I made it happen

Kristyn sutherland

I MADE IT HAPPEN

When you have kids young, and you look young, and you are young, it can seem like the world just doesn’t want to give you a chance. Kristyn Sutherland well knows that feeling. Kristyn heard from many people that having her first child at age 19 meant she was destined to fail. “I was always put in this weird little category,” she says, “like, ‘This is what you chose – failure – because now you’re going to be limited and poor for the rest of your life. You made this mistake and now you’re going to be stuck in it’.”

Just a statistic

She decided she was not going to let other people’s judgment – that she would “just be another statistic” – determine her future. Those around her made an assessment that her worthiness as a person came from having financial success and a strong career, and, she admits, proving to them that she could make it financially and professionally was the fuel to her fire. And so, making money and being a professional success became her number one goal. “I told myself I was doing it for my kids, so that they could have financial stability and live a good life,” she remembers, “but really, I just had this driving need to prove my worth to the naysayers, to show them that I can make it and be financially independent. I wanted them to see that I am smart and capable can do it all on my own and do it well. The problem was that even though I wants to prove them wrong, I really didn’t value myself or know my own worth.”

She opened a nail salon in her home in 2015 and began work- ing hard. Before long, she found herself working from 8:00 am ‘til 11:00 pm six – sometimes seven – days a week. She had reached the ceiling for business growth. As a solopreneur, she couldn’t make more money because she couldn’t make more time.

So, in 2019, she bought Studio Eleven, a hub of beauty profession- als providing luxury esthetic and beauty services in downtown Red Deer. At 25, her dream of being a business owner was coming true.

But if she thought she’d faced obstacles before, she hadn’t seen anything yet.

Powering Through

She was separating at this time, which meant moving and every- thing else that goes with being a single mom of two. The bank refused to lend to her, telling her there was “too much risk” because of her age, even though she had very strong financials. So, true to form, she poured everything she had into the business and made it happen anyway. She also knocked on every financial institution’s door until someone believed in her and saw her vision.

“It was during this process that I realized something important,” she says. “While I was hitting obstacle after obstacle, taking them all on and making it happen, I found I was still looking for that pat on the back, that ‘good job’. But it didn’t come, or not from the people I was trying to prove myself to. It made no difference to them whether I stayed in my home business, or bought the business, or went and did something else. I was trying to make peo- ple care who didn’t care. They still saw me as a teen mom, someone destined to fail. Those kudos were never going to come from them. Trying to change their view of me was kill- ing me and getting me nowhere.”

The AHA Moment

Kristyn’s aha moment was that she really had made it happen, she really had accomplished a great deal, that she is smart and capable, and she has nothing to prove to anyone except herself. Her age doesn’t matter; she’s not tied to her lot in life; there are no limits except the ones she puts on her- self. And none of that has anything to do with anyone else or the box in which they put her.

So, she bought the business and began the work of setting up a team and her business systems. And then, a few months into her new business, her dad got sick, and actually passed away in the win- ter of 2020. The extra stress and extra respon- sibility during that time was definitely an added challenge, but Kristyn was learning something else: that she didn’t have to do it alone.

Surrounding herself with a strong team that includes a business coach, a financial advisor, a marketing team, her banking team and, most importantly, her strong Studio Eleven team, she walked through the journey of grief and loss.

No More Lone Ranger

“You can’t do it” had lit her fire in the beginning, but it wasn’t a sustainable motive for building a business and a life. “I figured out that I can do it,” she exclaims, “but now I know I don’t need to do it alone, and that, in fact, I really can’t do it alone. When I started believing in myself, other people showed up who believe in me, too.”

And then, the Gift of Covid!

In case powering through all those obstacles and welcoming and adapting with the accompanying learning and growth, all in her first year of business, weren’t enough, Covid-19 hit, and she had to close the shop for three months. Thus came yet another transformative revelation: that she is made for more than work.

In her words: “Suddenly, everything just stopped. I had to grieve it and work through all the emotions. But I also had time to sit and look at how I was living. I was struck by the thought that, it’s actually not normal to be this rushing, timecrunched, half-crazed person, always running behind. You know, sucking back drinkable yogurt, digging around in the vehicle to give the kids half-eaten Rice Krispy squares while racing to or from work, eating a lot of take-out – all that. During Covid, my daughter was so excited that I wasn’t working, so we could sit down together and eat dinner as a family. Something so simple, so normal. I realized that money is one kind of currency, but time is a much more valuable currency. My kids need financial stability, but more than that, they need me and my time. I have now made adjustments to my schedule so that my kids have that time, and I have time. I refuse to go back to being all work, all the time.”

Pretty mature thinking for someone who’s “too young”. Hmmm.

This young entrepreneur has faced more in her short time in business than many people will in a lifetime. She’s taken the challenges head on and is building a strong business. Her determination and tenacity and gotten her here and will definitely carry her forward to new heights. More importantly, she’s learning that she has value, to herself, to her kids, and to her community.

She makes it happen.

Kristyn Sutherland owns and operates Studio Eleven in Red Deer, offering lash extensions, nail services, tanning and more. She lives in Penhold with her 8-year old daughter Azariah and her 6-year old son Kesler.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou

Looking for a great place to paint, relax and have fun?

Paint of Interest Art Cafe offers a huge selection of pottery, glass, canvas, wood, stoneware and more! With our bright open creative area, specialty café and licensed bar, we’ll become your favorite place to create.

You can walk-in, take part in one of our many classes, or you can even book your very own party in the private party room!

to check us out on Facebook to find out about all our Click Here classes, specials and product.

403-588-8808 4946 53rd Avenue, Red Deer paintofinterestreddeer.com create@paintofinterestreddeer.com