From the Journal: The Days That Test You

Some days feel heavier than others.

Today was one of those days.

Balancing this business with a full-time job feels like burning a candle at both ends. There are moments where the energy and excitement carry you forward, and then there are days where everything seems to push back at once.

Today, crafting pushed back.

I spent time trying to modify my arbor press to function as a corner cutter for journals and leather work. It was supposed to streamline part of my process. Make production smoother. Save time in the long run.

Instead, it failed.

The cuts weren’t clean. The journals weren’t finishing properly. I kept adjusting, re-measuring, testing, and hoping I could make it work. Eventually, I had to accept that it wasn’t going to. The only real solution was to spend money on another tool.

Moments like that have been a recurring part of building Royal Rite.

Pouring money into tools, materials, website fees, taxes, and business upkeep without seeing a clear payoff yet weighs on you. It is a constant calculation of risk, time, and faith. There are days when it makes you question whether starting this at all was the right decision.

The truth is, this process is a love-hate relationship.

There are stretches where the workload feels overwhelming. Between the day job, family responsibilities, and the constant demands of running a business, the time alone can feel like it is slipping through your hands. When traffic is low and sales are quiet, it is easy to feel like the effort is disappearing into a void.

Those are the days that test you.

But then something happens that reminds you why you started.

A customer reaches out. Someone shares how they use their journal daily. Someone tells you your work became part of their routine, their planning, their reflection, or their creativity.

Those moments don’t erase the financial weight or instantly solve the challenges. They don’t fill every gap or remove every doubt. But they do something just as important.

They refill motivation in a way nothing else can.

They remind me that Royal Rite is not just about selling journals or pens. It is about connection. It is about making something that becomes part of someone else’s daily life. It is about creating tools that hold ideas, memories, plans, and moments that might otherwise be lost.

I have to hold onto that feeling on days like today.

Because that feeling is enough to keep moving forward.

I cannot give up on this. I won’t.

While I hope one day this becomes my full-time work, that has never been the only reason I create. The real reason is the human connection. The quiet satisfaction of making something with intention, knowing it will live alongside someone else’s story.

Even on the days when the tools fail, the expenses pile up, and the doubts creep in, that reason remains.

And for now, that is enough.