It’s All About Balance!
Guess who’s back!! I am honestly both relieved and proud to say I have managed to survive the past 2 months! It’s been so busy and hectic, I was extremely stressed out, and at the same time so excited and grateful for all the business growth and great things happening.
As I mentioned in my last post, we had the opportunity to move into a beautiful office and showroom for Wulterkens. So the month February was full of painting, cleaning, interior-design shopping, designing and furnishing the showroom and moving the office.
At the same time, daily work kept calling, so for me there weren’t enough hours in a day. After officially moving, we were so relieved, but then we had to catch up on a lot of work we left hanging during the preparations for the office.
Simultaneously, we were putting a last hand on our new and 5th collection for Wulterkens, which took a lot of time, because obviously we wanted everything to be perfect.
Luckily we had an amazing team from RB-Media Internet Solutions behind us who designed a beautiful new website for us. Take a look at their website, they really are the best.
We’ve been inspired (during interior-design shopping!) to bring back a few of the amazing icons back in the day, vintage style! I’m talking about the gorgeous Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren. They’re already bestsellers for both him & her! I am wearing my favorite of the series, Brigitte Bardot in the pictures.
Wulterkens became famous for the Babe Collections, so in the line of spring we brought into life the colorful and sexy Japanese Yakuza Babes. And as always, we wanted real statement-setting t-shirts, so we created the ‘’Lead by Example’’ series with the powerful messages of 3 world leaders.
Ever since we moved into our new office and launched the new colIections, things like a nice weekend off or getting home from work before 10 p.m. seem like something from a fairytale.
I am seriously considering hiring a personal assistant, because I’ve been struggling to balance everything out. Yup, it turns out I’m not superwoman (even though sometimes, I think I am). The funny thing is…this is just the beginning. I am starting to realize that as my brand is growing, so will the load of work and the responsibility.
I’ve learned from the great Anthony Robbins, that one of the keys to success is to mirror the acts of those who are already successful. So, how does Olcay Gulsen from Supertrash do it, or Michael Kors? They don’t have any more hours in a day…However, I’m sure they have a maid who does the cleaning at home, PA’s and a big staff to assist them. So I guess it’s time to work towards getting some help to deal with the growth, which is exciting, yet nerve wrecking when you’re a little bit (just a little bit, really) of a control freak.
So that’s what I am slowly, but surely working on…finding the balance, the moments of peace in between the chaos. Not getting stressed out when things get busy, because it’s always going to be busy. As they say, when you come out of a storm, you will never be the same person as before. That’s the life of a successful entrepreneur, that’s the life I chose and despite everything…the life I love.
Sending you all lots of love!
Nadira
Oufit details: T-Shirt: Wulterkens Brigitte ; Skirt: Kardashian Kollection Leather Pencil Skirt
Blazer: Zara (previous collections) ; Shoes: Zara (previous collections) ; Bracelet: Hermes Collier de Chien Cuff
“My point is, life is about balance. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The pina and the colada.” – Ellen Degeneres
“Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralysed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings.” – Rumi
“Feeling at peace, however fragilely, made it easy to slip into the visionary end of the dark-sight. The rose shadows said that they loved the sun, but that they also loved the dark, where their roots grew through the lightless mystery of the earth. The roses said: You do not have to choose. ” – Robin Mckinley
“What is joy without sorrow? what is success without failure? what is a win without a loss? what is health without illness? you have to experience each if you are to appreciate the other. there is always going to be suffering. it’s how you look at your suffering, how you deal with it, that will define you.” – Mark Twain
A Ship In A Harbor Is Safe…But That’s Not What A Ship Is Built For!
They say that the magic is happening at a place way out of your comfort zone. If you want to be part of that magic, you got to grab your guts and move out of it.
This is so easily said (and written), I know. It’s been almost a month since my last blog post and also my first one this year. I spent the holidays with my loved ones in my hometown Paramaribo, capital of Suriname, located in South America, right above Brazil.
It was 2,5 weeks of getting my mind off work and enjoying being home, spending time with my loving parents and friends. At the same time, I realized that with a new year, comes new things, new opportunities, challenges and lots of growth. While I think constant growth and improvement are one of the most important things, it’s still a fact that with growth come more responsibilities.
It’s scary, yes, very scary. I think my fellow entrepreneurs will understand. Along with that excitement and all those opportunities that you are pursuing is that little voice that makes you doubt everything, including yourself and your abilities.
But as the title of this blog post says…You can play it safe, but then you will never leave the harbor and you will never grow. And one my biggest fears is to stand still. I always need a new challenge, even if it scares the hell out of me.
So this year started out amazing, super busy with our fitness line and sale, but the great news is: We found a beautiful venue to finally create an official showroom for our fashion brand Wulterkens. We’ve been working from our home office ever since we started 1,5 years ago and we’ve been wanting to take it to the next level for months, but somehow it didn’t work out. Do you believe in coincidences? I don’t. I think we weren’t ready. And now we are. We looked around, saw 3 different places and then this one and the moment we saw it we knew it was perfect….pricey, but perfect.
Again with the risks, in this case a financial one, but my intuition is screaming that we have to do this in order to grow to the next level, put our brand in the market on a different scale. If you do something, no matter what it is, do it at the best of your abilities. So we’re doing it and I’m super excited!!
Another thing to be excited about (yes you too, in this case), the new collection of tshirts will be launched beginning of March! New exclusive tshirt designs and also new fitness wear, this time more for the gentlemen as well!
This February is going to be super hectic with moving the office, designing the showroom, new collections, refreshing new look of the website etc., so I probably will not be able to write as much as I would like to. I promise I’ll make it up in March!
Bottom line…don’t be afraid to take (calculated) risks, challenge yourself! I like the way Peter Drucker formulated it: ‘’People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year’’. You will not die from a mistake, you can only learn and when you learn, you grow. Never a failure, always a lesson.
I think this entrepreneurial, risk-taking, adventurer, go-getter, goal-digger – side of me is growing, I am starting to like the ‘’rush’’ and I am very grateful for these scary beautiful opportunities coming towards us!
Lastly, ask yourself this: When we become comfortable, do you know what happens around us?
Answer: Absolutely nothing. Each day becomes just like the one before. We do what we have always done, therefore we get what we have always gotten.
That’s definitely not who I am, and what I want for myself…How about you?
Love,
Nadira
P.S. It’s winter, and although it’s not as cold as it usually is around this time a year it’s still hard to do nice posts in the cold, did my best with this one, hope you like it, the location is my beautiful garden/back yard!
Outfit details: Leather skirt: H&M, Boots: ZARA, Blazer: MANGO, Tanktop: Wulterkens (Basic collection, will return soon!) for more check out the SALE on www.wulterkensclothing.com. I don’t remember where I got my hat, I think it’s from one of the local department stores in the Netherlands.
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life ~ Muhammad Ali
If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories ~ Richard M. Nixon
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone ~ Neale Donald Walsch
We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are ~ Max DePree
Courage is about doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared ~Eddie Rickenbacker
I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough ~Marissa Mayer
- Published in Business & Entrepreneurship, Written Archives 2013-2018