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, I want to talk about your "why" and why it's so important to have one. If you want to start your own business (or make any significant, big life change for that matter) you need to identify your main motivator for doing so, the main driving force behind your desire - in other words, your "why." Without it, it'll be hard to stay the course. Your "why" is what you come back to time and time again when you have a bad day, a bad week, or just want to throw in the towel. Starting your own business might be the hardest thing you ever do and you need a significant "why" that strikes a significant emotion within you. This emotional driver will keep you on course when you feel like jumping off course, or when it feels tempting to quit and just get an office job that pays you consistently every two weeks. 

I personally have two "why's." The first thing that motivated me to start grace + hudson was the death of my father - he was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 64 and passed away about 10 months later (one month after he turned 65). Losing a parent at a relatively young age really makes you understand that life is short. Like really, really short. My dad was always saving for his 401(k) and looking towards the future, and I can't help but wonder how he would've lived life differently if he knew that he wouldn't get to retirement. What an awful joke, right? You slave away at an office job, saving for retirement with plans to retire near the beach, and you pass away before you even get there. This made me question the way our culture looks at retirement, but that's a whole other topic for another day. In short, it made me realize that I need to live for now and do what I want to do now because no one is guaranteed a retirement. Heck, no one is guaranteed tomorrow. And for me personally, I couldn't image anything worse than slaving away at my lawyer job for the next 30 years to fund my retirement at the beach, and then get cancer and die one month after I turned 65. The emotion this idea strikes in me is so incredibly strong that it keeps me going on the hardest of days. It is "why" I am working so hard to make grace + hudson a success. I enjoy what I do each and every day. If I were to die next week, I wouldn't have any regrets about how I spent the last couple years of my life. I pursued my passion. I put my special gifts and talents to use. I tried to make my dreams a reality. And there is no better feeling.

My other "why" is something I'll refer to simply as freedom. When I was a lawyer working at large law firms, I felt like my life was not my own. Large law firms pay you a large salary because they basically want to own all of your time, nights and weekends included. Client needs something at midnight? You are expected to reply to the email. Boss needs you to finish a court filing and you need to miss a close friend's wedding on Saturday as a result? Yep, that happened to me too. I felt so chained to my job, so tied down to my desk and to my phone that I could never enjoy life. I was always checking my email to make sure no one needed me to drop everything I was doing and respond to them. The anxiety this created was overwhelming to say the least. My law firm owned my schedule and there was nothing I could do about it. When I started my own business, escaping the lawyer lifestyle was certainly one of the reasons why. But then I discovered the real emotion behind this reason and it is a powerful one. It's the emotion of freedom. The freedom to do what I want to do with my life, when I want to do it, for the reason why I want to do it. The freedom to say "no" to projects I want no part of.  The freedom to plan a vacation and not bring my laptop. The freedom to sign up for a workout class after work and not have to miss it. The freedom to make dinner plans and not show up 45 minutes late because of a work assignment. You may have heard me talk about this before, but during the first week of 2018, I came across a "mantra" that I should use for the year which was based upon my astrological sign. It was, "There is security in freedom." At the time, I had no idea what it even meant. But by the end of 2018, which was the first full year I worked on grace + hudson full-time, I totally got it! I never found security in a large, regular paycheck from a law firm (in fact, it was quite the opposite as I was constantly anxious). Rather, I found security and stability in my freedom away from that law firm with the big paychecks. And that feeling, let me tell you, is like none other.

I hope you have identified your "why" for starting your own business (or making any big life change) and that the emotion that "why" strikes in you is strong enough to motivate you on the hardest of days. Connect with that emotion regularly, let it support you, and let it motivate you to stay the course when you're about to give up. 

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 this week's journal, I want to tell you why you shouldn't just up and quit your current job to start your own business. I'm often asked how and when I quit my job to work on grace + hudson full time. I actually quit the legal profession two times, so I have two experiences to draw from. The first time was 2010 and I quit to open a brick and mortar jewelry store in Morristown, New Jersey, near where I grew up. The second time was 2017 and I quit to start grace + hudson, which is an e-commerce business with no brick and mortar storefront. Both times, I started working on my business during nights and weekends before I quit my full-time lawyer gig (think: designing pieces for my collection, working on a website, designing a logo, etc). I want to tell you 3 reasons why you should do the same.

