taught that if you do these 5 things you'll get an A or if you meet these 7 benchmarks you'll get promoted to vice president. But there is no checklist on how to start a business and it's impossible to make one. It's just not that easy! If it were that easy, everyone would be starting their own business and a lot more people would succeed at it. You're going to need to be outside your comfort zone, you're going to feel like you're stumbling around in the dark sometimes, and you need to feel comfortable flying by the seat of your pants at times.

3. You need to spend money to make money. 
If you don't invest in your business, how can you reasonably expect others to? For example, I've come across business owners that don't want to spend money on a professional photographer. But if you're an online business, your photos are all that you have! If you won't invest money in presenting your product in the best light, then don't expect strangers to invest money in your product. There are ways to do things in a cost effective manner if money is an issue - you'll just need to get creative and think outside the box. For example, during the first few years, work with the best photographer your budget will allow, find a newbie who's just starting out with her business, or find a student at your local college who's pursuing photography and trying to build her portfolio - she'll often do it for free or for very little money.  

4. Don’t waste time painstakingly planning out every detail because very little will go “to plan.”
Know the big picture and work towards that every day. Stay flexible. There is a lot that you'll need to figure out as you go. Don't procrastinate or avoid starting your business because you think you need figure out every single last detail - that's an impossible task and also a waste of time because your ideas are going to evolve and change very quickly anyways.  

5. Take courses, read articles, join business Facebook groups, buy business books on Audible and listen to them every time you’re in the car, etc.
You aren’t reinventing the wheel. A lot of people have gone before you! You don't have to figure it all out on your own. So take the time to learn from others. There are a million free resources available online, and I like to balance those with paid webinars/courses. Time is money so if I can pay an expert $250 to teach me all she knows about Pinterest marketing, that's worth it's weight in gold to me. I'll avoid making a lot of common mistakes, and I'll save months and months of time trying to figure it all out on my own. If you're like me, you ain't got that kind of time! You need to start returning a profit ASAP.

6. Don’t waste time on small details that don’t matter in the beginning.
Don’t get caught up on having everything in place before you launch or you’ll never launch. I still have things on my “to do” list that were there on day one. Someday, I will get to them all! Focus on the things you absolutely need to get up and running. The more focus you have on that, the more quickly you'll open your doors for business, and the sooner you'll start generating revenue. For example, do you need business cards before you launch? It depends on your field, but I spent too much time designing and ordering business cards before I launched and I’ve maybe given out 14 of them in 2+ years? People in my field are much more likely to ask for my social media handle than a business card, so those can wait a few months.  

7. Done is better than perfect.
I don’t know who originally said this, but it is genius and it's become one of my favorite mantras. There are so many things to take care of as you start your business and it’ll be a lot easier if you don’t strive for absolute perfection. Perfectionism is a myth anyways, and a really sneaky procrastination technique. Plus, your ideas evolve very quickly in the beginning. The branding you are envisioning today, for example, might look dramatically different from the branding you have in two years as you and your business evolve. It’s important to work hard, think carefully, and give it your all in the beginning but don’t stress yourself out with the details that’ll probably change over time anyway. Just get it done.

8. Work on your mindset more than your website.
The right mindset is everything. I wrote about this in my first edition of the weekly journal here and I'll definitely write more about it again soon. If you don't believe you can earn a living doing something you love and enjoy, you won't. If you don't believe that you can make more money selling jewelry than you did as an attorney, you won't. If you believe that you need to be miserable in your job (because that's what we're taught to some extent), then you won't succeed at turning something you love into a career. Work on your mindset even more than your website.

9. "If you build it they will come” couldn’t be further from the truth. If you don't like marketing, you probably won't like owning your own business.
As the owner of a business, most of your day-to-day activity is going to center around marketing and advertising your business. If no one knows about you, no one can buy from you. Some people have this idea that all you need is a website and a business Instagram account, and you're in business. Oh, if it were that easy! To give you an idea, during an average week I probably spend 70% of my time on marketing, 15% on making jewelry, and 15% on other tasks like accounting, inventory management, etc.   

10. It’ll probably take longer than you expect.
Patience is a virtue! You’ll set out to design your website, and realize that you first need to do A, B and C. Then, when you’re working on A, you’ll realize that you first need to do C, D and E. And on and on it’ll go… Be patient and kind with yourself as you embark on this journey.

