Building a Company: Weekly Reflections

lilia karimi
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

I want to hold myself accountable to writing on this platform, but even doing a weekly reflection can seem difficult as an entrepreneur.

Before writing this, I had thoughts like: What did I even accomplish this week? Was I productive? Do I have anything to share?

The reason I am writing is because I wish other female-founders wrote weekly what they did. I would learn SO much. And also, I want to remember my journey and stay present by doing a mental reflection.

Building a company is vulnerable, and so many times we stay quiet about what we’re doing.

If I’m not inspired, it’s hard for me to write. But today I’m forcing myself to do some reflections bullet-style so I can reflect, then go out to dinner!

Weekly Progress:

  • We are almost ready to launch our Minimal Viable Product of the new booking platform for wedwell. We’re building an easy way to connect individuals to alternative wellness providers, and so far we have almost 15 providers signed up on our site (!!!). Starting next week, I’ll be pushing the product and seeing what traction we get. From there, our plan is to get $ to build out a larger platform.
  • I’m self-publishing a children’s yoga book, and I have finally chosen the illustrator and she is AMAZING!!! I found her on guru.com, and she’s perfect for the project because she also practices yoga, is my same age, and lives in Turkey, and has wonderful illustrations. I cannot wait to see the final sketches which are coming back in a few weeks. I spent hours this week researching marketing your children’s book, book design, and things to do to get the book ready.

Challenges:

  • On a more personal level, this summer I’ve been traveling and staying with family, so I don’t have the same sense of grounded-ness that I had when I was at my apartment. I’ve been working to create little daily rituals to make myself feel more in control of my surroundings.

Lessons for next week:

  • Block out time for my week to be more effective. Sometimes I wake up and have a list of things I need to get through during the day, but moving forward I’m going to block the time in my calendar. As the only full time founder on my startup, I have SO many things I want to be doing at all hours. Next week, I plan to block my calendar and distractions when I’m working on different things (applying to grants, working on social media, running the operation of the business).
  • Keep practicing what I preach. The reason I’m building a wellness company is because I LOVE health and wellness. I can never explain how good it feels to be in tune with your mind and body. This week I went to yoga two days of the week, and did a self-guided practice one day. Even still, that’s not enough for me. Yes, I know that I am extreme — but I am used to either a yoga class/meditation/HIIT workout once/twice a day so it’s key I stick to these rhythms to be the best version of myself. It gives me mental space to relax, and it makes all the difference for my mood and productivity. This week I slacked, next week I’ll be better. Not for my looks — but for how it makes me feel.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow the journey on instagram @lifebylilia . My startups: www.bewedwell.com www.givingbag.com

Written by

wellness entrepreneur. balanced yogi. wife. world traveler.

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