We recently connected with Elizabeth Scalzo and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Elizabeth, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
This question is something that hits very deeply for me as a business owner. I am a sole proprietor, which makes balance that much more difficult. The task list for your business seems endless and there’s no one else to do it but you. I also started my business, while I was a full-time college student and very involved on campus. I have become burned out more than once and it’s crazy to say this, but at that point I had to just stop. The worst burnout I experienced I actually ended up taking a solo trip to New Orleans for five days. I didn’t focus on my business or social media while there, I just took that time to be a 22 year old. As such a young business owner I often feel I have something to prove, which makes me work more than I should, and I become burned out. I often forget I’m only 23 and have accomplished so much because I feel like I’m behind my friends who have business and are 30 or 40. I now take a lot more into consideration when it comes to my mental well being to avoid burnout. Everyday I take at least 10 minutes to do something not business related that brings me joy. I started working out regularly which has helped immensely with my mental health. However, the most important thing I’ve done is set boundaries. I do have to work outside of my open hours of my shop, that is just the facts or product would never get made. I have set a lot of other boundaries though. I have two days off each week and one of those is just for me to do some self-care and focus on me. Another thing is even though I have my phone on me 24/7 I don’t respond to DM’s or emails outside of what i consider my work hours. That means if you message me outside of 11a.m. and 8p.m. you will have to wait until the next day. Same goes for my day off, I don’t respond to emails then either. Boundaries are the most important thing when you’re a business owner.
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?
I went to college in the fall of 2018 pursuing a Bachelor of Art in Communication Studies. Back then I would’ve told you I wanted to be a writer for Vogue or the NYTimes. However, when the pandemic hit during my sophomore year of college that changed everything for me. I was working for my university so I lost that job and the job I had planned for that summer as an assistant director for a musical at my community theatre also fell through. I also was diagnosed with a chronic illness at 15 so going out to get a job during the global pandemic as an essential worker wasn’t an option for me as I am an immunocompromised individual. I needed to make a plan of what was next for me and how I was going to make money. I had always been fascinated by gemstones since I was a kid and after I went to college and met some really amazing people I started incorporating crystals into my daily life and found my way onto a witchcraft path spiritually. Initially though I didn’t sell crystals. That came about six months after I started my business. I had to make due with what I had available to me at the time so I started out upcycling clothing and selling it online. I continued on my business journey and during my senior year of college I got accepted into my first vending event. This was in September of 2021. I started vending regularly as I finished out my degree and worked on campus as well. When I graduated in May of 2022 the job offers I did have weren’t for what I wanted to do, so I made the leap to pursue my business full-time. Then in October of 2022 I started renovations on an old house that would become my first physical location. My family and I did the majority of work ourselves and I opened my storefront on October 13th 2023. I still continue to do vending events, mostly renaissance faires at this point, sell online, host instagram live sales, and have my storefront. One of the biggest collections I release every year is my pride collection where a portion of all profits get donated to The Trevor Project which helps at risk LGBTQ+ youth. I’ve also started teaching tons of classes at my shop and hosting a book club to help build a community of witchy people.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Perseverance, time management, and consistency. I would have nothing but a dream of a business if it wasn’t for these three qualities. Something I tell anyone who comes to me for advice on their business journey is that it will be the hardest thing you ever do, but also the most rewarding thing you ever do. The reality is you trade a typical 9-5, 40 hour work week, for a 24/7 type of job. You have to come to that realization before you pursue a business in any capacity, it is going to be hard and you’re going to question if you are on the right path, but you have to trust the process and know there will be ups and downs with any business, it’s not just you. Many of my vending friends from markets know this about me, but sometimes you just need five minutes to absolutely lose your cool and cry when you have a rough event and that is completely okay. The important thing is that you pick yourself back up and persevere through the rest of the day. I also want to say to not be so hard on yourself. We are only human and not every event you go to is going to be amazing. Sometimes you’ll barely make your vending fee back, that doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong, it just means that event wasn’t for you. To speak on time management a little I never create a to-do list and here’s why. As a business owner your to-do list will be endless. It is better to create a tasks list. Have the most important things under must do, then have a section for “would like to do” these are tasks that you hope to get done, but if you don’t it’s not the end of the world. Then your last section should be “needs done at some point” meaning these tasks can be done at any given time when you have a free moment. It will make tackling things seem a lot less scary.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
As a business owner you’re going to get overwhelmed, but I have developed some ways to deal with it. I think it’s very important to find the people you can talk shop with. Sure you can express your stress to your friends or family members, but at the end of the day if they don’t own a business, they’ll never be able to fully understand where you are coming from. Whether you build a community online of small business friends or are like me and have vending friends these are the people that will help you get through those tough times when you’re overwhelmed. Talking things out with someone who gets it is sometimes all you need because they usually can offer solutions that others in your life may not even consider. My vending friends have become some of the people I hold closest to me. I have one who I met in 2022 and we check in on each other even in the off season for faires and don’t just talk shop anymore, but are also there when we need to talk shop. I truly believe community as a small business owner is the biggest thing you need to be able to overcome anything and not constantly get overwhelmed because we’ve all been there and those people know exactly how to help you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chaoticcrystalchickco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaoticcrystalchickco/
Image Credits
Elizabeth Scalzo
