This past year, I chose to slow down and to take a step back. To focus on our family and my mental health. Running a small business is difficult, and when your happiness is directly tied to how many sales came in that day, it can be overwhelming.
I tried hard to remember that working late nights, feeling stressed out, was not an indicator of success to come. Rather that the end goal was to sustain an environment that would yield a good product for as many people who needed it, which would grow year after year to be better in multiple facets. This year our revenue did less growing, but I think we did score in other areas.
I tried hard to remember that working late nights, feeling stressed out, was not an indicator of success to come. Rather that the end goal was to sustain an environment that would yield a good product for as many people who needed it, which would grow year after year to be better in multiple facets. This year our revenue did less growing, but I think we did score in other areas.
We tried many things —opened a shoppable workshop/warehouse space in west Berkeley, had our first destination photoshoot in Joshua Tree, California, launched our new quilted linen Hugomats, hosted our first Pop-up event with brands we admire..
I'm proud of the memories and friends made this year. There was indeed some hustling when I think of our team at the photoshoot. All the mamas working their bones off to make magic happen in such a short time, their spouses behind the scenes wrangling kids, making food, supporting them, and the kids playing together, on set and off, thinking of those scenes makes me teary-eyed. And then there was the hustle for our Pop-up, driving all around Berkeley to post handwritten signs on store windows, telephone poles, watching the other small brands assembling furniture, taking such care of their displays and their customers, and of each other. Picking up batches of our mat covers from our local seamstress each month with our newborn in tow, her watching baby Rui while John and I loaded up the car. These are the gems of running a small business.
I'm proud of the memories and friends made this year. There was indeed some hustling when I think of our team at the photoshoot. All the mamas working their bones off to make magic happen in such a short time, their spouses behind the scenes wrangling kids, making food, supporting them, and the kids playing together, on set and off, thinking of those scenes makes me teary-eyed. And then there was the hustle for our Pop-up, driving all around Berkeley to post handwritten signs on store windows, telephone poles, watching the other small brands assembling furniture, taking such care of their displays and their customers, and of each other. Picking up batches of our mat covers from our local seamstress each month with our newborn in tow, her watching baby Rui while John and I loaded up the car. These are the gems of running a small business.
I am grateful for our friends, our customers, for family, and for the opportunity to work at this, and to not sometimes. Goodbye 2022. You tried to get us this year, but we were lifted up by countless letters of encouragement, the forces of small businesses coming together, the testimonials of our customers, and by our growing community of parents who want to do more with less.
-Eugenia, Founder of Hugomat
