For all of the women & men out there holding back from a dream ............

I'm Bec the queen behind Sugar Boo (Custom Cake Toppers). I'm a mum of 3. I'm a partner, a daughter, a friend and I'm just like YOU! Every decision I've made in adult years has brought me to where I am today, the good, the bad and everything in between. Early on in my career when I was a trainee a respected senior employee of the company I worked for suggested I take over marketing & advertising design which I was extremely reluctant to do. It took him a few months to talk me around but he did and I found my niche. He saw potential in me that at the time being young & lacking confidence I couldn't see. I had a successful career within the Automotive Industry over 10 years working alongside the largest Automotive Dealerships and Spare Parts Business in the country but I've always had a fire burning inside me, the entrepreneurial spirit. In June 2015 I started maternity leave from my full time role, when the time came for me to head back to work I couldn't bring myself to go back full time, after lengthy discussions with my employer about returning part time we couldn't come to an agreement. This was the turning point for me, I loved the Automotive Industry and my job but it was time for me to try something new for myself. Brainstorming started, what am I good at? What can I do from home? How can I make enough money to contribute to my families income? I purchased a machine I knew nothing about in December 2015 and over a period of a month taught myself how to use it, maintain it, run the software and designed a few personalised gift type items. I opened an Etsy store and worked from the kitchen table with my 6 month old son crawling around. It took me a good 6 months to find my feet in the market of personalised items, I tried all sorts of different things but eventually decided that personalised Cake Decorations were my market. (My mum is a pastry chef, I grew up around cakes, it was the natural choice for me) Sugar Boo has just turned 2 years old. I have over 1000 items listed on Etsy & my own website, I've shipped items that I've made from scratch to Bermuda, Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, United States and of course Australia. My business is in the Top 100 Etsy sellers in Australia and The Top 2000 in the World out of 1.9 million sellers and a trending store for January 2018 having increased my sales by 50% on last month. Sugar Boo is well & truly surpassing all of my expectations and I'm so proud of myself for getting this far, but it hasn't been an easy road. I've invested in machinery that couldn't handle the work load, I've had weeks where I've had to close both of my online stores down as machines had broken down and I've had to wait on parts to repair them. I've invested money and time into trade stalls that ended up being a financial loss. So many times I've cried, I've sworn, I've been so frustrated I could just give up, throw in the towel and go back to the 9-5. BUT i didn't I kept going! I worked 7 days a week building my business up in the first year, sometimes 5am starts just to get orders out the door, making new designs, finding ways to market my business. I have found a work life balance in the past year and only work 5 days a week now for my own wellbeing and that of my family, but getting a weekend worth of orders out on a Monday is tough slog believe me! Here I am today 2 years on, with an ever growing successful home based business, I'm not only contributing to my family financially, I'm home with my children teaching them to never give up, work hard and you will reap the rewards. If it wasn't for that old colleague seeing something in me that I didn't, or that boss that wouldn't be flexible after maternity leave who knows what I'd be doing now, but I'm sure I wouldn't be where I am now, so I'm thankful for every little decision & person that has brought me here and the friends & family that have supported me as I grow personally alongside my business over the last 2 years. If I can give advice to other women or men waiting for their moment to shine, brainstorm! What are YOU great at? Can it make you money? Once you work that out go for it! Take the leap of faith, work hard and don't give up on your dreams. xx Becky Boo xx