First, it's important to dispel a myth. I think a lot of people think you have a viable business the minute you set up a business Instagram account and a free website. But it takes a whole lot more than that. Most importantly, it takes time to build a legitimate, profitable business. On average, I read that it takes about two years to start earning a profit from a new business. This means that most people will need to keep their full-time job while they are in the start-up phase of their business. Sure, it would be great to get a business idea on Sunday, quit your job on Monday, establish your business on Tuesday, and start earning revenue on Wednesday, but unfortunately this isn't the way the world works. Don't put pressure on yourself to be different from the norm, as this will just create a lot of frustration and unrealistic goals that you probably won't be able to achieve. Bottom line: if you don't have enough money to pay your bills for two years, then don't up and quit your job the second you decide you want to open a business. Rather, start working on your business plan during the nights and weekends while you continue to collect a regular paycheck. As your business grows, you'll know exactly when you have enough business revenue to support the business and pay your bills and only then should you quit your day job. Remember you can always go part-time too when your business starts to earn revenue but not quite enough to support 100% of your expenses. Current job won't allow part-time? Perhaps you can get a low pressure part-time job (think: restaurant server, receptionist at a medical office, virtual assistant, etc) so you aren't stressing out meeting the demands of your day job and your new business.

Here's the other thing about starting a business - it costs money. Lots of it, depending on what type of business you'd like to start. My online jewelry business was relatively inexpensive to start, but something like a new restaurant can be extremely expensive. Regardless, you'll need the funds to pay for a logo, inventory, state/county business registrations, professional photographs for your website, etc. This is another great reason to keep your day job while you work to get your business idea off the ground - you can take some of your paycheck and allocate it towards your business start-up expenses.   

There's one more reason it's important to keep your day job in the beginning. You might not like having your own business! I know that seems crazy, but it's true. Running your own business isn't always fun. In fact, it's really, really hard. You might work on it for two or three months and say, "You know what, this isn't what I expected." How awful it would be to quit your day job too soon, only to find out that you dislike running a business. This happened to me in 2010 after I opened my brick and mortar jewelry store. I quit my day job in January and by June I was bored out of my mind. Sitting in a store all day, it turns out, was not my idea of fun. A lot of my time was spent on administrative tasks I didn't particularly like, and designing jewelry was such a tiny part of running a brick and mortar store. Let me give you another tip: if you dislike marketing, you probably won't enjoy running your own business. You can have the best product or service in the whole entire world, but if no one knows about it, no one will be able to purchase it. Marketing is a huge part of running a business, especially a new one that no one knows about yet. 

Cheers to having a side-hustle for a little while!

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 this week's journal, I'm talking about what I've learned the past two years living without a regular paycheck from an office job. One of the biggest blockages to opening a business is money and one of the biggest worries is living without a consistent paycheck. And if you don't plan ahead, you'll be stressing so much about money that you won't even be able to focus on building a good business. So what is it really like to live without regular, consistent pay every two weeks? It's been interesting in surprising ways. It's taught me so much about money, about what truly fulfills me, and it's actually given me a greater sense of joy.

When I quit my lawyer job in February 2017, I had a good nest egg saved up so I planned to live off that while my business got off the ground. But unlike weekend mimosas, no savings account is bottomless! And I would say my living expenses are higher than the average joe because I still pay a large sum towards my law school loans each month. When I first quit my job and started working full-time on grace + hudson, I didn't change my lifestyle all that much to be honest. I didn't want to make any drastic changes like moving into a less expensive apartment -- what if I wanted (or needed) to go back to an office job in a couple months? In other words, I wanted a little transition time. A little breathing room. I highly recommend this. You might think you want to run your own business, but three or four months in, you might feel differently. You might not like it! (Yes, this happens!!) You might run into unforeseen expenses. You might encounter an unforeseen life change (like illness, divorce, or pregnancy). There are a hundred other reasons why you might want to "go back" to your office job after just a few months, so I recommend you wait before making any huge life changes. 

Once I made it past this transition phase, I started to notice something. I was spending money differently. In particular, I noticed that I wasn't buying as many clothes from J.Crew. Sure, I didn't need to be in a law office wearing spiffy new clothes anymore but I realized something more significant than that underneath the surface. I realized just how much I spent money to make myself feel better when I was a lawyer. After a long day or a long week, I would often treat myself to a new outfit, or something from Sephora, or new shoes from the Nordstrom Rack I passed on the way home. I didn't need to do this anymore. My job no longer created a figurative "hole" inside me that I needed to fill up with things like new clothes. I was now getting daily fulfillment from my work instead. At the end of a work day, I often feel satisfied, accomplished, and excited about what I am working on. I never felt this way in my attorney job. In short, I have a greater sense of joy as a result of doing work I enjoy.

