As I write a post celebrating ten years in business, I am less than 50 feet from my original perch, where I doodled, mind-mapped, and talked myself into building the confidence to step out on my own.
Between those days and now, more has changed than has stayed the same. That’s life, though. Some change is so sweeping and game-changing its effect changes everything. Other changes are mere blips, unexpected happenings that cause us to scratch our head, and consider how much brainpower is needed to determine the next steps.
Owning a business was and is a game-changing decision, much like raising a family. It becomes who you are, taps into your grit, your power source, and the lens by which you align your moral compass, compassion, and pursuit of purpose. For me, business and family, tightly woven together, provide joy.
Mostly, it requires that while you work toward leading well by collaborating, tapping into your vulnerability and empathy, each decision rests on your shoulders. And there is never a lack of decisions to make.
There is also never a lack of moments to celebrate. Often that is what we miss.
My friends Jodi Hume and Eliot Wagonheim talked about this in their podcast, So That’s My Story. When approaching their 100th episode, people asked them how they would celebrate their milestone. They posed the question to their listeners. The responses and conversation were interesting, and yet, it was the talk about how to celebrate, I remember, not how they decided to celebrate.
I encourage clients to celebrate the successes they see and hear around the work we do together. We capture data on campaigns to help our clients gauge their ROI on new business or talent hired. I encourage our team to pause and take pride in their work, the revenue we generate together, the moments of positive feedback, and a job well done.
So, as I think about what we should celebrate, it occurs to me the celebration is a series of occurrences that continually inspire us to be better.
In this light, our celebrations are easy to identify.
Learning how to turn on the t.v. and using the remote correctly came in handy at home when the girls moved out and for presenting in-person. (Meredith)
Talking to strangers in grocery stores made it easy to speak daily to people I don’t know, and enjoying each experience conversation along the way. (Sydney)
Inviting my family to work in various parts of the business turned into developing a talented team of thinkers, strategists, doers, and makers.
Writing one blog post for website copy to writing turned into over 400 articles and now an upcoming book, It’s Business, Not Social™.
Building deep expertise and relationships served to create opportunities and open doors to expand.
Bootstrapping keeps one humble, honest, and ready to move as needed.
Understanding that strategy sets the tone and people the pace continually reminds me to seek out those who can move fast.
Surrounding ourselves with people way smarter than ourselves is essential to unleashing the collective insight, wisdom, and energy of the talent around me. I depend daily on that spirit and brainpower.
There is a tray that sits beside me upright so I can easily read what it says, “The best is yet to come.” Laying flat with stuff on top of it just doesn’t seem right.
