New Year, New Sofa! 2018 Updates

Happy New Year! We are heading into almost one year since we communicated last before our big Grand Opening event. It is so hard to believe that an entire year has passed since we moved into our new building. I wanted to reflect on this past year with all of you in an attempt to re-connect and open my heart.

This past year brought so many wonderful moments for my family. Considering the work-life balance that is so very hard to attain in our busy Silicon Valley lives I think we did a pretty great job. The kids are like little mini-adults now. They both started dancing and exploring talents and improved academically. We successfully had corrective surgery for Isaiah’s eye deviations and he got braces so symbolically it was a year to straighten things up and align ourselves in what matters most.

However, on the business end from the first of the year, I felt like things were going to be challenging. There was pure silence in January something I am definitely not used to and the year just yo-yo'd from then on. We had spurts of busy then spurts of silence all year long. I have never felt so on the edge of my chair and there were full days that I trembled at the thought of how we would make it through. Keeping your grace, smiling and maintaining faith in these moments isn’t the easiest of tasks but this year showed me that I could and I survived with the support of my family, mentors and friends. I had to dig deeper within because blaming me is what I tend to do. I am aware that I can’t blame the economy, the world around me, my team (although time and time again I would look around and feel the anxiety in my clients and people around me and think wow what is happening). I continually would ask myself what am I doing wrong and doubt as we know it begins to taint the spirit. As a leader of families worry and doubt are not qualities that you want to carry so shaking it off is what I did.

This past year taught me the importance of focusing on what I could control and letting go of what I couldn’t as a business owner and as a mom. Owning a company humbles you, builds resilience like no other and teaches you that overall our responsibilities are greater than the product or service we provide. It’s a destiny calling that we are meant to fulfill with purpose, precision and influence. I have chosen not to be a slave of these situations in 2018 to pull myself aside and continue to offer our clients the quality, service and consistency that they come for at Aby’s Upholstery.

January 2018 feels like a breath of fresh air. The phones are ringing; the workshop is full, we have a happy, healthy and re-energized team as a whole and clients who are hopeful and focusing on what’s most important. A mentor once told me that my business would always reflect who I am as a person and I have never taken that lightly…this year is going to be an amazing year I can feel it!