The other major shift I experienced is respect for money. When the regular lawyer paychecks ended and I started to make money from my business instead, I respected each cent. It was amazing to me that I could earn money doing something I truly enjoy. This was a very foreign concept to me as I hated every second of my 11-year lawyer career. I was so grateful for every dollar, which in turn caused me to spend money more wisely. When you respect money, I feel like more money comes your way. You know that phrase, "what you appreciate appreciates"? It's true. 

I never fail to include some "real talk" in my journal entries, so I'll conclude with this. I'll be honest, when you first open your business, you'll be looking at job listings a lot more frequently than you anticipated. You'll have a bad day and say to yourself "it's time to get a 'real' job." This is normal. In fact, I did this the first two years of business! As time goes on, you'll look at job listings less and less but it still happens now and then! Having your own business is hard. Supporting yourself with your own money is hard. It is not for the faint of heart. Here's the reality - you can always "go back" to your office job or one just like it. And maybe you will. Or maybe you'll decide to get a part-time job on the side to help make ends meet. Either way, you'll figure it out. I'm confident that if you're reading this post, you have enough smarts about you that you'll never be without the ability to pay your bills. 

Cheers to starting your own business!

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 addresses a question that I've heard over and over again. It goes a little something like this: "I know I want to start my own business, but HOW?" (*insert exasperated tone*). The reason you might be feeling lost, frustrated, or just plain confused about where to start is because there is no checklist, no road map, no one-size-fits-all guide to starting a business. Think about it, we grow up in schools that give us outlines on what we need to do to achieve an A+ and then we work in jobs that come with bullet-pointed job descriptions and very clear performance benchmarks. But no one hands you a checklist when you start your own business. And even if there were such a thing, no one could guarantee that if you checked all of the boxes your business would be successful.

This brings up three really important points: (1) it is completely normal to feel lost, confused, and frustrated when you begin to embark upon your entrepreneurial journey, (2) you'll need to get comfortable living outside of your comfort zone for a while if you decide to start your own business, and (3) you have to accept there are no guarantees that your business will be successful (i.e. make money) even if you pour your whole heart into it. The first one speaks for itself. If you feel frustrated and lost, know you aren't alone. It might help to meet some other entrepreneurial friends - you know, people who are forging ahead on the same path as you. Nearly every city has entrepreneurial networking groups these days, so just Google around in your city and check out one of their events. There are a lot of women entrepreneur groups popping up these days, too. 

The second point (living outside your comfort zone) is not quite as easy to tackle. If you're someone who only feels secure, stable and grounded working within the boundaries of your comfort zone, being an entrepreneur might not be the best choice. My advice: accept that and move on! Not everyone is meant to take the entrepreneurial path and that's not a bad thing. BUT, if you can handle the fact that life is going to feel uncertain for a while (I'm talking at least a couple of years), you might just find that you thrive outside your comfort zone. That's what happened to me. I was a lawyer (i.e. a risk-adverse, type A control freak) but after I quit the profession to pursue my jewelry business, I realized that I actually enjoy living outside my comfort zone. Now, I tend to thrive in new situations - I find them exciting and challenging, and I love how much I've grown as a result. So be honest with yourself - only you know whether your personality is or isn't suited to entrepreneurial life. And if it isn't, there is a better path for you and I know you're going to find it!

The third point is where a lot of people get tripped up. The reality is, if you start a business and give it 110% every single day for two years, there's still no guarantee that it'll be successful. And it's this fear, it's this risk, that holds people back. I get it. It's a hard one to bust through. But here's what I want you to reconsider: how are you defining "successful"? Making money, right? That's how everyone defines success when it comes to a business. I challenge you to have a different perspective and adopt a different definition of "successful." See, I had a business a few years before I had grace + hudson and it totally flopped. Would I call it a failure? Absolutely not. I learned *so* much from that experience, and I'm convinced that the lessons and knowledge I acquired from my first business made me successful now, with my second business. So in that sense, my first business was a "success" in my eyes. I walked away a richer person, full of knowledge and experience and skills I never knew I had - skills that would prepare me to open my second business 6 years later. The point is this: even if your business "fails" because it doesn't make enough money, you'll develop skills you didn't think you had, meet people you never would have met, learn things about yourself you didn't know before, and on and on the list goes. This, my friend, is hardly "failure"!

