I realised this week that a whole year has gone by since I decided to leave teaching and run my business full time… if that doesn’t deserve a glass or two of 🥂 then I don’t know what does (any excuse!!).
It was a long over due decision (apologies if you’re reading this and I taught you during the period where I was putting off making the decision!!). There were a lot of blocks to making it…
How would we/I cope without my teaching salary (I do like to shop)?
Did I have what it takes to run a business (whilst also knowing that at the time, I really didn’t know what ‘it’ was)?
Did I really want to work from home (insert ALL the exclamation marks here!)?
How would I cope without colleagues?
In the end, a panic attack tipped me over the edge… I’d been having them for 3 months after having a miscarriage - and when I returned to the job I’d been signed off from for 3 months and had one within an hour of being in the building I decided enough was enough. Don’t get me wrong - the job (I was a Science teacher) wasn’t the source of the panic attacks, they were being caused by ‘unexpected events’ - but it really felt like a line in the sand.
So I decided to leave, I was incredibly blessed that the head of my school let me hit the ejector button immediately and when I told my husband he was supportive and ready to embrace the new life that that decision would bring. So there I was, part-time Science teacher to full-time jewellery business owner, over night!
I remember that week - it was like a [good] bomb had gone off in my life - the sun shone, I felt calmer and I was almost looking forward to the enormity of what I’d done impacting my life over the coming weeks. I was something I would talk to my friends about and it was going to be a big deal!
Little did I know what was about to happen…
Quitting a job with a steady salary to run my own business just as the corona virus pandemic took hold of the world seemed like a crazy thing to have done (I happen to still think it was a crazy thing to do!) but with it came and awareness of my privilege and opportunity to learn.
In the April the website launched and I moved away from selling on Etsy. I wanted you, my customers to have a more wholesome brand experience than Etsy was able to offer.
I was also reminded of a pact I’d made in 2010, which was to take up every opportunity I was presented with unless a) I was already busy or b) the opportunity was illegal (My mum made me make this pact.. for those wondering!!). That pact changed my life, I met my now husband and the rest as they say….!!
So I renewed the pact for my business in 2020. And almost as soon as I’d made the pact, I saw an advert to do a pop up shop in John Lewis and Partners through The Great British Exchange. I abided by the pact(!) and to my utter surprise I was accepted. 2020 saw two successful pop up’s in JLP York and I’m looking forward to doing 2 more in 2021.
A week after the first pop-up, I got an email from Tatler…. TATLER!! Inviting me to advertise in their Christmas jewellery feature. It was so exciting to see a piece I’d made gracing the pages of a high society magazine.
A fellow business friend sent me information about applying to Holly Tuckers ‘fly the flag for small business’ campaign and to my surprise (again!) I was invited to be part of the video (that I actually didn’t know they were making!!) that premiered during Holly’s ‘Independents Awards’. You can see the video here
I’ve also had incredible opportunities to partner with Wonderfully British, develop my collaboration with Walter and May and work with The French Press to develop two pieces of jewellery exclusive to them.
I’m so incredibly grateful for the opportunities 2020 brought, whilst paying huge respect to the challenges the year also brought.
I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings.
Hannah xx
