Stronger together

Getting there with tea, chaos & a lot of cheering

When we launched Bourne 15 months ago, we were two women with big dreams, full-time jobs, and calendars that already made us feel like we needed a lie‑down. So, we made ourselves a promise: stay focused, stay disciplined… but above all, be kind to ourselves. Because starting a business is a bit like starting a new gym routine - exciting, energising but occasionally (often, actually!) painful.

Over time, we’ve found a few things that help keep us moving forward (and mostly sane):

1. Our Monday morning meetings
Picture the scene: post-training, slightly sweaty, armed with tea and a smoothie, and set-up at the kitchen table for a business catch-up. We keep it focused (well, about 80% the time, if we’re being generous 😉) and these regular check‑ins keep us accountable and help us stay aligned - even when life is doing its best to derail us!

2. Letting ourselves off the hook
Sometimes life just… erupts. Work gets wild, family needs us, or we simply hit a wall. When that happens, we’ve learned not to beat ourselves up for missing a target or pushing a deadline. Things don’t always move in quite the way we’d hope, and that’s OK. Progress is still progress.

3. Cheering each other on
From adding new products to trying out new colours and expanding our size ranges, we’ve had many “simple” tasks escalate into absolute epics. But whether we’re hitting a win or wobbling on the edge of a meltdown, we’re always there to lift each other up. No judgement. Just support, laughter and the occasional “you’ve got this!” text at 10pm.

Life is hectic but when you’ve got someone firmly in your corner, you can take on anything.Together, we really are stronger 💪💛

Lots of love,
Fran & Michelle 💕