I have to say, I’m really excited to write today’s newsletter.

I’ve been looking at the blinking cursor for a few minutes now, sipping my tea, and enjoying the sight of a blank page that will soon be filled with reflections on the first five months of my entrepreneurial journey.

The beauty of imprinting my journey into the digital world is that I can go back and re-read the intentions and goals I set starting out. Where I thought I was heading and where, five months later, I have landed.

Some things that haven’t changed:

First, “Creativity Day” still stands strong! Everyone under the sun knows I don’t touch client work on Fridays and that it is my official day for writing, creativity, and learning. And on summer days, afternoon rosé at the vineyard (because #WineNot).

Second, the core of my business remains working as a project manager for entrepreneurs launching new business pursuits. I help strategize the vision, craft out the action plan, and coordinate a smooth execution.

Third, I’m still in the transition phase of what my long-term business will grow into. As I shared in one of my newsletters from April, Three Phases of Being a Multi-Passionate, this is one of my favourite phases. It’s a phase of releasing our passions into the world, finally showing up for ourselves, and letting the conveyor belt of ideas start moving again. I have given myself roughly until September of this year to sit in this build phase. Long enough that I can pace my energy as I execute on my goals, but short enough that I don’t overthink my actions and get moving.

Which leads me to everything that has changed over the past five months. I’m here with a reminder that there is no prize for launching a business and having it sit stale. It’s a living and breathing thing that can only take shape once it’s been birthed. 

The biggest and most precious evolution has been releasing a second offering: personal brand mentorship for professionals who want to release their creative passions into the world, but feel blocked from years of capitalistic expectations. I can’t tell you how close to my heart this is and even more, I love that it evolved organically from this newsletter. When I started writing it, it was with a single purpose of helping secretly ambitious professionals (former me) blossom into proudly ambitious side hustlers and business owners (current me).

With this new offer, I’ve taken what I already do as a project manager and packaged it up in a way that serves professionals. Those who might not have their business idea yet, but who want to get started with claiming their space online so they have a strong foundation for when they do come up with their brilliant idea.

It’s one of the most transformational things we can do for ourselves, and in my opinion, as life-changing as getting married or becoming a parent is. You don’t wake up one day and birth it. There’s an emotional investment that accompanies these kinds of transformations, and I live for these moments.

Knowing this, my growth has been directed into the craft of coaching. Every podcast I’ve listened to over the past three months has been on coaching and building a coaching business. In a foreshadowing twist from the universe (or rather, a clear sign that it always knows our next move before we realize it ourselves), I’ve been supporting a client who is launching two coaching certifications. A massive undertaking that lights up my project management heart AND exposes me to every facet of the coaching world. (And as an added bonus, has allowed me to be part of a million dollar launch that strengthened my belief in the abundance of the online world even more).

The second biggest shift has been letting go of two absolutely wonderful clients who successfully launched their new business pursuits and essentially graduated out of needing my project management services.

This was one of the harder changes as it confronted my financial security and, even more, my people pleasing tendencies. But in my forever slogan for life: you have to give up the good to go for the great. I’m continuing to grow onto bigger levels AND I’ve gained two life-long friends who I’ll be cheering on from the sidelines.

What the five-months-ago version of me didn’t know is that instead of having a business with three retainer clients, I would pivot into a business with one retainer client and space to take on monthly coaching clients.

As my sister commented on yesterday, I haven’t been giving an inside peek into my business here lately.

I’ve truly been in the thick of it—letting go, taking on, pivoting, shifting, and creating a cloud of dust that has obstructed me from sharing any coherent or valuable update.

Which is why I’m so excited to share today! A sign that the micro-pivot has worked, I’m on the other side, and I’m back into a groove. Starting next week, I’m officially entering version 2.0 of the business I stepped into five months ago.

Phew—that feels good to wrap into a bow and share with you. I hope it gives you permission to embrace change, too, because we’re all in this together. And in my opinion, there’s no better time to shake things up than right now when the world itself is going through a massive transformation.

Beyond the big business updates, I have also updated my Monday to Thursday work schedule. I still wake up at 6:30am, but I started to notice that my Peloton workouts weren’t as strong when I was getting on the bike with a groggy mind and sleepy eyes. So the new morning routine is wake up, make some tea, and work on my personal brand (aka. writing and planning my unique thoughts and contributions to the world) until 8:30am. Then I do my workout, take a shower, and start my work day at 10am and work until 1pm when I have a long lunch mixed with either YouTube, listening to a podcast, or going for a walk.

The rest of the day is based on my energy levels—often I’ll work again from 3-5pm, other days from 5-7pm, and sometimes much later from 8-10pm. This flexibility has been one of the hardest things to bring into my life. Years of a full time job and a side hustle meant that I had become a productivity ninja, which I’m deeply proud of, but it’s also time for me to hang up the hustle cloak and step into my next chapter of #slowsuccess. A career where my thinking and daydreaming is just as valuable as time on a laptop.

On an energetic level, I’ve been strengthening many boundaries in my life. My mind was a little blown learning (from Instagram, of course) that empathy and people pleasing are a trauma response. That my discomfort with other people feeling negative emotions is just that: my discomfort. It’s not my job to fix anyone or move them through negative emotions. In realizing this, I genuinely have stopped giving any fucks on what people think, trying to anticipate if they’re upset with me, or worrying if I’m living my life in a way that triggers them.

Oh, the space I’ve freed up in my brain for more important things!

In the business world, there’s a philosophy that you are always either selling or being sold. Only recently did I bring this mindset into my emotional and energetic life: either I’m selling (reinforcing) my version of life or I’m being sold (vulnerable) to someone else’s version of life.

I will always reinforce my view—that the world is a magical place of opportunity—stronger than anyone can sell their view that it’s a miserable place.

I will always reinforcing my belief—that extraordinary growth is attainable for all of us—stronger than anyone can sell their complaining to me.

I want to be an example of what’s possible. And to do that, I have to focus on shining my light brighter each day, not adjusting it to match the lights of others.

To sell my deep love of life stronger than a frustrated view of life is being sold to me.

I’m writing the success playbook for my business.

I’m pursuing the experiences that spark joy in my life.

I’m nurturing the relationships that make me a better human.

And I hope, even if it’s in the smallest breadcrumb way, that I’m able to inspire you to do the same.

If there’s an area I brushed over too quickly, just reply back—I’m an open book on any follow up questions!