Day in the life: running a small business as a full-time student

As many of you may know from my Instagram and emails, I am currently studying nutrition at the University of Texas at Austin, and plan on becoming a registered dietitian!

In the midst of chemistry and nutrition courses, I am hammering away at my jewelry shop ;)

A typical day for me (pre-COVID) looked a little like this:

• Drop the previous day’s orders at the Post Office before hopping on the bus to campus
• Post Instagram stories and reply to emails/DMs on my bus ride
• Same ^^ for in between classes and on the bus ride home after class
• In the afternoon and evening: make/package online orders from that day. Depending on the season, maybe work on new designs or email campaigns.
• Repeat

Honestly, a stellar gig.

A friend asked me a few weeks ago about how I “balance” work and school. And the truth is, I don't. It's often very unbalanced.

Although most days look like the one above, it seems like the weeks where I have 3 big exams are also be the week of the Valentine’s rush or when multiple boutiques reordered at once.

I’m still learning to roll with the ebb and flow, but sometimes it’s unavoidable to be making earrings until midnight after a long day of class and studying, taking supplies to my car at night to hammer so I won’t disturb my downstairs neighbors, and sitting on my couch at 1am writing an email campaign to go out the next day.

The craziest week of my year is the week of Thanksgiving! I have an annual Black Friday sale that is always bonkers to the max. Last year, my mother-in-law was visiting, and I put her and my husband to work ;)

My husband’s encouragement, advice, ideas, and practical help has been VITAL to keeping HBD running, so “a day in the life” wouldn’t be complete without him. :)

That’s it! Do you run a small business? What’s a day look like for you? When everything starts blowing up at once, is it invigorating or stressful for you?

I’d love to hear from ya!

xo
-delcie