Leah's Corner - Celebrating 15 Years of Scout 🎈

 Photo By Worker Bee Supply

It’s hard to believe that Scout is celebrating 15 YEARS THIS MONTH!!!! I still remember the first day we opened in Roncesvalles during Polish Festival. My heart was racing, I felt like such an imposter opening a store! I felt fully vulnerable and on display. What would people think? Did I know what I was doing? Would the neighbourhood accept us? Was this going to be a huge failure? Would anyone buy anything? 

I can proudly and confidently say after 15 years that Scout feels like a success story. It came with years of growth, and adapting, learning and being humble with those lessons. It came with me getting to know more about myself, what matters to me and how to incorporate more of that into my business practices. It came with a community that loves and supports us, that agrees with our values and chooses us because of them. It came with ups and downs; entrepreneurship is certainly not linear. 15 years into being an entrepreneur, I feel such immense gratitude. I never planned for 15 years, I had a 5 year plan and the rest would unfold as it was meant to, and here we are, celebrating a milestone with all of you!

Running a business is not for the faint of heart! It is the job that you never clock out of at the end of the day. It wakes you up at 3am from a buzzing brain or a call from the alarm company. It can take a lot out of you, often putting so much more care into everyone but yourself. I’ve really worked hard over these last few years at giving myself space to rest, tune out, and bring more care and compassion inward. I wanted to share some of the recent ways I have been grounding myself and caring for my nervous system while still being present for my business. Be sure to read to the end because in celebration of our anniversary, we want to send some love and care your way too!

Joyride - I have taken a few of these immersive movement classes with Alyssa and cannot say enough about how much moving your body can help you work through stucked-ness! She's got one coming up this month if you're curious! 

Kiko Sounds - If you haven’t tried a soundbath I could not recommend it more! Another way to turn off and tune out for an hour guided by sound. 

Daily walks with no headphones - Not all care needs to cost money, sometimes for me it means walking around my neighbourhood naming colours or noticing the sensations I feel. I opt to leave my headphones at home for these mindful strolls.

Book Of Alchemy - I love to journal but don’t always know what to write about. I’ve been trying to write about non-work related topics and this book has really helped me. I love the prompts they offer that take me out of my head and into other places.

Somatic Therapy - I started working with a somatic therapist this year and have really found it helps in ways I hadn’t experienced with more traditional talk therapy. Here is a resource for affordable therapy.

Meditation for Mortals - I’ve been building my library of mindful books for my mornings before I turn on work-mode and really loved this four week “program”. Super digestible short chapters to read every day to work toward the more meaningful life we are all seeking. 

In honour of this big birthday, I’ve been thinking about community care. I’ve been sitting with how much you have all cared for Scout, and how I’d like to return the favour with some community pampering. Make sure you are following us on Instagram for a chance to win a gift pack to some of our fave local spots that help you reset! We’ll also be celebrating in store with a discount and some giveaways. Keep your eye on your inbox for more details👀. We cannot thank you enough for supporting our little shop for 15 years (8 in Leslieville).

With so much love and gratitude!
Xo Leah