Angela Sibley from Decor Me

I absolutely love hearing from the MWH tribe; passion, authenticity and dedication is what shines through when I think of you all. I’m super excited to welcome Angela Sibley of Decor Me to the MWH virtual couch. Angela will take us through her start up journey launching her gorgeous creative business and how she manages it all with mum life. Thank you Angela!

Tell us a bit about you and your family 

I am a mumma to gorgeous twin girls with another baby bear on the way, and married to my gorgeous hubby Troy. I have always had a passion to create, and live a creative life, however never realised where the dream of running a creative business would lead me.

I grew up in a hard-working family, and have learnt a lot from my parents who created a life for us (incl. my siblings) and for themselves from very little. So I know I have a long road ahead if I want to make this business successful, I need to work just as hard. I majored in arts and woodwork in secondary school, as well as competitive sport (Soccer) however I didn’t realise what I could do with the skills I’d learnt or where it might take me. I do believe that everything I've done in my schooling and personal and work-life, prior to Decor Me, has led me to where I am today and has given me the skills and maturity to start my own business.

What was life like before you started your own business?

I was a SAHM (Stay at Home Mum) to my beautiful twin girls and perhaps had a little too much time on my hands- which is why I ended up opening my creative business! Haha! Just kidding! I have always been an ‘ideas’ kind of girl, and have always thought about setting up my own business at some point.

The year just gone was as good a time as any! It was either going to be down the creative channel (I can stay home with my children for a lot longer) or the hospitality industry (runs in the family). I am definitely a lot busier now, but wouldn’t change it for the world. It is extremely fulfilling no matter how hectic life is and somehow I keep managing to add more and more to my busy schedule. But you learn to manage.

Tell us about your biz and your WHY

I initially started creating again, as I had the opportunity whilst on maternity leave, to rediscover my creative side by having this as a little ‘me time’- a much needed outlet. Once I started, I just wanted to keep creating, and Decor Me has all flourished from there. I believe my girls helped lead me to my dream. I feel I am now complete. I am fulfilled. I am able to go work on my creations, and I don’t see it as work, but creating something with my mind and hands and I just love it and it makes me happy. I get lost in what I do. It is still my ‘me time ‘, with the plus being able to provide gorgeous creations for my customers’ homes and make your fridge SEXY! Hehe…

I have a love for interiors and ‘different’ things – so that is what I make and is what drives me on a day to day basis.  Also, I never thought that opening a creative business would help with my confidence, but it has. You would never have found me turning up to an event on my own with people I don’t know, reaching out to others I don’t know and now I have done all of this! So now this is another drive for me to want to succeed, an achievement outside motherhood and to make me an even better person, a happier person and a great role model for my children.

If you could go back in time and offer advice to your former mumpreneur-self what would you say?

Starting a creative business isn’t easy. It’s hard! But don’t give up straight away or before even starting. At the start, I was like let’s open Decor Me and just see how it goes… bad move. I did do things a little backwards and probably took me a little longer than most to get to where I am today…and could have given up 100 times but I didn’t because it is something I really want to do. So I say join ‘Mums with Hustle’ FIRST! Definitely! Also look to spread the word about your brand prior to launching. Collaborate, collaborate, and collaborate!! One of the best things I did for support and guidance, and now what feels like great friendships where we help each other!

Don’t give up, and believe in yourself, your brand, and your product. Be authentic, understand why you are doing what you are doing- and this will resonate throughout everything you do. Know your audience. Never stop learning, work hard, and make sure you look after yourself. Something I recently adapted is that I always pop on my fave tune to get me out of ‘mum mode’ and into work mode! Works a treat!
Lastly don’t doubt yourself, keep on keeping on.

What does success mean to you?

Achieving my goals, no matter how big or small, and being happy and fulfilled in every aspect in life and this will give us freedom and time as a family.

Your biggest productivity tip for Mums in biz…

It is so, so difficult some days, and not every day is the same…  but if somehow you can get some uninterrupted hours during the week, even if it is hubby doing bath and bed it will make a huge difference to what you can achieve. I work a minimum of two nights a week from 6 till late as well as whatever times I can fit in around the family. A big must would be to do lists (I am a pen and paper girl!) I have a week schedule set out on a page at a glance and the page is broken up into achievable daily tasks. I set my week out at the start of the week. I also find doing the same routine day in day out during the week keeps the girls more settled and myself more structured to make the most of “time chunking” (Thanks Tracy!) Currently looking for a nanny to help a day a week so I can get my hustle on during normal waking hours also and be able to get more done and achieve so much more.

Let’s capture your personality with these fun facts about YOU:

Facebook or Instagram? Instagram
Tomato sauce or barbecue? Both equally
Coffee or tea? Coffee, but at the moment tea….
Wine or Spirits? Wine
Chocolate or Strawberry? Oh god both! Choc dipped strawberries?! But chocolate sauce
City or Country? City
Summer or Winter? Definitely Summer
Channing Tatum or Ryan Gosling? Tough pick… but have to say Channing Tatum

About Angela 

Angela is a true creative at heart, and now weaves this into her everyday life by creating unique handmade designs for your kiddies and your home. With a natural love for design and art, Angela is excited to bring you this range of handcrafted decorative interior creations that are unique, bold and distinctive to the Decor Me brand and your home.
You can find all your Decor items at –

Web http://www.decorme.com.au/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/decorme_au/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/decormeAU/

Bonus

The lovely Angela has given us a BONUS to use to get our shop on! Use the code HUSTLE at checkout to receive 15% discount store wide until Midnight the 21/11/2016.

Thank you Angela for being so gracious with your time and sharing your #hustle and creative business journey with us! 

xx

Tracy