Pandemic Pressure...
Starting a new venture during a pandemic can be tough. Ok, to be honest, I started A Sparkling Mess before the word pandemic was batted around. But, starting an online boutique in the months before the world enters into an unprecedented time is not ideal. Starting something new takes patience, time, effort. There is marketing and promoting to be done. To grow anything from nothing, one has to be relentless, committed, and consistent.
None of these are things that I am feeling right now. Back in March and April, when the world collectively shut down, and our social media feeds were filled with sourdough bread recipes, tik tok dance competitions and all things ‘loungewear’, I was already back at work. My office only stayed home for a short time. Because we are well spaced out anyway, and because we had to figure out how we were going “back to school”, we continued on as if things were normal. Of course they weren’t. We were watching as loved ones died alone. As innocent black people were dying. As the country became more and more divided and more and more scared, I found I could not concentrate on a new business venture. I could barely concentrate on daily life. At my day job, not only were we dealing with a pandemic, remote learning and end of year ceremonies, etc. I got a new boss. To say the least, work life was incredibly busy and stressful during the summer months. It was a struggle to think about trying to promote something new with so much chaos all around.
Now that some things have regained a bit of normalcy, and it seems that our social feeds are right back in the thick of it, I have been trying to cut myself some slack. But it is so damn hard to watch from the sidelines when you know you should be in the game! I have been 'waiting' until everything is perfect..until I have the right space to take photos, the glitches worked out on my website, the time to do it all. But I will never be in that place! My life is a moving target and this idea of A Sparkling Mess was based on the idea that none of us has it all 'together'. So get ready for more! More social media engagement, more items to shop in the Boutique, more blog posts….So much more SPARKLE!
I have come to realize, we are friends! If we want to support each other, we have to show up, even when things aren’t great...maybe especially when things aren’t great. So, how are things, Friend?
None of these are things that I am feeling right now. Back in March and April, when the world collectively shut down, and our social media feeds were filled with sourdough bread recipes, tik tok dance competitions and all things ‘loungewear’, I was already back at work. My office only stayed home for a short time. Because we are well spaced out anyway, and because we had to figure out how we were going “back to school”, we continued on as if things were normal. Of course they weren’t. We were watching as loved ones died alone. As innocent black people were dying. As the country became more and more divided and more and more scared, I found I could not concentrate on a new business venture. I could barely concentrate on daily life. At my day job, not only were we dealing with a pandemic, remote learning and end of year ceremonies, etc. I got a new boss. To say the least, work life was incredibly busy and stressful during the summer months. It was a struggle to think about trying to promote something new with so much chaos all around.
Now that some things have regained a bit of normalcy, and it seems that our social feeds are right back in the thick of it, I have been trying to cut myself some slack. But it is so damn hard to watch from the sidelines when you know you should be in the game! I have been 'waiting' until everything is perfect..until I have the right space to take photos, the glitches worked out on my website, the time to do it all. But I will never be in that place! My life is a moving target and this idea of A Sparkling Mess was based on the idea that none of us has it all 'together'. So get ready for more! More social media engagement, more items to shop in the Boutique, more blog posts….So much more SPARKLE!
I have come to realize, we are friends! If we want to support each other, we have to show up, even when things aren’t great...maybe especially when things aren’t great. So, how are things, Friend?