In our Ask A Founder series this fall, we follow 10 female founders on their entrepreneurial journey. Thousands of women have experienced our Selfmade virtual business coaching program, led by Brit + Co founder Brit Morin and sponsored Office Depot OfficeMax. Here, we ask Selfmade alum Kimberly Parris, founder of The Cuterie Box, which sells custom charcuterie boxes and boards, about how she balances the creative and practical parts of her business, her weekday morning ritual, and the one thing she wishes she knew as an entrepreneur.

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How would you describe your brand in five words? 
Fun, diverse, intentional, yummy, and engaging.

What mood do you want your brand to evoke? 
You know when you were a kid and you got something cool in the mail? That joy you feel? That’s what I want when you get a Cuterie box.

What was your aha moment before starting your business? 
I was casually talking with a close friend of mine, and we were joking around about something we saw on the Internet, and then he hit me with, “You know…all jokes aside, you could totally make a platter of those same things, or maybe a box, and sell it to bars that don’t have a kitchen – and you could call it ‘Barcuterie.’ And everything has just evolved since then!

What were you doing before you started the business? 
I was (and still am, in some ways) a professional chef and event planner.

What’s one thing you wish you knew as an entrepreneur? 
That if you don’t map it out right, you will be working ALL the time!

How do you get in the right headspace to start your day?
I make it a point to meditate before I start my day – before answering any emails or texts, before even looking at my phone, really. It helps me to center my thoughts.

How do you balance the practical with the creative parts of your business?
I’m naturally a creator, right? And though I may be an organized creator, I still find myself drawn to the creative process. One of the things that I did as I grew was hire an assistant who had some of the opposite qualities of me. This helped keep me in balance. When we meet, she’s always helping me to circle back to the practical stuff, so as not to get too far ahead of myself.

How do you celebrate the small wins? 
I’ve been making it a point to be super intentional about showing gratitude openly for the small wins. More and more lately, I’ve been realizing that the smaller wins yield bigger and better results in the long run.

What is the most powerful thing you do in your day? 
Give thanks to my higher power.

What are your go-to snacks? POPCORN. I am rather addicted to popcorn.

What is your go-to productivity hack?
Does coffee count? No, truthfully, a to-do list does wonders for my productivity. It helps me to hone in on what’s most important to accomplish on that specific day and allows me to filter out what’s not important.

What do you do to officially *end* your workday?
The workday ends? (laughs) No, when my workday is officially over, I turn my MacBook completely off.

What has receiving the Office Depot OfficeMax scholarship to Selfmade done to help you grow your business?
Receiving the Office Depot OfficeMax scholarship to Selfmade has opened my opportunities as well as my business circle of connections in a major way! The women in Selfmade are super sweet and supportive, and I am so blessed and happy to be a part of the tribe. I’ve gotten to work with amazing mentors, participate in really cool workshops, be in the room with some of the country’s most impactful women CEOs, and even got to participate in a pitch competition (which I ended up winning 3rd place in!). I’m so glad I trusted my intuition and applied for the scholarship.

How have Office Depot OfficeMax services/products helped you accomplish more in your business? 
I love that I was able to find products that I didn’t actually realize existed, which has helped me to get myself organized in a way that has helped to grow my business.

What does the word “selfmade” mean to you? 
Selfmade, to me, means built from the ground up. Believing in what you can achieve and creating that space for yourself. It is hope rising above adversity and fear and moving in that energy to propel yourself to the next level.

Thanks Kimberly! Finding ways to balance your work with other important parts of your life is key to sustaining a healthy entrepreneur life. Office Depot OfficeMax can help you stay organized & save time with a suite of business services to help you accomplish more in your journey – from signs, posters & banners to get your business noticed to marketing materials to help bring your brand vision to life.