My request today? Be vulnerable…
I’m going to be vulnerable for a bit and lay my sh*t out for all the world to see.
The last two years have been tough for me (as they have been for everyone else). As we learned about this new virus and everything shut down, I was 11 months away from paying off the store that I bought in 2015.
I’d already invested over $800K into this business and I wasn’t about to let a fluke virus take me out! You see, the deal I had with the previous owners allowed them to take back ownership if I failed to make a payment. It was a scary 11 months.
Not only did I pay them every month, we also didn’t miss a single rent payment. And in May of 2021 I’d officially paid off all of my loans and owned the store outright.
But now it was time to focus on what was next for TerraLoco. A new space? A new website? Now that I had money to invest in things I’d been putting off for years, it was time for the next steps. Which was just as terrifying as keeping a business going in April of 2020.
Despite all of the challenges, we have grown a lot. Surprisingly, 2021 ended up outperforming 2019, which had been our best year to date, so far. And we did all of this short staffed, with few in store events, fewer shopping hours, and inventory shortages.
But, honestly… I’m exhausted. And I’m pretty sure I can speak for the rest of our staff and say they are exhausted too. We’ve been working our buns off, without the usual rewards of staff parties, energizing customer events, and (for me, at least) the ability to train for & run races due to social distancing and life.
Trust me, I want to show up for your anniversary party, I want to celebrate your kiddo’s birthday, I want to join you at your group run … But I’m so exhausted.
I’m exhausted from pivoting for the last 24 months.
I’m exhausted from dealing with people who treat those in customer service like dirt.
I’m exhausted from trying to be positive.
I’m exhausted from getting over one hump, just to realize there’s 40 more challenges ahead.
I’m exhausted from having to prove myself.
I’m exhausted from beating myself up over feeling like I have to prove myself 🤷♀️
I’m exhausted from the mental gymnastics it takes to go from buyer to accountant to IT expert to HR manager in one day.
I’m exhausted from the lack of consistency in my schedule.
And I know that you feel the same way.
That’s the thing … We all have our struggles.
I’m lucky in that I haven’t had to also be exhausted from managing my kid’s distance learning!
This time in your life may be particularly hard, or you may not be struggling that much right now. Whatever season you are in, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
And let’s all take a minute to recognize that we are not in a competition to see who’s more exhausted. This is not the time for “my sh*it is harder than your sh*it”. Let’s face it – everyone’s sh*it stinks.
So what I’m asking for is extending grace.
Extend me a little grace if I don’t get back to you right away, or if I don’t show up. Extend me a little grace for not being as engaging as a business leader as I should. Some days, it’s enough just to get out of bed.
And I’ll extend you grace when you react poorly, make an assumption about me or the business, put me in a scheduling pickle, or fail – in whatever way, even if it’s a spectacular failure, because at least you tried.
I hope that we can do the same with all of our friends & family. While we’ve all been secluded and social distancing it’s been hard to be communicative and honest about how we are doing. We’re all focused on resiliency, but at some point, the bucket has to be refilled, you know?
I’m not sure what I’m saying here, except, we all have sh*t to carry and I’m not immune. If we can be more open & vulnerable, we can learn from one another and it will be easier to extend grace.
This isn’t easy to do – I’ve been working on this as part of my personal development this year, and so far I have cried & made someone else cry .. at least twice now, as I/we worked through some sh*t.
My request today?
Be vulnerable, maybe someone else can help you carry the load. And if not, your vulnerability can be the catalyst for someone else’s turning point.