The last point I want to leave you with is this: no one out there starting their own business really knows exactly what they're doing. There is no one-size-fits-all guide like I said before, which means that everyone who started their own business just started SOMEWHERE and kept going. They tried different things and established what works and what doesn't. So start somewhere and start small - maybe for you that's doodling a few potential logo designs on the back of a napkin, or brainstorming a price list for your services or products. And then the dominoes start to fall and you're led to the next task, and the next, and the next. And before you know it, you have a functioning business that's generating revenue. You'll need to do lots of research along the way, but we are living in an unprecedented era where you can Google just about anything and find an article, book, webinar, or online course on the topic. Have a little patience and know that it takes time. Brick by brick the foundation of your business will come together. And, in the end, even if you "fail" by traditional standards, you will have succeeded in developing a lot of new skills and you will have grown tremendously as a person.  

I wish you the courage to start somewhere! Anywhere! Just start.

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

I'm often asked how I started making jewelry - you know, how I found my passion, my true calling. When I stop to think about it, it's pretty amazing how it all happened. I was a lawyer before this so the jump from law to jewelry was a big one! 

I graduated law school in 2006 and took my first "real" vacation as a working adult earning my own money in November 2008. I'm not sure why my friend and I chose the Virgin Islands (honestly, I probably found a good deal online!) but we ended up booking a week long trip there. The U.S. Virgin Islands is made up of three islands - St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix - and we spent time on the first two islands because they're only separated by a 20-minute ferry ride.

The trip was amazing from the start. I mean, what beach trip wouldn't be?! As as young attorney, I was often working weekends and late into the evening so any time away was precious. But there was something different about this little corner of the world, almost spiritual for lack of a better word. I literally felt like maybe I lived there in a prior life, you know the feeling?   

Anyways, at the hotel one evening there was a pop up jewelry shop. My friend wanted to buy a ring but it was the wrong size. The woman who owned the jewelry shop, also named Stacy (and also from the NY/NJ area - I grew up in NJ right outside NYC), told my friend to visit her store in town, where she had the ring in her size.

We went into town the next morning, and her store was fun, happy, and full of good vibes. She sold handmade jewelry and glass objects like vases, ornaments, etc. and she was playing fun music in the store (similar to the music at my favorite, SoulCycle). It really made an impression on me for some reason. My friend got her ring and we went back to the beach.   

That afternoon my friend and I were standing, chatting in the Caribbean Sea and I said, "I'm going to open a store like that back home." (I should note that I was extremely unhappy in my legal job and had been thinking about alternative careers). Back home, there was a nearby town full of little boutiques and I thought a handmade jewelry store just like the one we had been in would do so well there. Now keep in mind, at the time I didn't even know how to make jewelry. Sure, I wore a lot of jewelry and loved all things sparkly, but definitely not enough to ever consider any type of fashion as a career.

I went home and started getting curious about jewelry. I taught myself how to make necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and even rings through books and online tutorials. My mom is really creative and my sister is a painter, so I definitely have some creativity in my genes. I just had never really accessed it before.

In January 2010, about 14 months after that amazing trip, I quit my job as a lawyer to open my own brick and mortar handmade jewelry store. I made about half of the jewelry in the store, and also carried the jewelry of about 10 other artists. I ultimately closed that store and went back to practicing law for a few more years (that's a topic for another blog post), but fast forward to December 2016 when I again visited St. John and St. Thomas and felt deep down in my gut, in no uncertain terms, that I needed to again quit my lawyer job which was still making me miserable. I remember exactly where I was on the beach when I felt that almost inexplicable, but definitely spiritual, guidance and it wasn't too far from where I first said in 2008, standing in the Caribbean Sea, that I'd open a jewelry store. I listened to the guidance I was receiving again, and quit my lawyer job in February 2017, this time for good. I launched grace + hudson jewelry a few months after that and the rest is history!

