JN Chalk & Co is officially a toddler! As exciting as this is, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that “terrible twos” will not apply in this case! We grew tremendously this year, but I felt myself taking on too many orders and struggling to manage so much work…

It amazes me that I started my business only two years ago, and that we are continuing to grow each day! Starting a business is not a walk in the park. It takes a lot of organization and effort to manage a brand, creative ideas that will allow the brand to shine and TIME, which I seemed to run low on this past year. When friends ask, “But how do you find the time to balance everything?” I answer them honestly by saying it can be exhausting! If I have to choose between a night in (aka an opportunity to get some work done), or a night out with friends, I frequently choose the first option. But sometimes you have to put the chalk down and take a mental break!

If I have learned anything from that past year it is that I need to find a better balance between business life and social life. More importantly, I want to make sure I am spending a great amount of time with family and friends, traveling and exploring as much as I can and doing the most with the time I have here. This isn’t easy with a full-time job and creative business (I’m still working full-time). I also want to make sure my creative biz never becomes “work”, and I want to make sure that I continue loving what I’m able to do everyday, which is one of the reasons I started JN Chalk & Co. in the first place! But, to truly love what you do everyday, and to truly love the life you live, is to have conquered the balance of business life and social life.

So, with that being said, C H E E R S ! to another year of chalk dust and ink filled fingers! May I remember that growing a business is my goal, but being able to look back on my 20’s knowing I had spent a great amount of time with family and friends, traveled and explored as much as I had hoped and did the most with the time I had is my aspiration.