Thoughts on Change
Raise your hand if you get your best ideas while running an errand, taking a shower or just unwinding (read : away from the good ol’ internet). These past few weeks I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking and making plans about the next chapter in my life and business. Perhaps is the urge for new things in the new year but I have this itch to start on a clean plate.
Funny this is I am not a fan of change. I like my routine. I am hesitant of the unknown. This is why I’ve grown my business organically without taking any huge risks. I have talked a great deal about the importance of going slow and steady in your business. Every business and life decision I’ve taken has felt right and coming from within.
Like many small business owners, every now and than I do get discouraged when ideas don’t come to be the way I planned for them. The world of social media is a great source of inspiration but also such a distraction for me personally and I constantly struggle separating from it. I think more and more these days we find ourselves wasting valuable time browsing in search for “inspiration”. But at the end of the day, does it really serve us well? I’m reading this awesome book by David Lavinsky, “Start at the End” (highly recommend it to all your business owners out there!) He talks a lot about the vision you have for your life and company and how to keep yourself from being distracted. This paragraph stood out to me and I wanted to share it with you all:
Wow! I mean, is he right on or what? How many times did you feel distracted and pulled away from the goals you set to do just because some other business is doing something that looks really cool? I still do. But this is about the change. This year I am focusing on pursuing my vision for my life and business, and that alone. For the first time since I started Le Papier Studio, I took time to create a Marketing Plan for the year. I poured my heart and soul into this spending hours and hours of thorough planning. I know it’s going to be great because it came from within me and not some model out there.
That said, I am happy to let you all know about some changes happening this year at Le Papier Studio. First and most important, I am re-branding. I have talked about it in great detail in the past, but it didn’t feel right undertaking such a task for my own business until now. Over the years I’ve taken on almost any type of project and expanded my product offering to everything I received requests for. I don’t regret it. It has taught me a great deal about running a business and dealing with customers.
Going forward, I will be discontinuing almost 70% of my products focusing on our very best sellers, which have proven time and time again to be the jewelry and the fine art prints. As a matter of fact, I was re-assured about this reading all the answers from the last survey I sent out. My plan for this year and going forward is to focus my time and talents on what I do best. And by doing this I know I will be a better service to those who put their trust in me.
Last but not least, I am working on a way to offer what I’ve learned about running a successful business these past 6 years with those that need assistance in starting out and furthering their business’s vision to new heights. I will share more on this soon.
I have also spent some time hand sketching again. Something I enjoy greatly and I hope to do more this year.
If you’ve been reading my blog these past years, thank you. Sometimes, it feels as though no one is reading what I post here – which is alright. But if you are reading this post, it would mean a lot to hear your thoughts. If you are a business owner, I am sure you too relate to these thoughts.
