Why I stepped away from my six-figure business to ‘find the magic’
Why I said “goodbye” to growth and scaling and “hello” to a business aligned with my life.
Closing the door...
As some of you will know, I started the sister brand to Monroe Creative, Magic + Monroe, in 2021 after closing the doors to my previous brand, Studio Seed, a luxury gifting studio (you can read all about where the concept for Magic + Monroe came from in this blog post). When I announced the closure of Studio Seed, I was met with not only lots of support but also lots of questions. People outside of my ‘inner circle’ were quite shocked to hear of my decision (one loyal customer was ‘devastated’ - their word, not mine!)
The truth is that although I was, and still am, beyond proud of the brand I had created - the ethos had stayed true throughout - to spread kindness and love to those who needed it - after nearly six months of our busiest trading ever (during a global pandemic with hardly any staff, suppliers who couldn’t keep up demand and a postal service at breaking point) I realised that my heart just wasn’t there anymore.
From an outside perspective I was ‘successful’ - a flourishing business, the studio of dreams, an amazing team, six-figure turnover… but towards the end, I didn’t feel successful. Yes, I was having great ‘success’ - an incredible turnover, business growth, many loyal customers, an incredible product range and press features) but I felt conflicted, overwhelmed, anxious and stressed. I was consumed with work meaning I was not a present Mama, wife or friend.
“And here’s the thing. I credit coronavirus with changing my life for the better. ”
Seriously, if it wasn’t for the virus which completely upended my life and business, I would never have reached that point of burnout which forced me to really dig deep and reassess what I wanted from life. The phrase #YouOnlyLiveOnce seemed much more pertinent.
Aligning my business with my life...
I came to realise that my business had become misaligned with my heart and my values. The business had experienced a lot of growth and I know that I could have scaled it further into a much bigger brand, I could have grown the team, expanded our customer base, increased sales by a lot more - and I thought that was my goal. However, what I started to understand was that subconsciously (and unbeknownst to me), I’d been pushing back on this growth - because, scaling the brand would have meant my taking a step back from the ‘heart’ of the business.
“The reality of what I thought I wanted and what I actually wanted were different. I realised I love to be in the heart of the business everyday, I love making, packaging orders, I like to oversee everything and that’s what works for me.”
What does success mean for you?
As business owners, we are often conditioned to believe that growth, big turnovers, ‘the hustle’, investors and being the CEO is the dream we should all be striving for. There’s an assumption that growth is good and required for success. But what no one ever really talks about is creating your business to be your lifestyle. About defining your own idea of success. Perhaps we can still create a really positive contribution to the world, find fulfilment, joy and our own version of ‘success’ but keep it ‘petite’?
Now I’m absolutely not saying that striving for big things is bad - if your heart wants to be CEO turning over 7 figures then I’m right behind you and I’ll cheer you on all the way! But for those who feel like they’re not ‘enough’ because being a CEO or a huge turnover isn't what makes you tick, I hear you too. We’re all very different and have varying needs and wants, so one size doesn’t necessarily fit all.
‘Better’ rather than ‘bigger’
And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I’m thinking ‘small’ or having low expectations for my businesses, quite the opposite in fact. I’m still the same highly motivated, proactive and passionate entrepreneur and I want to grow the brands, to become recognised globally for the magic we create, but this time I’m going to do it in a sustainable way which works for me, my life and my family - a business built around my life, not the other way around.
So far, working in Magic + Monroe and Monroe Creative has been quite different to Studio Seed for many reasons. I left (most of!) my bad business ‘habits’ behind and have brought with me all my collected skills, processes and ways of working from the very start. In particular, my knowledge of my business ‘numbers’ and profitability has greatly impacted the way I work. I’m working more sustainably but still bringing in the money I need. I learnt a tremendous amount over the previous 10 years both in terms of business acumen and about what I want out of my life which I am joyfully applying.
To use the words of Paul Jarvis in his book Company of One, I’m always questioning:
“what can I do to make my business better?, instead of, what can I do to grow my business larger?”
I mapped out what I’d like my ‘ideal day’ to look like - it included time for exercise, fresh air, socialising as well as making products, business and creative development - I’m happy to report that on the whole, I’m achieving all these things whilst still building a meaningful, valuable brand. I feel like a more well-rounded human, a more present Mama and a more effective businesswoman.
I’m still dreaming big...
And finally, just to be clear, I still have those big dreams - I’d like a premises and a small team and to design branding for global brands and a pop-up collection in Liberty and for Princess Charlotte to have a Magic + Monroe doll (not much then - phew!)but the difference is, I’m happy building it slowly and allowing growth to happen more consciously, whilst still finding time for fun and for the first time I feel like I’m ‘enough’ just doing what I’m doing.
So, when people ask ‘how’s the new business going?’ I wonder… is it going well? Is it successful?
I’m not earning as much (yet) as I was at Studio Seed and I might not be making the volume of sales I was there, but when success looks to me like doing something I enjoy, making money from it, living a full life, making time for myself and being a good Mama, then YES. It’s going great!
After all, what’s life without a little magic?
Love, Tamsin x
P.S. Big up to Uber-talent Jess Williams who has forever been my cheerleader and encouraged me to write this, and provided the title for the post!
