they have only grown since I had my son. However, my priorities certainly have shifted. My family comes first. I no longer have the capacity to pull an all-nighter to hit a deadline or work all weekend on a new collection. I am forced, in a good way, to delegate and use my time at the office much more wisely in order to have as much time as possible with my family. My hope, and I think it is true, is that the business wouldn’t be affected by the changes in my personal life. It just forced me to work in a different way in order to keep the business growing at the same pace. Being self-made means committing to self-care, too. How do you fuel and refresh yourself when shit really starts to get hard?
I love alone time and small breaks to refresh. Sometimes I just need to step back from what I am doing, and it can be as simple as a glass of wine and an episode of Seinfeld to make me laugh that does the trick — anything that removes me from the situation. I find that I work better when I continually make sure to take lots of small mental breaks rather than burning out and trying to make up for it later.
Oh, I love Martha. That is a huge compliment whoever said that. I didn’t think it would get this big, but I always dreamed it would, if that makes sense. I would say yes to both being very ambitious but also continually being surprised by Rifle’s growth. Every time I walk into our warehouse buzzing with over 100 employees it shocks me, and I am floored by what we have built.
Did you have any idea when you started Rifle that it would grow this big? You’ve been compared to Martha Stewart. Were you always ambitious? Or have you been surprised by Rifle’s success?
What’s your Self-Made Mantra for other women, no matter where they are in the process? Work harder than everyone else around you.”
