Meet Toni Schulze

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Toni Schulze. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Toni below.

Toni, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

One of the reasons I love what I do is the fact that the sky is the limit with product formulation and creation. I have the creative freedom to do pretty much anything I want which is amazing, but when I am in a creative slump it definitely hurts my production. I no longer work a 9 to 5 and do this on the side, so when I am blocked I now have to find ways to find inspiration. The first thing I will do when this happens is to completely walk away from the specific thing I was trying to work on. Giving myself some space from a specific area of what I do, let’s say for example soap making, really does the trick most of the time. Depending on how blocked I am I may take a day off from it or even a few days and just work on other things that need attention. When that doesn’t work, I will start to look at new products and new techniques from suppliers and influencers that I follow in the industry. For the most part by this time I am able to jump back in and get my hands dirty, but on occasion if I am still blocked after taking those steps I will then try and find inspiration doing things I love. This could be anything from watching cooking and baking shows, checking out the latest makeup trends or even just driving to go treat myself to a fancy coffee while listening to my favorite music. I think the biggest thing is to not try and force it because when you do it tends to be counterproductive and so much time tends to gets wasted.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I handcraft bath, body and aromatherapy products that are vegan, cruelty-free, palm free, small batch and made with high quality earth conscious and organic ingredients. What I have done is essentially taken the idea that natural bath and body care is boring and brought life to it with my vibrant, colorful and edgy branding. With a passion for skincare for many years as an Esthetician and my educational background in science, I am able to bring my experience and knowledge when creating products and then put my artistic touch on it. I am fueled by amazing customer feedback and it excites and motivates me every day to continue to create the best products that I can.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I am very easily distracted and lose focus easily when working on something, so what I must do every single day is time management. The night before I list out what all needs to be completed and the I make myself a schedule for the next day. I always try to keep myself on task and make sure to stick to the schedule so I am not sidetracked. Being able to manage your time is the #1 skill I feel is the most important in running a small business. Being able to adapt and embrace a variety of functions is second on the list. You absolutely must possess the versatility quality because as a small business owner you will wear so many hats and do things you didn’t even know would be needed. There is no saying no to a task when you are the only one getting things completed! Patience is a very real quality you must have as well. Patience with yourself and giving yourself some slack when you are learning new things. Patience with your progress, because it will not happen over night. Patience with friends and family, not everyone you think will root for you so just go with it and find what motivates you and focus on that every moment. Areas of knowledge for what I do can easily be learned through thousands of online videos, tutorials and so many books out there. You must have the discipline to read, absorb and test batch everything and follow standard protocols for safety and sanitation in order to really thrive with product formulation. I was lucky to have a great background in Esthetics, so I understand the skin and its needs. I also understand the biology the science behind formulation as well, having done both undergraduate and graduate studies in science. For those early in your journey, use your past experience in work or school and pair that with the knowledge you gain when you research the specific area you are wanting to build on and that will set you apart from others in the same industry.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Feeling overwhelmed is a daily struggle for me and for most small business owners. We sometimes forget that self care is so important, both physically and mentally. The minute you feel overwhelmed you need to slow down and reset. This is so important because just like a creative block, if you are feeling suffocated because you are so overwhelmed it can be counterproductive. There are so many little things you can do to prevent feeling overwhelmed all the time, for example, being realistic with yourself. Knowing your limitations and knowing you can’t do everything all at once and making sure to set realistic goals for yourself. Keeping yourself on a set schedule so there are fewer surprises will also help a great deal. Taking a small break from a task/tasks that are contributing to that feeling and replacing it with something you enjoy can also help immensely. Allowing yourself to focus on something else for a bit will help to clear the head and then you can get back to whatever you were working on with a different mindset and that could make all the difference. I think the most important thing to know is that you will get overwhelmed, so anticipate it all the time and stay focused and on task with the goals set and it shouldn’t occur as frequently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bluebirdbathboutique.com
• Instagram: @bluebird_bath_boutique
• Facebook: @2020bluebird
• Other: Tik Tok = @bluebirdbathboutique