Looking back to last year, I remember how much of a frenzy that we were living in. Last year at this time looked completely different. We were getting ready to move for the 2nd time in 6 months. Unexpectedly.
After spending a month in a hotel room and then having to move after that, 2019 wasn’t the friendliest year for us. It was a struggle. We seem to have our fair share of struggles but moving our kids twice in 6 months was NEVER the plan. But we did it anyway.
I had to quit the job that I loved. I worked in a daycare as the cook. It combined two of my loves, working with children and being in the kitchen. When I gave my notice, I was sad but determined. I knew that this would be the one chance I had to grow my business. I was back to being home with my kids.
I love my children dearly and being a mom is one of the greatest gifts in the world but I never imagined myself as a stay-at-home mom. It had never crossed my mind. I always wanted more. I wanted the big office with a view. I wanted to be successful and powerful. I wanted to be in charge of something important.
I could never tell you exactly what that meant but I had this vision.
So in September 2019, we packed up the UHaul on a snowy and miserable day and moved to NW Calgary. I mean, we weren’t moving far away but it was taking us to a city we have never lived in before and a school system our kids had never attended before. Once again, we had the choice to decide who we wanted to be.
I am absolutely in love with our house and our neighbourhood. We have huge windows that bring in so much natural light during the day. We have a backyard that the kids can play in. Well working on that as we had crazy amounts of ants and prickly plants take over. My son can walk to school. I can walk my daughter to school. Every morning we get to see the mountains. Seriously, absolutely love our home.
FREELANCE BLOGGING BECOMING MORE
When we moved, I was only doing some freelance blogging. Honestly, it was something that I was struggling with. In July, I had my best month and then shit hit the fan and everything felt like it had collapsed around me. Self-doubt and self-criticism were high. I began to wonder if what I was trying to build was even possible.
I continued to blog about blogging, self-care and self-love. The 3 pieces of myself that I tried to desperately fit together and keep together. I tried and tried for months. Well, almost the full year of being here, I tried. Even when I was told by several people that I needed to choose.
I didn’t want to choose. They were all pieces of me that I couldn’t give up because I couldn’t find a way to do it without sacrifice.
Things changed after a few months of living here. The kids and I were finally in a routine. They were loving their new schools and I was ready to continue to build my business. I NEVER saw the curve up ahead that would change it completely.
In January 2020, I held my first blogging workshop. I took a leap of despair and rented out a room in the library. I was beyond excited when I had 1 woman sign up for that workshop.
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1 woman that I didn’t even know and she saw the value in my workshop enough to purchase a ticket. And then my friend Jody jumped in and purchased a ticket. I had 2 women show up for me that day.
That night was truly AMAZING!! If you have ever been in alignment with something that you are doing, you know what I am talking about. You feel on top of the world. Everything you speak about and everything you know seems to come out perfectly. These women sat in the audience and asked amazing questions. 2 hours flew by as if it was nothing. I taught 2 women for 2 hours and it felt like 20 minutes.
I was where I needed to be and it was just the spark that I needed to get that fire burning with such intensity that I had no way to stop. At the end of the workshop, the feedback I got was that I needed to help them 1 on 1. I needed to actually create something that I could walk women through step by step and help them set up their blog.
Because of these 2 women, my blogging intensive weekends were born. And the blog coaching branch of my business was born. In February of 2020, I held my first weekend blogging intensive with Jody.
In 2 days, we were able to take her from an idea she had to an actual published website with a plan. 2 days of intense work and a vision that she had been dreaming about for years was finally brought to life. That feeling of being on top of the world came back and it made me want more and more of that.
And then the world crashed. My kids were home from school because there was a suspected case of COVID and we didn’t want to risk it. It was early March and we didn’t expect them to be home for a long time but the world came to a crashing halt.
I, again, had to rethink how I was going to offer my services. I loved the in-person workshops and intensives. I came alive in these moments. I fully stepped into my power.
BLOGS WERE BORN AND I BECAME A BLOGGING COACH
The Beta round of Blogology was born. It was a way for me to take my blogging intensive and stretch it out over 6 weeks. It gave women time to build their blog and to truly learn the ins and outs of what I was teaching them. I had 2 women sign up for the Beta round and every week, we showed up and did the work.
Blogs were born and I was officially calling myself a blogging coach. A title that I must admit, I thought I came up with, ONLY to realize it was an actual thing. And that is when the comparison game came in and knocked me down.
As an entrepreneur, I think we have all been there at some point. Comparing our work to others in the same niche as us. My niche is competitive and has some super BIG names in it. Neil Patel and Melyssa Griffin to name just a couple. I began to think that it just wasn’t possible for me to go anywhere.
Deep down I knew that I would need to narrow down my blog even more. In order to expand, I needed to shed my “old” self and continue to go with the new. For me, that meant that I needed to get rid of the self-care and self-love portions of my blog and focus on growing my blogging blog. I needed to fully step into the new direction I was going.
It was terrifying. It was like releasing one of my children. I started as a self-care and self-love blogger. It was part of my story but I knew that in order to move forward, it was a step that I needed to take.
So in June 2020, I completely rebranded. I changed my logo. I got rid of the name Creative Purpose. I changed my website and ONLY brought over the blog posts that I had written about blogging. Well except for my Survivor Sunday series and the powerful series of posts by Courtney.
It was terrifying to start from a new place but I had seen some amazing growth over those past 6 months and was ready to fully embrace those changes. I did.
12 MONTHS AGO, EVERYTHING WAS DIFFERENT
I went from September 2019 to September 2020, questioning my ability to do anything. Questioning whether I could have my own business to currently having 2 blog coaching clients and 1 blog management client with more that have reached out.
In a year my business has grown into a way for me to teach women how to blog and to help businesses grow their brand through blogging. By deciding to just go for it, I gave myself no other option.
The growth that I had seen from 2014-2019 when I lived in Airdrie was a beautiful transition to finding myself and learning to love who I am. The growth that I have seen from 2019-2020 living in Calgary has allowed me to fully embrace my talents and to put them out into the world as I have never done before.
I am forever grateful for the Universe stepping in and making me take this plunge. I am grateful for that 1 woman who saw something in my workshop and showed up willing to learn. I am grateful to Jody for being my #1 supporter in my business and reminding me on a daily basis that I am great at what I do and that the world needs me.
Are you ready to start your blog? I want to be reading your 1-year blogging post next October 2021. I want to follow your healing journey as you take your vision and make it a reality. Sign up for the Digital Blogging Intensive or reach out to work with me 1 on 1. Let me help take you from idea to blog.
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