The thing I love about this blog is hearing other business owners’ “aha moments”. I think the most fascinating part of a business is the back story: Where did the inspiration come from? Why did the business get started? What were the hurdles along the way? I tell people all the time that you can’t force a business idea, but if you are open to it, you will start to notice things that can be done better. Then, you have to be willing to take action.
When Karin Shieh and her husband, Chris, moved in together, she became frustrated with the price it would cost for beautiful designer bedding. As a result, they founded Crane & Canopy, an online home goods company that offers beautifully designed, high-quality bedding without the department store markup.
How does this happen? The San Francisco-based company has a team of talented in-house designers that dream up the products. Then, to remove the middle man, they work directly with the world’s best manufacturers.
The best part of Crane & Canopy is that they partner with the largest domestic violence services agencies around the country to give the gift of a safe night’s sleep through the donation of new bedding.
Here are Karin’s 3 Things “5 Things”:
1) Practice self-awareness. Self-awareness is perhaps the most valuable skill to acquire. Having self-awareness makes us empathetic, thoughtful, humble and likeable. In short, it makes us better friends, daughters, sisters, colleagues and people. As an eager new hire at my first job, I spent the first few months excited to tackle projects and share my ideas with everyone. It wasn’t until a few months later when I had time to reflect on my and other’s experiences that I realized that to become a better leader and teammate, I needed to practice self-awareness. As you advance in an organization, make an effort to be more open-minded to other’s opinions, introspect weekly on situations, pay attention to other people’s facial expressions and emotions and constantly ask your teammates for feedback. It takes practice and humility, but it will pay off in the long run.
2) Make time for yourself. These days, with so many ways to stay connected, communicate and multi-task, it is easy to take on more, both in your personal and professional lives. However, this often leads to increased stress and burnout – all before your 30s. Figure out early in your 20s your favorite ways to unwind and do it weekly. Everyone’s a bit different. Whether it is finding time in the day to exercise, stretch or meditate, or even getting up an hour earlier to just drink coffee and read the paper without distraction, make sure to make time just for you. It’s the best way to release stress constructively and re-energize for the next day’s challenge.
3) Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Fresh out of college, I was challenged with a role as project leader of a 5-person team. Unfortunately, I was the least experienced and youngest person on the team by at least ten years. Being the leader, I could have pretended to know what was going on and charge forward to show management that I knew it all. Instead, I asked a lot of questions, spent extra time with my team members to understand the issues and relied on their functional expertise. It worked. People were more than willing to answer my questions, guide me through difficult situations, and went out of their way to make sure that I stood out as well.
4) Always ask why. In work and in life, you will face many complex situations with perplexing decisions and outcomes. While voicing one’s opinion can be helpful, there are times when the easy move is to choose the path of least resistance and just move forward. In these circumstances, it’s still important to understand why a certain decision was made and how management came to that conclusion. The answer can often be surprising and introduce a different approach and perspective. Plus, it’s a way for you to understand leadership decisions and to learn how to navigate an organization
5) Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. In your 20s, it’s easy to hang out with a group of friends and get caught up in the drama. Oftentimes, situations spiral out of control, and you get put in situations that create self-doubt and frustration. Friends come and go. The ones who stay are the ones who inspire and bring out the best in you.
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