Michelle Parry owns The Rewilding, a business located near Cockerham that provides retreats, hosts events and offers products curated for the seasons. They are situated on Michelle's family farm, named Patty's Barn.
We asked Michelle which 5 things should a prospective business owner know and these are the answers:
Find a business mentor and/or a supportive community (relevant to your needs) where you can bounce ideas and grow your network and get support. This is also a really great place to practice talking about what you do. The more you practice the more real it becomes!
Be patient and practice resilience constantly. Know that there are going to be more days than you expected where you wondered why the F you decided to do this.
Value and nurture your first customers, these legends are your tribe, your champions and they will be the ones who bang the drum for you
This is cliche - but running your own business is all about the journey. It's the hard and steep learning curves that nearly break you that put you into your growth zone, the new relationships you build that fill you with energy and excitement, the little dance you do with every sale that validates what you're putting out into the world is something people want/need and the feedback you get when you know you've made a positive impact for someone. There is no end goal that captures any of this.
Don't ask people for directions who have not been in the direction you're going. Everyone has an opinion it doesn't mean you should listen to them all.
You can check out The Rewilding and Patty's Barn on Facebook and their websites:
We'd really like to thank Michelle for taking the time to write these brilliant tips!