han meets 5 women bossing goals
Lately I have been seeing and hearing a lot about female freelancers and entrepreneurs beginning to make huge strides in their life goals, that I had a couple of questions for them. See, I could talk - and have been writing - about how I am and have coped for the last couple of years, but I've had a couple of a questions that I have been curious to ask others for the last couple of months.
So about two weeks ago, I reached out to some women who, in my eyes, have been metaphorically killing it and they agreed to answer my questions.
The answers that Nikita Chandni, Fiona Grayson, Esmé Ara'resa, Madeleine McGowan and Kaye Ford gave were so great, I didn't want to edit anything!
1. What is your business (mission) statement?
Nikita: The Naked Laundry is about forgetting definition. Offering feminine, elegant and contemporary crop tops designed for all occasions. The Naked Laundry aims to blend the silver lining which fashion tries to define.
Fi: She can. She did. is a platform that, currently, through a series of candid interview and down to earth events, puts the spotlight on young women in their teens, twenties and thirties who have dared to go solo and launch their own business in the UK.
Esmé: JENDAYA is an end to end platform aiming to provide the ultimate luxury consumer experience for Africans living in Africa.
Maddi: I aim to help people to use their own expertise to create a genuine rapport on social media. Everything revolves around three pillars: inspiration, aspiration and value.
Kaye: OMG a mission statement? Do all businesses have this?! I don't think I particularly have a mission statement. I still don't call myself a business as I am just one person. A creative. I'm a photographer and I wouldn't ever call myself a business even though I have a name that can be a business name. Oh I've confused myself now as I guess freelancers are still a business.... Regardless (laughs) I don't really have a mission statement as I let my photography do the talking for me.
2. What keeps you motivated?
Esmé: Remembering my 'why.' I definitely get discouraged or tired - on very bad days I might feel completely stuck - but remembering my why always gives me that second wind.
Maddi: I am absolutely terrified of mediocrity - which is pretty decent motivation in itself - keeps me focussed on creating the life I want in five years' time. I've always been far more emotionally invested in my personal projects than the business side of my life, but that actually drives me to work harder in order to incorporate more of the passions into my career. I'm also very motivated by financial freedom and the idea of being in control of my own time. On a more tangible level I also love a solid vision board.
Nikita: As cheesy as it sounds, I would say passion over everything. Knowing that I am doing what I love makes me enjoy i more and pushes me to be a better person than I was the day before. Having a full time job, it can be quite tiring, but when you see results on something that you put your heart and soul in to, it's hard not to work harder!
Kaye: Being creative. Being the best I can be and always learning. I got stuck in a bit of a rut so now I am slowly teaching myself some fancy Photoshop skills to keep motivated and to learn new skills also. Every creative gets stuck in a rut every now and then and you just have to motivate yourself to try new things and keep it fresh. But also this is a job I have wanted since I was 17 and first started taking photographs so that definitely keeps me going.
Fi: Hmmm, lots of things to be honest! Feedback fro the girls that follow She can. She did. always motivates me because it reminds me that there are people out there that are interested in the stores and want to come to the events and it's not always just me in my own little caffeine filled bubble plotting away at my laptop! (Even though it is 90% of the time...!).
My family and friends have been amazing at spurring me on too and are constantly reminding me to take note of how far it's come since day one which, in itself is encouraging.
Then I suppose me, myself and I and my own ambitions for this! I've always been a bit of a dreamer and pushed myself to aim high, so I just remind myself of that and why I'm doing this!
(I think it also helps that I'm speaking to incredible women on a weekly basis who all open up about the challenges they've been through to get to where they are as well and their drive and ambition and strength definitely rubs off on you after a while!
3. What is one well-being or lifestyle tip that you would give to others?
Fi: Fit exercise into your day to day routine for sure! The minute my alarm goes off: I'm up, dressed and sweating before I realise I'm awake (!). But that sets me up for the day and no matter what crops up that day, I feel as though I can handle it!
I also think it's important because I spend so much longer than I used to in front of my laptop now, so finding ways to get up and move every few hours - even if it's just a walk around the garden with my dog - helps! I also try and get enough sleep - not as easy now that Love Island's on, but from August onwards, I should be ok again...!
Kaye: Make sure you have rest time! I so often will work crazy hours and flat out with no rest days or time off. I feel guilty when I go on holiday or when I have time off and I really shouldn't. We as humans need rest so it is OK to want to have a day off just to spend in bed. That is you looking after your body with bed and Netflix and you should always listen to what your body wants rather than try to push it. If you want a day off to spend it with friends, again, don't feel guilty. Go do it. That's what your heart wants.
Maddi: Having clear goals will improve every area of your life. Taking the time to properly map out my goals - both business and personal - and create a plan of attack for each one is the best thing I've ever done for myself. Not only has it given m a stronger sense of focus, but having clear targets to hit each day, week, month, etc, eliminates a lot of my anxious energy and makes it easier to switch off.
Nikita: Do not rely on caffeine. For the last couple of months, my intake of caffeine had exceeded. Whilst for some it may do the trick, for me it did the total opposite! I became exhausted, dehydrated and just someone who couldn't face daily challenges. I think the most important thing is to look after yourself. The way I see it is the more you take care of yourself, the more happiness you're inputting into your business - which can be reflected in many ways.
Esmé: Have enough small moments. (Find out more about the Five E's here).
A huge thank you to these incredible women for taking the time to answer my questions!
Did anything stand out to you? Is there anything you would like to add?
Han x
Photo by Daiga Ellaby