January 14, 2018 3 min read
Before you start any journey, in most cases you have a basic idea of what to pack, where you’re headed, and what’s on the agenda. But most who travel also know that what you experience and learn are very rarely aligned with what you’d imagined. No one tells you that for every encounter or view that melts your heart or awakens your senses, there is likely a few skipped heartbeats, near panic, and unsettling feelings of “I’m so lost.”
I’d say that starting a business is no different. You can certainly prepare a basic outline of what you think will happen, but there are, simply put, more thoughts/tasks/realities than you can prepare for. Just like any good trip, there are many moments of skipped heartbeats, near panic (full on panic), and dozens of moments of “I’m so lost.” But also like any good trip, there are clues and maps and people and moments that guide you and remind you how to get back on track and how to savor the experience for what it is. We learn and grow.
I’ve learned a lot about retail - things that many of you have helped me to understand, including the numbers and timelines that I should be paying attention to, as well as products and categories that you care about, and those you don’t. I’ve learned a lot about community, both the importance of it from a personal, emotional sense and from a larger, topic-based sense. I’ve learned so much about myself, working through fear, uncertainty, risk, to find joy and appreciation for every growth moment and success, regardless of the size.
So over the course of 2017 there were a few shifts:
They say that your dreams aren’t going to happen until you speak them into existence, so here we go friends. In 2018, aka year two of business, we’re going places, quite literally. While the actual execution is still very much in infant stages, trips and retreats are on the roadmap and I’m excited to work with you and for you to create options that feel fun, exciting, and practical. Join the CREW to share your thoughts or comment below with where you want to go, what you want to do/see, or what you need help with when you’re planning lake travel.
In 2018 we’re also:
So cheers to you, and cheers to 2018 being a year of:
Adventure. Connection. Gear to Celebrate the Lake Life.
As always, Long Live Lake Life!
Katherine
Katherine Gramann