Today marks the second anniversary of starting Oh, Hello Stationery Co. I owe this company so much that I felt the urge to reflect on how much it has taught me in the past two years.
I’ve learned a lot about myself while running this business with my now husband. I’ve never been more passionate than I am when it comes to running this small business. I’m also surprised at how protective I am to keep it a small business even though it has the potential to grow larger and more profitable. I find myself happy with where we are and not too eager to trek into uncharted territories on the hopes of an expansion I don’t really want.
I’ve also become aware how terrible I am at leading. I find delegation hard, and asking for help even harder. I’m a lone ranger when it comes to a lot of things in my life, but I’ve had to learn how to let other people (and their ideas) in to make sure this business survives. It’s a daily struggle not to clutch on to Oh, Hello with dear life, keeping it away from others out of fear they’ll change it. Collaboration is what creating Oh, Hello, and it’s how it’ll be successful in the future.
It’s also just as obvious today as it was the first day I started Oh, Hello, that being self-employed is terrifying. Every day I worry about maintaining a lifestyle I’ve grown to cherish and crave. If sales drop it becomes a panic about whether or not Oh, Hello will fail. I’ve never had such a looming fear of failure like I do with Oh, Hello. Alex and I have risked so much to work on this business full-time and even though we’ve rounded two years, we’re still an incredibly young business.
These two years have taught me I don’t want to do anything else. I want to make stickers, videos, and blog posts for the rest of my days. I’ve never been happier than I am right now, so here’s hoping for many more years just like this one.
Yours till the post cards,
Kayla