The business journey is going to require your all, your best. You’ll evolve as a person. You’ll grow SO much in so little time. I wish you all the best! And reach out anytime with questions. I'm happy to help in any way I can.

xoxo,

Stacy

Welcome to the third edition of my Weekly Journal! Thank you so much for all the positive feedback on the first two editions. I'm so happy it's been good food for thought. If you're new here, I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. This week's edition is for the aspiring business owner who doesn't know where to begin. Many of you have told me, "I don't like my current career and I want to start my own business, but I don't know what business to start." Does this sound familiar? I'll tell you how I found jewelry when I was practicing law, and then I'll give you some ideas of how you might find YOUR perfect business. I've come up with 8 ideas to explore and think about.

Let me share how I found my passion first. Last year around this time, I wrote about how I stumbled into jewelry. You can read the full story here, but I'll give you the quick 30 second version. It's pretty amazing how it all happened! During a vacation to the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2008, I came across a handmade jewelry store that had such great energy about it. The pieces were unique and affordable, and the music playing in the background was fun and upbeat. The shop owner and I had the same first name and we both grew up in the same part of the country. This store made a huge impression on me for some reason. Later that day, I remember saying to my friend, "I'm going to open a store like that back home." (Note: I was extremely unhappy in my legal job and had been thinking about alternative careers for a year or two). At the time I said this, I didn't even know how to make jewelry. But fast forward 14 months, and I had not only taught myself how to make jewelry but opened my very first jewelry business. That first business ultimately failed, but I learned so much and I consider it a crucial part of my journey. Without it, I'm positive grace + hudson would not be a successful business today. I draw on that experience all the time - the knowledge I gained from the mistakes I made is virtually priceless.  

As you can see, jewelry came to me in a very random, very divinely orchestrated way. I didn't do anything to get it - it found me. Of course, I had to have an open mind and listen to the little tugs at my heart that this Caribbean jewelry store set in motion. Maybe something similar has happened to you. Or maybe you've dreamed about opening a certain type of business since age 10. Or maybe not. If you're still searching for your passion - something you can turn into a business - here are some ideas to explore and think about:

First, don't try so hard to find it! Chances are, your best idea for a business is either going to come to you spontaneously (like jewelry for me) or you've already thought about it a million times before. But if that's not the case, below are some ideas to explore and questions to think about.

Second, pay attention to what you're curious about:

• What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
• What do you Google about in your free time (how to bake a wedding cake? how to take photographs on a real camera? how to become a professor at a college? you get the idea...)
• What would you do for work if you could live anywhere in the world and not have to worry about money? Open a bar on a Caribbean island? Travel the world and teach English to children in under-developed countries? Design dresses that are modeled on the runways in Paris?  

There are really big hints in your answers to these questions. These are breadcrumbs on the trail to your business idea. I find it so incredibly interesting that we each have very unique answers to these questions, don't you? We are all born with gifts, talents, and interests as varied as the stars in the sky. Some people dream of opening a bed and breakfast. Some people would rather die than run a B&B, and their dream is to open a dog grooming business. Still others want to open their own consulting business on social media marketing. What would the world look like if we were all using the talents we have? It would be a lot happier! And oddly enough, I think all of the services and products we need would be provided for by the people who have the most passion for them. Instead, we are taught to pursue the job that pays the most, and we wonder why our world is an unhappy mess.

Third, open your heart, open your ears, and be receptive to the messages that are heading your way. That idea for a business you can't get out of your head? It's sticking with you for a reason. The chance encounter with a business owner on vacation that sparks a big idea in you? Explore that - don't let it fade and die. The idea you came up with years ago that your friends keep telling you to pursue? Listen to them (trust me, people are quick to tell you when you're idea is a dumb one!).

Fourth, when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grow up? Think back to when you were a child and how you answered this question. There may be rich hints in your answer. 

Fifth, ask your friends and close family members what they think you would do for work if money was not a factor. They might say something obvious that you totally overlooked!

Sixth, take career quizzes online. I know there are some pretty elaborate quizzes online that'll take into account your personality traits and interests and come up with some career ideas. Take the results with a grain of salt, but maybe they'll shed light on your talents and skills and a business idea you didn't think about before.

Seventh, talk to a career counselor. If you're really feeling stuck and paralyzed, it might be money well spent to meet with a career counselor. I have never personally done this, but they're trained to help you identify your greatest talents and skills. This can be very valuable information on your path to finding a business idea.   

Eighth, what needs and desires does your work need to fulfill? This is a great starting point for identifying possible business ideas. Do you need to feel creative? Do you need to feel mentally stimulated all day long? Do you need to feel like you made the world a better place today? If you need to feel like you made the world a better place each day then owning, say, a car valet business is probably not going to be the right path for you. If you need to feel mentally stimulated all day long, owning a bakery might not be the best fit because you'll bake hundreds of the same exact pastries all week long. If you need to feel artsy and creative, owning your own law firm is not a good option.  

I hope through exploring these questions you'll stumble upon some business ideas worth exploring.

