Roberts Jessi - Backroads boss lady: happiness aint a side hustle--straight talk on creating the life you deserve

Looking for some support ~ I am really needing a place to reach out and am hoping this is it!!

For those of yall who dont know me I am Jessi and am the founder of Cheekys aka The Bosslady ~ and wow things have gotten crazy around here I kinda feel like when I was young and had too much to drink and needed to put one foot on the floor!

This last year we had HUGE growth. I started this baby in 2011 and that was only because I knew I wanted to do something in my tiny town and I didnt want it to be a laundry mat. And in Jan of this year we did as much business as the entire year of 2014. Each month we have increased at least 20 to 100% in growth. We have had to get new machines for printing (which led me to realize how expensive power is and how much weight an old building can hold), we have overloaded the PO [post office] in our town and have no idea what to do there, we have hired 30 plus people to help us and the list goes on and on.

So in 2016 we were featured by Inc. magazine and then shortly after I was contacted by several publishers about having a book. That contract is now signed and my writer (who is helping me a ton) shows up tonight to stay for a month. Let me tell ya writing a book is NOT at all how I thought it was. We are getting contacted constantly about TV shows, reality TV, movies and all kinds of stuff. They just cant believe that we have this business in such a small town and that its grown the way that it has.

I still love all the designing aspects; the manufacturing is my all-time favorite. I LOVE to help other women and am working on a consulting/mentoring program now with a few gals. And its what I really want to do. I am hoping my book will do that for women on a budget, women who just have questions and hope it moves them. I have let a handful of women in this group read the first book proposal and it seems to be headed down the right path.

Okay, all that being said I am in a bit of a whirlwind. I still am so involved in everything down to the tissue paper we use. I am kinda overwhelmed by all this attention. I prefer to be behind the scenes I love typing but not being live or on TV. Its scary to be so vulnerable and exposed. Living up to the perception people have is hard. I am not fashionably dressed, I dont do a lot of makeup, I am in a bun most days I am overweight. I dont have loans or a line of credit, I cry like once a week (half good tears, half the time sad) this voting finals thing [for boutique of the year] has me thrown for a loop. I am sooo proud of all the girls on there and sooo many of them carry our line which makes me even more proud. So I guess my question is: how do we stay sane, stay private, how do we give our opinions without sounding like a bully or arrogant? These are the thoughts I have everyday please tell me I am not alone.

You know what, girls? Its been more than a year since I wrote that post, and Im still terrified to put myself out in the world. There are things in this book I really dont want to talk about and things I am terrified for you to know. But its support like this that makes me feel like I canand that sharing my life and advice can do some good in the world. So to everyone who bought from Cheekys, wrote to Cheekys, and posted on Facebook asking for support. To all the boutique owners and the moms-in-business and the small town girls working for it every day thank you. I love you. This book is for you.