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International Women's Day has brought about a reflection on this woman-owned business, and I think that it's something important to share. When Bee Inspired began, it was my hobby. I was painting with encaustic, a paint that is made with beeswax, and I decided to raise bees for a sustainable art medium.
Quickly, this hobby turned into something else entirely.
Beekeeping started for me as a way to harvest my own wax for my paintings. When I started this venture, I decided to blog about everything I was doing: it was fascinating to me. The blog was named Bee Inspired because I was writing (read: waxing) about the bees, and the bees make wax. It was a nostalgic term that proved to be somewhat challenging to use in future years (people think we do waxing).
In the midst of very creative time in my life, I decided to create a beautiful label to market the bi-product of the fruits of my labor: honey. I never even thought of getting honey from raising bees, all I was aiming for was wax. That might seem like an obvious oversight...bees? Making honey? But when I began harvesting from the hives, I realized just how much honey the bees were making. I quickly changed gears on my approach to this venture.
The Beginnings
When I started up, I was not ready to upstart a business. I knew what level of effort it would take. And, I knew how much it would cost. I honestly passed on quite a few opportunities that seemed to fall out of the sky.
This business just sort of happened to me, but I weighed each opportunity and made my own decision if I was “ready” or not. Sometimes, you just have to make the jump. Sometimes you have to make sure you are ready.
If International Women's Day can teach us anything, it's that we're all capable of doing anything we set our mind to.
We all have certain goals in our lives where we push it off into the "someday" category. You know the category I'm talking about--the one where you think to yourself, "I'll be ready soon, just not yet."
Maybe it's applying for the job you always wanted. Or traveling around the world. Maybe going back to school. Or even giving up your career to paint all day.
Sometimes they are smaller aspirations, but nonetheless important--like applying for a grant, learning a new skill, or training for a marathon.
There are certain goals that we tend to put off until we're "ready." But the funny thing is, in many cases, you're never ready to do them until you've done them. Just like how I was with Bee Inspired.
"Being ready" is funny like that.
Kara Brook Brown
Bits of Wisdom for International Women's Day
As I see it, there have been many women that paved the road before me to allow me to build this company. Thanks to the sacrifices of women before me, I don't feel like I'm limited in what I can do. There were many people in my life who served as strong examples of what being successful really is.
It is my observation that when the right amount of passion, grit, and focus are part of the recipe, success (in all of its variations) is imminent, regardless of gender.
I am aware that this is not a universal case. The success of the few does not mean that women's struggles are over, or that we can neatly sweep ongoing issues under the rug. International Women's Day serves as a reminder of this, showcasing both the victories and current challenges facing women on a global scale.
As a society, we still have a long way to go. But we will get there.
