Five Years at The Miners Couch

FIVE YEARS!!

So, yesterday marked my fifth year of running The Miners Couch! What a milestone! My Dad (a wise businessman himself) told me in the first few months of starting my new career at The Couch, that owning a small business is very hard work and if you’re still trading at the five year mark, you know you’ve made it in today’s market...he then hit me with all the depressing stats on how many small businesses don’t make it to that five year goal (always so straight to the point is my Dad!).

Luckily there’s nothing that brings out the best in me like setting a tough goal (which looking back, I suspect my Dad knew)...so the whirlwind began....

I still remember the first week I spent as a ‘Shop Keeper’, looking around my new workplace and wondering what on earth I had done by leaving my teaching career. I flicked through all the files, looked at the meaningless names of the companies, tried to sound like I knew what I was talking about when customers asked questions, felt like a fraud... even went home in tears one night thinking I was stupid for taking it on in the first place.

But I’m a ‘swim’ kind of girl, sinking was just not an option, and over the next few months, something clicked into place...something I’d been looking for, for ten years...and I started to feel like I’d found what I was meant to be here for!

Suddenly there were awesome companies to find, new styles to explore, lovely reps to meet, gorgeous customers to please...There was Bed and Breakfasts to renovate (www.redwingbnb.com.au) as well, and a shop move to Moonta.  It was such a fabulous learning curve!

But let’s not make it out to be all fun and games...it was HARD. Long hours, always researching to stay on top of the trends, chasing up the very best of companies, learning to be fair but tough too,  constant reviewing of figures, and constant revamping and generating *new ideas. My job became my life, and while it’s an amazing job, my most steep learning curve was finding a balance.

So, while I work my little butt off still, I have also learnt to walk away, to turn off my phone and even to enjoy long walks on the beach (true!). And if any of you are thinking of starting your own business, I highly recommend you do the same!  Once I worked out how to do that (and yes, i still have to constantly remind myself to switch off), things started to flow and my business started to roll.

So for the last five years, I've had this goal in my head. Sometimes I was scared I wouldn’t make it, sometimes I felt like I was physically dragging the business through. But I have determination, I have strength, I have dreams, and I flatly refused to not make it!! AND IM HERE!! HAPPY FIFTH BIRTHDAY TO US!!

 So all of you out there, if you are dreaming of something new, my advice....

* do the research,

* do the figures,

* find a mentor,

* ask every question you can think of,

* challenge yourself (but realistically),

* work hard,

* learn to switch off sometimes,

* don't be afraid to ask for help (you can't actually do it all yourself, all of the time!)

* dream big,

*  believe in yourself and

* ENJOY!!

Thanks so much for being a part of my journey! Couldn’t have done it without you all J

*insert me singing happy birthday and doing a happy dance here!*

 

*New Ideas included numerous things, some ridiculous, but some better ones were www.theminerscouch.com.au, www.facebook.com/theminerscouch and www.pinterest.com/theminerscouch.