Hi everyone, Tiffany here!

Nine years ago, I started what would become taudrey, LLC from my bedroom. I’ve come a long way since the days of hammering pieces atop notebooks and losing beads on my carpeted floor. And I’ve learned a few things along my gold-filled journey.  

And so, as taudrey turns 9, and I beam with happiness and pride, I’m sharing 9 business tips/ nuggets of knowledge I hope will help other entrepreneurs currently working on turning passions into paychecks!

FALL IN LOVE

You have to LOVE what you do. Like, you have to want to marry it and spend the rest of your life with it. If you don’t, well then, what’s the point? Life’s too short to do something every day that you’re not absolutely in love with. And if you want to be successful, you’re going to have to put forth effort every single day! 

When you do love your profession, the hard work comes easy. Better yet, it doesn’t feel like work! That’s the beauty of passion-driven actions. My goal was always to create my own business world that I’d want to revel in. Nine years deep into taudrey, I keep a framed poster in our showroom that reads “make your passion your paycheck.” It's a decorative reminder of what I’ve done and what I hope to continue to do.   

STARS SHINE BRIGHTER TOGETHER

You can’t do it alone. And honestly, who would want to? Success is sooo much better shared. It’s crazy important to build a team around you that you love and trust. Each person on your team should understand your passion and be in line with the company’s vision. Someone can be amazing and sweet and smart, but still wrong for your company if they don't understand and appreciate the business goals and culture.

And once you have the right stars around you, take time to get to know them and learn how you can help them shine. This will help everyone, and the company, shine a bit brighter.

At taudrey, we work really close together (literally, our showroom isn’t very big!) so for me, it’s important that we feel like family. I’m thankful to say that we do. Yes, we sometimes disagree and get on each other’s nerves. But do we love and work crazy hard for one another? Yup. It’s pretty awesome.

YOUR GUT IS GOLD

In life and in business, I’ve always trusted my gut. I feel this is extremely important in business when it comes to making growth-based decisions. You see, unfortunately, no one is going to tell you when it's the right time for a new employee or new space. There’s no perfect checklist you can follow to rid your decisions of risk. But geez, that would be awesome! You just have to trust your gut and listen to your intuition. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. But if it does feel right, no matter how scary, take the plunge!

PERFECTION IS BS

OK, I love social media as much as anyone. I owe a lot of taudrey’s growth to it. But perfect pictures can do a number on the mind! Social media can make it seem like every business is doing well, better than yours. I do feel it’s important to stay in the know and be aware of competitors, but don’t allow perfect displays to discourage your own work.

And if we’re talking perfection, I always express to my team that while flawless is surely something to aim towards, it’s far better to keep going than to wait forever for one thing to be perfect. Business is about the journey. Not about perfection. Just do it, whether it’s editing a picture, posting a blog or launching a collection. Get it done! Do your best and always keep improving. Now that’s perfection!

STAY IN LOVE!

Being an entrepreneur is a rollercoaster. But you can’t get off the ride. Even when that ride makes you throw up your lunch and cry until you have mascara everywhere. Don’t give up when things aren’t working. Try a different idea or approach, but don’t cave! Failure is just part of the fun. It makes us grow, makes us better and most importantly, keeps us humble and gives us a laugh…eventually!

Also, stay committed and be consistent with your efforts and offerings, and that includes your branding! In my opinion, commitment and consistency is what sets companies apart.

MIX IT UP

OK, as an entrepreneur and now new mom, I’ve learned that perfect work-life balance is as attainable as a gold-filled unicorn. For me, the idea of “work-life balance” doesn’t work as well as the idea of “work-life integration.” I love a good podcast and Tony Robbins taught me this one!

As a business owner, I’m really never not working. But when I can integrate my work life and my personal life, all facets run smoother. Ok, this also goes back to loving your work. When you do, bringing it into your personal world doesn’t seem taboo. For me, work-life integration means bringing my baby to work on certain days, and taking personal calls while in the office. But it also means sitting on a conference call from home while my baby sleeps on my chest, and answering emails poolside while on vacation. This may not work for all, but for me, blurred lines are best. Because when I try to build walls between my two worlds, I usually end up hitting them.   

KNOW YOUR AWESOMENESS

I think it's so important to feel good about yourself and your business. Confidence will help you defend your work when needed. If you’re confident with your product, you will comfortably be able to stand by your pricing and any criticism that comes your way. Also, confidence means taking critiques with grace! 

At taudrey, while a small company, we’re very confident in our product and work. I feel that the certainty we have results in respect from both customers and partnering businesses.

DETAILS ARE PRETTY

In our world, details are everything. And at taudrey, we handle each and every detail with the same level of care. Whether it’s our handcrafted jewelry or hand-stamped taudrey pouches, or how we wrap a gift, sign a card or even answer a customer service email, we pay attention to details. We understand that there are a million places to shop and we value those who choose to share their shopping experiences with us. Details make the difference. They are what people remember, and honestly, putting effort into details at taudrey is one of my favorite parts of the business.

HAVE FUN

This one might be the most important. Make it fun. Have fun. Ok, not all day. But if you go a full day at work without even a giggle, something is wrong! At taudrey, trust me, it’s not all puppies and confetti and cupcakes. We work very, very hard. We sweat, stress and at times, cry. But even on the worst days, we smile. During the holiday season, when even 18-hour days don’t seem like enough to catch up, we take moments throughout the day to breathe, stretch and even dance. In my book, if we’re going to work this hard and this much, it better be fun!