Brushing off the Dust & Welcoming 2024
New year, new blog!
I admit it’s been a minute since the blog was active. Outside of busyness, maternity leave for Annie (hi, sweet baby Elsie!), and the holidays, there's no real reason. Add in a splash of uncertainty, and you have a blog drought. It happens to the best of us.
Even though 2023 marked the tenth year in business, it felt like the first year in many ways.
I often used to say to consulting clients that everything changes when you start taking yourself seriously.
Now I know that “taking yourself seriously” is not an event. It’s a process.
And just like real life, businesses have very real phases and ladders to climb. Every rung is a new layer of “taking yourself seriously” and getting the shit in order you maybe haven’t gotten around to or neglected for too long.
It comes in waves.
And honestly, it’s as it should be. If it happened simultaneously, no one could get out of bed in the morning. There’s too much to deal with. We must improve our business bit by bit, rung by rung, and the climb is slow. Sometimes, painfully so.
I don’t know about you, but I have been dangling off that ladder more than once in ten years, holding on for dear life with only one hand and considering: would it be easier just to let go and call it quits?
The answer is no.
It’s not sexy to admit defeat, but I have seen so many business owners call it quits in 2023. All industries, men and women alike, and in their statements it can be summarized with: there were too many problems and we got too tired.
Man, do I get it. But as leaders, the only certainity we have is that we will never be without problems.
In the beginning of our business, we make projections like:
When I get HERE, this will end.
Or if I do THIS then I will be less stressed.
When I hit this revenue goal, I will sleep easier at night and stop grinding my teeth.
Maybe if I hire someone I will be less manic and overworked.
A new service is the answer and then..(fill in the blank)
You will never outgrow your problems.
You will simply get new ones.
More complex ones. Harder problems to solve, bigger bills to pay, and forks in the road that will stop you in your tracks. Better offers that are hard to say no to. Working a desk job for someone else won’t eliminate your problems. It may dull them for a bit, but the problems remain.
The anxiety you feel is typically rooted in decisions you need to make but aren’t for whatever reason.
Business owners are a particular breed, and the tradeoff of autonomy for a reliable paycheck is alluring, but one that will never make someone like you or me happy in the end. We’re built for problem-solving (even when they exhaust us). But maybe the issue isn’t the problems that feel heavy but rather the judgment we fear in the actions we choose to take. So to that I will refer to Phil:
The winner is the one who is willing to take the risk and eats the consequences. Not necessarily the one who makes the best decisions or looks the best. That’s as good as it gets. - Phil Stuz
The truth is, this is hard, or everyone would do it. The lie is that it gets easier. It does not.
But you do get more tough.
The more you climb, the farther you get from the ground, the stronger your legs become. That strength feels like weakness before the muscles adjust. Every rung helps you believe in yourself that much more. In your strength, in your resiliency, and in your business itself as a meaningful way to support you.
If the ladder is a symbol, it means nothing without the climber. It’s just a wooden object.
My truth as I go into 2024 is this:
The world feels heavy.
LinkedIn feels noisy.
It all feels like the same ladder I’ve been climbing since 2013, but this year, I have a focus I have never had before.
I remember that unlike in a rote, corporate job, I can change the ladder's angle. I can move at whatever pace I want. Ultimately, I can change the course at any time in various ways. It just takes a choice and some movement.
So, this year, I am embracing my freedom and options instead of focusing on the tough stuff.
I am trying as hard as possible to do the best work possible for the best humans I can find to help their businesses grow.
And if I have to adjust the ladder along the way, I’ll do so without a second thought. It can look however I want, and I can go as slow or fast as I so choose.
This year, I see that as a gift, not a burden.
No matter what, I want a sustainable business that supports our people, not an amorphous thing that traps us with its relentless demands and ever-changing problems. There is always a solution if we’re brave enough to look for it.
I hope you find ways this year to move your business farther with far less effort and remember that you’re a business owner, not an indentured servant. May it bring you all the freedom and prosperity you deserve in 2024.
