For the last six months, I’ve thought at least once a week that I need to make my inaugural blog post on my website. For whatever reason, I put it off until we were in the middle of a global pandemic. Hey…nobody ever accused me of being sensible. Or of not being a procrastinator.
You see, if this were my first “not-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic” blog post, I would spend some time introducing myself, telling you why I started my business, explaining my vision, etc. But I’m going to skip that for now and get to what’s really on my mind.
Here it is: I’m struggling. Yes Tanya <<insert eyeroll here>>, isn’t everyone? YES! And that makes me struggle more. You see, I’m trying to keep my business going. But with every social media post…every sale…every website email campaign…I can’t stop thinking about you. Now, keep in mind “you” isn’t everyone that is reading this right now. But if:
- You’re the person that turns to shopping for therapy when you feel bad, and you end up with a bunch of things you won’t wear or use
- You’re the person that sees something you like and buys it even though you can’t afford it
- You’re the person that wants to support small businesses and spends all the money you make from your small business to do so
Well that escalated quickly… But I hope you get the point. I don’t want my customers to buy things they don’t need and/or can’t afford. There. I said it. As if I have any control over that. Which I don’t. I know I can’t stop it from happening unless I shut down completely. Which...to come full circle…is what I’m struggling with.
When I try to talk to others about my second thoughts about running a (non-essential) business that sells (unnecessary) clothing to people that aren’t in the right frame of mind (re: global pandemic), they generally tell me one of two things: “small businesses need to keep going or the economy is going to collapse” OR “you’re overthinking this”.
And THEY ARE BOTH RIGHT! What’s worse…I KNOW THEY ARE RIGHT, I SELF-TALK USING THESE SAME MANTRAS and I TELL OTHER PEOPLE THE SAME THING! Yeah…I’m still shouting (at current me. Not old me or current you). But I can’t seem to shake it, so I thought getting it off my chest might help. Thank you for listening.
In reality, I’m not actually thinking seriously about closing, and I feel camaraderie amongst other small business owners as I know they are struggling with this and similar issues. Nothing seems to be clear anymore, which is hard for everyone, and especially hard for overthinkers (a.k.a. me).
Whew! That was a lot. Now that I’ve said my piece, I want to close with a couple of other things that have been on my mind:
- If you placed an order on Facebook or on my website in the last couple of weeks, THANK YOU! I sincerely appreciate you, and right now you are the beating heart of my business
- If you feel bad because you can’t afford to place an order or want to save your money, I UNDERSTAND and appreciate you thinking of me and wishing me success
- If you’ve taken the time to read/watch, comment on, like and/or share my social media posts, THANK YOU! I sincerely appreciate you, and every comment, like and share is another chance that my business will make it long term
- If you have no idea who I am or what the #$%@ Frolics even is or what this person you’ve never met is rambling about…THAT’S OKAY TOO! I still wish you the best in these uncertain times (and please search for @frolicsboutique on FB and Insta)
Until next week, stay safe and healthy!
Virtual XOXO,
Tanya