Lesson #1: Procrastination happens for two reasons. Pay attention to why it’s happening and adjust accordingly.
Over the years I’ve been out on my own, I’ve learned that I procrastinate for two reasons, and two reasons only: 1) I either don’t want to do the thing in the first place, and I sold it as a service anyway, and 2) I’m such a perfectionist that often I’ll put something off because I’m worried that when I do it, it won’t be perfect.
#1 means that over the years, I’ve stopped providing services that I just don’t want to do. Public relations was the first thing to come off my list (which means I should get around to changing my business name one of these days), followed by website copy. #2 means that I’ve had to really push myself to deliver work in spite of my perfectionism (“They aren’t looking for perfection on the first try; they’re looking for a strategic partner” is a mantra I’ve say to myself often when it comes to client work. In a weird way, my procrastination has been a helpful tool, and I’ve gotten much better at discerning when it’s perfectionism and when it’s something that I just shouldn’t be offering.
Lesson #2: After struggling so much to niche down my services, my niche came from the most likely yet unlikely place: My own experiences.
I hesitated to niche down (the advice that every business coach will give you to help you gain clarity and get more business) for the first three years of full-time Peapod. Then, I was asked by a client if I’d be interested in ghostwriting LinkedIn posts for her. I had NO idea that was a thing—and promptly fell in love with ghostwriting, mostly for kick-ass women.
As I started to gain more ghostwriting clients, I realized that the reason why I loved this work so much was because I didn’t think I was deserving of being listened to in my early career. Working at nonprofit and educational organizations always felt like you should be seen and not heard, and that was the first decade of my career. It was about the organization and the mission, not the voice of one individual. I went into the corporate world at 32 and instantly felt like a fish out of water—someone that was too “weird” and proudly so to fit any sort of uber-professional mold.
When I started ghostwriting, I realized that there were so many women just like me who felt weird, or silenced, or looked over. And I thought, “Why can’t we just control our own narratives?” Three years later, I work with eight women executives and entrepreneurs on honing and amplifying their perspectives. There’s just nothing better.
Lesson #3: Build a business that places your life at the center. You’ll be happier that way.
For the first 18 months of my business, I didn’t travel—save for a road trip to Nashville that I marketed to myself as a “working” vacation at the beginning of 2019. Then, 2020 happened, and no one was traveling much—myself included. We bought a house in 2021 (our first one!) and traveling—something I loved to do—seemed like it would be out of the question. When you work for yourself, vacation days = days you aren’t making money.
Slowly, I started making travel a priority again. I started funneling a portion of my earnings each month into a high-yield savings account (knowing that I could afford the trips outright rather than having to pay them off seemed like the safer option). The next step was convincing myself I could actually take a week or two away from my business.
It turns out (surprise, surprise) that taking time away was easier than I thought it would be. Sure, it takes some advanced planning, and I’m forever grateful to my clients for knowing how important travel is to me and being flexible with deliverables.
Lesson #4: Your Network Really IS Your Net Worth
I’ve never thought about running a business with someone else. I put the “solo” in solopreneur—and that’s by design. I’ve tried to start businesses a few times with a few different people, and while I love the community and collaboration aspect, it’s just not for me.
There’s a lot of chatter about entrepreneurship being lonely. And while I agree, the hardest part about being an entrepreneur is that one person is ALWAYS talking: your own doubtful and negative self-talk. That lady in my head—I’ve named her Portia—never shuts up.
All this is to say that Peapod would not be the company it is today without my network. Fellow entrepreneurs who know me and have referred me for work countless times. Friends who make introductions to people who also become fast friends. Other business owners who make time for a last-minute “OMG I’m sending out this HUGE PROPOSAL please talk me down from lowering my prices” text or sacrifice several weekends a year to join you on retreats to talk business. Portia still gets the best of me sometimes—but often, she’s no match for the people I’ve surrounded myself with.
Lesson #5: There are so many options.
Throughout the six years that Peapod has been a full-time thing, I’ve learned that I’m not a negative person—but I do tell myself a lot of stories that simply aren’t true about my business. The first two years of my business, I thought it was the absolute end of the world when a client decided not to work with me anymore, or a client that I had done great work for simply decided to ghost me out of nowhere. I’d stack my “dance card” with clients no matter if I had the bandwidth or not. I’d tell myself, “What’s a few extra hours of work?”
Now, I know differently. I’ve burned myself out more than once because of that thinking, and it just doesn’t serve me. It certainly doesn’t serve my clients. I still struggle with the overbooking/overcommitting thing, but now I know that no matter what, I always have options. They may not be my first or second or even tenth choice, but I know that if I lose a client, I’ll be okay. I have other ways to get business, to make money (get your head out of the gutter, and to weather whatever storms are itching to rain on me.
Lesson #6: Moving back home did wonders for my biz and my mental health.
When Zack and I got the chance to move back to Door County because of a job opportunity for him in Summer 2021, I was so excited, but SO skeptical. I still was telling myself a lot of stories (I need to be in a bigger city to have a freelance business! I need to be able to go to networking events to meet people! Will anyone hire me if they see “Sturgeon Bay, WI” on my LinkedIn profile?).
I needn’t have worried. Being back in Door County after spending twelve years in Chicago and Madison was a balm for my soul I didn’t know I needed. I get to look out my window at my bird feeders every day. I see incredible sunsets and sunrises on the daily. My mom lives four minutes away, and we go grocery shopping together. We have an incredible community of friends here. And, I get to work with a few Door County businesses and tourism organizations, which fills my cup in a way I never expected.
Life may not be busy here, and it may not be glamorous, but it’s calming and right. And that’s really all that matters.