A few years ago, Sally Jane Waite and her aunt, also named Sally Jane, were excitedly planning to launch a jewelry line with a positive message. Taking a cue from nature, they created necklaces with little bee charms to remind women to just bee—to live in the present and buzz along no matter what life brings.
They couldn’t have imagined how much, and how soon, they would need that message themselves.
After a few years living abroad with her husband, Waite returned to the United States and was thinking about starting a business. She also began spending more time with her aunt, a Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner. Both women loved fashion and accessories, and an inspirational jewelry line seemed a great match to their interests and values. They named the venture Sally Jane--that part was easy--and found a designer to bring their vision for a bee charm to life. "We wanted a bee, facing upward, that women could wear around their necks to remind themselves to be positive,” says Waite. They met with manufacturers and learned about packaging, shipping and the like. And the more they learned about bees, the more they loved the symbolism. “Bees, aerodynamically, shouldn’t be able to fly, but they do,” says Waite.
They were on their way to meet a potential manufacturer when Waite, who was 31 and seven months pregnant at the time, had abdominal pain so severe she was hospitalized. The diagnosis was devastating: Waite had Stage IV colon cancer. Although she first was told nothing could be done, Waite found another team of doctors, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who said she a “chance.”
Waite delivered a healthy baby boy. Over the next year, she endured five surgeries and 11 rounds of chemo. She credits the support of her husband and family, and her determination to stay alive for her son, with helping her get through those very rough days. "I've always been an optimist, and I just believed I would recover," she says. "I didn't let cancer become my whole identity."
As Waite began to recover, her aunt encouraged her to focus again on her dream. “She kept saying ‘let’s not give up on this,’” says Waite. “At first, I thought, ‘you have got to be kidding me?’ But once I started to get better I made myself the promise that I would be the best mom I could be and use all my talents.”
Sally Jane has added bracelets and wraps to the line, and sells them wholesale and online. The messages the women want their jewelry to symbolize have also expanded to include strength, perseverance, and survival. "We want to encourage women and girls," she says. "For a young girl, breaking a leg and missing soccer season can feel like the end of the world." The company donates a dollar with each sale to Mass General for research on immunotherapy and supportive care for patients and families. Donations also help to fund research on the benefits of Jin Shin Jyutsu for acute and chronic health care needs.
Asked to sum up all she has learned, Waite doesn’t hesitate: perspective. Here are four things her experience has taught her about running a business.
Remember what really matters. "My perspective has changed so much since this happened. The only thing that matters is my friends and family, and it sounds so obvious and we all say it all the time, but I really didn’t fully understand it before. We get caught up in trivial matters, but those just waste our time and energy."
Start taking risks. "Whenever I am faced with something I am scared to go after, I now have the attitude of 'what do I have to lose?' I am more free to try things because I’m not afraid of failing. Nothing is as scary as the thought of leaving your family, and that frees you to try anything. You know it is not the end of the world if this doesn’t work out."
Separate your ego from your work. "I have met with a lot of experienced people, and mentors, and some of them criticize you to death. But I don’t take it personally. Some people say their business is their baby, but it is not. You have to have perspective and remember it is not about you. When someone gives you advice you have to put your ego to the side and hear them out."
Know your own worth. "Everyone has certain things that really matter to them, and you need to be clear about them and stick to them. People respond to you better when you know your own values and worth."
