WashiGang Interview: with WashiGang CEO and our all round favourite boss - Shannon!

What does your day look like? I’m an early bird so I’m up as soon as the sky starts to lighten, my first priority is to make a cup of chai which I like to take outside into the garden where I can spend a few moments enjoying the stillness and mentally planning out my day. I arrive at the WashiGang office by 8am most days, if it is a Monday morning it’s straight into our email inbox to check for any customer messages before getting the orders for the day ready to pack. Other days of the week I like to spend the first couple of hours of the day focusing on projects, such as updating the website, or planning out upcoming promotions. Once the team arrives we get into packing your happy mail, unpacking deliveries, loading new products onto the website, answering messages on social media, and so many other fun things. I aim to finish up at the office around 4pm so I can enjoy some time outside before the sun starts to set. This year one of my main priorities is self-care, so making sure I get out the door on time to have some ‘me’ time is something I am working on! Do you have any planning tips for staying organised?  I’ve definitely learned from running WashiGang that being organised is super important if everything is going to get done. I couldn’t live without my trusty Happy Planner on my desk. Everything I need to do is written down in my planner so I can check it off during the week. I use a vertical layout which is divided into 3 boxes, as I complete all the tasks in each box I like to cross it with a diagonal line for that sense of achievement in ticking things off haha. My other tip is to try and keep a fairly constant routine so you don’t have to think so much about what to do at a particular time. For example, I check email twice a day, Tuesday is stock ordering day, Wednesday and Thursday are days to load new products onto the shop. Friday is always tidy up day. I love routines and I think they are great to help you stay organised and get things done.How do you like to wind down after work and on the weekends? Tell us some of your hobbies and interests!  As everyone in the WashiGang office knows, I am a huge plant lover : ) On weekends you will usually find me looking after my indoor plants, weeding my garden, or wandering about a nursery buying more plants lol. I also started doing jigsaw puzzles recently (they are a great mindfulness activity). On a Saturday morning you will often find me at the farmer’s market stocking up on fresh fruit & veggies, weekends are also for nature walks, baking, home projects or road trips to the mountains. How did you get started with WashiGang?  Believe it or not, the first business I started was a sewing business making fabric notebook covers, pencil cases and other hand-made things. I then started to add a few crafty supplies to the shop and then one day I came across this new thing I had never heard of - washi tape. Well, that was the beginning of WashiGang as you know it today! I became a tad obsessed with washi tape and before I knew it I was needing to move into our first rented premises to make space for all the tape and stationery I was finding lol.What do you love & loathe about running your own business? The main thing I am loving about running my own business at the moment is having my incredible team working with me! Honestly I couldn’t do it without them and I feel proud to have grown WashiGang to a size where I can provide jobs for people who love stationery as much as I do : ) I think the hardest thing about running your own business is not being able to switch off from it after hours, though I am trying to get better with that! 

What are your favourite WashiGang products at the moment? I’m a huge fan of Japanese stationery! At the moment I am loving everything from the Furukawa Paper Works ‘Me Time’ collection, all the new Deco Rush decoration tapes, and the Sou Sou collection of MT Tapes.Do you have any advice for women hoping to start their own business? Just start! If running your own business is something you are interested in I would recommend to jump in and get started, even if it’s just an hour after your day job each day, or a few hours on the weekend. You will learn so much as you go and it’s a great feeling to be working towards something that is your own. I’d also suggest finding a community of like-minded people that you can bounce ideas off or ask questions, there are local meet up groups for business owners in most towns, and Facebook groups are also a great resource (plus you don’t have to leave the comfort of your desk to connect with them!).What are your book and podcast recommendations right now? I’m really loving books and podcasts on slowing down & simple living at the moment. Currently on my bedside table is the new book ‘Practising Simplicity’ by Jodi Wilson, and top of my podcast list is The Slow Home Podcast. Other fave podcasts are Happier with Gretchen Rubin and also Nothing Much Happens, which is a bedtime story podcast for grown ups : )

What are you looking forward to for WashiGang next? So many things! Stay tuned : )

Yay! Thank you so much for reading our interview with Shannon! The WashiGang team even learnt a few new things about Shannon that we didn't know yet!

Wishing you a Happy International Women's Day! Tell us, who are the inspiring women in your life?