What It's Like Being An Entrepreneur!

Hey, y'all, it's Hannah Slater, your host of Girl Chat! Welcome to another Girl Chat blog! Today, we are going to talk about what it is like to be a young entrepreneur, especially an entrepreneur in a tourist town. What inspired me to pursue this topic was that my small business, Silver Star Market, was named Small Business of The Year in Hayward. That is such an incredible honor, and I am so thankful for that, and I do not take that lightly. I am surprised I wrote that without getting teary-eyed. I am really honored that SSM was awarded Small Business of The Year.

I have been a business owner for over two years, so I have some experience, but not a lot. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, so I have had an entrepreneurial spirit since I was young and witnessed my parents run successful businesses. I have learned from them a lot, and I continue to learn from them. They are vital people in my life who always support me and are always willing to answer all of my questions. They also help guide me on those decisions to become successful.

I love being an entrepreneur. It is who I am to the core. Silver Star Market is everything that I love. Being an entrepreneur is incredible and something I am proud of. It is hard; it comes with many challenges, several decisions, and a ton of risk. Being an entrepreneur is more than just an 8-5; I work a lot and love what I do. I enjoy all parts of what I do: making fresh flower arrangements, sourcing for new brands/items/, flipping the store, and pricing new inventory; I love it all. I always say I am so lucky because it doesn't feel like I am at work; I truly love what I do.

One of the first things I learned was that no matter what, you will not make everyone happy. That was challenging to learn and understand. The goal is to make everyone happy, but realistically, you can't make everyone happy. If you know me, you know my style is all over the board. From Glitz and glam to cowgirl girl and everything in between, I like switching up my style and being different. That is exactly what Silver Star is. We have several different clothing items and brands you can't always find in Hayward, WI. I love that part of SSM. In the beginning, especially before people started to realize that my style is a little bit out there, there would be times when customers would come in and say, "Who could wear something like that?" "That is absolutely hideous." "Could you imagine someone wearing that?" and 9 times out of 10, I was wearing that piece of clothing. And there are still times when this happens; I don't take it to heart anymore. It was hard to overcome that and learn that, although it's my style and I love it, it might not be someone else, but what is so special about SSM is that my style is so different; we have a wide variety of options, like staples and essential pieces, everyday pieces, going-out outfits, sequin pants, we have a little bit of everything. We are a one-stop shop!

Risk:

Being an entrepreneur—starting your own business—is risky, and that risk never goes away. There are always so many uncertainties, especially in a tourist town. You don't know what is going to happen. During the winter months, we rely on the weather; if we get a lot of snow, the trails are open, and you can go ice fishing and snowmobiling. But if we don't have snow, then the trails are closed, and the lakes aren't open for ice fishing. So, honestly, it is terrifying in the winter season and what that brings. We are grateful that we have a Christmas Season. I love our Christmas store flips; they are always magical and fun. So, we get to bring people in that way and elevate the Christmas experience. But that also carries many risks because you are ordering a high volume of product and hoping to sell it during the "slower" season, not really knowing what the holiday season or the winter will look like. There is a lot of risk! Sometimes, I think the risks can be fun, but other times, the risks are really scary. Sometimes I think, Oh man, what did I do? Did I just put SSM in jeopardy, or is this going to be super successful? One of the risks we just took is our head table. When you walk into SSM, the head table is pink, purple, glitz, and glam instead of a traditional Christmas. I said people will love or hate this because it is not your traditional Christmas colors. However, this risk was worth it; I never want to be what everyone else in Hayward is. I pride myself on being different, having unique items, and staying true to my identity. I am not a traditional girly for Christmas; I am pink Christmas at my house. I just wanted to be different, which was a significant risk. So far, there have been several excellent comments, and people enjoy that SSM is different. So the risk was worth it!

Unpredictable:

There are many wins and many losses, especially in our personal and daily lives, and people often see the wins more. It is scary to be vulnerable and show when something doesn't go the way we want it to. There are so many unpredictable things. We can try and predict, but it's not a guarantee. Let's say last year we sold 200 floral arrangements for Christmas; I don't know how many we sold, but let's say 200. We can plan and prepare to make and sell more this year, but we can't predict what the holiday season will bring. We don't know what the traffic flow will be, and we don't know what the weather will do; we don't know.

