You may have seen these gorgeous yoga mats in the last article I did for The Upside, but the creator behind these bold prints has her own story to tell. Meet Sarah, she’s an entrepreneur with a big heart and dreams, and about just as many ideas to follow.

Having started her own business at the ripe age of 21, Sarah has surpassed her fair share of hurdles in business (don’t we all!?) and continues to do so with elegance and a can-do spirit. Namely, knowing when to make a tough call and start from fresh (as in — starting a whole new business!).

The end of one chapter only reveals the start of another, as Sarah made the announcement last month to close Kamuka in light of a new passion project : The Sparkk. I was intrigued as to what pushed Sarah to make this decision in the first place, leading with the heart rather then the head, and owning up to what truly gets her passion and creativity flowing! And so it was, a Salty Talks was in order to dig into some details and find out what the process is like.

P.S: Make sure you read t’ill the end to find out about our little Suprise Giveaway!

Meet Sarah Puckeridge, Owner of Kamuka Yoga Mats

What’s the best thing about being an entrepreneur and owning your own business?

I think there are so many different interpretations of entrepreneurship. For me I definitely resonate with being a ‘visionary’ coming up with innovative ideas and creating inspiring products – and that was always my biggest driver with owning Kamuka. The best parts for me was the community I built online and offline with Kamuka, and the daily education – honestly I just never ever stop learning and this is how I thrive. And of course, the satisfaction of stepping back and looking at what you have thought up and created – there’s nothing quite like it.

And your least favourite aspect?

I think the most challenging part would have to be the loneliness. Although I have an incredible circle of people around me, making decisions is always ultimately up to you and that can feel daunting.

Who Inspires You ?

This is a tough one for me because I’m really learning to feel inspired within my own space. I think there are a lot of ways to measure ‘success’ and who we should ‘look up to’ changes depending on our own version of success.

“I am inspired by anyone who has an idea, who starts a business with unwavering self-belief. In a way this is what has lead me to close Kamuka and open The Sparkk – I want to create a space for everyone to share their successes at all stages. ”

How do you face your fears and take the leap to do something completely new, even though its scary?

Closing Kamuka is one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my life to date – but I have a really strong mind gut connection and just knew it was right. I think practicing self-belief has really helped me face my fears because I have this understanding that everything will work out how it should for me. I felt quite a ‘loss of identity’ with closing Kamuka so that was really scary for me, but I just figured – we need to pivot and move and grow in all aspects of our life, so why not in career too.

All photography shot by Lucy Douglas @SomethingAesthetic

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given, and what would you advise for all the salty souls out there who have a dream and what to go for it :

I have incredible mentors so I have received a lot of amazing advice over the years, but possibly one of the best was from my cousin Amanda. She used to work at Arnott’s in a high stress position and used to say to herself “it’s just a tiny teddy”. Because at the end of the day – it was just Activewear, or it was just a yoga mat, or it was just an Instagram post.

“ I overthink everything and sometimes it really affects my ability to be creative so this piece of advice was really important in that it reminded me to just keep flowing, keep pushing and don’t always get hung up on the little things. ”

My best advice for people would just be GO. FOR. IT. Seriously, what do you have to lose? If you have an idea, start working on it half an hour a day, then an hour, then a day on the weekend.. and then just keep working until you have to make a decision on whether to quit your job and follow this, or maybe it won’t work out.

“Creating your own life and being in the driver’s seat is so rewarding. ”

What are you striving for in the work that you do?

I started Kamuka when I was really young – just 20 and a fresh out of university. All around me there were these talented, successful, huge business entrepreneurs and they were who I looked up too. Podcasts and YouTube videos and Instagram accounts were flooded with these incredible big business humans and it left me feeling really deflated.

What people forget is that it can take 20 years to become an ‘overnight success’ and there is so much that goes on in those starting days that we don’t often share.

With ‘The Sparkk’ I am striving to create a space where the start-ups and the ‘little guys’ are celebrated. The visionaries and people with an idea that they want to see if they can take further. With my knowledge and lesson’s I want to create a brand that has everything someone could need to ignite their passion – from peer to peer mentoring to workshops, resources and more. I want everyone to thrive no matter what stage we’re all at.

Spark The Change Giveaway

Featuring Kamuka Yoga X The Upside X No Shoes No Worries

In honour of one door closing and another opening for Sarah and her new adventures, we’d like to inspire change and that leap of faith it takes to dive into something new with a giveaway.

We believe a healthy, balanced life is what enables us to ignite the passion of taking new chances and going for what most inspires you. And that starts with the magic of yoga and doing the work within!

Kamuka Yoga, along with The Upside and No Shoes No Worries are giving away a Yoga Gear Package including 1x Kamuka Yoga Mat and 1 x The Upside Yoga Outfit.

All you need to do is sign up to the newsletter below (if you have already, you’re automatically in the draw!) and head to instagram to follow:

** Limited to Australia only. Winner will be announced on 18/12/18**

Salty Talks With: Entrepreneur Sarah Puckeridge, owner of Kamuka Yoga Mats, on making tough decisions in business