Lessons from Getting Laid Off Twice and a Failed Cupcakery
Episode 330: Show Notes
Welcome back to the show everyone, today we are giving you the scoop on the lessons we have learned from our failed businesses from the past and talking about how much you should lean into your dreams. We start businesses for a number of reasons, maybe you were laid off, want your own identity back, can't find another job, hate your current job, whatever it is, it is valid! So when we start something we usually tell ourselves a story of why we are starting it, we might want to be our own boss, make more money or any other of a plethora of reasons. The problem is that our strategies often do not match this initial motivations and we can find ourselves in our 'dream job', but also in a nightmare arrangement!
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In our experience, this is the number one cause of burnout and panic attacks. If you do not allow yourself the space and grace to live the life you wanted when you set out on this journey, you might find yourself hating your biz more than any other thing you have done. Why would you want that? Some of us make big sacrifices in the beginning, telling ourselves that we will get to where we need to be one day and that this discomfort is only temporary. This usually lasts a long time and the hole only gets deeper, so do not dig yourself into it in the beginning! Why not guarantee your business and lifestyle of your dreams from the start? Take control and make the life you want, you do not need anyone's permission for that!
Emylee's Decision to Start A Cupcake Business
When Emylee finished her degree she had a certain type of crisis in her mid 20s! She left her then boyfriend and moved back home and in with her family. She had been working in a bakery during her college years and so naturally decided to start a cupcake business, she was just finding herself and had no idea what she wanted to do for the rest of her life! She knew that she wanted to make money and a name for herself and so she went all in, as usual! She got all the equipment and recipe books, found a kitchen to use, she was really doing it! The problem was that she soon found out that she hated it! She had to work late at night when the kitchen was available and be out before the other baker arrived early in the morning, she also realized that she had more of a passion for eating cupcakes than baking them everyday! Basically it was not the life she wanted and it all ended up being a pretty big waste of time and money which was scrapped after about 3 months!
Abagail's Own Ambitions and Dreams
Abagail has always had a hard time taking herself seriously enough but at the same time had a serious desire to be her own boss. When she was an employee she never felt like she was high enough in the organization and the first time she was laid off she was really upset and just felt so let down. It actually set off a pretty big depression of sitting on the couch and binge eating for a couple months. Around this time it became apparent that her parents would not be able to support her anymore now that she was out of college and she was pretty much broke! She was out of school and had no income and no real way to get any. Looking back she can see now that she really had to get to the point where she would have to go all in and stop playing around. In the beginning she did some creative stuff, making headbands, cork boards and bowls out of old records. The truth is that she was just not that good at or into any of this. These were not viable business plans for her and it took her getting laid off a second time not too long after for her to get really serious and start working towards her dream properly.
Emylee's Second Business After School
Emylee realized that if she wanted to be her own boss she was going to have to do something that she really liked and was cheaper to scale. She went back to Columbia and got a new laptop on her old student discount and did what any creative did back then, started an Etsy shop! After a little bit of this she realized that she needed to learn about marketing and strategies if she was going to get anywhere and it was at this point that she decided to drop graphic design for her real skill which had always been photography. She started learning and made the necessary switches to get her photo biz going and the higher package and service costs made it easier to make money.
Getting Serious and Quitting the Pretend Business
As you can see from these stories, eventually you have to just go all in and get real with the work you are doing. When you decide that this has to work you have the best chance of it actually working. For both of us when we got serious about working properly and also laying out our work in the way that we wanted to, it was the first time it really started coming together. Setting your own schedule and deciding where and when you want to work might just make all the difference and make your business viable for you in the long run. The cool part of this story is that it worked for us! Making the decision to pay attention to marketing and building a real business was what changed it for us, making things profitable put us in the position to educate others and move upwards. Remember, it is likely that there is a service in you that you can make more money from than some small side hustle that is difficult to scale. The mantra is what has to work is more likely to work! So start leaning into those things that are already showing results and decide on your non-negotiables, so you can get that much closer to your dream set up!
Quote This
For both of us when we got serious about working properly and also laying out our work in the way that we wanted to, it was the first time it really started coming together.
Highlights
Make Your Decisions And Stick To Your Guns! [0:06:02.4]
Emylee's Decision to Start A Cupcake Business. [0:09:52.2]
Abagail's Own Ambitions and Dreams. [0:18:05.7]
Emylee's Second Business After School. [0:23:10.4]
Getting Serious and Quitting the Pretend Business. [0:29:01.8]
Finding Your Biz Path! [0:33:25.2]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Business, Commitment, Mistakes, Motivations, Results
