We made it, friends! In a few days, I’ll be celebrating the 9th anniversary of this crazy, beautiful and wild Hey Maca ride, wow. What started as a pure creative escape from my full time work at the time, became my passion, my business and the best learning experience, fo’ real.
I could share a bazillion stories about the past 9 years (sans joke!), the beautiful things, the ugly ones (yep), but I’m focusing this post on showing you the best 9 lessons I’ve learned as a creative entrepreneur, blogger, shop owner, copywriter, art director, bookkeeper, studio owner, you name it, ha!.
YAY, cheers to the past beautiful 9 years together and this lovely recap!
Progress is definitely not linear
Sometimes I felt I was going backwards, but in fact, I wasn’t. The creative entrepreneurial path is always moving forward, even if certain months were slower than others, I kept pushing and I kept learning new skills. Always remember great things take time to happen (insert tears)
Wear all the hats when you start
One thing I appreciate and I’m grateful about this is how I wore SO many hats the past 9 years. Being able to put into motion every single task I do to make this lifestyle brand to happen have taught me to be ready for pretty much anything. In Venezuela we call it “soy todo terreno”.
Take some time for … me
Something I never ever (for real) saw coming from this workaholic mama was to actually take a break for just… myself. I was working all day, even weekends until I started to slowly stop rushing on things, on checking my phone every 15 minutes and even working during the weekends. Remember, it’s important to take some time for yourself, always!
Your mindset is everything
For real, as Gandhi once said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny”. YOU live the life you want, and your mindset is everything when you’re a solo-preneur.
If something doesn’t feel right to you..
Then, I swear it probably isn’t right for you. The best lesson the past 9 years.
Do not fear to say what you feel and to say no
Boundaries, the scariest word for me when I started. I’m a pleaser and I love when people feel loved around me and learning to say no sometimes was a hard lesson for me, but the one I appreciate the MOST. Don’t force relationships, projects, clients, products and even if what you have to say is raw, be honest and always tell what you feel. As my sweet dad taught me my entire life, clear business relationships are the most successful ones.
Kindness first (this one is a keeper)
I always think about how I was raised in Venezuela, and how I was surrounded by kind, positive, go-getter people. Never ever regret the pure kindness you showed somebody who didn’t deserve it (it happened many times to me). But there’s one thing I’ve learned, you should be proud even if other people did you wrong, because you did right. Never burn bridges because you never know when you’ll need them.
Always learn
Did you know that learning skills from other people is the number one thing that keeps you growing? Sometimes when we achieve our goals we think we know everything or we “did it” so naturally, we don’t need to keep pushing, right?. The best experience I’ve had these years is to always learn something: learn pottery, master accounting in a new country, learn how to take better photos and videos, master editing and post-production, DIY many projects, learn a new language and a new culture, and SO much more. Learning makes YOU and your ego better.
Be damn proud and grateful
Of how far you’ve come, even though sometimes it’s not where you thought you would be, it’s still damn amazing I’m here 9 years after telling my story. Grateful to each of you, my family, my sweet friends and to all the lessons, all of them.
