Disconnect to re-connect

My hand holding a flower in an Autumn garden

I feel like I have been away for months. Mentally not here, taking care of bare minimum. Because of this, marketing has been quite challenging for me. It lead me to shut down and reflect, being quiet. 

I've not found joy in what I was doing, and now I think it's because I had lost my focus, disconnected from what I set out to do. I started looking outside for the next steps, and was doing things because "this is the proper way to do them, because this is how others are doing it".

I forgot that I set out to do things differently. I started realising this when I began the logo-project and needed to explain to someone else, what Birches & Wool is really about. During the project I was able to tap back into the core of Birches & Wool, remember the vision and mission I had when I started.

I never set out to be a millionaire. I don't want my business to grow eternally. I want it to grow slowly and sustainably. I want it to first grow to a point where I get a comfortable income from it. After that I need this business to generate enough income to start doing tangible things to generate change in the fashion industry and the way we act as consumers.

A wreath made of wild plants and dried flowers.

The daily worrying and comparing my business to others' lead to me taking actions that weren't aligned with my values. And like the lovely marketing coach Kayte Ferris put it in her blog Simple & Season, disconnecting from your values can easily make you lose your motivation.

So to me the Summer has been about taking less action, unintentionally though, to recharge my batteries and re-connect with my values and mission. I can't say I'm fully "back", but I'm not totally shut down anymore.

From a business point of view it might seem counter-intuitive to talk about detachment from your own livelihood, when everything depends on just You. But I'm tired of all the gilded images of "being your own boss" - it isn't an instant success to everyone and not everyone are born to be badass business women. Sometimes there's a learning curve, which can be painful and scary, but we mostly talk about the hardships only after the success. After we "made it". But not all stories end that way.

I have no ending to my story yet. But now that Autumn is here, I feel joy again being able to work for Birches & Wool's future. And I feel inspired! I hope you'll find inspiration as well!

Warmly, Pia

 

 

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