Have you ever had a moment in your life where you stop and reassess your life? Most likely, the answer is yes. I think many of us are constantly reassessing our career choices, our daily routines, and our general level of happiness.
This year, I gave my path a hard evaluation.
Those who know me best will tell you I am always working. My best of friends repeatedly express concern with “how hard I work” and hope I will take some time for myself. What does that mean?
Many people don’t comprehend the reality of a customized, made-in-the-USA product. At Southern Nest, every custom order is created at the point of sale. We make it go from a piece of wood to whatever someone wants it to be. That involves a tremendous amount of careful, skilled labor and artistry. And, honestly, we are REALLY good at it.
But I learned a big lesson. (I am always tempted to call it a mistake, but I understand that there is no such thing as a mistake, as we learn from all we do.) As foreign-produced competition began to swarm the market, I began to work harder. In my mind, I was “refusing to step down.” But, the truth is that I was learning the basic principles of economics on a true, first-hand level. I quickly found myself working to an unhealthy level. Covered in sawdust and exhausted while trying to make customers’ deadlines happen, I realized…this isn’t fun anymore. Somehow, we became factory.
I am lucky. I understand that I outgrew a self-defined “path to success and happiness” at a point in life where I was able to tweak it. I missed so many events with my children, my husband, my family, my friends…one day you look up and realize: that’s the stuff that’s important. (Don’t let anyone ever convince you otherwise.)
Getting to the point where I could orchestrate my business to align with this revelation proved to be tedious. I was inundated with emails (y’all have no idea….I thought I had a “lot” of emails until I started my business.) I felt overwhelmed and deep down, I knew I needed time. So…I took a few months to slow down. I practiced running my business as I wanted; with slow, perfection-oriented production. And you know what? I found that spark I had for it when I started.
I am lucky that I have a husband that supports my every move. Without him, I would not have the freedom to make the choices that I do.
Southern Nest is once again taking orders. We will be accepting very limited quantities at a time and will close orders by announcing items are ‘out of stock.’ We will load the items on to our website Thursday evenings at 8:00 PM EST. This will ensure we are able to create the products you deserve at the speed you deserve them. We will also have a “ready to ship page”-these are items that are already produced and will not require any production time.
The new structure will ensure faster delivery, good customer service, and high-end quality…all while keeping true to the essence of the brand.
I feel like everyone has their own way of stepping back to ‘assess.’ David, Briggs, Georgia and Shep…thank you for standing beside me while I did just that. I found “my” way and how to work it into my current lifestyle. I feel fortunate to be part of ‘us.’ I love you guys so much, it makes my heart hurt. 😉
