Thursday, January 5, 2017

Stuff and Things New with Me

I keep meaning to write about my thoughts and feelings about closing a small business.  I keep meaning to write about what the future holds for me (in the professional sense.)  I keep meaning to do these two things, but I haven't because, if I'm being honest, my thoughts and focus are scattered.  So, here's my stream of consciousness...random, jumbled, wordy and all.  No pretty pictures or funny gifs included.  My bad.

My husband and his father opened their store 12 years ago.  I joined the team 7ish years ago.  Throughout those years, in addition to me, there would only be one other employee, in a part-time capacity.  So, we were truly a small business, family owned and operated. 

Every sale mattered.  Every repair mattered.  Every customer mattered.  Because they paid for every aspect of our livelihood.  There was no set, stable, guaranteed income.  But, it wasn't just about money.  It was about our name.  Our family.  Our reputation.  Our business. 

And, when it comes to the product that we were providing...fine jewellery...often the purchase was made to commemorate an important occasion.  An engagement.  A wedding.  A birthday.  An anniversary.  A gift to oneself after earning a bonus that required hard work and commitment.  A gift to oneself to just "treat yo self".  A graduation.  And more.  We truly wanted the items from our store that marked these important events to be unique, special, quality, and memorable. 

There are not enough words to describe my husband's commitment and work ethic.  I won't even try.  Nothing I could say could do justice to how hard he worked, how committed he was to doing his best, providing the most, giving his all to the business.

Working with him, we learned that we truly made a good team.  We knew each others' strengths and weaknesses.  We bounced off each other well.  We knew how to depend on each other when needed and when to give each other space and autonomy.  Working together truly prepared us for marriage in some ways, without question.  I think that we made such a great team professionally in some aspects, that it convinced us that yes, we'd make great life partners too.

Deciding to close shop wasn't an easy decision.  Not at all.  Reviewing things that went wrong.  Recognizing things that should have been done differently.  Examining the business, trade, and market.  But, once the decision was made, we were ready for it.  The final day those doors closed, we were celebrating.  There was even an impromptu dance session to "The Final Countdown" mixed in there the last week.

What does the future hold? 

We have several ideas and ventures in mind. But, for now, I think we are both in a space that we want one of us (me!) to have steady, stable, known income...even if it isn't a big income...while the husband pursues other ventures in the jewellery trade that are a gamble.  He has some custom orders already established that he will be working on in our home workshop.  He has other opportunities that have been offered to him, and he has some new ideas for a different type of jewellery product launch as well. 

So, I will be on the job hunt.  I started resume writing today.  I haven't written a resume for myself in over a decade.  I reached out to a few people that I've worked with in the past to ask for a few adjectives/buzzwords to describe me.  I gotta admit: I'm pretty humbled, astonished, and quite frankly, proud of their responses. 

I have decades worth of sales experience from building materials to fine jewellery.  I've got a BA in Sociology and years ago worked as a caseworker at a juvenile prison.  A few years ago, I completed a Diploma of Tourism (similar to an Associate's Degree) because the travel industry has always interested and excited me.  Getting a focus on the avenue(s) I want to pursue is my challenge at the moment.  But, I'm confident I'll work through it. 

So, that's "Stuff and Things" that are "New with Me".  How about you?

Linking..... with Kristen and Gretchen:
What's New With You

Linking..... with  Kristin:

28 comments:

  1. What an exciting change! I hope for nothing but the best for you and hope that your job hunt goes well!

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  2. Based on the adventures you had with your recent guests, I'd say that travel planning wouldn't be a bad occupation for you! :)
    Also, resumes/etc SUCK.

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  3. Starting a new chapter in your life is always a little scary and overwhelming but I hope everything turns out well for you! I'm excited to follow along!

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  4. This is so exciting - I hope you find some truly meaningful and exciting work, and that your husband has some great success with his new endeavours as well! Keep us posted (I'm sure you will) on how it all pans out!!!

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  5. oh so exciting! glad you could get some thoughts down and there were not so jumbled :) i love that you guys have exciting new potential journeys and smart of you for taking something "steady" - i quote it bc well, nothing is steady but i get what you mean! hehe. cheers to an amazing 2017 for you guys!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  6. New chapters are scary and exciting! All the best to you as you embark on the job hunt!

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  7. writing resumes...ugh. i hate having to update them as well. i keep one on hand and update every few months so that i don't forget things. good luck on the job hunt!

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  8. I could never work with my husband. You'd wind up being my caseworker except in a real prison. Because, you know, I'm 39 and maybe a little too old for juvenile prison.

