Female Business Owners – Saratoga Springs | Troy | Albany | New York – Boudoir
There is no joke that now is one of the hardest times in our generation’s history for small business owners, but what I am not seeing on the news is the incremental impact on FEMALE businesses.
Not only are we fighting to keep our businesses alive but now we also have to be full time moms, full time homeschool teachers, chefs for 3+ meals a day, 24/7 playmates, cleaning crews, etc etc. While yes there are men out there that step up (my man happens to be one of the best ever at taking over everything so I can focus on my business), this is a primarily female burden that I am seeing when I look at my close circle and when I look at the wider scope on social media.
To top it all off we are supposed to be at the top of our games for everyone else while not being able to properly take care of ourselves. No nail salons, no hair salons, no gyms….while these things might seem like vanity, how we view ourselves and how we CHOOSE OUR SELF CARE is a huge part of our overall mental health and NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF QUARANTINE ON BODY IMAGE RIGHT NOW.
It’s become a celebration when we see someone get up and even brush their hair in the morning. Bring out the champagne if someone has enough energy to even touch a lipstick or mascara to their face…that in itself is an enormous feat when we are already all so emotionally and physically depleted.
This is what the pandemic / quarantine is doing to us.
We spend all day online seeing people complaining about eating too many snacks and then looking at ourselves, un-showered, dirty hair, also eating snacks and thinking…well if they think it is bad does that make “me” bad? This thought process alone has a huge impact on our mental health, our ability to work, our ability to provide and our ability to care for others.
While we can talk all day long about equality, it is a time like this that shows the true gender inequality of our society.
Now take all of the above and combine that with being the sole income provider and/or main income provider for your family, and then take that away too for 30+ days.
The impact is magnificent…and not in a good way.
It is funny, in a time of quarantine I have relied more on my tribe of other women than I ever have before. Aimee, our CFO and Jen our Director of Product Fulfillment have continued to carry me through this while also struggling themselves with their own separate businesses.
I bet the patriarchy never realized by forcing isolation they would really be forcing us closer together.
I see women all over looking at other female business owners and asking how they can help. I see collaboration, and innovation. I see businesses coming up with new ways to cater to their customers.
Aside from nurses and teachers our next top demographic for Self Love Experience is Female Business Owners. Gym owners, salon owners, booth renters, bakers, estheticians, massage therapists, jewelry designers, retail and apparel store owners…. Entrepreneurs.
I just want all of you to know that I see you, I see your struggle, I see your hustle, and I am really fucking proud of your perseverance through this very hard time.
On that note, We have an incredible Female business owner on our blog today. Take some time and read below to see what she had to say about her own Self Love Experience and remember that we are running our Sale on 2021 dates for as long as NY state is on Pause.
“Like so many others, I have had a long and complicated relationship with my body. I’ve spent years hating it, other years feeling disconnected from it, and more recently, I’ve spent years reclaiming and in reverence of it.
As young as elementary school I can remember wanting to “diet.” And as soon as middle school, I can remember voraciously reading books on feminism, body image and the impacts of mainstream US culture. My mind “knew better” than to get hooked by the oppressive norms fed to me through institutions, ideologies and interpersonal connections, and yet, I couldn’t help but internalize them. So even as I intellectually understood the psychological and sociological underpinnings impacting my relationship to my body, I still found myself upholding and enforcing the fucked standards on myself.
Throughout much of my life, I’ve turned to art, primarily writing and photography, to heal and explore issues of representation, female identity, the male gaze, and belonging. In 2018, I founded Bold Woman Brands, a holistic marketing and creative agency doing our part to empower women in business through sound strategic counsel, coaching, and soulful creative. We are a creative agency dedicated to personal agency. We believe that women deserve access to alternative ways of image-making and business that liberates, rather than perpetuates, the status quo.
Our company tagline is: Be you, boldly. It’s a revolutionary act. Which is exactly what I channeled in my time with Lindsay. Bold Woman Brands, and this amazing photo shoot are two of the recent ways I’m giving the big ol’ middle finger to the male gaze and stepping fully into my power to ensure that my wounds, and all our wounds, get healed so we can all move forward together. Loving our bodies and looking hot AF for exactly who we are.
Casey Carroll
boldwomanbrands.com”
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