What I've Learned Since Starting ROSE & IVY
It's interesting to look back to see how far you have come. Since ROSE & IVY's launch a few years ago, I have learned a lot. I thought I would share a few tid bits on what I have learned so far. The great part is that I am always learning, something I am thankful for!
Getting no and saying no
Starting a business is hard work, anyone that has done it can attest to that and then some. But the challenges are completely out-weighed when you get to encounter greatness along the way. I started completely from scratch, meaning, I wasn't previously at a magazine with a roster of contacts. I was an outsider. This meant I used to get the answer "no" pretty much all of the time. Most publicists didn't understand who we were or what we were doing. The question was always, 'who else are you including...?' The testament to how invested you are in any given project is if you will get discouraged and give up when you get the dreaded "no". I won't lie, it used to sting, but as we have continued to grow a lot of the "no's" have turned to "yes". When we don't get the green light I know that that will change. I have learned that a no now, is not a definite no for the future.
Now, on the other end of that spectrum, saying "no". As I continue to grow the R&I brand, I have a pretty clear vision on what I want to produce. That being said, I suffer from 'nice syndrome' meaning I don't want to hurt anyones feelings when something does not feel right. When it comes to running the magazine, I react by a feeling I get in my gut - I know when something is right or when something is off. I have had to say no to people that were acquaintances. What I have learned is that it isn't personal, I am not attacking them or overtly hurting them. It is a professional decision that I hope people don't take personally (but being on the other end of it I know it can hurt).
It's okay to be scared, most of the time.
I'd lie if I didn't tell you that I am scared about 80% of the time. I recent had something happen that I was so scared of the situation I wanted to call the whole thing off. This isn't like me. I realized after going through with it (which I am beyond glad that I did) that it was just fear making an ugly appearance. Fear like this is actually good, it makes you grow. I do agree that if you aren't being a little scared, maybe you should dream a bit bigger?
SOMETIMES OTHERS WON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING BUT THAT IS OKAY.
I've gotten remarks like, 'you are doing print? Print is dead', among other comments. While it can be hard to drown out the negative chatter, it is essential in moving forward. Not everyone will understand what your doing, but I always go back one of my favorite quotes I discovered through Brene Brown's book Daring Greatly. She quotes the below by Teddy Roosevelt.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly...- Teddy Roosevelt
Living Your Dream Can Be An Out of Body Experience.
Living inside of your dream is a very strange, yet wonderful feeling. After working so hard and things begin to happen, you can almost start to second guess yourself, like wait 'do I deserve this?' sort of nonsense. I ha been giving snippets of what I wanted to the universe and was just hoping that one day it would appear. I didn't know what that looked like, except I knew that I wanted to work for myself. Some days I have this weird sensation that wow, I cannot believe I have done all of this.