    I know this is an emotional time for you. It's hard to go from working for yourself to job hunting and being an employee. But I think you're approaching it with a good attitude and expectations and I'm sure it'll work out sooner than later.

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  9. I'm excited to see where you end up. New adventures lay ahead. Onward & upward!

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  10. Oh my gosh, Erin! I'm so proud and happy for you! Whatever you do, wherever you end up- those are going to be some lucky co-workers and a lucky business! I loved reading about your thoughts on running a business- and working with your significant other! You guys seem to put a lot of heart into what you do. Not everyone does that- and it can't be taught- but it's definitely reflected in the service and product in the end. I wish the very very best for both of you!!
    Cheers to job changes in 2017!!

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  11. lots going on girl!l i hope you find the perfect thing soon and everything works out well for the both of you. i think it's great that you were able to work together and thrive, i am sure KC and I could work together if we had to, but i am quite content not working together haha. best of luck lovely!

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  12. So excited to see where work takes you next! You obtained such valuable experience, and love how you worked with your husband as a team. Cheers to 2017 <3
    Green Fashionista

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  13. Such an exciting and nerve-wracking time, but I know you and your husband will go on to great things! It's very clear that you guys put your heart and soul into that business and some new business is going to snap you up when they realize what a gem (see what I did there) you are. I can't wait to see what you do next. Good luck!

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  14. Girl, so much of what you said in your first paragraph totally hit home with me, so much so that I felt I could have written it (scattered, jumbled, wordy, and random). That completely describes my thought processes since late summer. It's only recently that I have started to feel like I'm getting my focus back, slowly...

    Best of luck in your job search!

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  15. Ugh, writing a resume is so not fun, but that's awesome that you have some great people in your life that are helping you out with some buzz words. I can't even imagine what it feels like to have to close down a business that you started, but that's great that you still have some contacts and he'll still be working on some custom pieces for customers.

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  16. Change can be very scary & exciting. I love your attitude going into it & I hope that you find something that you enjoy quickly. :)

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  17. Keep us posted on any exciting developments. :)

    I wish you well and much luck in finding something up your alley.

    I can send you my resume if you want but it's very legal and wordy. Up to you though. :) Sell yourself and all those amazingly awesome qualities and gifts that you bestow.

    XOXO

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  18. Putting together a resume is the worst thing ever but once it is done, it sounds like you have some exciting possibilities on the horizon and I am sure that you will find something that works perfect for you! I wish you guys all the best!

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  19. I know you will successful at whatever you do! I teared up reading about closing down the business though. Wishing both of you only the best!

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  20. I can't imagine how hard it must be to start over, but I know you'll figure it out! Wishing you the best :)

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  21. You have so much to be proud of behind you, professionally, and now you can expand on it. I love the idea of reinventing and, you know, leveling-up to whatever is next. If we stay in the same spot forever, we don't actually grow to our potential. Change is a good thing!
    And, yes, the buzzwords! I just updated my resume over Christmas break and I switched up some of those verbs!
    Thanks for sharing your scattered thoughts :) They read well.

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  22. I know this boat you're in—I feel like I'm steering it most of the time—and just want to wish you both the best of luck. Neither undertaking—seeking stability, pursuing passion off the beaten path—is easy, but I have every faith that you'll write this chapter with grace. Cheers!

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  23. I'm sorry to hear you had to close down the store, but it's good that you were all ready by the time it happened. Best of luck with building your resume and looking for a job. I hope you find something that suits you and you love! That's always the goal, right?

    -Lauren

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  24. I love stream of consciousnesses because they're so honest. I'm always interested by people's career paths because I think these days the possibilities are so endless, I never know how any of us choose. I think you're approaching it all very sensibly and I'm excited to hear what's next for you guys! Oh and I'm confident my husband and I would make a terrible team if we worked together. Not sure what that says about our marriage prospects... :/

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  25. Oh wow, what a hard change to make. It's good that you were mostly ready for it and mostly celebratory. I'm wishing you guys all the best as you move on to new things. Sometimes change is the absolute best, and I hope that you are able to move on to brighter things. :) XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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  26. Catching up on lots of blog posts from folks after vacation/being busy at work....I'm so EXCITED for you and your new adventure finding your next passion/job. I look forward to hearing about journey :)

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  27. I'm SO behind on blogs and catching up. I have been reading your posts, but since I'm just trying to catch up my commenting has been sparse. But I just had to say that I wish you and your husband the best of luck in your professional lives and that I'm glad you're at peace with the decision to close the shop. I'm sure it feels like a mixed blessing, but good things are in store for you.

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