Overcoming Obstacles in Business

I have in my lifetime owned 3 businesses.  The first I took from a vision to big box retailers in just a few years.  I ended up selling my business too early when I was vulnerable due to struggling to keep up with demand.  Looking back if I had prepared better for the future, I would have been able to outsource production and keep my company.  That would have involved raising money, and spending countless hours finding the right manufacturers, but it would have allowed me to focus on the marketing and sales while growing my business.  

Looking ahead is key to business success and I see that now more than ever. Being a full-service marketing agency means that all our components must be in place.  Our photography and videography, our social media, content, branding, and website design.  Without even one of these parts, we are set back. This makes having a backup plan in place extremely important. 

Recently, we lost Dave as he needs to turn his attention to other things.  With that loss, I was set back due to losing my videographer and my right-hand man.  If I had been on my A game, I would have been talking to other videographers in the industry and had a backup plan in the works. 

Fortunately, our team had some contacts, and we will only be set back a few weeks.  Still the blow was a huge hit.  So, the team and I stepped back, evaluated the situation, came up with some ideas and most importantly we took a two-week break.  That mental break was the key to us being able to now move forward.  If I had forced myself to just keep up the pace, I would not have taken the time to grieve and find a path forward. 

I often thought about taking a break when I owned Brooke and Nora At Home, but with orders to fill, that felt impossible.  I see now just how much of a difference that would have made.  Making decisions during chaos can feel overwhelming and lead to poor decision making skills.  If we can take a time out to reevaluate our goals, our needs, and our next steps, it can lead to a brighter and more stable future. 

While it isn’t always possible to take a two-week hiatus, any amount of time you can take to step back can be a game changer.  

All this to say that while the team at CSM feels this great loss, we are moving forward thanks to our commitment to one another and our ability to take a small reprieve.