It feels as though the world, in its efforts to save us time and effort, has become complicated and lost its beauty in the slow and gentle nature of itself.
I recently had a conversation with a friend that was dealing with overwhelm fatigue. She's trying to create her own website, build out her Etsy shop, grow an email list, and gain social media followers all while having to still be creative and design & build her products. She's exhausted. She doesn't know which things to focus on first and which things will have the most impact. She's scared because she doesn't want to show her face. ever. And she's overwhelmed because she's been buying every class or membership that guarantees they have the answer, only to be disappointed once she gets it because they dangled this big carrot and it turned out to be information she could get off google for free along with an opportunity to buy more classes. sound familiar?
Wow. There's a lot to unpack in what advice I would give her. The first thing I would say is, "Take a minute and just take a deep breathe. It's going to be okay. Everything you're doing has been for your good. And you have learned amazing lessons even with what didn't work." Then I would pause and hug her while probably crying cause that's just who I am. But I feel what she's going through because I've been there.
When I get to the core of what her biggest struggle is ~overwhelm~ I can't guide her through all of that in one quick hour long lunch. Which is part of what got me thinking about the membership I'm building. I noticed a pattern where people are tired of the over-promising and under-delivering. They don't want a big name, huge cost course where they have to decipher the nuggets and determine how it fits into their business. They want a friend who has been in their shoes and navigated the same waters, and is willing to share her insights with specifics because she wants to see you succeed as much as you do.
And I recognized that with all of the trial and error, testing and evaluating, and research I've done, that I've really learned quite a bit along the way. I've learned how to navigate the saturated waters of marketplaces, how to discern which print-on-demand products are not worth the lower cost, how to build out & maintain a website, how to grow & engage with a social media audience (and that you can succeed with a small one,) which ads could be helpful & when & how to run them strategically. And as mentoring others has always been a part of who I am, naturally I'm drawn to helping others with what I know. I would love for them to learn from my trial and error and duplicate what worked and avoid what didn't.
When this idea kept circling my dreams, I knew I needed to pay attention. But what would make my plan different than the others that are out there?
My heart.
I listened to what they were saying behind their words. They didn't want a one-off class that would teach them one aspect, cause that gets expensive and they run the risk of not even learning the information they came to get. They didn't want just concepts; they wanted to know which print-on-demand companies to choose and why. And how. They wanted instructional how-to videos, in depth, so they didn't make the wrong choices. They wanted someone that could walk alongside them and give real-time advice and feedback, like a trusted friend. over time. Because we are all at different stages and we don't know what we don't know until we get there.
I envisioned a place, a community, that you could easily reach out to, where your mentor & your friends would be, waiting to help you, in real time. So instead of creating a bunch of individual classes, I am creating a growth membership where I will teach other entrepreneurs through guided steps and how to videos so that they can create their own success story. We will build a community together that encourages one another, helps brainstorm ideas, and talks about the ups and downs, because knowing that someone else has had or is having a similar struggle is helpful. And the support and community will go on for as long as you need. I will be providing done for you templates (at no extra cost-because the nickel and diming is becoming overwhelming all on its own), some will even have commercial licenses included so you can turn around and sell them. You will also be able to borrow my audience and collaborate with other people who are looking to build a similar type dream as you. And I will be honest. You will hear what I'm struggling with, what things I tried that weren't worth the time investment, and what things were and are working well.
I try to keep my blog posts short, cause 'too long didn't read' is a real thing; but I don't want to close this one without some quick encouragement.
“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.” -C. JoyBell
I need to explain that even though this membership will make growing your business easier, it is also a lot of work. Wait, how do I say that with more emphasis? It will be WORK, hard work. You will have to go through all the same stages everyone else did in building their business. You just get a guide and a helping hand to save you some time and effort. You will still have slow growth in various stages. But one of biggest things I've learned along the way, is that this is all way easier with a community around you.
I will be announcing our Founding Member launch soon. If you are interested, feel free to join our waitlist here. There are some really cool things in store for the group that helps me launch this community of entrepreneurs that want their big life dreams to come true while cutting through all the noise- I'm so excited.
Warmest regards,
P.S. Feel free to reach out with comments, questions, suggestions, etc. You'll always get a response. support@rusticsimpledesign.com If you have ideas for what should be included, email that to me as well. Collaboration makes everything better.
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