Soederlund Shop turned 1 year old on the 27th of December. I celebrated with my family by traveling to New York - on business for my day job.
It is really easy to forget in the middle of family life, work/career and trying to squeeze in some exercise and me-time that in addition to all of that, I am a CEO. CEO of my own business, my own e-commerce, this site and in extension my professional life. When I started this shop I never realised that it is also an emotional learning experience. I don't feel like a boss.
It is called a fraud syndrome or impostor syndrome. Basically it stems from doubting own abilities and lacking confidence. What's funny though is that I'm in this endevour alone. I don't need to prove anyone my ability - I succeed or fail alone. So who do I think is calling me a fraud?
The answer of course is equally funny - me. I am my own worst critic and rightfully so - I am also the only one who's opinion matters.
Soederlund is not a profitable company. Starting the business, designing and sourcing the makeup bags, setting up a marketing operation (and then setting it up again since at first nothing worked) has cost money. I've also made mistakes in pricing, logistics, taxes and probably in all sectors of business that exist and maybe even the ones I don't yet know exist. But none of this makes Soederlund any less of a company. And if anything, dealing with all of this has made me more of a CEO.
My mission when I started Soederlund makeup bags was to create something beautiful to help women feel empowered in their everyday lives. Make life a little more beautiful. Make you feel like a boss. That mission seems even more relevant now than it did a year ago.
This second year of Soederlund makeup bags is about making all boss ladies feel strong and beautiful, feel like a CEO. Myself included.