To the little girl I gave birth to

A year ago, I gave birth to a little girl.

She didn't cry when she arrived.

She didn't open her eyes.

She didn't stretch her tiny fingers towards me.

Instead, she arrived as an idea.

An idea I carried around in my head for a while before I finally decided to give it a name.

Leeyah Luxe.

I didn't know what she would become.

I didn't know if people would love her.

I didn't know if people would notice her.

I didn't know if she would make it past the excitement of her first few weeks.

I just knew I wanted to try.

And somehow, that little try became a year.

One whole year.

Sometimes, when I think about it, I laugh because I don't think I fully understood what I was signing up for.

Running a small business sounds cute until you actually start running one.

Nobody tells you about the days you stare at your phone waiting for an order.

Nobody tells you how a slow sales day can make you question everything.

Nobody tells you about putting your money into stock and packaging and hoping someone will see enough value in what you've created to buy it.

Nobody tells you about the little disappointments.

The cancelled orders.

The days you post and barely get reactions.

The days you wonder if maybe you're not doing enough.

I've had those days.

More than once.

I've had moments where I looked at Leeyah Luxe and wondered, "Are we really going anywhere?"

But then, something would happen.

Someone would place an order.

Someone would send a picture wearing something they bought from me.

Someone would tell a friend about my brand.

Someone would come back to buy again.

And suddenly, that tiny voice in my head telling me to give up would become quiet.

I would remember why I started.

I think that's one of the most beautiful things about building something of your own.

You don't always see the growth while you're inside it.

You see the slow days.

You see the mistakes.

You see the things that didn't work.

You see the money you've spent.

You see the things you still haven't figured out.

But sometimes, you need to stop and look backwards.

Look at the girl who started.

Look at how much she knew.

Look at how scared she was.

Look at how little she had figured out.

And then look at where she is now.

That girl deserves a hug.

Because she kept going.

Leeyah Luxe has taught me patience.

It has taught me consistency.

It has taught me that not every season will be a season of plenty.

It has taught me that sometimes, you can do everything right and still have a slow month.

And most importantly, it has taught me that growth doesn't always look like numbers.

Sometimes growth is simply refusing to quit.

Sometimes it's trying again after something doesn't work.

Sometimes it's learning how to package an order better.

Sometimes it's answering a customer with a smile even when you're having a bad day.

Sometimes it's choosing to believe in your little dream one more time.

And today, that little dream is one year old.

I was supposed to write this on the 31st.

I really was.

But life happened, I got busy, and somehow the day passed before I could sit down and properly put my feelings into words.

Maybe that's fitting, though.

Because building Leeyah Luxe has never been about perfect timing.

It has been about showing up whenever I can.

Trying again.

Learning.

Growing.

And continuing.

So, happy belated first birthday to my baby.

Happy one year, Leeyah Luxe. 🎀

Thank you for every order.

Every repost.

Every referral.

Every kind word.

Every returning customer.

Every person who has ever looked at something I created and thought, "I want this."

You may think you were just buying a necklace, a bracelet, a lip gloss, or whatever little luxury caught your eye.

But to me, every order has always been a little reminder that this thing I created is real.

That someone sees it.

That someone believes in it.

And I don't take that for granted.

I don't know exactly where the next year will take us.

I don't know how big she'll become.

I don't know how many girls she'll reach.

But I know one thing

I'll keep nurturing her.

I'll keep learning.

I'll keep showing up.

And I'll keep giving her the chance to become everything I imagined when she was only an idea in my head.

Because some dreams don't arrive fully formed.

Some dreams arrive tiny.

Fragile.

Uncertain.

And you have to love them enough to keep them alive.

Leeyah Luxe was once just an idea.

But now,she's one.

And I'm so proud of her.

To more growth.

To more beautiful things.

To more little luxuries.

To more years.

Happy 1st, my baby 🤍🎀