382 – Is it Time to Close Down Your Business? with Arin Wensley
What if you start your own business, selling a product you’ve always loved making as a hobby, but now you find it’s not what you expected?
👎 Maybe it takes way more time than you thought it would …
👎 Perhaps you’ve realized the activities involved in running a business don’t make you happy …
👎 You might even be losing money month over month …
👎 Or it could be that it just doesn’t fit into your life anymore.
Whatever it is, you’ve realized it’s making you flat-out miserable. So, let’s talk about what to do if this happens to you.
Arin Wensley is the former co-owner and creator of Hopping Creations Candles, which was established in August 2018. Originally, she and her husband sold candles at farmers’ markets and art fairs eventually expanding to selling online, through consignments and opening a small shop in the back of their home.
In late 2021, Arin decided to close her shop and shut down her business. After careful consideration, she realized she no longer had the passion to create candles and that Hopping Creations Candles overall no longer matched her life goals.
Today, Arin is a busy mom and wife looking towards her next adventure of returning to work as a substitute teacher and planning a second children’s book.
Is It Time To Close Down Your Business?
In this episode, we talk about Arin’s entire journey from starting her business, building it up, and the eventual decision to close it down. And there is so much you can learn from this journey, such as:
- How she got her business going
- The steps she took to build it into a successful business
- The importance of being open to change
- Evaluating what’s most important to you at every stage of your business and life
- Aligning your goals with what makes you happy
- Important steps to closing a business the right way
- And much more!
Listen to this important conversation so you’ll know – is it time to close down your business?
Resources Mentioned
Arin’s Contact Links
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Transcript
Gift biz unwrapped episode 382.
Speaker:I just wasn't interested in doing candles anymore.
Speaker:Attention gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow.
Speaker:Your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue and welcome to today's podcast.
Speaker:Our topic is something you may experience along your maker journey
Speaker:and have a lot of mixed emotion about I don't often
Speaker:if ever hear this discussed.
Speaker:So I'm particularly happy you're joining me today,
Speaker:but first,
Speaker:one of the most fulfilling things I've discovered through starting gift
Speaker:biz on unwrapped is the warmth comradery and generosity of the
Speaker:community that we formed.
Speaker:You're so giving and so talented.
Speaker:And of course,
Speaker:I always want to give back to you too,
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Speaker:It wasn't help with an email marketing strategy.
Speaker:It wasn't about selling it shows or any other number of
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Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash content for makers.
Speaker:But honestly at only $27,
Speaker:it's a no brainer.
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Speaker:year after year.
Speaker:Why carry on posting as you've been doing all along expecting
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Speaker:Okay? Let's get back to the topic of the day.
Speaker:What if you start your own business,
Speaker:selling a product you've always loved making as a hobby,
Speaker:but now find it's not what you expected either.
Speaker:It's taking way more time than you thought it would.
Speaker:Or you find that the activities involved in running a business,
Speaker:don't make you happy.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:it's making you flat out miserable.
Speaker:What do you do?
Speaker:You could just close up shop and be done with it,
Speaker:but then you think of the perception you've created that you're
Speaker:a quitter or couldn't make it in the world of small
Speaker:business. Isn't imagining what others think of you,
Speaker:just the worst.
Speaker:So here's the first piece of advice.
Speaker:Focus on your happiness and not what others will think of
Speaker:you because here's the thing starting your own business is meant
Speaker:to give you joy and freedom.
Speaker:Granted, I don't think that any of us truly understand how
Speaker:much work it is until we've done it,
Speaker:but overall,
Speaker:we still love what we're doing unless you don't.
Speaker:And sometimes it's that your life is changing and your business
Speaker:just isn't a fit anymore.
Speaker:People also stay in their business too long because they've put
Speaker:so much time and energy into it that they feel trapped.
Speaker:They'll say,
Speaker:how can I give it up?
Speaker:Now when it's finally on a steady,
Speaker:upward clip.
Speaker:And of course,
Speaker:if your business is losing money month over month,
Speaker:and it's getting financially risky for you,
Speaker:something needs to change.
