So to continue on from Part 1 of this blog series on "Five things I've Learned Since Starting my Business." Part 2 will comprise of a line-up of interviews from some beautiful, brave women from across the globe who have taken the idea of 'working for themselves' seriously and moved their idea from concept to reality. 

The ladies that will be contributing are all mums and you'll see that they get their hands dirty in a diverse range of artistic or entrepreneurial activities. To keep in the theme of 'five' i'm gonna ask the gals to comment honestly on five topics that i wanna know about (including their style, inspiration and what makes her heart skip a beat.) 

First up is Cheyanne Rudmik. I've known Chey for well over a decade now. Our husbands were besties growing up throughout their teenage years in Calgary, Canada and then when she came into our lives in our twenties, it was like... where have you been all my life? She has a heart of gold. I think she would genuineLy give you her arm and is just one of the warmest people i know. (i'm not even exaggerating.) Anyway, over to her....

1. HER STORY

I'm Cheyanne Rudmik married with 4 kiddos Annely, Elin, Owen and Miles.  I live in Calgary, Canada.  I am a homemaker/entrepreneur.  I started Bandit Cubs about a year and half ago.  It came out of my love for kids clothing, toys and decor wanting to find ethical, gender neutral, quality clothing, small shop based and bring them all into one place.

2.HER TYPICAL DAY

A day in the life of me starts with waking the kids up and doing breakfast and school run.  Currently two of the four kids are in school full-time so depending on the day, I either drop the girls off or I get to drop the three oldest off.  Once I get home from that, which is a bit of a trek as we live quite a distance from the school, I try to tidy up the mess that was left as we were rushing out the door get the house cleaned up a bit and the boys settled into something while i check emails.  Depending on the day I might try catch a work-out class, or bring the boys to an activity and catch coffee with friends. Then it is off to pick up the girls and again depending on the day we either get to go home straight away or we have to hang out in a gymnastics or dance studio waiting for the girls to do their programs. I get most of my work done in the evenings once the kids go to bed.  I will pack orders and really try to plan the week (newsletters to go out, items that we can push, etc.) I think I am still trying to figure out how to juggle it all.  Some weeks I think I've got it and then there are others that knock me out and I wonder what I am doing.  I hope to try find more balance and set specific work hours this year rather hopping around between work and family that I feel like I am doing now.

3. HER STYLE 

I would describe my style as pretty minimalistic.  Black jeans are a staple in my wardrobe.  I want clothes that I feel comfy in but also pretty.  I would say 90% of my wardrobe is from Aritzia.  I know I can walk into the store and find something that I like and the girls that work there are always very helpful and sometimes push me out of my black/grey/white colour choices. 

4. HER INSPIRATION

My husband has been travelling for the last nine months so now the idea of having a partner to chat with in the evenings, help with school runs, hang out as a family, family hang outs with friends makes my heart skip a beat.  It been a grind over these last couple months and feeling a little lost in my life trying to find my voice.  So here is to hoping and believing that with a bit of balance and priority adjustments, I can plant my feet again and remember why i started the business and what it is about it that makes me love it and want to continue to pour into it.

5. HER KIDS & JUGGLING A BUSINESS

Honestly I don't juggle it all and I am not sure anyone does.  We all have such wonderful strengths but tend to focus on our weakness and compare ourselves with others but really we don't know the insides of what is happening with them and we don't now who is looking at us thinking the same.  I think that if you really want to start your own start up find something you love but can also balance with your family.  Start small or big but however you feel comfortable, don't let someone else tell you what you should or shouldn't do.  It's great to take advice and be open to people who have been in business for awhile but make sure that you are making the choices you want to make and not ones you feel like someone else thinks you should make.  Or else you might lose your passion and footing and the reason you started the business in the first place.

Please go check out the growing empire of gorgeous minimal kids brands Chey is building over in Canada with her start-up Bandit Cubs. You can also follow her super cool Instagram account HERE & just so ya know, they ship worldwide too:)

Thanks Chey!