As a female entrepreneur, I am always looking for day to day hacks, solid business advice, and sparks of inspiration to help me and Dazey thrive. No matter how long you’ve been an entrepreneur or working in your industry, there’s TONS to gain each and every day. As I learn from and face the challenges of entrepreneuriship and womanhood head on, I want to start sharing my musings, do my best to be a resource, and #createconversation around the things that give me a little boost. ❤

Oh man, this month was a real life #selfcaresummer moment. It was jam packed and I can’t believe it’s almost over! I was back and forth between the desert house and L.A. enjoying summer shenanigans, designing the new collection, launching the highlight REAL project, and pretty much losing it keeping up with my email inbox. My biggest strength + weakness is I LOVE to live each project or event to the FULLEST. I love to go all out, put all my energy into it, and go, go, go! BUT that also means I forget to slow down and take it all in. There were a few moments this month where that mentality led me to tons of anxiety, exhaustion, and overwhelm. I've been learning to LISTEN to these feelings and respect them. This month has been all about learning to stop and smell the flowers so, if you're anything like me, maybe these suggestions can help you too! Check out these three hacks that helped me learn to slow down, manage self care, and regain focus and excitement. 

Swoon on Fresh Blooms

They say dreams don’t work unless you do, but what if you work so much that you get yourself sick?! Or full of anxiety and stress? Ugh, I'm sure we all know what it's like to feel defeated by a long to-do list, piling up projects, and too many unread texts / emails. I've learned that the harder you hustle, the harder you have to self care. It's the little things that perk up your day to day that can remind you to slow down and reflect on all the good work you're doing. 

Last week the wonderful ladies at The Bouqs Co. brought a dozen bouquets to Biz Babez for our interview photoshoot (check out the interview here!). It was a long day of shooting and pulling together fun and fresh ideas, but my FAVORITE part was seeing the office space decked out in the most gorgeous tropical bouquets at the end of the day! The funny thing is Biz Babez is already filled with tons of plants, but there's something special about looking at fresh blooming flowers that is so calming and meditative. A quick and easy way to slow down during a work day is pick up flowers at a shop or on a neighborhood walk and use them as a reminder to reflect. Put them in an area where you can look at them often and practice a mantra or give gratitude each time it catches your eye. I'm so swoon on the positive effect fresh blooms have given my space! Such a fun, simple way to transform your mood! 

PRO TIP: Looking to elevate your feed too? Let me tell you, flowers are the BEST prop! Fill the frame, interact with loose stems, and embrace the lighthearted feels they bring! Huge shout out to The Bouqs Co. for supplying the most epic florals and bringing so much life to this shoot! 

Mental Health Breaks

Twelve hour days are the unglamorous side of being a small business owner. There’s always so much to do and so little time it seems, which makes it easy to work myself into bouts of anxiety and overwhelm. When I’m feeling like enough is enough during a long work day, I make sure to take a mental health break ASAP. Whether that’s heading home early to catch an evening walk with Phillip and Franklin, unplugging at happy hour with friends, totally relocating to the desert house for quiet work time, or allowing myself to skip work completely the next day, I take steps to make sure Dazey LA always gets the BEST of me and not what’s left of me. Even though I know these mental health breaks are so needed, the hardest part about mental health breaks is feeling guilt free. Set your guilt aside by creating a game plan! Literally manage your self care by scheduling downtime. Put it on your to-do list because then you can have the satisfaction of checking it off!

NOTE: Sending the reminder that mental health breaks DO NOT look the same for everyone, and that’s okay! For example, majority of my gal pals take mental health breaks by practicing yoga on a regular basis. I love them and support them, but yoga is SO NOT my thing. And that’s not a bad thing! #Selfcaremeans learning to find what works and ditch what doesn’t because what’s the point of it all if it doesn’t help you in the end?! Get creative, try something new, and find an activity that makes YOU feel good ❤ 

Confide in Community

True or false: It’s easier to do things alone. No need for a drumroll because we all know it’s FALSE! Community is such a strong aspect in my social well being and the well being of Dazey! From our wonderful ambassadors, the loving Insta community, my strong boss babes at Biz Babez, to main boys Phillip and Franklin, these people help me succeed in my goals, bring light and meaning to my work, and allow me to recharge and have a good time, always. I've learned that when you confide in community, so many doors open up and possibilities for growth become endless. 

For example, when I open the door to #createconversation online, I am so struck by the comments from beautiful strangers that pop up. I admire the women who are able to speak vulnerably, make sure others feel heard, and empower those around them. When you confide in your community, you create conversations that make you to feel heard and less alone. And in the end, that empowers you to regain your light and focus and press on!  Check out this wonderful post and continue to let it out and lean on your community!

A new way I created conversation this month, is I took big steps and finally started our highlight REAL project, a video series that aims to fight social stigmas and create conversation around real life joys and plights. I interviewed the lovely Jennifer Yen, founder and owner of Purlisse, and we talked about mental health, JOMO, and finding magic in the mundane. Opening up the conversation on these topics IRL really allowed me to find peace in my own struggles and pursuits because I knew I wasn’t truly going through them alone. I can see that even successful women deal with anxiety, financial downfalls, and self care struggles.  I even got to learn all about her love of JOMO, joy of missing out, and put it to practice!