Take Those Ridiculous Things Off.

Nothing ever goes the way you imagine it will. And I suppose that’s the wonderful and horrifying side of taking a chance. Wouldn’t you know it, that on the very day I could hear the last pretty penny of my business loan clink against the bottom of my piggy bank, I landed a freelance writing job, which partly explains my two month absence from the Blackbird blog. And now that the job is winding down, I’m faced with a strange irony. Rather than earning a respectable living through my t-shirt business, the business itself landed me a different job that allowed me to reclaim financial stability.

When I launched back in February, this scenario never would have crossed my mind. Blackbird Tees was either going to be a hit or not, and being a hit equated almost exclusively to sales. In fact, it was in the very area that I dreaded most–PR and marketing, that I achieved the most success, which ultimately led to a writing stint with a marketing company. I guess the point of all of this is to say that notions of success should be flexible. If you take a risk, start a business, go on an adventure around the world, etc., you will experience some level of success, but I’d caution anyone that homes in on just one definition of the word. You might miss all of the other rewards for your efforts. Even more, the significance of each step is lost somehow when you have blinders up. The small moves made everyday are complete actions in their own right. They’re choices, sometimes difficult ones, that shift your position, move you forward or sideways, and each has a stake in what happens next.

If hiring a web designer had been more affordable, I may never have felt compelled to learn how to build my own site. And if I had experienced even modest success in the first month of business, I wouldn’t have brushed up on my marketing skills. In the moment, it feels like you’re just doing what’s necessary to meet an immediate need, but over time, the ability to bend, problem solve, and change course builds a unique brand of endurance. So, the day-to-day decisions may feel small, but just like with any type of transformation, there will be moments when you get to pause and look back at the cumulative effect, and if you’re lucky, perhaps even surprise yourself.

Filed under Blackbird Diary, Lost Demographic |