Earlier this month, I launched SLChristley Designs. After all the hours poured into every drawing, every stylized photo, every website layout, and every piece of content, the shop is finally out in the world. The path to get here—to actually turn the site on and go live—was filled with moments I’m deeply grateful for.
There were days spent learning new programs, drafting illustrations, deciding on my offerings, and speaking with vendors and distributors. Some moments came naturally, drawing on my 20+ years of corporate experience. Other moments required crawling before walking. Those were the long days and nights—the ones no one sees in a social feed. And then there were the sprints, the bursts of clarity, the confidence that built little by little.
It’s hard to encapsulate the months it took to build this business. But as launch day approached, I knew one thing for certain: I needed to take the stress out of launching and intentionally decide how I wanted to show up as a founder.
Maybe you’re working on a project, preparing for a launch of your own, or facing an important task that requires clarity and confidence. If so, here are the three decisions that shaped my launch—and how you can apply them to your own work.
1. Checking Controls Before going live, I tested the order flow and made a simple pre‑decision: if anything came up, I’d adapt instead of panic. That one choice kept me steady.
Ask yourself: What do I need to check or prepare? What attitude do I want to hold if things don’t go as planned?
2. Announcing the Launch When comments started coming in, I stayed intentional with my energy. Instead of responding instantly, I chose a founder voice rooted in authenticity and alignment, not urgency.
Ask yourself: How do I want to respond to others? What is the voice I want to lead with?
3. Saying Goodbye to the Hustle I didn’t refresh my order screen every ten seconds. I trusted that my art would resonate with the people it’s meant for—no forcing, no chasing.
Ask yourself: Where am I forcing outcomes, attention, or results? What would it look like to trust that the right people will connect with what I’ve built?
My Biggest Takeaway When you pre‑decide how you want to show up, you remove unnecessary stress, pressure, and nerves. Whatever you’re working on—a project, a task, a launch—think about the person you want to be in that moment. That single decision allows you to execute from a place of clarity, steadiness, and trust, not overwhelm.
Your decision alone can shift the experience from performing a launch to leading one.
Let's create together, Stephanie Christley Founder & Owner of SLChristley Designs All content and creative assets on this site are original to SLChristley Designs and may not be used without written permission.