So really, the short answer is that jewelry came to me in a very random, very divinely orchestrated way. I didn't do anything to get this inspiration, it just found me. All I had to do was be open and listen to it. So if you're searching for your passion, I'd give you two pieces of advice (1) open your heart and open your ears - listen to the messages the world, the universe, whatever you believe in is giving you and (2) pay attention to what you're curious about, what you enjoy doing in your spare time, and what you Google in your free time (how to bake the best cake ever? how to take photographs on a real camera? how to become a professor at a college? you get the idea...). You know, what would you do in your spare time if you could live anywhere in the world and not have to worry about money? There are really big hints in your answer to that question. Cheers to a career that incorporates your passion!

Photography credit: Iron + Honey Photography

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. Last week, I wrote about what it's like to be a small business owner during the coronavirus. I also promised to share the tools I'm relying on right now to make it through this crazy time. So in this week's journal entry, I'm going to do exactly that! The coronavirus is really testing my mindset and I think that's true for all of us. Are we going to constantly whine and moan about the virus, or are we going to accept the circumstances and allow them to teach us something about ourselves and perhaps guide us to make certain changes that will last after the coronavirus is over? I call the former "victim mindset" and I like to call the latter "thriving mindset" (i.e. you're not just surviving each day, you are thriving and growing through it all). Now don't get me wrong, this time period is TOUGH. It is completely normal to whine and complain about what's going on in the world right now and you shouldn't pretend everything is a-ok every minute this quarantine lasts. I think trouble starts to brew, though, when victim mentality is your default setting and dominant pattern on most days (*please note I'm not referring here to people with clinical depression or anxiety, which are serious conditions that should be cared for with the help of a medical professional).

Personally, my life started to change a lot in my mid- to late thirties when I realized that I have the choice to perceive things in a positive, valuable way or in a negative, critical way. I think that might be the most powerful choice we're given in this lifetime. And during difficult times especially, it's a daily choice, even a moment-by-moment choice, between victim and thriving mindset. In fact, it takes all of my courage and all of my energy on certain days to choose a thriving mindset, but I make it a top priority. You know, "I put on my big girl panties" and I do what I have to do. How? Well, as I've grown through my thirties, I've developed a "toolkit" for lack of a better word that I can turn to when I feel myself getting caught in victim mindset. These are tools I use and rely on to process negative feelings hiding behind the victim mindset, and turn them around so that I don't remain stuck in victimhood for very long. I thought I'd share them here, with the hopes that maybe you'll see a new idea on this list and try it out to see if it works for you. There's no time like the present, right?  

Tool 1: Set a daily mantra or affirmation in the morning

I meditate, journal, and read first thing when I get up on most days (about 5 to 6 days per week). Now before you say, "Who has time for that?!", let me be clear that sometimes all I have is 5 minutes to devote to this practice. But 5 minutes is enough to read a page or two from an inspirational book while I sip coffee, and then be still in meditation for one minute. I swear I notice a difference on the days I don't make time for this. It just sets a positive, calming tone for the day that I can come back to time and time again when I get off course. Right now when I have my coffee I am reading One Day My Soul Just Opened Up by Iyanla Vanzant. It's a 40-day book about growing and evolving - each day there are about 3 pages to read and then thought-provoking questions to consider throughout the day. I love books that are set up in this fashion because it's easy to stick with them - no matter what, I can make time for 3 pages per day. Another great book that's set up in this manner is Gabrielle Bernstein's May Cause Miracles.  

Tool 2: I load my day with positive podcasts and Audible books

When I walk the dog, go for a jog, or make jewelry in my studio, I am almost always listening to a podcast or Audible book with an inspirational message. I have an addiction to self-development books and podcasts you could say. I just think it's fascinating - the way the brain works, the way we all share very common wounds and patterns, and the way we can transcend them and grow to live a better life. I also must admit that mental illness runs in my family - there was bipolar disorder on my father's side of the family - so I am very cognizant of what I'm feeding my brain. It's my responsibility what I allow myself to ingest. And I will take interesting, empowering books over Netflix any day of the week. Some of my favorite podcasters and authors are: Marianne Williamson, Gabby Bernstein, Jen Sincero, Denise Duffield-Thomas, Marie Forleo, Eckhart Tolle, Lewis Howes' podcast called School of Greatness, Hay House's podcast You Can Heal Your Life, and any podcast by Brene Brown or Oprah Winfrey.

