Finding Balance

What Self-Care Looks Like To Chief Of Chic Sneakerhead Channing Beumer

In xoNecole's Finding Balance, we profile boss women making boss moves in the world and in their respective industries. We talk to them about their business, their life, and most of all, what they do to find balance in their busy lives.

Channing Beumer is wearing Nikes. An efficient yet stylish pair, mind you. The kind of pair that both serves looks and leverages comfort. You know, the kind of shoe that is built for running large scale brand-sponsored events and campaigns.

The self-proclaimed "sneakHERhead" balances a traditional 9 to 5 while running a successful business with CNK Daily, a platform designed for and by ladies who have an affinity for sneaker culture -- all while running from one long meeting after the other. The latter of which our conversation finds itself wedged between.

I, on the other hand, am wearing Michael Kors sneakers. They're stylish true enough, but arguably not built for anything except fake running for an IG boomerang. But as we both began to connect on our mutual love of fashionable footwear, our talk quickly evolved into the ins and outs of personal and professional evolution. And it becomes easier and easier to see why ChickNKicks exists.

For Channing, more affectionately known as Chan-Lo, providing a platform dedicated to women in the sneaker space all while inspiring, empowering, and educating them on how to chase after the life they deserve is what it's all about. And in this latest segment of Finding Balance, I wanted to know just how she manages to keep everything running smoothly. Here's what she had to say.

www.instagram.com

CB on Instagram: “There are few things I love more than helping other women achieve and talking sneaks. Hella blessed that I got the chance to do both in the…”

What does the average day/week look like for you?

Channing's Instagram

It really depends, to be honest with you. If I'm running campaigns, then that week is super hectic, especially if it's like an event. The first quarter has been kind of crazy for us because we've done a lot, but I also have a 9 to 5 so my life has to be planned. Very rarely can I plan it down to the T because there's always something that gets kind of thrown into the mix. And it's always like, 'Now I have to pivot and figure out what is the priority here and what can wait until later.' That's something personally, I really struggled with but it's also something I think that has made me stronger as an entrepreneur and businesswoman. There's no not getting it done, it's more like, when can we get it done? For me, it's about finding the time to do the little things because if I don't, my week goes into shatters.

What do you find to be the most hectic part of your week? How do you push through?

www.instagram.com

CB on Instagram: “Happy place ❤️❤️❤️. BTW, I’ll see y’all this Saturday (10/20) as I join @cosignkicks for an epic event and panel discussion powered by…”

The most hectic part is making sure that I have my stuff done at my 9 to 5, but also when you're building your brand or business--it's not a side thing. Side hustles are cool but when you're really trying to build something, it doesn't just take a 20-hour part of your week. It's legit 9 to 5 and from 5 to 2 [a.m.]. If I stay on top of my planner, my weeks aren't really all that hectic because I can move well. I've learned after doing this long enough that it's best for me to adjust and then I just make sure I find time to unwind by myself. Turn my phone on silent, take a long bath, or if I need to just watch Game of Thrones, I make that time for myself because decompression is so important. I've actually developed this new thing this year where I don't answer emails after 7 p.m. unless I know it's something super important that I need to pay attention to. I don't take business calls after 7 p.m. either. I'm trying to make sure that I have some semblance of balance. But I don't necessarily believe in balance, I believe in prioritization.

Channing's Instagram

"I'm trying to make sure that I have some semblance of balance. But I don't necessarily believe in balance, I believe in prioritization."

How do you practice self-care? What’s your self-care routine?

Channing's Instagram

I love Korean masks, I think they're the greatest thing in the world. On Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, I take about 15 minutes a day and put on a Korean mask and kind of lay on my bed and breathe. It's wonderful because I get a little bit of 'me' time but I think also sometimes we have this cute idea of self-care. It may be decompressing or going to the spa or getting your nails done but sometimes self-care is also checking yourself when you need to be checked. So I'm also trying to be really honest with myself, especially in those moments where I feel like I'm procrastinating and not doing anything.

Sometimes self-care is telling yourself, "You got to get this done."

I may have to do that more often than a bubble bath sometimes because you really just don't feel like it some days. You have to make sure that you push yourself,not to the brink of insanity or exhaustion--but when you know you got to get something done that should be your self-care.

How do you find balance:

www.instagram.com

CB on Instagram: “Happy place ❤️❤️❤️. BTW, I’ll see y’all this Saturday (10/20) as I join @cosignkicks for an epic event and panel discussion powered by…”

With friends?

My tribe is really very small. My best friend Brittany and I, we're on a small platform called Bean & Cream. But we make time at the beginning of each month to just powwow with each other, not to talk about content but life and to catch up. I think the older you get, the easier it is to kind of be a little bit distant with your friends. So we just try to make sure that we at least see each other once a month and just kind of talk through what our lives are looking like. I try to make time to talk to my friends at least once a week, even if it's just a quick IM. Those things go a long way and I know that I really appreciate it when somebody texts me messages asking "How can I pray for you?", so I try to do the same.

