Camila Alves on the Importance of Self-Care as a Busy Business Owner
Camila Alves brought the third week of BlogHer Biz to a calm and grounding end as our closing keynote speaker. The actress, activist, mom of three, and founder of Women of Today instilled her secrets to success, citing balance (whatever that looks like for you) and self-care as key components to not only a healthy business but a healthy life.
Stepping back from Yummy Spoonfuls gave Camila the opportunity to start a new project, Women of Today—a community-based lifestyle collective designed to help women connect with one another, learn from each other, and grow together. It tackles topics including health, recipes, self-care tips, fashion, and more. But with all the excitement of a new business comes the difficulties that our community of entrepreneurs and boot-strap businesswomen are surely familiar with themselves.
“I’ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster because I actually stepped down from Yummy Spoonfuls before the pandemic because I had to change my focus and priorities… when you’re working on your blog or business, it’s very easy to get really caught up in one goal that you have, and then look up and realize that everything around you is falling apart. Having that priority list for yourself will help you with the situation.”
Camila was adamant that Women of Today’s main mission is to cater to the needs and wants of its community: “with your business, you really have the opportunity to create something that will leave a footprint for making things better. We don’t have a business model because we’re following what the community tells us. We’re learning from the community.”
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So how does Camila herself practice self-care? For the model turned businesswoman, it’s all about the little moments and the little things:
“I go to the bathroom, lock the door for an hour, I pluck my eyebrows, take my mustache off and think, oh, hi, I can see you again…I try to make blocks of the day when I can….just sit with myself, take a few deep breaths, drink tea.”
Camila’s words were a refreshing reminder to prioritize to fill up your cup first, so you can fill others later—something that’s easily forgotten in the business world. Yes, it’s all a balancing act but give yourself the leniency of letting your definition of balance shift from day to day, depending on what works for you.
“The reality is that when we talk about balance, it is not 50-50. Get off of that train. It’s more like, some days, it’s 80-20. Some days, it’s 70-30. That balance never exists. Life is too fluid.”
Don’t miss the final installment of our BlogHer Biz series dedicated to honoring women-owned small businesses happening this Friday, October 23rd at 1pm EST. Register here.