I stumble upon Sarah via my
favourite social media, Instagram. I am honest enough and shallow enough to
admit her hair and her smile sucked me into her page. Then I discovered her
business ethos and stunning mandala rings, and I became a true fan. Sarah is a
perfect example of a mother who has grown her business organically. Sarah's
Facebook page, Instagram account and Website are all amazing. Please visit Sarah
and give her some extra love.
1. Tell the readers a little about yourself, can you
share a bit on yourself and your background?
I don't like to carry a
million labels to define who I am, so I always say I'm a woman who wanders the
path of her spirit. I have a background in the fashion design industry, and
lead that life path until my mid 20's when I feel pregnant and my whole life
changed for the better. I left work, embarked on my most important role as a
mum and spent a year rediscovering who I really was. I blogged my journey of
spiritual discovery, and developed a really organic online presence which led
my down this current path utilising my design background, creativity and
spirituality. I now live on the Sunshine Coast, with my little family and am
building my business to a point where it can fund my philanthropic dreams of
starting an animal sanctuary on some acreage here - A place where people can
come and dwell, learn about living off the land, work with the animals and help
me rehabilitate them and educate the future generations about respecting all life
forms and how to truly connect with one another and the planet.
2. What inspires you?
My son, nature, my kindred
sisterhood. I have some incredible customers, friends and soul sisters and they
always keep me creating and inspired in my work and life. My son is my biggest
source of inspiration - he has taught me so much about myself and he makes me
want to be a better version of myself, everyday.
3. How did you begin your
business?
I had the idea during my
pregnancy to make mandala rings. At the time, I didn't even know why - it was
more an aesthetic thing. When I was literally 9 months pregnant, I just
designed these 20 symbolic designs in just over 24 hours. They just came so
organically, I was definitely being guided by something other than myself (I
didn't even know how to use photoshop or any digital programs very well to make
them). After that, it took me a good year to understand them, develop my
prototypes and hoan in on my vision and offerings. I am someone who is abundant
in ideas, but not necessarily good on the follow through, so It took me a while
to really focus in on delivering a small, concise offering and really hustling
to get that out into the world. Just after my sons 1st birthday, I launched my
new baby - The Fifth Element Life store (had been blogging under this name for
8 months) and I've been loving the journey ever since.
4. How do you balance life and running a business?
It is a daily challenge. One
thing I owe my productivity to in that first year was changing my diet and
doing allot of self care. I am always mindful that my son comes first, and the
business second. Sometimes I get lost in the business as it now demands so much
more of my attention, however I am lucky enough to have a partner who has been
able to take on more of the household duties while I build the business (this
kind of happened by default, but everything happens for a reason). Right now,
I'm having to make some big decisions because I know in myself that things are
out of balance, so my priority now is to hire my first staff member (!!!!) so I
can get back to the self care and be a more present mum and partner. Every nap
time, every spare moment in the last 2 years has been spent working on my own
personal development or my business and now it has had that solid foundation
work, I can let go and get back into enjoying the life I have created.
5. What direction do you see yourself and your company
heading?
I see us moving into a commercial
space this year, where I have a small team of amazing people who will do the
day to day running of The Fifth Element Life. I'll be able to be part-time at
home with my son, and the rest working towards building my brand and creating
more products, offerings and gifts for the world. As it grows, a percentage I
will be putting aside to save for the purchase of the property to then start
the sanctuary (as mentioned above). I see me always having a work day that
looks different, switching in from mama, entrepreneur, creative, spiritual and philanthropic
being day in and day out.
6. What advise would you give someone else wanting to
start/run their own business?
Start small. Work with the
resources you have. I started my business with $1000 of my tax money that I got
back from my previous working year before having my son. We had to make it
work. Do plenty of inner and outer hustle. I believe the more you work on
yourself and your inner harmony, the more that comes out into your business
world. The minute you notice that things are not working in any aspect of your
life, learn from it and focus on bringing back that balance.
Grow organically, listen to
where the signs are taking you - follow your intuition. If it doesn't feel
right, don't do it. I have never done anything purely for the money, it has
always come from a place of wanting to make a difference in some way to
anothers life, so understanding your 'why' you want to do this business is a
really good place to start and build it around that.
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