The Chaos and Comedy of Starting Your Own Business

Starting your own business is an adventure. And by "adventure," I mean it’s a rollercoaster ride where you’re the screaming passenger and the person responsible for making sure the bolts are tight. When we decided to officially launch Stitch and Timber Co., we had grand visions of smoothly rolling into business ownership. Spoiler alert: It was anything but smooth.

Step 1: The LLC – Thank Goodness for Our CPA

The first step to making things official? Registering as an LLC. It’s the business equivalent of getting a backstage pass—except instead of a cool wristband, you get a pile of legal documents and a sudden anxiety about accidentally committing tax fraud. We navigated forms, debated business names like we were naming a firstborn child, and eventually emerged victorious with an official LLC. Luckily, our CPA was there to guide us through it because, honestly, we had no idea what we were doing.

Step 2: Bank Accounts – Do We Have Enough Identification?!

If you enjoy being judged by a banker for not knowing exactly what kind of business checking account you need, this step is for you. We walked in, feeling all official, only to realize we needed approximately 17 different forms of ID, our LLC paperwork, a blood sample (okay, not really, but it felt like it), and a clear understanding of business banking (which we did not have). After some awkward nodding and a few frantic Google searches, we managed to open an account and, more importantly, avoided looking completely clueless.

Step 3: Organizing Workspaces – The Myth of the Perfect Setup

We had this vision: a perfectly organized, Pinterest-worthy workspace where inspiration would flow effortlessly. Reality? We spent days shuffling tools, fabric, and sawdust around, debating the best setup, and somehow still ended up working from the dining room table half the time. Workspace pics to come—once we figure out where everything actually belongs.

Step 4: The Grand Illusion of Instant Success

We really thought that the moment we launched, sales would start pouring in and our social media followers would hit the millions overnight. Turns out, building a business takes more than an Instagram post and a well-lit product photo. Who knew? We are realizing that patience, consistency, and a lot of behind-the-scenes hustle are going to be the real keys to success—though we’re still holding out hope for that magical viral moment.

Step 5: The Website – A Digital Nightmare

As a graphic designer, building a website was supposed to be easy! Instead, it was an emotional rollercoaster. Between figuring out the fulfillment process (why is shipping so complicated?), battling the tax settings (I’m still not entirely sure I did it right), and testing everything 50 times only to have one random glitch appear out of nowhere, we learned that websites are not for the faint of heart. If you've ever screamed into the void while trying to integrate a payment system, just know—we see you.

Step 6: Time Management – Or, How We Learned to Stop Scrolling and Start Working

Owning a business means you’re your own boss! Coming from the CEO of Stitch and Timber Co. 😉 Which sounds great until you realize your boss (you) is kind of bad at setting boundaries. Between juggling creative projects, website updates, social media, and convincing ourselves that "quick breaks" on Instagram weren’t actually research, we learned that structure is key. And that setting timers is a lifesaver.

Step 7: Second-Guessing Everything – The Daily Existential Crisis

Every day, we question if we made the right decision. Should we have done this? Are we completely unqualified? Will this ever actually take off? The answer changes depending on the time of day, how much coffee or alcohol we’ve had, and whether we just made a sale or not. But even through the moments of doubt, we remind ourselves why we started in the first place—and that usually keeps us going (along with sheer stubbornness and the occasional pep talk).

Step 8: Surviving the Learning Curve – With Humor Intact

Starting a business is going to be messy, exciting, stressful, and occasionally ridiculous. We’ve already learned a lot and we just started—like how to file taxes (sort of), the importance of a good label maker, and that no matter how prepared you think you are, something will always go hilariously off course. But that’s half the fun.

If you’re thinking about starting your own business, our advice? Go for it. Laugh through the hiccups, celebrate the wins (even the tiny ones), and know that every successful business started somewhere—probably with a pile of paperwork and a slight look of confusion, just like us.

📣We’d love to hear from you!

Have you ever started your own business? What was the most surprising part of your journey? Drop a comment below and share your experiences, tips, or anything that made you laugh (or cry!) along the way. Let’s support each other!