Change Before You Have To

When I took my flying leap into self-employment, I stuck with what I knew. And what I (at least kind of) knew was jewelry making. For me, it was something I stumbled into without any intent of it becoming anything more than a hobby. While I enjoyed doing it,  it was never a really strong passion of mine. Honestly? It was more so something to get my feet wet in the vast pool of self-employment. Something to see if I could really do it.

It lost the appeal that it originally had pretty quickly because it wasn’t something I was passionate about. It became something I dreaded. Something I’d push off and end up spending my weekends doing because I couldn’t push it off any longer. I watched it take the love I had for my business away from me, but had no clue how to put an end to it. I was convinced for months that it was the journey I started on so it must be the journey I continued to be on. I fought the change that I knew needed to be made on a daily basis. I believed that there was no possible way to re-inject the passion, the love, and the creativity into my business. Eventually I came pretty close to throwing it all away and going back to the corporate world because of it. It had to change something – there was nothing left for me to do with it.

So I did the hardest thing I have ever done, even compared to going from the corporate world to the entrepreneur world: I completely changed my business.

I stopped producing jewelry and switched gears into decals, wall decor, and photographs. This was where my background was and it was something that I had know since I was in high school. It was where I felt like I belonged and where I needed to be, no matter how hard the switch was. I lost customers and people doubted my ability to manage my business. Sales came to a screeching halt and I doubted myself more than I ever have. But a few weeks in, things changed. Sales picked up, I had new customers, and the passion for my business? Completely renewed. It was like I had become self-employed all over again, with new ideas and the endless drive to create.

And now I’m changing again.

I’m not abandoning my current products because I still love what I’m doing. Instead I’m expanding. Growing. Evolving. Trying to overcome the doubt and fear that’s held me back from pursuing this new venture for so long. The change isn’t coming because I need something new or because the well has dried up with the shop. It’s because I’m ready to tackle another adventure. Ready for another challenge. Ready for another new beginning.

This time I’m changing well before I have to, and just because I’m ready to.

What have you changed before you had to?

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Today’s Thought: I rarely drive a car anymore ever since we switched to a one car family. When I get behind the wheel, I wonder if I’m going to forget how to go in reverse or park it even though they’re ridiculously easy things. I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t be able to parallel park even if my life depended on it, too. The whole “use it before you lose it” sentiment really hits home with this. I’m chalking this up to a downfall of working from home and Amazon because I never have to leave the house.