The Life Of Claire Joanne

Launching a small business doesn't come as anything new to me, I used to own a wax melt business called Melt Scents Studio formerly known as Kays Angel Scents. It did well for quite a while until the cost of living hit everyone pretty hard, sales ended up coming in very slowly and after working out costs it just wasn't affordable to carry it on, so I ended up closing down Melt Scents Studio and focusing on myself and my own personal goals for a while which was very much needed and done me the world of good.

Now that i am in a better place I have decided to launch a new business branding called "Bee Line Crafts" this includes the new shop of "Bee Line Crafts", which will be launching shortly.

What I use to bring my website to reality:

- Shopify: I use Shopify to host my website as I find it the easiest one out of a few I've tried and the cheapest aswell, I think I paid £1 for my first month and then its £25 per month after that. If you're not used to designing templates you can use one of there premade ones which are actually quite good and is what I originally used until purchasing one from Etsy that was more to my style. 

- Canva: This is where the graphics side of things come into it, I use Canva for a variety of things for the website, including logos, Instagram posts and any designs that need too be done as collection covers for the homepage of my website.

- Pinterest: This is where I get all my inspiration from when it comes to designing my shop layout, and picking out colour schemes for it all. I usually make up different vision boards on there, some which are set to private and others that are public.

At the moment Bee Line Crafts currently sells wristlets, trolley coin holders, faux leather bookmarks and magnetic bookmarks but I'm hoping to branch out into more homeware and personalised items aswell, and then eventually bring back the wax melts side of things, including squeezy and scoopable wax which is something I've never done before, as before I just stuck to normal wax melts in all shapes and sizes.

Whether Bee Line Crafts is successful or not, only time will tell, but keeping my fingers crossed either way is the best thing I can do at this moment in time.

xxx

When I started my journey to overcome my anxiety, I had one goal in mind: to make a phone call. I used to be terrified of making phone calls and would only answer when my mum or sisters called. So, I decided to confront my fear head-on and take small steps towards overcoming it. So I decided breaking my goals into stages would be the best thing for me to start with.

I learned that my fear of making phone calls was worse than the reality. People were understanding and helpful. Making calls became easier with practice. I started seeing it as a chance to connect with others instead of something to dread. I didn’t want to jump right into it and randomly call someone. The idea made me sick and anxious. So, I broke it down into three smaller stages. I tackled each stage, one at a time until I felt comfortable enough to move to the next stage.

Breaking my goals into stages were as follows; Voice Notes, Phone Calls and Video Calls.

• Voice Notes – I started with small voice notes to just one person and they were literally a simple “Hi” or “How are you” and were never any longer than 5 seconds at a time, I would also never listen to them back to make sure they sounded ok, because let’s be fair who likes the sound of there own voice on a recording haha. I then built my confidence by doing just those for a few months and making them longer each time until I knew I was completely comfortable sending them to a select few people. Only then did I move on to the next stage of my goal.
• Phone Calls – This stage of my goal was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do regarding my anxiety, just the thought of a phone call would make me feel physically sick so I just kept putting it off and telling myself I couldn’t do it. Then one night I finally talked myself into doing it and managed a quick 5-minute phone call, and I don’t even know what I was so worried about. I can now say I happily do phone calls with no problem to a select few people and hope to build up that list of people over the next few months.
• Video Calls – This was the last part of breaking my goal into stages and one I thought I would never be able to overcome. It took me a long time to agree to any video calls and I’m pretty sure the first one didn’t last very long. Now I can happily do video calls to four people with no problems at all and prefer them over phone calls sometimes haha, my longest video call so far has been 6 hours.

Today, I can confidently say that I have conquered my fear of making phone calls. It may seem like a small victory to some, but for me, it represents a significant milestone in my personal growth.

Confronting your fears can be scary, but it’s important to take that first step. Start small and go at your own pace. With determination and patience, you can overcome your fears and find the courage to live a free and fulfilling life.

xoxo

Living with social anxiety has always been difficult for me. It’s been a challenge throughout my life. After my younger sister passed away 4 years ago, I realized I needed to make a change. I decided to overcome my social anxiety by setting goals and working towards them at my own pace.

I am still nowhere near where I would like to be in terms of beating anxiety once and for all, but I would like to think I am making progress every day and taking it one step at a time. I think I have still got my original goals written down somewhere, which is always good to look back on and see how far I’ve come. But for now, here is how I started my “overcoming anxiety” journey…

What is Social Anxiety?

Social Anxiety Disorder, also called social phobia, is a long-term fear of social situations. Social Anxiety is more than shyness. It's a fear that does not go away and affects everyday activities, self-confidence, relationships and work or school life.

Information from the NHS UK Website

When my sister died suddenly, and I was visiting her in the chapel of rest, I promised her I would find a way to overcome my social anxiety. So, I always had that in mind as I headed towards my first goal. I even put the exact goal and person in a sealed letter that went in with my sister. At the time, no one knew who or what it was, and I kept it that way for quite a while.

Living with social anxiety is always going to be a part of my life, but it’s now time for me to take control of it, instead of letting anxiety control me, this is my journey, and I will be doing it in my own time, no matter how long it takes.

xoxo