Tool 3: Exercise

I have to move every day, even if it's just for a 20 minute walk. It gets those endorphins flowing. Don't underestimate them! I once heard a therapist say that exercise is non-negotiable for someone who has mental illness in their family (that's me - see above). Exercising in the morning especially can help set the tone for the day in a positive direction. I love how I stand a little taller, breathe a little deeper, and feel better about myself after a workout. My workout routine these days consists of online workouts on barre3.com and long walks outside (usually anywhere between 2 and 6 miles depending on how I'm feeling).

Tool 4: Journaling

When I am feeling like a victim of the world around me, I journal. Journaling helps me discover the root of these negative feelings. Journaling freely about the emotions I'm feeling and the thoughts running through my head helps me process them and understand them. I don't know how it is for you, but for me, when I understand the cause of my negative feelings, it's a whole lot easier for me to move beyond them. There's no magic to journaling by the way - pick up a piece of paper, a notebook, or even open a document on your computer and just let the feelings come out in the form of words.

Tool 5: Epsom salt baths

Once or twice a week, I'll make myself chamomile tea, grab a book or a soothing playlist, and sit in an epsom salt bath for about 20 minutes. Besides calming my mind, it also draws harmful toxins out of the body. 

Tool 6: Cooking or baking 

Cooking and baking is so relaxing for me. It's almost like a meditation because I am focusing exclusively on the present moment (the measurements, what I'm cooking, how long the timer needs to be set for, etc). It draws me away from the negative circle of thoughts in my head and into the present moment. Maybe for you it's riding your bike, or planting in your garden, or even cleaning your home. But find that activity that allows you to tune out, and use it when you aren't feeling so great. It'll help get your mind off your troubles and into the present.

Tool 7: Make a good playlist

Music is medicine! Similar to tool number 6, making a playlist of my favorite songs gets me into the present moment. I tune out (no pun intended!) and I focus on the songs and how they flow together into the playlist. It's such a good activity for the brain! 

So there you have it, these are the tools I'm using most frequently right now to get through the stress and negativity of the coronavirus. When I feel myself slipping down into negativity, I'll try to turn to one of these tools. These tools are useful beyond the coronavirus by the way. Stress is present in our lives all the time, not just right now, and we need coping tools. If you're following this journal because you're interested in starting your own business one day, it's so important that you develop your own toolkit because the entrepreneurial journey is full of challenges, stress, and doubts. The journey can teach you SO much about yourself, but in order to get to the good stuff you need to have coping tools for the stress so that it doesn't overtake you, you know? Anyways, I hope you'll try one of these tools and see if it works for you, or better yet, make your own toolkit list and keep it on your desk so that you'll be reminded to turn to these tools when you feel yourself spiraling into negativity.

Be well and stay positive!

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 want to address those of you who've been planning to start your own business but haven't yet. And my message might be a little surprising. The coronavirus is in full swing and we've all been ordered to stay at home for the past four weeks or so. By this point in time, we've all become a little more thankful for things that were always a given - fully-stocked grocery store shelves, the ability to go to a restaurant, even toilet paper. Maybe by now you even miss your Monday to Friday routine, your desk, and your somewhat annoying co-workers. It's funny how a tragedy can make you see things in a new light.

I'll never forget what my Dad said when he was in hospice care, just a few weeks away from the end of his life. When I asked him what he missed about his life before cancer, he said that he'd do anything to have a normal day at the office. That resonates deeply, doesn't it? It's not the fancy vacations, elaborate birthday parties, spa trips, or concerts that we miss the most. It's the simple, everyday things like a normal day at work, being able to hug a friend you haven't seen in a while, attending a class at your favorite workout studio, and heading to your favorite coffee shop to do work on your laptop. 

Has this time period sparked a new appreciation for your current job or career path? That's not a bad thing! Maybe you've realized that you've been too focused on the things you hate about your job, when there really is a lot to like. The great thing about times like these - where there's more opportunity for reflection because there aren't as many errands to run and events to attend - is that they can help us see things with a fresh perspective. I've said it before and I'll say it again - starting and running your own business is not easy and it's not for everyone. Some people aren't built for the entrepreneurial lifestyle where there is constantly a lot of uncertainty and things rarely go to plan. If that's you, maybe this time period is trying to teach you that where you are is just fine.

