Self-Made

4How to get startedLaunching and building your brand

From idea to launch, it took just over three months for Shhh Silk to be born into the world. I know what you're thinking: how on earth did you build and launch an entire brand in just three months? I had never built a product-based business before, so I had no idea what the benchmark was.

If you are currently working in a job and have a desire to start your own business or leave your job and go all in, there are some important things you need to consider first. In this chapter, I am going to share with you what I did when I started Shhh Silk. But, I will also say, it's not how I would do it today. If you can build your own business with someone else's money (by keeping your job and having a secure income), it will make the early stages more financially manageable and less stressful. If you can make it work, you should try to hold onto your current income as long as possible.

LIFE LESSON 6Ask yourself how you will pay yourself

It was May 2015 when I jumped from being a full-time employee to a startup founder. I had nothing lined up, no plan and no clue what business I would create next. I had $53 000 in my savings account, and I was about to embark on the trip of a lifetime with my husband at the time and his family to America for five weeks. This trip was a random act of kindness, so generously gifted to us by my ex-husband's parents as a celebration of their hard work, dedication and the success they had both achieved ...