Speaker:Or you may want to just cut your losses and walk
Speaker:away today.
Speaker:We're going to hear Aaron's story.
Speaker:She had a profitable business with a solid customer,
Speaker:following reliable sales channels,
Speaker:bringing in orders regularly.
Speaker:All the things that a successful business should be,
Speaker:but it didn't fit into her life anymore.
Speaker:And most importantly,
Speaker:her visions for her future here,
Speaker:I'm going to let her explain it all to you right
Speaker:now. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be
Speaker:bringing you Aaron Wensley today.
Speaker:Aaron is the former co owner and creator of hopping creations
Speaker:candles, which was established in August of 2018.
Speaker:Originally she and her husband sold candles at farmer's markets and
Speaker:art fairs,
Speaker:eventually expanding to selling online through consignment and opening a small
Speaker:shop in the back of their home in late 2020 21,
Speaker:Aaron decided to close her shop and shut down her business.
Speaker:After careful consideration,
Speaker:she realized she no longer had the passion to create candles
Speaker:and hopping creations candles overall no longer matched her life goals
Speaker:today. Aaron is a busy mom and wife looking towards her
Speaker:next adventure of going back to work as a substitute teacher
Speaker:and planning a second children's book.
Speaker:Aaron life continues to evolve for you.
Speaker:Welcome to the gift of his on wrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:I'm honored to be here.
Speaker:I am thrilled that you're here and everyone who's listening might
Speaker:be like,
Speaker:well, why are we talking to Erin?
Speaker:She has now shut down her business.
Speaker:And I actually think this is one of the best examples
Speaker:that we could ever be presenting as a handmade product business
Speaker:owner, that things change life evolves.
Speaker:Your business could be something that you draw Olivia and salary
Speaker:from. It could be something that enhances your life.
Speaker:I should say for a short time,
Speaker:it can be just a plethora of different things that come
Speaker:in and out of your life.
Speaker:And we're going to hear Aaron's story.
Speaker:I am,
Speaker:like I said,
Speaker:so excited that you're here,
Speaker:Aaron, but you know,
Speaker:the drill.
Speaker:The first thing that I want to hear from you is
Speaker:your motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to give us a little bit of
Speaker:a different insight from you in this creative way,
Speaker:what would your motivational candle look like by a color and
Speaker:a quote or a mantra?
Speaker:Something like that?
Speaker:Well, of course it'd be all natural,
Speaker:but I always like to candle.
Speaker:That's always like gray and seafoam.
Speaker:Cause I always loved being outdoors,
Speaker:especially around water.
Speaker:It gives me the most peaceful time in my life.
Speaker:I just really enjoy it makes me relaxed.
Speaker:And if I were to have a quote,
Speaker:I would have just keep swimming from MIMO.
Speaker:I always felt that it kind of gives you the inspiration
Speaker:of just keep going no matter what's going on in your
Speaker:life and just keep moving on.
Speaker:So I would think that was always a very important quote
Speaker:in pleasant,
Speaker:my cartoon being.
Speaker:So I would love that.
Speaker:Well, and that aligns perfectly with what we're talking about to
Speaker:just keep on,
Speaker:like, I'm thinking of a fish that goes through water and
Speaker:then warm water and all different areas.
Speaker:You just keep going.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So let's talk a little bit about,
Speaker:I want you to reminisce about your business and that's how
Speaker:I first found you no shock to anybody.
Speaker:I'm such a candle lover.
Speaker:And as soon as I found you,
Speaker:I bought some of your candles.
Speaker:Do you remember way back?
Speaker:I think we've known each other for several years now and
Speaker:I bought your candles.
Speaker:And one of them was sitting behind me in my home
Speaker:office burning,
Speaker:cause I can't burn things in this office,
Speaker:but at my house I obviously can.
Speaker:And it just really,
Speaker:really affected the environment and how I was working.
Speaker:So I'm going to first be a testimonial to the products
Speaker:that you created.