There's one final idea to consider: don't let the fear of starting a business disguise itself as "I don't know what business to start." Starting a business is HARD and your mind will come up with fancy ways to deter or distract you. Have you ever heard of analysis paralysis? It's when you can't make any progress forward because you stay stuck in the phase of analyzing which way to go. You can mull over which business to start for years and years and years, or you can begin the real work of identifying a business idea that might suit you (chances are, you already have an inkling of what you'd like to do) and start making progress towards the goal of opening your own business. Just start somewhere - go on Etsy and find someone to design a logo for $10, sketch out what your website menu tabs might look like, doodle a price list for the services you'll provide. There are at least 1,000 things you can do to work towards your goal of opening a business before any real money or time commitment is required. So try some things out. Explore. Through the exploring, you might hit on the exact right business plan.

Cheers to exploring possible business ideas!

xoxo,

Stacy  

Welcome to the second edition of my Weekly Journal where I'll be sharing a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. Last week, I talked about the power of the beliefs and stories we tell ourselves about money. This week, I'm sharing some real talk about finding the motivation to make a big change - whether that means starting a new business, switching careers, or finding a better, less toxic position in your current field. They say that the pain of changing needs to be less than the pain of staying the same in order for us to make a big change. That's because big changes can be scary, intimidating, and uncomfortable. No matter how much we might dislike our current circumstances, at least we're familiar with them and can generally predict how they'll go, right? Our minds can crave predictability because predictable generally equals safe. But safe gets you no where when it comes to pursuing your dreams or making a big change. This is why many people daydream, but never try to turn those dreams into reality. Getting uncomfortable is one of the obstacles to big change. 

The other big obstacle in our way is motivation. When you're dissatisfied with your current career or job, you're often low on energy. Often all you can muster after work is the energy for wine, take out, and mindless reality tv. Sound familiar? I've been there, so I get it. I spent 11 long years in the legal profession, hating every single day since the very beginning. That career didn't just leave me tired at the end of the day - it actually drained me of all my life and spunk and energy. I often felt like I was sleepwalking through life, constantly on empty, just trying to manage another day. The thought of spending my evenings working on a website for my new business just wasn't in the realm of possibility. My tank was literally on zero virtually all of the time. 

But eventually, the pain of staying in the legal profession was too great to bear and it outweighed the pain of getting a little uncomfortable to start grace + hudson. When did this shift happen? To be honest, it happened when my father passed away. When a parent passes away, especially at a relatively young age (he was 65), all of a sudden you really, truly, absolutely understand that you are not here forever. You also realize that you were not put on this planet to work at a job you dislike, and drink wine and watch tv in the evenings (note: I'm not saying that drinking wine and watching tv is an inherently bad thing. It can be very relaxing! But when the majority of your nights look like this, I believe it is a symptom of an underlying problem of dissatisfaction with some area of your life.). Life is so much more than this, so much more than your job, so much more than climbling the ladder of "success" and getting the material things along the way that indicate achievement like a big house or a Louis Vuitton bag. It's about our growth and evolvement as a person, it is about our relationships and our family, it is about using the talents and gifts we were given, it is about connecting with others through the use of these talents and gifts. This realization motivated me to get off the couch and start putting the wheels in motion to start grace + hudson. Otherwise, I was going to remain a lawyer forever and that was way too big a burden to bear. I started to work on a jewelry website, I ordered a logo from a graphic designer on Etsy, and I designed my first jewelry collection. Every time I doubted my plans or felt too tired to work on them, I came back to these feelings. Do I want to reach age 65, with only a few months to live like my father, and feel like I let my dreams pass me by simply because I was too scared (and too tired) to make a change? This is my "why." This is what motivates me to keep going when I want to quit. You have to find yours.

Let me leave you with some tough love - we all have the same number of hours in our day. You can choose to "Netflix and chill" or you can choose to work on your resume, your business website, or your passion project in the evenings. It is all a choice. Sometimes we have to make adult decisions when all we want to do is binge watch a series because we're tired. If you don't want to be in the same place next summer as you are now, realize you are the one who holds all the power. It's entirely up to you how you spend your time. I know it's hard, so start small - set aside 15 minutes before or after work to brainstorm ideas for your business or research new career fields where your current skills would be an asset. Do you take the train to work? Instead of listening to a fiction book or music playlist, listen to a podcast on how to start a business (try "How I Built This" with Guy Raz). Then increase it to 20 minutes per day next month. These little blocks of time will add up significantly over the remainder of 2019. I've been there - and all I can tell you is, I wish I had started sooner. I wish I didn't waste 11 years of my life working in a field that drained me of all my energy. I wish I had taken baby steps of 15 minutes before or after work - those would have turned into huge giant leaps much sooner than the 11 years it took me to find the motivation. I hope you'll try this! Let me know if you do! 