Love/relationships?

I make time, you know I'm not sitting here thinking that the right man is going to come to my doorstep. I am dating and if there's someone that I'm really interested in, I make sure I make time for that person. You have to give of yourself and a lot of it goes back again to the priority thing. If I'm in a situation where someone is really important to me, I'll definitely make the time but it's also one of those things where you have to have someone who's super understanding. You can't be all up under somebody, or at least I can't. And if you have someone who understands that you have things going on and they're building something of their own, then that's just ten times a plus for me.

Exercise/health? Do you ever detox? What does it look like for you?

Once a quarter, I do like a a food restriction type of thing to try to get my head clear and hear from God in a very tangible way. Hunger is one hell of a catalyst and it's also an opportunity for me to discipline myself. As far as working out goes, I actually joined a gym that's literally in my office building so I don't have an excuse. So at lunch time, I have on my calendar it's time to work out. I'll go down there for a solid 45 minutes to an hour and just sweat it out. Some days I don't realize I needed it until afterwards but it forces me to make sure that I really get it in. Exercise and wellness is incredibly important to me. I didn't really realize it until last year how much it's important to the growth of my business and to maintaining my mindset.

Channing's Instagram

"Exercise and wellness is incredibly important to me. I didn't really realize it until last year how much it's important to the growth of my business and to maintaining my mindset."

What’s the hardest part about all you do?

www.instagram.com

CB on Instagram: “Joshua 1:8-9 ✨. My 2019 word: Courage. Goals are cool but, I’ve found that a well-chosen word makes the year better—and it helps me be…”

The hardest part about all that I do, is feeling like there's not enough time but then realizing that there's more than enough time -- I just need to do a better job at prioritizing. Sometimes that means letting go or saying "no" to certain things that I really wanted to do. Saying "no" to campaigns that I really wanted to take because I know the vision that I have and I know the vision that God has given me for this. It's taking a look at what I have to do and saying, "I can't do that" and knowing that I can't do that and standing firm in that and taking my hands off of it.

I'm learning more and more each day that not every opportunity is your opportunity. Some opportunities are just there to show you what you're capable of and some opportunities are just there as a catalyst to get you to the next one. So I'm trying actively to make sure that if it's not something that we can do and do well, then we have no business doing it.

Channing's Instagram

"Some opportunities are just there to show you what you're capable of and some opportunities are just there as a catalyst to get you to the next one."

When you’re going through a bout of uncertainty or feeling stuck, how do you handle it?

www.instagram.com

CB on Instagram: ““Last year we did favors, this year we do business.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I wrote this on a post-it at the…”

I recognize that as a moment when maybe I'm walking in my own idea of my purpose, not God's. I take those moments as a sign that I need to be still for a second and really make sure that the things that I'm doing are purposeful and aligning with the plan God has set forth for my life. It gets very easy to think that you know best, so I really try to figure out if I'm doing this because it'll help other people or just to get some likes or because I'm feeling like I need to put out something.

What is something you think others forget when it comes to finding balance?

www.instagram.com

CB on Instagram: “Blue magic 😇✨.”

Other people's gifts aren't your gifts. Just because somebody else is doing something and doing it well, that doesn't mean you're meant to do it. I constantly see all these other bloggers and they're making all this money and you start to think, 'Maybe I need to start doing this or taking more pictures.'

But my gifts are not their gifts and the moment I stop trying to operate in my gifts and try to operate in theirs, it's almost like I'm trying to receive their blessings. And that won't fit. I try to tell my team all the time that we're not focused on what similar brands are doing. We'll lose our purpose and our calling if we do that. I have to recognize, and others have to recognize, that you need to get in tune with who you are and what your gifts are, then operate accordingly.

Channing's Instagram

"The moment I stop trying to operate in my gifts and try to operate in theirs, it's almost like I'm trying to receive their blessings. And that won't fit."

What does success mean to you?

www.instagram.com

CB on Instagram: “Ending Q1 with a smirk and a new appreciation for God’s timing. This year is off to an amazing start 📈. Thank you @kswiss x @footlocker.…”

Success is a job well done and serving other people in a way that transcends anything that I could ever do for myself. It's making a difference, whether it's in someone's shopping experience or just in the way that they see or view entrepreneurs. I want to make sure that I'm doing something that's better than me and that gives glory to God more than anything else. I'm just a vessel and I'm just here for whatever purpose He has been there for.

For more of Channing, follow her on Instagram. Be sure to check out her sneakerhead platform CNK Daily on Instagram as well.

Featured image via Channing/Instagram by JCI Creatives