How Clarity Comes From Doing

I used to be a BASKET CASE this time of year back in my 20’s and 30’s when I was running my first business Basket Mania – a corporate gift biz. (I was the original owner of the domain basket.com before selling it in 2009! for $88,888!!)

I designed and created custom gift baskets, party favors, centerpieces and custom gift packaging. Everything was high touch and personalized!

So…when it came to the holidays, my clients wanted to send THEIR clients thank you gift baskets. I worked out of my NYC apt and for most of November and December it was converted into a factory! Shipments were coming in and going out daily. Products in, create the baskets, pack, ship, repeat.

It was important to me that each basket had that WOW factor so a lot of time went into choosing the right products for each basket. Not only did they have to be high quality and delicious, the packaging also had to be beautiful. Along with that, each gift HAD TO have a handmade bow and hand written note. Who do you think MADE all of those bows?!? 🙂

For the most part I did it on my own but when it came to crunch mode I recruited everyone and anyone! Family, friends, neighbors and even es-boyfriends!

Eating, sleeping and personal hygiene took a back seat during this time – especially in December and I mean waaaay back!

I pushed myself to the limits until one year that is so clear in my mind.

A Defining Moment That Changed Everything!

I was living in Orlando at that time and I had an order for custom centerpieces from a NY radio station for their holiday party. I was designing and packing along with handling all of my other holiday orders and it was looking like I may not make it to FEDEX in time and they HAD TO be in NY the next day!

I BEGGED my husband and 2 cousins to stop whatever they were doing (leave work) and come to help me. Even though we weren’t finished packing up all of the boxes we threw everything in 2 cars and high tailed it over to the FEDEX office located near the Orlando airport. My heart was RACING and my chest was POUNDING! What if we didn’t make it? I’d have to drive to NY that night because there was NO WAY I would allow these centerpieces not to get there on time! It just wasn’t an option! Thank goodness we didn’t get pulled over for speeding because I didn’t have a minute to spare.

As we got to the FEDEX office I saw they were getting ready to close the doors! We gathered everything we had and threw it into the office just before they closed and locked the doors. We were able to finish packing up everything on the floor of the FEDEX office – and we made it – just in time for me NOT to have a heart attack!!

Time To Reevaluate!

This incident was a turning point for me and when I started to re-evaluate what I wanted in a biz. The stress of that incident compounded with the annual holiday craziness just wasn’t worth it!

I started to ask myself what I wanted in my next business. I got so much clarity by DOING this business that I knew everything that I didn’t want!

I didn’t want to have a business that...

• required me to buy and stock inventory.
• was highly customized
• that had ups and downs based on holidays
• that required me to spend hours driving around looking for things

Getting Clarity

By looking at what I DIDN’T want, I was able to figure out what I DID want in my next biz and that’s how I decided to do photography professionally. It was SERVICE rather than PRODUCT based, required no inventory and it was still creative and something I loved!!

After a decade of photography I again started to rethink what I wanted at this next stage of my life and that’s where I am today. I wanted something I could scale and that’s not trading hours for dollars. I still do photography sessions because I love it – just not as much (way less since COVID!) but have added courses, coaching and selling fine art and licensing with print on demand companies. Moving more to an online model is what is in line with my current desires and lifestyle goals.

You’re allowed to change your biz (or job) as you change and grow! Your interests and priorities will change from your 20’s, 30’s 40’s and beyond. If you’ve been feeling a need for change, take some time to journal and see what comes up for you. Sometimes it’s challenging to know what you want, so start with what you don’t want and then see what the opposite would be.

Definitely spend some time in the thinking stage but remember real clarity comes from DOING.

Let’s say for example, you have dreams of being a wedding photographer. You’re planning, researching and taking lots of classes which are all great but you also need to start DOING! How about being a second shooter for an already established wedding photographer? This will give you hands on experience to see if you even like it! Planning in your head is way different than being there on the actual day of the wedding! This DOING will give you tons of clarity!

Here are some journaling prompts to get you thinking about what you desire next…

• Am I the same person I was 10 or even 20 years ago?
• How have I changed?
• How has my life changed?
• What new interests do I have?
• What no longer interests me?
• Do I still enjoy my business/job?
• What are my top priorities at this stage of my life?
• If I could do anything, what would I do now?
• What small actions can I take now to move in that new direction?

What changes have you been wanting to make in your life and biz? What’s holding you back? How long have you been in the research stage? 🙂

If you need help figuring this out, reach out to see how I can support you!