A Founder’s Note on Timing

There is something slightly absurd about launching a skincare company and having a baby within weeks of each other. Neither was planned that way, but such is life.

As we grew closer to the launch of Saela and I approach the birth of my third child, I've spent a lot of time thinking about timing and our tendency to believe there will eventually be a more convenient season for the things we want to do. A better time, when work settles down, our children need us less, our health has our full attention and there is somehow more space and time. 

I think many of us go through life thinking that in time we will become a little less busy, that things would work in perfect timing, tidier house, everything in perfect order. Instead, life rolls at it's own pace, the exciting things arrive alongside the difficult things. Periods of growth coincide with periods of enormous demand. Children need us at the same time our careers and businesses do. Our own health and wellbeing requires more attention but we can't quite get to it as our responsibilities elsewhere are increasing. Parents get older. Relationships and friendships need care and attention. 

I've also started to question the idea that capacity is something we simply need more of. For years, I approached the hustle by trying to become better at fitting everything in. Better systems, better organisation, greater efficiency. Some of that certainly helps, but there is a limit to how much can be optimised.

At some point, the question shifts from how can I fit everything in?, to what truly deserves my time and attention? It’s something I’ve become much more conscious of in recent years.

Having children hasn't made me less ambitious, and neither has getting older. If anything, I'm clearer about the things I want to build, experience and contribute to. But I am becoming much more selective about the way I approach it all. I'm less interested in being busy for the sake of being busy,  less willing to give time to things that don't really matter. I am conscious of where I spend my time and what I give my energy to.

There comes a time in life when you stop waiting for everything to line up perfectly and become better at deciding what matters most. What to make room for.

I wouldn't necessarily have chosen for these two significant chapters to begin within weeks of one another, but perhaps that's the point. We spend so much time planning and imagining that things will work out in perfect timing. Often, they don't and that's ok.

If anything, this season has been a good reminder that waiting for life to become less full isn't necessarily the answer. There will always be competing priorities, things that need our attention and reasons why now isn't the ideal time. I'm becoming more comfortable with that.

For now, I'm less focused on everything being perfectly timed, and more certain about the things I want to make time for.

Saela has been one of those things. It's been a labour of love and something Elke and I are incredibly proud to finally share. I hope you enjoy being part of Saela as much as we've enjoyed creating it.

Kirsty