I’ve been wanting for a while to start a series here on the blog that I was thinking I would call Women in Business, or Entrepreneurial Moms. But when I looked at the list of people I’d like to include, not everyone ever fit the title I had in mind. Some were working in non-profits, or at home. Some were not moms. Some were not women!
I’m not sure why, but I let the inability to think of a neat category for these people, along with being super busy, keep me from getting started. I finally decided to give this series a more equal-opportunity title: People I Admire. The criteria is simple and self explanatory. I think these are people that you should know about.
I’m not a person that believes in heroes. At least not in the “put this person on a pedestal until a flaw is revealed”, celebrity-worship sense. Up to this point in my life, if anyone ever asked who my heroes are, I had one simple answer. My mom. But, as I reflect on that, I realize it’s not because I think my mom is perfect or invincible. It is precisely because I know that she is all too human and I’ve been a intimate witness to what she has accomplished in spite of that. These days, wearing many hats as most of us are, I find myself looking all around for examples. I mean tangible examples, not just people in history or on television, of people around me who are juggling their roles with grace and getting great things done in the process.
With that definition in mind, I hope that through this series you and I will get to know some amazing people in our community, and the work they are doing. I hope that we can learn a little bit from them about both their motivations and challenges. I like to learn that admirable people have challenges, too, not so that they can be humbled and I can feel superior, but so that I can be encouraged and know that I can still do great things despite my many, many flaws.
If you know anyone in Jacksonville who should be included in this series, please put me in touch with them! In the meantime, I’ve got quite a list of great people in mind already.
So now, let me introduce you to the beautiful Melissa Johnson…
Melissa owns Yoga Ananda, a center for holistic wellness in Avondale. But that’s just one of her many hats. She is also wife to Jay Johnson, and co-owns another business with him, Aubrey Digital Home. Together, they are the proud parents of (almost) two year old Griffin. And in her spare time, she is moving into another new career as a doula.
Yoga Ananda started in 2006 primarily as a yoga studio. It quickly grew (literally, more than doubling in physical space), to include massage, accupunture and herbal medicine, reflexology, nutrition consulting, and so much more that is continually evolving.
Melissa wanted her own business in order to “create her own reality.” That started out meaning the freedom to set her own hours (no early wake up calls), but has grown to creating opportunities for herself and her family, forming relationships with amazing people she would not have met otherwise, and providing valuable services to the community. Through Yoga Ananda, she is teaching the community about alternative paths to wellness, and she is a part of the change she sees in the city she grew up in. “[Jacksonville] is opening up to a higher consciousness and the people are the driving force. Our clients (the people) are the main reason for our success and they have fed my soul more than any paycheck ever could!”
One of the things I hope to learn through this series is how people successfully manage family, work and community. How the three can compliment each other, rather than compete as they often do. Melissa credits her mother, husband, and son for making her work possible, more meaningful and yet also helping her to keep a good perspective on how much and how efficiently she works.
When I have dedicated time parameters to family and business it helps focus my energy to be my best at one or the other during that time. So because I have family balance I have work balance and can try to be present for both at that time. And Griffin just makes me a better person all the way around…he teaches me patience and how to let things go and that really helps in my business life. My husband also with his support of everything I do encourages my success. He really makes me think that I can do it all and lets me know that I am doing a good job.
And when asked what is the most pivotal element that allows her to juggle both family and business, she cited her mother, a recently retired business owner herself, without a doubt. Her mom set the example of entrepreneurship, and now plays a large role in caring for her son while Melissa and Jay are attending to their businesses.
Finally, I asked Melissa for advice for me and others like me who struggle to balance it all. Here is what she had to say and what I’ve been giving a lot of thought to over the last few days.
Set parameters and stick to them. Dedicate time to the business and uninterrupted time (even if it’s a couple of hours at a time) to family. Make sleep a priority. The work will still be there. Be okay with letting things go…so what if the dishes or floors aren’t clean that week or maybe you have to cancel a meeting to be with the family. Go easy on yourself. Give yourself permission to not be perfect all the time. If it doesn’t seem worth all of the balance efforts and if you don’t enjoy it in your soul – reconsider!
Thank you so much, Melissa, for your insight and friendship!
For more information about Yoga Ananda and Melissa’s Doula Practice here is all the pertinent info:
Yoga Ananda: A Center for Yoga and Wellness
4154 Herschel Street, 32210
www.YogaAnandaStudio.com
Check out more of my headshot work at http://jacksonville-headshots.com/