We recently connected with Amanda Vargus and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amanda, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
Being an entrepreneur, you experience a ton of outside noise, distractions and a never-ending to-do list. The practice of self-care is not only recommended, but essential if you want to be able to focus your time effectively, operate at high productivity and commit every day to your work despite challenges and curveballs. It’s also easy to let your self-care practice slip further down the priority list as we stack our calendars or have issues that must be dealt with.
For me, a solid self-care practice really begins the night prior. I’m not the best about shutting off screens early and tend to bring both my phone and laptop to bed and work. However, I always try to be asleep by 11pm as it provides the valued rest I need to perform at my best.
I typically wake up early and carve out “me time”. Some days this is meditating and other days I take an early spin class. This helps to clear my mind before taking on the day’s to-do list. I find meditating the time I can best self-reflect, look inward and slow down. And consistent exercise and movement not only grounds me in the present moment but reminds me how we can build our “muscles”. Beyond physically, it teaches you mind-body connection and that you can commit to doing hard things. You learn those feelings of being uncomfortable do pass and you build stamina, which you can then take with you into the mental and emotional game of life and business.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Yes! I spent almost twenty years in the corporate world of digital media before getting into fashion. My background has helped me better understand the importance of a strong personal brand expressed through style and how this can impact success both personally and professionally. After working at the largest luxury resale company in the US, I founded Wave + Woven to deliver exceptional personal styling experiences and a 360 approach to shopping and getting dressed. We cultivate more wearable, inspiring wardrobes and give you back the time you used to spend scrolling aimlessly online, stress shopping and rifling through outfits in the morning.
My styling, editorial work and trend forecasting can be found in USA Today, Yahoo!, GLAM Weekly, and REAL SIMPLE. I always dreamed of being.a fashion contributor and now write a quarterly style column for two magazines as well. But my biggest accomplishment is being a mom to my seven year old son.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Consistency: there are so many tasks as a start-up business owner that you may not realize are part of the job when you first set out on the venture of entrepreneurship. Most aspects of running a business at the beginning can become monotonous and mundane at times. You have to cultivate the mastery of consistent action. Each day you are adding drops into the bucket so that you eventually fill the bucket. You must lay the foundation behind the scenes doing the essential tasks and operations so that one day you will be able to hire people to manage these and you’re able to dedicate your time to how you please. Consistent action will help you win.
Patience & Positivity: Try as best as you can to find joy along the journey. Building a business is playing the long game. Setting up systems, the right team and the perfect offers for your ideal client doesn’t usually happen in six months. There is a lot of learning and growth that occurs along the way, because we are often pushing ourselves and experiencing circumstances we’ve never dealt with before. As a perfectionist this has been difficult for me at times too, but I try to give myself grace and celebrate the little (and big) wins along the way. Remember the hike up the mountain is just as important as getting to the top.
Resilience: There will be failures and wins, setbacks and comebacks, circumstances out of your control that impact how you run your business and more to deal with. Success comes from how you are able to figure things out, pivot and build up your resiliency to face these challenging times head on. When life throws you something difficult, how quickly can you bounce back from it? Even when things feel heavy, don’t let them weigh you down for too long. Sometimes the obstacles actually present opportunities for redirection and lead you to a new path. Remember why you started and keep going.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed, I often need to take a step back. I reflect and ask myself why I am feeling this way. Is it because I am not organized? Or do I need to take more tasks off my plate. Or maybe I haven’t had a much-needed break. First try to identify the WHY. For me personally, I can get overwhelmed because there is too much happening in my mind. In that instance, it is imperative for me to get them out of my brain and directly onto paper. I don’t have to worry about forgetting it or losing the creative thoughts. From there you can look at which ones are tasks (emails, meetings, etc) versus which ones are ideas (building a new course, writing a new blog). Prioritize based on when things need to get done and importance. Because while it feels like we need to accomplish everything all at once, we all know the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a Day”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://waveandwoven.com/
- Instagram: @waveandwoven
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandavargus/
Image Credits
Mariah Gale Creative