xoxo,

Stacy

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! I use this space to share a bit about jewelry, and a lot about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. In this week's journal entry, I'm talking about how I found my niche in the jewelry market. If you have your own business or have thought about having your own business, people will always tell you that you've got to find a niche. Last year, when I was in St. John in the Virgin Islands talking about my business to a friend's husband - this really cool, older, super wealthy business man in his 70's - his response was, "You gotta love a niche market." It's true! Especially in this day and age where we can easily purchase anything on the Internet from companies all over the world, it's really important to find your niche or else you're going to be just another company selling another piece of jewelry (or whatever it is you do). My niche is giftable jewelry (i.e. jewelry primarily in the price point of $40 to $70), and even more specifically jewelry for gifting to bridesmaids, and even more specifically, jewelry for gifting to bridesmaids designed by a former lawyer pursing a prettier life. Now, as you know I sell things outside of that niche (i.e. jewelry for brides and casual jewelry not appropriate for a wedding) but I focus on perfecting my tiny niche in the market and then the rest follows. For example, a woman might find my jewelry because she's getting married but she continues to follow along with me after her wedding because she likes how my jewelry can be dressed up for a wedding or dressed down for the weekend and she finds my story of attorney-turned-jewelry-designer inspiring. This whole idea of a niche market might seem counter-intuitive to you. You might think that you need to please a wide variety of people with your offerings in order to maximize your potential for sales. But do you remember what your mother told you? "When you try to please everyone, you please no one." Yep, that's right. So here's how I found my niche in the jewelry market, and maybe it'll be helpful to you if you're thinking about starting your own business or already have a business but need help growing it.

You may have heard that I quit my job as a lawyer not once, but twice. The first time it was 2010 and I opened a brick and mortar jewelry store in New Jersey near where I grew up. While the store ultimately didn't stay open for long, I learned two *really* important things from having that store that have been instrumental in the jewelry business I have today. First, I learned that telling my story (i.e. lawyer turned jewelry designer) was really, really, really important to my marketing. I witnessed this first-hand countless times. My store was down the street from a courthouse so lawyers (and people who worked for lawyers) were always stopping by. When they heard I quit my job at a very prominent law firm in the area to pursue my dream of owning a jewelry store, they were captivated and wanted to know more. I happily told them the short version of my story (or long version if they had time!) and nearly every conversation ended in a sale. They wanted to buy my jewelry because they liked me and my story and they wanted to support me. And maybe too because each time they looked at that necklace in the mirror, it would remind them that they too could quit their job and do something different that made them happy. When I started grace + hudson, I knew telling my story was going to be really important to my success. I just love talking about my career change (probably more than I love making jewelry!) so this is a win-win. If I can inspire just 1 person to have the courage to go after her dream and quit a job that is toxic to her, I feel like I have served my purpose in the world. 

I learned something else too while I had that shop. Brides-to-be were always dropping by asking for bridesmaid jewelry to gift to their bridesmaids. They all said the same thing: "I found classy jewelry that matches my wedding colors at Nordstrom but I can't afford to buy 6 of them because they're $200 each. I also found jewelry that incorporates my wedding colors at Kohl's but it is too cheap looking to wear in a wedding." It was like a record on repeat! I've always played the bridesmaid, not the bride, so I wasn't aware of this problem. This gap in the market, if you will. I decided I was well-equipped to fill that gap - the gap between the expensive pieces at Nordstrom and the cheap-looking pieces at Kohl's - because I absolutely love incorporating soft, subtle, sophisticated colors in my designs and that's often what brides are looking to buy for their bridesmaids. 

So what's your niche? Think long and hard about what makes YOU unique. There's no one like you, and when you really leverage that uniqueness into your branding, no one can compete with you. Seriously. And here's another tip: make your brand personal. Show your face. Tell your story. That's something a large retailer like Nordstrom or Kohl's cannot do. They sell products. Period. They are too huge of a corporate empire to have a personal story. I always think to myself, what can I do that {insert big retailer name} can't do because they're too large? Then I do that. For example, aside from talking about my personal career journey, I offer free adjustments and repairs and customizations of your jewelry. See a necklace on my website but wish it was 20 inches long instead of 18 inches long? Send me an email! That's so easy for me to do. Can a large retailer do that? Nope. Break your dainty necklace chain when your toddler yanks on it? Send it to my studio and I'll repair it for free! Can a large retailer do that? Nope, they'll make you buy a new one. I hope this advice has been helpful and inspiring to you today!

xoxo,

Stacy