Exactly 1 year ago today, I registered Sandra Best Décor and started my own business! It still seems surreal!
People often ask me how I started my business. To be honest my business started out of failure. I have always loved anything about the home; decorating, window dressing and entertaining, but I never felt like it was possible to actually have a career in it. I spent a lot of time wrapped up in fear doing whatever job I could do to pay the bills. In 2011 I had an unsatisfying job in the insurance world and I was itching to be more creative. I started taking design courses in the evening to satisfy my itch. It was great to formally learn what I had known all these years and to perfect my technique. I also met teachers in the field and other students who were just like me. By the time I finished school I was also pregnant with my first child. I vowed that after my maternity leave I would never go back to that administrative job. I made a plan, I decided to look for an job in the design field, work there for 5 years, and then start my own design and home staging firm.
While on maternity leave I looked for jobs in the design field. I found a great opportunity in a construction company. However after two weeks I was demoted because I was too slow! I felt so ashamed and I thought that maybe I was not good enough for this job. I stayed anyway wanting to learn and perfect my technique but as the weeks went by I was unhappy to have gone through all the heartache only to be back at square one. Three months later I found another opportunity and moved on.
This time I had the occasion of working for a well established designer in Montreal as his assistant. It seemed like my dream job. However again after a few weeks we had to sit down to realize it would not work. He was overwhelmed with work and I was too slow to understand his needs.
I was shattered, I was sure at this point something was wrong with me. I thought design was my passion… How could I suck at it so much?
As I was sulking by the kitchen counter my husband asked me what I wanted to do next. I realized I was passionate about design and I had to find a way to make it happen. I decided to start my own business right away with my own experience and at my own pace!
It’s been an incredible ride.
I am so grateful for failure, it became a great teacher. It was a temporary detour, not a dead end. I am stronger, more courageous and I am doing what I love.
I am grateful for a husband who cheered me on every step of the way.
I am grateful for each person, family, that let me into their homes and trusted me.
1 year, many tears, even more laughter, so many transformations.
How about you? Have you ever failed?
*The evolution of the logo in a year!*
