12 Women Who Make Pivoting Their Business
LEAN INTO TURNING POINTS, BABE.
Happy Top Knot Tuesday! Fill up your mug, put your hair in a messy bun & let's do this! This week’s topic is all about pivoting for your business— because the first lesson each of us learns after we launch is how to come up with a plan B. Staying flexible and being resourceful is an absolute must as a business owner. Part of being resourceful is being able to reach out when you need a hand or an ear, so the best resource we have is each other. Having women you can ask questions and hear about what has worked and hasn’t for is so invaluable & comforting. We want you to know that it’s okay if plan A isn’t working. It means it’s time for plan B. And then a plan C. Anyone who has a successful business isn’t still working on plan A.
I ABSOLUTELY COULDN'T RESIST USING THIS GIF. HA!
These women have learned when It’s time to make some phone calls, make some tweaks, change it up, and make some money moves. Here are the stories of 12 women who have decided to pivot. Stay boss. xx -G
Amy Braswell | PaperFinch Design // IG
“I'm pivoting a lot this year, it seems. Showing at the National Stationery Show was a pretty big pivot for me - just going from pitching smaller boutique shops via email, to actually showing my products to some of the heavy hitters in retail, like HomeGoods! But also, somewhere along the way I realized that I could use my personal story of the struggles I went through while building Paperfinch to help other small business owners. So a major pivot this year is that I'm building an ecourse about Weatherproofing Your Business, or how to prepare your business for when life happens. What I"m learning is that I can be a product-based business and a service provider. And I have such a heart for both - and they speak to different sides of my creative brain. But after 7 years designing products, and dealing with everything that goes with that, it's been a little intimidating jumping into coaching + teaching! But what is life if not an adventure?”
St. Petersburg, FL
Andrejka Hirschegger | Andrejka Photography // IG
“Biggest turning point I made in my business was all about shifting my perspective and focus. My successful business was going downhill and all my usual steps weren’t working. I was ready to walk away. I figured I had nothing left to lose so I invested what was left in a business coach! Best decision I ever made. She didn’t just teach me about business, but shifted my view. I no longer thought of myself as a “photographer” but as a business woman. This turning point allowed me to see that I was focusing on the one thing I knew already and not everything else that was out there to learn and try. I was going in circles. I realized the problem wasn’t the actual service but everything else I had been ignoring. It was no longer about my product or service but about what I did with that product and service.”
St. Petersburg, FL
Crystina Castiglione | The Messy Painter // IG
“A big pivot I am currently making is no longer sitting back on my list of things I *want* to do someday, and turn them into plans of action. For a long time I’ve had this list of goals pinned to my studio wall for plans I deemed to big too tackle, like writing a book proposal, or filming an online course. Rather than figuring out how to make those things happen I just kept telling myself, and others, “I’ll get to it eventually” or “this is what I really want to do, but I don’t know when.” It just kind of hit me that I didn’t know what I was waiting for, because those are the things that will be ground breaking for me as an artist and for my business. So i’m finally putting myself first in my business, ironic right? I’m learning to say no to a bunch of work that I don’t really want to be doing anyways and to clients who don’t actually value my skill set enough or understand what it is I do. It feels pretty liberating!”
St. Petersburg, FL
Danelle Smart Schaefer | Danelle Monique // IG
“A big pivot I I made for my business was just saying screw it and doing what I wanted to do instead of what everyone else said I "had" to do. I tend to go against the grain and at first I thought that was a bad thing, but now I realize there is more than one way to skin a cat.”
Vincennes, IN
Danielle Ferrari | Valhalla Resale // IG
“When you’re starting a business that no one has ever started before, you often find yourself in uncharted waters. One big turning point for Valhalla was reaching 50 members. Before we reached 50 members, it was pretty easy managing member holds, providing personalized styling, and finding room for it all. But once we hit 50 members, it became a challenge. We found that the “old” processes didn’t really work as well anymore. We ending up reworking our behind the scenes processes and while our members may not have noticed the changes, they may have noticed they were seeing better quality items that fit their style a little more. It was critical for us quickly to make the updates to ensure member satisfaction and excitement. It’s important to constantly look at processes to ensure they are still a good fit for your business. Just like life, your business will experience changes and it’s important to go with the flow and adapt.”