In addition, when you make a big, life-changing decision such as the decision to quit your job and start your own business, it's better to make that decision from a centered, balanced place rather than as a means of escape. You know what I mean? A lot of people who want to start their own business want to do so because they want to escape their current job. That's powerful motivation, don't get me wrong, but it's important to understand WHAT you hate about your current job and WHY you hate it before you run away from it. Otherwise, you'll be starting a new business from a place of angst and escapism. I love the definition of escapism - it means "the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities." And you guessed it - any new venture that's started as a means of escape doesn't have a high likelihood of long-term success.  

So consider this first, before you start a business -- are your reasons behind it valid, rational, and grounded in reality? If you have high job dissatisfaction right now, have you discussed it with a therapist, counselor, advisor, or even a trusted friend? It's important to work through these issues first, so that you know your true motivation for wanting to start your own business. Because I have to imagine there's nothing worse than quitting your job, only to find out that you were taking it for granted and wish you could have it back. Come to think of it, a lot of things in life are like that, aren't they? This week, be appreciative, be grateful, and welcome new perspective shifts.

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 tragedy as a source of inspiration. I've been thinking about it a lot after Kobe Bryant's death last month. As some of you already know, grace + hudson was born after I experienced a tragedy -- my father was diagnosed with cancer at age 64 and passed away just 10 months later. Experiencing the death of my father at a relatively young age and somewhat suddenly (his side of the family usually lived into their 90's) caused me to view life so differently. I feel like Kobe's death made a lot of people think about life in a different way, too. I think it left a lot of young people pondering the question, "What if I only live until age 41?" It's a fact -- none of us are guaranteed to live that long. Heck, none of us are even guaranteed tomorrow. How would you live your life differently if you really, truly, took that sentiment to heart? What changes would you make?

The sad reality is, unless the tragedy personally impacts you (like me and my father) those thoughts are usually quite fleeting and no action results. After a few weeks, we settle back into our comfort zone and forget about the deep questions we pondered and the changes we resolved to make. It's kind of like the "vacation effect" as I like to call it. You go away on vacation, get the courage to finally quit your toxic job because the stress is literally killing you (and being on vacation allowed you to get some clarity on that), you work up your "I quit" speech on the plane ride home, and then 48 hours later you completely forgot you even had a speech and you're right back in the throws of your completely stressful job. You identify with this in some capacity, yeah? This was me after every vacation I took while I was a lawyer. Until I came out on the other side of the grief from my father's passing that is. 

Last year, I listened to a podcast by Lewis Howes and Michael Bernard Beckwith and Michael said that big change comes from one of two places -- inspiration or tragedy. He echoed the point that, for most, it's tragedy. Why? He said that for big change to happen, the pain of changing needs to be LESS THAN the pain of staying the same (read that again - it's really good!). Generally speaking, the pain of changing is usually less than the pain of staying the same after a tragedy. For example, after my father's death, I was able to fully admit and accept that my life wasn't working for me. That if I died at age 65 like him, I would be incredibly disappointed with how I allowed my life to turn out. The pain of that reality - of allowing things to stay the same and making no changes - was far greater than the pain of getting out of my comfort zone to make some big changes.  

So I worked with a therapist for almost 3 years on my grief and a whole host of other issues, and then I was finally in a healthy mental position to start making some real changes. I quit my job as a lawyer and started grace + hudson. A short time later, I moved out of Chicago to realize my lifelong dream of living by the beach. I moved to Charleston and got a place 5 miles from the beach. I started to make my relationships more of a priority, and sure enough, I met a fantastic guy and things are moving pretty quickly. It is AMAZING what happens when you say to the Universe, "Ok, let's do this!" 

In short, we are not here for long so do what you want to do. Pursue what's in your heart. Don't waste one more week frustrated, angry, stressed out, and upset in a toxic job or relationship (or whatever life circumstance is weighing you down). I know that my father is smiling down on me, proud of the way I've used his death as a reason to live more of a life. What better gift could a parent give his child? I am grateful for that lesson every single day of my life. And when I feel called to do something that feels a little scary or crazy, like open up a jewelry store in Charleston (which is happening in a few weeks if you missed it!) I come back to this lesson. Life is short. Do what's in your heart. Do what you feel called to do. I'm so proud of the way I've changed my life. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. SO worth it. And I can now truly say that if my life was cut short, I would leave with no regrets.

So let tragedy inspire you. Let the event that happened last month be a catalyst. What if you died at age 41? The fact of the matter is, each of us, no matter our age, should be living life as if this day might be our last. You get incredible courage, motivation, and inspiration when you look at the world through that lens. 

xoxo,

Stacy