Welcome 2026! I wanted to take a little bit of time to reflect back on 2025, have a more intimate look at the fast few years leading up to now. And this won’t be one of those disconnected, braggy posts where I tell you all the things we did and all the places we went, all the new things we got. I just want to take a post to connect with this community that I’ve been so blessed to have with me and share some of the growth, some of the excitement, and some of the really hard things.
The history of my business is a little bit complicated. To summarize, at the end of 2023, my jewelry business went up in flames. The third party platform that I had been selling all of my inventory on closed down overnight. They didn’t payout what they owed me before shutting down. It was right before the holidays, I had employees, a stocked workroom, and no business.
Everything I designed was tailored to what would sell on this platform and what the third party company wanted me to do. And so when it all went under, it left me with an identity of crisis of sorts. I didn’t have a vision for my business, I didn’t know if it was even possible for me to still have a business. Mostly, I didn’t know if I was capable of carrying on. Then in 2024, I was just scraping by and trying to dig myself out of that mess.
My 2025 was a year of survival mode and introspection, sometimes at the same time. I finally wasn’t drowning anymore but I still didn’t know what my plans were for Iviana & Co. I started asking myself questions like “where do I want this to go?” and “what do I love as a designer?”. There were so many times that I felt like walking away, waiting until my kids were grown and then coming back for it. Trying to run my own business has added so much stress to motherhood and so much complexity to my life. But this is what I want and the thought of giving up didn’t sit well with me at all. What I eventually came to realize, was that I could do motherhood and have a business, but I was taking on too much by myself. I needed to ask for help and that was okay! I’ve hired on a couple of really great workers who share my enthusiasm for the jewelry business. This has allowed me to delegate some of the more managerial and making tasks and focus more on expansion.
But then in April, Chris was laid off unexpectedly from an ideal opportunity that felt like it was going to last forever. Losing that really rocked our world. It was tough financially, and it was the hardest year of our marriage. We were left scrambling trying to figure out how we were going to provide for our family. It put even more pressure on my business to perform well.
We had a moment before things started looking up, where we were asking ourselves if we were crazy for doing this. Two businesses, homeschooling five kids, it’s a lot. We threw out the idea of sending the kids to public school and I get a job as a nurse and he get a regular job. It seemed like an easy solution to our problems. But we just couldn’t do it. We love being able to be present for the kids’ sports games, dance recitals, and events. We love being able to take time together and have flexibility in our routines. The family centered lifestyle and legacy that we are building for our kids is just too important to us to give up now.
My oldest is a teenager this year. It’s been so fun, but I’m also more aware than ever that they’re growing into their own people and as that continues, my time with them will be less and less. That’s part of the desire that Chris and I have for this entrepreneur journey, to create something lasting that our children can be a part of when they’re older.
Chris has started a new business this year. He’s ventured into the world of liquidation. He has a warehouse of goods and a solid community of people on the auction site. It feels like we’re living the dream. We’re able to take the kids out there and work together, we find so much value in watching the kids learn to work hard in real life situations. We’re still learning a lot, but have been enjoying it immensely.
That’s not to say there isn’t stress, of course there is. The to-do list is never done. But there are so many reasons to be grateful for the journey that I’m on. For the first time in years, the business is stable. I let go of so many things both emotionally and physically that were an unhelpful reminder of everything that I’d lost. I sorted through all of my old inventory that was no longer serving the new vision I had for my designs. My daughter helped me rearrange and refresh my whole work space. I was able to set up some areas for my kids, and inviting them back into my space has been so wonderful. I love watching them grow up. It’s also helped ease some of the guilt I have been carrying about trying to grow the business while they are still young. All of this has helped me to feel lighter and more confident coming into 2026.
And so for this year, I’ve been thinking long and hard about where I want my company to go – including this blog, the podcast, and the other ventures I have going on. I’ve been trying to piece every aspect of my company together and prioritize my time in order to grow my business. I also recognize the importance of taking the time to enjoy things and being in the present with my family and the different seasons of life that we’re in. I do not want a life where I am just constantly worried about the next thing. I think it’s so important to slow down and feel joy.
I think what I’ve learned the most this last year is that life can be really hard, but really good all at the same time. And that’s probably more of the norm. And if we can look at all the blessings that we have and be grateful, it’s easier to get through and it makes that hard parts not seem so insurmountable.
We have a lot of hopes for 2026. We hope our businesses take off and we hope to go on some fun trips with the kids. We hope to have more security and growth. But more than hope, we have a determination to make it work. I look back over 2025, everything we went through, and it makes me so excited for 2026. I think it’s going to be great.
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