Tampa, FL
Erika Vidal Holmes | Erika Vidal Holmes // IG
“This year, I went from offering "all the copywriting things" to offering a specific set of services, namely website copy, email copy and content strategy. I realized I was saying yes to projects that I didn't want to actually DO, simply because I was afraid of missing out on income. What I found was saying "no" actually created more opportunity for me to have the time and space to take on projects and clients I love. I'm also in the process of rebranding myself in a way that reflects the type of clients I want to attract (a.k.a. bold, adventurous entrepreneurs who refuse to blend in).”
Tampa, FL
Gina Moccio | Babe Crafted // IG
“When I started my business in 2017 it was called Boss Babe Club. I decided about a year after launching that I needed to pivot. I realized that having a business called Boss Babe Club and a membership called Babe Crafted was not only confusing for my audience & members, but also exhausting for me to have to maintain two separate brands. So instead of continuing on a path that I knew didn’t feel right anymore, I met with The Benkabbou Law Firm, The Creative Spring, and a graphic designer to help me make some changes this August. We are now Babe Crafted, LLC all across the board. Was it a scary decision? Yes. Did I wonder if people would understand why I did it? Yes. But I knew it was the right choice and haven’t looked back.”
Tampa, FL
Jai Lopa | Wolf & Rabbit Marketing // IG
“Our mission is to empower business owners to feel confident with how their brands are represented online. Our biggest pivot with this mission has been in developing and embracing our role as an education and value driven company. As our service division has grown, so has the demand for workshops, classes and online education. We have spent Q1 and Q2 2018 hiring and developing beautiful systems to manage our clients online presence needs and Q3 and Q4 are all about doing the same thing for business owners who do not have the budget yet to delegate out their marketing needs.”
Tampa, FL
Lisa Gilmore | Lisa Gilmore Design // IG
“2017 was a huge year of change in my personal life, forcing me to hone in on the things that really bring me love and joy. 2018 has been change in my professional life, and I have shifted that mentality over into my business. I have made it a priority to focus in on the projects I really love and that get my interior design butterflies racing through me! While this was a hard shift - changing my business model and learning to say "no" to certain projects, I know in the long run, myself, my team (and my clients) will be much happier with these passion projects where we only produce top notch work.”
St. Petersburg, FL
Rana Tierney | Roohi Photography // IG
“Each year I face a new challenge, and I've learned that I in order to keep going in this business, I must come up with new ideas. I think for me and for the business that means thinking of ways to create different revenue streams outside of and within my business. The next year (or two) will be committed to getting my ideas and dreams off the ground!”
Tampa, FL
Rowena Sjovall | Vêtue Boutique // IG
“Collaborating with other boutique owners has been a game changer for me. I have a small handful of fellow boutique owners that I trust and get advice from. They helped me grasp the concept of ‘Community over Competition’. In learning that, I was able to change my mindset to one of abundance yet at the same time staying in my lane and basically doing the best I can for my boutique and not worrying what other boutiques are doing. The results? Less stress, and more friendships and paying it forward to others.”
Tampa, FL
Sarka Nichol | Citrus Press Co. // IG
“When sales started to increase I needed to revaluate the processes that I had in place for my business. I was too busy fulfilling and customizing and not enough time designing and expanding my collection range. Let alone having much free time. Something had to give. I took a chance and headed up to NSS (National Stationery Show) to search for printing companies that offered fulfillment services. I needed to find a printer that reflected the quality and production of my product and met or exceeded my client expectations. I am so happy that I had taken that gamble. After some shopping around and testing with some printers that I spoke to at NSS, I managed to find a perfect fit for my business. It was so hard to trust someone else with the end results of my product but in order to grow I had to take this chance. I’ve had to learn to let go and start making smart business decisions and trusting other sources to handle aspects of my business. Not only has this decision helped my business grow, it’s allowed me to have more time at home with family, more time to work on new designs…and after testing this partnership for a year I can now allow myself to travel and work remotely with confidence. It’s been a total game changer!”
Tampa, FL
