In thinking about our side hustles, most of us tend to wish for rapid growth. Where we grow so fast, our financial needs are met immediately.
I think at times we all have hoped for rocketing success. You know, the success that changes your life financially. Without all the stress.
But we all have to go through the same steps. Each successful business started with just an idea. Someone had to do the work to bring it to life and build it to what it is. Side note: yes, some people have bigger resources and a lot more support that makes their skyrocketing path a whole lot easier.
You cannot force ideas. Successful ideas are the result of slow growth. Ideas do not reach perfection in a day, no matter how much study is put upon them.
-Alexander Graham Bell
But I do want to talk about the benefits of slow growth. One of the main things is that you can figure things out without having as many eyes on you watching to see if what you're doing is going to work. I did and undid lots of things along the way when no one was watching, and that was a huge relief to me. I mean no one likes an audience watching when they backtrack on something.
Besides, I've experienced these jolts of rapid success several times. And the increase in sales is so rewarding, you feel like you're on the right track, finally. Then comes the instant feelings of overwhelm....you have to make sure all of the orders are fulfilled, your customer interactions increase, and you lack the time to create something new to add to your products because you are swamped with your to do list. And if you haven't built something scalable into your plan, you will quickly fill all of your time just trying to keep up. And a new kind of overwhelm settles in and you start to wonder about your life choices. or is that just me?
So when I set out to restart my business this latest time around, I knew I didn't want to spend all of my time packing and shipping orders. I needed to look for additional ways to supplement my income. I researched print-on-demand and knew this could be a good fit. I also had tons of designs from my previous shop that I could use- but I knew I didn't want to customize for every order or I would be limited by how many I could complete in a day. So I found a way to offer digital downloadable content that I could create once that the customer personalizes & edits themselves. And both types sell & are delivered even when I'm asleep or away from work.
Something interesting happens though, as you make progress, you start to reassess what you like and what you don't like and what you want to do more of and what you want to do less of. And you take stock of where you're headed.
For me, my dream daily life looks like gardening, tending to animals, and creating beautiful art when I'm inspired. My business will run happily in the background and I can come check in for a few hours each day to connect with a beloved community of like-minded entrepreneurs and ensure that the community continues to grow and thrive. Most importantly, I would have built in flexibility in my schedule.
Success is a fruit of slow growth. -Henry Fielding
So, if you are just starting out or even in one of the inevitable slow growth stages, use the time to re-evaluate things and see if there's anything to tweak to make sure you're not barreling down a path you won't like when you get there. These seasons of slow are a blessing.
Warmest regards,
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