🎈Intruducing small business owners who love what they do & create meaningful work
How can we create purposeful businesses, but not lose our identities within work? Georgi moved from England to Serbia together with her partner and opened an online holistic shop and health hub, Planet Kind. We chatted about 4-day work weeks, meeting like-minded strangers and lessons from a life of a small business owner...
1. Imagine that we are both 7 years old and we just met on the playground. Can you describe to me Planet Kind as something you want to be when you grow up…
When I grow up, I want to have a company that works with people to make the planet better in every way possible for us, for animals and for nature.
2. What does your work-week look like?
At the moment there's no set routine, but in future I want us to be a four day week company. More and more people are talking about the benefits of rest and how it makes you more productive and more efficient. And Friday is anyway kind of a relaxing day where we are already thinking about the weekend :)
Jokes aside, I feel that the work has completely consumed our identities and we don't have that home life balance anymore.
And on the other hand, we’ve gotten to the point where we can automate more than ever and we don't need five working days. I would like to make the work-time more efficient and separate it from the time which is to be spent with family (and have a life).
3. As a small business owner, you are wearing lots of hats. Which one comes most natural?
The creative hat. Anything from taking pictures, to designing the logo, to figuring out what products our consumers might want. With creativity the options are endless, ideas pop up in my head spontaneously and I really come alive.
4. Is there a mistake you did and how do you see it now?
One of my recent lessons is to connect with as many people as possible on the journey of whatever you are doing. You can't do it all yourself and it’s impossible to know everything. When you connect with people, talk, and get advice, you start to see the patterns and the overall picture.
It’s also about not being afraid to ask for help because there's an idea that if I'm asking for help, I'm obviously not doing something right. Or I am ashamed to ask for help. Personally, I feel that I don't want to bother people with too many questions. But I don't want to be afraid of that. Instead, I want to get out there and, and ask those questions.
There is something about having shared experiences that makes you feel less alone. It’s encouraging to know that someone else is going through the same thing and that you can bounce ideas back and forth.
It’s even cathartic to share those experiences with people who've lived through the same thing and this is why it feels so good.
5. What was your favourite game when you were a kid?
I enjoyed this English sport called netball. But really anything that involved team sports.
6. What is Planet kind teaching you right now?
So many things and so many things at once. Mostly it’s about finding the balance between work and rest and being more practical in my approach to business. When I was growing up, I wasn't very organized, but I've gotten very pragmatic since we’ve opened Planet Kind.
Another thing which I've noticed is finding the time to rest. I didn't think this would be my topic because I prioritize self-care. But as an entrepreneur, you can get into a wheel of overwhelm and constantly doing something. So I need to remind myself to keep that balance between rest and work.
7. What is one kind thing that we can do for the planet right now?
Singling one thing is hard because our company is holistic. But with the last couple of years we had, stress and anxiety have reached their pinnacle.
One kind thing we can do, is to start looking after our mental health.
How can we change and improve society or the planet, if we don’t look after ourselves? If we are running on an empty tank, we are not going to go very fast. So for me personally, it can be meditation or journaling. It can also be going to therapy, spending time with loved ones or anything else that you consider good for your mental health. Just start taking it seriously and incorporate it into your day to day life.
P.S. Find Planet Kind on Instagram here.
P.S.S. If you want to connect and work with like-minded strangers, the next Playground starts April 12th. What's that?
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