As January 2021 draws to a close, my mind has turned to celebrating the challenges and wins of 2020 and setting goals for 2021.
Like most businesses in 2020, I was completely affected by the Covid 19 outbreak. I had to close up my main business as a Dental Nurse, as Mr Chibi Chi is on the clinically vulnerable and shielding list. It was an extremely scary time not just from a health point, but from a financial one too. Dental Nursing has been my buffer for a long time, and without that cushion, I didn't know whether we would be able to pay the bills.
Instead of letting my anxiety and fear over-whelm me, I decided to take a proactive approach and do everything possible to boost my Chibi Chi sales. I usually sell a lot of my items for Weddings, and when they ground to a halt, I had to pivot in a big way. Instead of selling cake toppers and gifts for big celebrations, I concentrated more on small letterbox gifts like my pocket hugs, or cards that could be sent with an included gift message.
When the schools fully re-opened in September, I channelled the sense of loss over those final pre-school days into designing beautiful first day of school boards. I knew that Mothers all around the country were feeling exactly as I did, and wanting to take a photo of that big day that would cram as much sentiment into the moment as possible. They were a huge hit and I felt so honoured to have helped create so many wonderful memories.
My biggest business moment of 2021 was having my makeup bags featured in the Cosmo Christmas gift guide. Having an editorial feature is such an amazing opportunity as it means the editor genuinely loved my makeup bag and thought they would be a good fit for Cosmo readers. The featured issue dropped just before my website launch, so it was truly amazing to have my shiny new website address being seen by so many readers.
My biggest take away from 2020 is not being afraid to change things up. If I had not released completely new types of items and reacted to the worldwide changes, I'm not sure my business would have survived the year. I think it's a great thing to remember and one that I am sure I will call upon again in 2021.
Danielle xo