Pursuit 365 Day 286: Lee Hawn

Lee is a Creativepreneur that left the corporate world to pursue her dream of opening her own store.

If you could give your past self some advice, what would it be?

If I could go back, there are so many things I would tell my younger self. Most importantly I would tell her to be confident and that she is good enough and deserves all good things….and anyone telling her any differently is just an a#%hole. I would tell her to smile more and worry less and to always surround herself with positive people. I would tell her to not judge herself in comparison to others. “A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms” (quote from Zen Shin). I would tell her that you can’t change anyone and to just keep swimming.

Do you have a mantra, you live by?

The mantra or phrase I live by:

There will be storms, child

There will be storms

And with each tempest

You will seem to stand alone

Against cruel winds

But with time, the rage and fury shall subside

And when the sky clears

You will find yourself

Clinging to someone

You would have never known

But for storms

– Marge DeMerell

What is the favourite thing you do in your career?

I have spent the last four years building my business from just myself running the store, to a staff of five. I am able to step away from the day-to-day activities and focus on strategy and growing the business. This is the part I enjoy the most as I still get to use a lot of my creative side. It also challenges me and keeps me learning new skills. Most importantly, I have a flexible schedule, so I am able to create a great balance between work and family.

When first started career, how know ready and what made you start?

I spent 20 years in the Human Resources Corporate world and a lot changed during that time frame. The things I use to love about Human Resources had faded away, and the focus was a lot more on compliance. I was not enjoying it at all, and I would wake up every morning dreading going to work. I knew something had to change. Life is too short to be spent miserable. So with the support of my husband, I started working part-time in my basement on creative projects and soon after took the leap of starting my own store front. It has been four years not that I have had a brick and mortar and I wouldn’t change a thing.