Creativity:

One of my favorite things about being an entrepreneur is the creative process! This is a huge part of my day-to-day life, from marketing to Fashion Fix Friday and social media; my mom, aunt, and I make all our fresh floral arrangements, and my mom and I do all our store flips and floor designs. Thankfully, I get to be extremely creative every day, which I enjoy. I used to dance for 22 years, so most of my life. Through dance, I got to be creative and use dance to express myself, and now I get to be creative differently, like putting floral arrangements together. I am so grateful for the creative freedom I get to have.

Now, let's talk about some of the not-so-great things about being an entrepreneur.

I already touched on this one a bit: You can't please everyone. Some people absolutely love SSM, and some people don't like it.

A topic that I know many don't like, but it works for us. We have a no-return or exchange policy. To be honest, we turn over inventory so quickly that it would be tough to offer exchanges. I hardly ever re-order the same product twice; I like diversity and being different and always want to be fresh. We have had a no-return policy since we opened our doors, and it works best for us. I have taken a lot of heat for this decision. In our first year, there were a lot of opinionated, passionate people about our return policy. I hear you, I understand what you are saying, and I respect your opinions, but this is what works best for SSM.

Before people started to get to know me, SSM, and sometimes now, with our tourists, some people cannot believe that SSM is my business or that I am an entrepreneur. Before we opened our doors, there were times when I had to get something ordered so we could open, and people wouldn't make eye contact with me or even answer my questions. Maybe it is because I am young; maybe it is because I am a girl. I don't know. Just because I am young and because I am a girl does not make me less qualified for the job. We are currently working on a big project. We had a meeting, and my mom and dad were with me. The gentlemen didn't make eye contact and didn't answer my questions. So it is interesting, and again, I wonder if it is because I am young or if it is because I am a girl; I am not sure.

For the longest time, I was embarrassed to be an entrepreneur; I only started to realize that when we were nominated for Small Business of the Year. I started reflecting on the last two years and what they have been like. When we were awarded Small Business of The Year, it sunk into me that I was embarrassed, and I started to process the fact that I had been so ashamed about being an entrepreneur for a long time. These last couple of months, I have bought into SSM; it's everything I pride myself on. SSM is everything that I love. I love what I do and am grateful I get to do what I do daily. That was such a major game changer: buying into who you are, owning who you are, owning what you do, and being proud of who you are and what you do. It was a game changer when I started to connect all of those dots. This past summer, my mom, dad, and I went over some things about SSM, and my mom asked, "What do you think the difference is between this summer and last summer?" I said the way I present myself. She and my dad just looked at each other; "you believe in what you are doing now, in what you are selling, in SSM, in SSM goals, and what SSM stands for because it's who you are." and I said you are absolutely right, for a long time I was embarrassed, I didn't believe in what I was doing, I didn't believe in what I was offering and I didn't believe in what I was putting out into the world. In April, I went through a lot; maybe we will talk about that in a different blog; there was a lot that happened for me to get to this point; there was much growth that I had to do, and many situations that I went through to overcome. Once I went through all that, I reflected on who I am and that I love being an entrepreneur, and I should have never been ashamed of that. That was a game-changer. I fell in love with what I do and what I provide, and I believe in that. Now, I receive some of the best compliments that I NEVER got before until recently, such as "You look like the owner" and "Is this your store? I can tell by how you are dressed, I can tell by how you carry yourself" this one gives me goosebumps, I am so honored that people say this "it looks like your store" I NEVER received those kinds of compliments until recently when I started to believe in myself. That has been such an incredible experience.

The first year is hard, and year two is hard. I went through it being hard on top of many other personal challenges that just made years one and two way harder than they should have been. That is a lot for one person to go through mentally and emotionally.

Being an entrepreneur is worth the risk. I know I've said it a lot, but I love what I do; I love being an entrepreneur. This is the most incredible job, and I am so blessed that I get to have flexibility, freedom, and creativity and that I get to make a difference not only in my community but nationwide as well. I am so proud of my team, what we do, and our mission.

When it's hard, it's worth it. So, if you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, go for it. I am here for you, and if you have any questions, I can answer them. If you are considering it, go for it. It is worth the risk and so rewarding.

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XOXO,

Hannah Slater

Almost my entire team missing my little brother, Cael