Lee-Anne Reuber (BA ’19) shares three tips to help you achieve your ambitious goals.
“How did you do it all?”
This is a question often asked of me when people learn about my journey through a social services career, working on my BA in social development studies and starting my own business, Sekond Skin Studios. There is no short answer to that question, but I do offer a few key elements that helped me get through my university program while starting up my business.
This is a must if you’re looking to be an entrepreneur. It’s also a must if you are planning to complete an educational program online (which is how I completed my degree). Learning to prioritize tasks as issues or additional tasks come up is a skill developed through hard work and organization. In online education, much like in starting a business, your to-do list will grow and tasks must be prioritized, broken into smaller tasks, re-prioritized and completed on a schedule. Multiply time management in school by time management in business and you have a long list of ever-changing tasks that must all be completed, on time, and completed well (picture juggling balls in the air without dropping any!).
You will get nowhere in your career or your education without these. There will be many times when you wake up and feel like doing absolutely nothing — no homework, no studying, no planning, creating, sending emails, working on financials — nothing. Some days motivation doesn’t come easily and these are the days you have to dig deep and find your “why.” Finding your why will help bring you back to the determination and motivation you need to accomplish tasks in your education or your business. For me, starting Sekond Skin Studios was an opportunity to help people. My career in social services was centred around helping people too, but through my business, I help people find the power they hold within themselves and bring it out. It lights me up to watch people feel empowered right beside me, and this why keeps me motivated and determined to see my goals come to fruition.
Much like the first two ideas, I see self-care as an essential part of my ability to complete my degree online while starting my business. Yes, there is much work to be done, but you cannot work without fuel. Self-care can mean many things to many people, but the important thing is to find what works for you. For me, Sekond Skin Studios is a huge part of my self-care. Our team of teachers, working around Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge, Elora, Listowel, Hanover and Toronto, teach niche classes that combine yoga with athleticism. Their current specialty is Buti Yoga — a combination of yoga, high-intensity cardio, plyometrics and dance. This practice is my self-care. Seeing others fall in love with themselves is my self-care. Loving my work is my self-care.
Lee-Anne Reuber (BA ’19) is the founder of Sekond Skin Studios. She is certified in Buti Yoga, Advanced Buti Yoga, Hot Buti Yoga and 200hr RYT. She has been teaching Buti since January 2017. For more information about Lee-Anne, her journey, Sekond Skin Studios and Buti Yoga, visit her Instagram page, @sekond_skin_studios.
