It looked like a tornado went through my house last week. That’s because I was eyeball-deep in transforming my home office into a home office/homeschool room. Our family recently decided to start homeschooling our children. Before their first school day with me, I wanted to create a special space just for them.
As I emptied the room to reshape the layout and redefine our personal spaces (because Mama still needs her own workspace, thank you very much), I continuously bumped into elements from my past entrepreneurial life.
Notes from a conference I went to in 2016
Old magazines I was holding onto for industry contacts I’ll no longer need
Past monthly planners that also served as journals (I still haven’t let those go)
Products I used to sell for my other business, Cruisin’ + Campfires
Seeing each of these items was bittersweet because they marked shifts in my business, but the category that elicited the strongest visceral emotion was the products.
I loved my product-based business, Cruisin’ + Campfires when I had it. However, the few remaining products weren’t enough to put on store shelves through wholesale, nor were they enough to sell via a flash sale (I’d already done that in anticipation of our family’s move).
I choked up a bit as I threw out the items I couldn’t use anymore and carefully stored the remaining products as I decided my next steps in the business.
Have you ever had to say goodbye to a season that meant the world to you?
Change is hard, but it’s also inevitable for entrepreneurs. Knowing when to hold ‘em and hustle in your business to power through a tough time and when to fold ‘em, getting rid of the areas that no longer serve you or your customers in the way you intend, is no easy feat.
A few months before this shift, I canceled my Shopify site for Cruisin’ + Campfires. I felt overwhelmed with everything on my to-do list and needed to simplify for my sanity. That meant saying goodbye to something that had meant the world to me for several years, but in my gut, I was okay with that goodbye.
Coming to that decision required me to get very honest about the answer to these questions:
What deserves my attention right now?
Is this making me enough return financially and emotionally to counter the mental space it’s taking up?
Do I look forward to showing up for this business and sharing these products with others in the same way I once did?
What are my favorite parts of the business?
How can I shed the least favorite parts of the business and still stay profitable?
Is there another way to do this that is even better than I am now?
What do I really want out of this business?
I share those questions with you because you may also wonder how to adjust course when you feel the shifting winds in your world. Spend time outside thinking through each one individually and notice how you feel as you answer them.
The emotions are the answer. The logical progression is your path forward.
As I put each item back into the home office/homeschool room, I felt myself allowing those items to take emotional space in my heart. I picked up a picture frame that housed a poem taken from one of the journals mentioned above. I had this framed on my bookshelf for years but hadn’t looked at it in a long time. That day, it was the exact message I needed to hear.
It says:
I once heard someone say,
If you don’t change you do not grow,
But I waved the thought away,
For who were they to think they know,
I’d always stayed the same,
A heart that thrived within the cold,
And I had no desire to change,
At least that’s what I had been told,
But deep within my mind,
A thought grew slowly, bit by bit,
Until I felt trapped in my skin,
For it no longer seemed to fit,
There’s a whole world sitting out there,
Changing every single day,
That proves it’s nothing to be scared of,
If you do it the right way,
For a day afraid to turner to night,
Will miss the silver moon,
And a flower that refuses to change,
Will never get to bloom,
I had thought I was a thorn bush,
Only good for snagging clothes,
But if you do not dare to change,
You’ll never find out you’re a rose.
~ ernest hemingway
Powerful words coming from a powerful writer (who, not for nothing, I’m distantly related to!).
If you’re in a season where you’re considering starting something new or ending something that isn’t working, take these words to heart.
You don’t have to stay stuck in old patterns that aren’t serving you.
You don’t have to continue doing something that worked once but isn’t what you need in this season.
You’re allowed to evolve just like nature evolves.
You’re allowed to shift where and how you show up for your people.
You’re allowed to pivot.
You’re allowed to adapt.
You’re supposed to change.
So, my rose, how are you changing to meet today’s world head-on with value, love, and fortitude?
And how can I cheer you on through the process?
~ Kimberly
P.S. If one of your upcoming changes is to start sharing your ideas on your blog, newsletter, podcast, or vlog, I can help you take that leap with more confidence and layers of support inside the Content Club.
P.P.S. Part of the shift I’ve felt for years is to write a column for faith-based entrepreneurs. If that’s you, click here to toggle the switch and receive God Winks once a week, where I will start sharing encouraging ways to spot God working in your business.
P.P.P.S. Here’s what the new layout looks like for now. We’re still getting it settled before our kids start homeschooling in December, but I thought I’d give you a sneak peek behind the scenes.
