Owning a Business is Hard – No. 3

owning-a-business

Ain’t it the truth.

Ugh, on the real guys. Entrepreneur life has not been great for me lately and I could not figure out why. All businesses are growing, I’m getting help with the work load, can’t really complain.

For the past few weeks I’ve just felt a little blah and burnt out. I didn’t feel like writing, working, creating product..nothing. I was harboring it because I felt like I shouldn’t be complaining when good things are happening. And then one day it just spilled out. Charlie and I were eating dinner in our living room when I suddenly said, “I feel burned out.” He asked why and it forced me to really think about why I feel this way. When I put it out into the universe, the universe responded. It was negativity. It slowly chipped away at me and I didn’t realize it until I was negative too.

Being in the business of customer service is hard. Those that have never worked a job in customer service consider yourself lucky lol! Especially the retail or restaurant industry, WOOWEE! Any type of work place where you are serving a large amount of customers in a day(I imagine working in a place like a hospital is the exact same thing) boy oh boy, it takes a toll on you. People can be very critical, totalitarian, and really mean. Our job in the customer service industry is to try to add a little positivity to your day, and I really try to do that every day I go to work. Really, I do. Customer or employee I try to be a positive person to everyone I’m around. There isn’t one day that I walk into work saying, “My goal is to make people mad at me.” I’ve never said that, ever. I can’t please everyone, I get that and I try to remember that every day. But what about when you don’t feel like being positive? What about when you’re having a bad day? When you get up on the wrong side of bed? When something bad happened to you or your family? Doesn’t matter in customer service. We have to be on (those in customer service will know what I’m talking about) regardless of our personal lives or how we feel. That’s what happened to me.

Working in customer service has helped me to mask my real emotions. I’m starting to get good at it and it’s not a good thing. The more I let it simmer, the more I push it down, the harder it is to snap out of it. But you know what? It’s getting better. It’s not going to happen over night, but slowly it is getting better.

Every business owner goes through it, the discouragement demons are real guys. And when it hits it’s no joke. If you’re there like I am just remember:

  1. You’re awesome
  2. You’re not alone
  3. Don’t quit
  4. Don’t focus on the bad
  5. Recognize every victory, even the small ones
  6. Give yourself time to snap out of it

As for me, I’m taking it day by day. I’m taking time every morning to pray, I try to write down little victories throughout the day, but most of all I’m giving myself time. So if you’re where I’m at right now don’t get discouraged guys. It happens even to the best of them. Just keep your chin up and keep working through it.

xoxo,

Kissa

Crab Deviled Egg Recipe – Stuff we Eat

To be honest, I don’t know what it is about Deviled Eggs that I love so much. Charlie always rolls his eyes when we go out to eat and he sees Deviled Eggs on the menu because he knows what’ll happen next. I’m going to ask him if I can order them. And he always says no. Why? Because he knows I can easily make them at home but I’m just too lazy 😛
I’m always looking for ways to take something to the next level so I started thinking of how I can make Deviled Eggs more fun. Bacon? To obvious. Ranch? Meh. And then it hit me! Crab! It’s the perfect ingredient, subtle in flavor, will add a slight sweetness, and the texture is great for something like this.
Then I thought, what’s the one thing I don’t like about Deviled Eggs? They run out too fast. You can just pop one into your mouth and then next thing you know you ate a dozen hard boiled eggs lol! So I decided to make this into an egg salad to help it last longer. It’s perfect on top of a piece of toast or a cracker.
1 can lump crab meat
1/2 stalk celery, minced
1 green onion, sliced
2 tsp relish
3 tbs sour cream
3 tbs plain greek yogurt
12 large eggs
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon mustard
1/4 tsp vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Paprika, for garnish
Old bay, for garnish
Hard Boiled Eggs
  1. Place eggs into a pot with cold water about 1 inch above eggs and let water come to a boil.
  2. Turn off heat. Set aside for 12 minutes (if you are using XL eggs let sit a little bit longer).
  3. Place eggs in ice bath and peel.
Deviled Egg Salad
  1. Strain crab meat thoroughly (so that your egg salad isn’t watery).
  2. Cut peeled eggs in half and scoop out egg yolks.
  3. Mix sour cream, greek yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, and vinegar into a bowl until smooth.
  4. Add celery, 3/4 of your greet onion, relish, salt, and pepper to egg yolk mixture.
  5. Dice egg whites roughly and fold into egg yolk mixture.
  6. Add crab meat and gently fold into mixture. Note: You can go with the regular can of crab meat if you’re ballin on a budget. But trust yo’ girl on this one, the premium lump crab meat is better. Spend the extra $3 or $4 bucks and get the good stuff. If you want to be a rock star buy a crab, steam it, and pull the meat yourself 😃
  7. Garnish with paprika, Old Bay seasoning, and the rest of your green onion for color and added flavor.
Enjoy!
xoxo,
Kissa

Holiday Release 2016 Part 2 – Stuff we Make

Happy Thursday everyone! This week has been such a whirlwind I can’t believe the end of the week is already here. We’ve been hard at work on our Holiday Release and I’m so excited to share 3 more designs with you! Don’t forget, all our designs are 25% off in our store until the end of September. No promo code needed 🙂

The Pixel Tree design is my personal favorite. Our best selling cards are the old school Nintendo-esque designs so I thought it would be a perfect addition to our holiday collection! Stay tuned for our last batch of designs releasing next week!

xoxo,

Kissa