We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Karly Matzen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Karly, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Growing up, I was fortunate to witness firsthand the remarkable work ethic instilled in me by my parents. They served as shining examples of dedication, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to their responsibilities. I am the youngest of 5 girls within a 10 year age gap. My parents always juggled their professions and raising a family. We grew up helping our parents with their side hustles that they had in order to make extra money and feed their creativity. My mother worked full time as a chef and in her down time made stain glass pieces and painted murals for clients. My father was a truck driver and did woodworking job on the weekend and took apart car engines. This was her way of feeding her passions at the same time and staying within her own creativity. And in turn this started my sisters and my paths in finding ways to keep within our creativity and earn our living. Previously I was a massage therapist, spa director, curator for a non-profit in Lake Tahoe, owner of the Tides Project (a jewelry and textile company, a photographer and an amateur writer. My parents taught me that I did not have to be only one thing, I can do anything. Now that I own Sweet Paper, I plan to one day have my own stationery line from my families artwork.
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?
Here at Sweet Paper we pride ourselves on being a one stop shop for gifts from the San Diego community. We also specialize in Bespoke wedding invitations, save the dates, party invitations, and holiday cards. We will soon be printing our own greeting card and stationery line coming end of 2023.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
There are many things that have help me on my path. One is to never give up and to have the self-discipline to stay focused, motivated, and committed to my goals has been instrumental in achieving the milestones I have set for myself. I also am a forever student of continuous learning, whether that be a new software program or reading a book, this all drives the thirst for knowledge and the commitment to lifelong learning that has been transformative for me. My last advice will be to harness the skill of effective communication. You have to know what you want and how to convey that to others. You have to have your voice within yourself and your community. This comes from actively listening, expressing myself articulately, and adapting my communication style to different audiences, I have been able to connect authentically, resolve conflicts, and inspire others. Effective communication opens doors to opportunities, facilitates teamwork, and enables the sharing of knowledge and ideas.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Whenever I feel overwhelmed I always make a list of what I need to do and what I do not need to do. I then delegate the things I do not personally need to do and remove those things off my plate. I then unplug, whether that be for a few hours or a few days, it helps me to go back to those tasks when I am more balanced. This has helped me not burn out from all the things I have had on my plate over the years. I believe that everyone needs work life balance.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sweet-paper.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetpaper and https://www.instagram.com/sweetpaperweddings
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetpaperlj/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karly-matzen-53988b90/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-paper-san-diego
- Other: Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/sweet_paper/
