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Real Talk: On the Discomfort of Growing a Business

 

As the two of us prepare for some exciting unfoldings in the months ahead, we’ve been reflecting on our journey so far to this point – this moment when we finally feel comfortable (and confident!) enough to affirm that, ohmigod, hey! We have a business!

A business which, over the past six months or so, has gained a surprising amount of momentum…surprising in the fact that here we are, building something we love and pouring our passions into this little venture of ours, and the responses we’ve received have been so kind, so positive, so generous that we sometimes have to pinch ourselves!

Which isn’t to say the process also hasn’t come with its fair share of challenges.

A few months ago I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. One of the biggest takeaways I received from that little tome was her shit sandwich argument: “Because if you love and want something enough—whatever it is—then you don’t really mind eating the shit sandwich that comes with it.”

There’s a tremendous amount of discomfort that goes hand-in-hand with growing a business. It’s easy to forget in those times of dreamy imaginings the extraordinary amount of work that goes into actually building the vision.

Certainly this has been true for Two Drunk Witches and the many, many hours we’ve spent, for example, meticulously tracking inventory, measuring and re-measuring label dimensions and painstakingly cutting out every one of those circular little labels that adorn our bath bomb packages. All those instances of doing something for the first time can feel overwhelming and difficult – say, deciphering a wordy application, making sense of barcode processes or rebuilding a website from scratch.

None of these things are as fun as dreaming up new creations or spending an afternoon with our hands busy pouring salves and packing bath bombs. Nor will I ever proclaim that they’re as easy.

The creative, the inspired – that’s the easy part. The rest is necessity.

But guess what else? It gets easier. And easier, and easier.

I recall how panicked I was at our launch party in December 2016. The fear nobody would show up or that they’d hate our products. The challenge of meeting new faces and having the courage and conviction to share my passion for what we’d created. (And, if y’all have been following us since then, you’ll remember just how grassroots that first gathering was – labels printed from our home computer and secured to bottles with clear adhesive! And in spite of that, the amazing encouragement and support we received, a cherished gift in those early days of trying to build a foundation for the something more.)

As we reflect on all the milestones we’ve achieved over the past months, it’s hard not to feel proud. Challenges that seemed insurmountable at the start (those damned barcodes!) barely register as we become more knowledgeable, more efficient and, especially, more confident.

And that's when something else magical begins to happen: we find more freedom to focus on the things that inspire and motivate us!

We’ve been working on something special we’re so thrilled to share with you in the months ahead, so be sure to stay connected to find out more about what we have in store.

In the meantime, we want to share our heartfelt gratitude again for everyone who’s supported us along this journey – each of you plays a major role in our process of growth and learning, and it truly is a privilege to receive your encouragement.

Happy Imbolc, friends! 

XX


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