Speaker:They were fabulous,
Speaker:natural, beautiful smelled.
Speaker:So, so good.
Speaker:Go back to that time.
Speaker:Okay. Of hopping creations,
Speaker:candles and how you started,
Speaker:like where did that come into your life?
Speaker:It's strange.
Speaker:It's kind of a long story.
Speaker:They will shorten it up.
Speaker:I, after I had my daughter,
Speaker:after my husband,
Speaker:married were suddenly a family of four and I was going
Speaker:to stay at home mom and I needed something creative in
Speaker:my life between instead of being at home all day.
Speaker:And I still want to also make money from home while
Speaker:I'm taking care of my family.
Speaker:And as first started just a passion cause I've always been
Speaker:a creative person.
Speaker:It started with writing an ambition to write a book.
Speaker:And I spent all this time really learning the process of
Speaker:doing that.
Speaker:And in about 2018,
Speaker:I decided,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:enjoy that.
Speaker:And I did that,
Speaker:but I would like to do something that connects you make
Speaker:money, like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:spinning buddy to something is that I don't feel so bad,
Speaker:but I buy that cup of coffee.
Speaker:It's my money that I'm spending.
Speaker:And so my husband is like,
Speaker:well help me.
Speaker:He gave me two blocks and he brought some crafting books
Speaker:home and I went through them.
Speaker:What was soap,
Speaker:making those candle making?
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I always love fragrance.
Speaker:To be honest.
Speaker:I was never a big candle buyer before that.
Speaker:I got them as guests when I worked in off and
Speaker:on in school as a teacher and a substitute teacher and
Speaker:stuff the years and teacher's aid,
Speaker:but I never actually bought them for myself.
Speaker:My husband actually was the one that had candles,
Speaker:but I would love fragrance.
Speaker:Long story short.
Speaker:I got into the idea of making homemade candles.
Speaker:And at the time I thought I could get an Etsy
Speaker:and sell them and be at home and be able to
Speaker:have like something here and still be able to pick up
Speaker:my child from school and do everything that needs done.
Speaker:But that's how I kind of got started.
Speaker:You were so good at doing all of the things that
Speaker:we always talk about.
Speaker:You were sharing with everybody online and I don't know exactly
Speaker:when you started doing this,
Speaker:but I could see you making the candles.
Speaker:I could see you on social in your,
Speaker:I guess that was the shop in the back of your
Speaker:house at the time,
Speaker:you'd go live a lot and talk about the business,
Speaker:like all of that you were out there.
Speaker:So I want to make sure that everyone understands that it
Speaker:wasn't only like,
Speaker:and I don't mean to say only like that,
Speaker:but you were all in,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you really built up to a point where you were all
Speaker:in on this business.
Speaker:Yeah. I guess what I learned from learning how to do
Speaker:producing a book,
Speaker:I took those same things I learned.
Speaker:I learned from the publishing industry.
Speaker:I kind of put towards my business,
Speaker:learning the kid of business because the same things that you
Speaker:do to sell books,
Speaker:you do also sell other products.
Speaker:And so I did the very same thing,
Speaker:research, everything,
Speaker:how to make candles.
Speaker:I researched was popular at the time I looked at products
Speaker:that were on the markets and the high-end stuff that I
Speaker:thought what I liked about it.
Speaker:And I try to actually mimic that in some ways,
Speaker:because one thing I learned when I was taking some,
Speaker:my conference from when I was learning about publishing,
Speaker:especially self publishing,
Speaker:one thing I did take away from like,
Speaker:if you want to mix things,
Speaker:people have expectations and you have to pretty much give that
Speaker:checked all those boxes.
Speaker:And then you can also put a spin on what you
Speaker:want to make,
Speaker:but you have to make sure that it looks like something
Speaker:that you would go into a high-end store buy.
Speaker:So I guess I was taking those same things that I
Speaker:learned a lot from before about online presence,
Speaker:because we know the authors would get a lot of information
Speaker:about like how to sell their books,
Speaker:how to market themselves,
Speaker:because this was traditional publishing that at that time I was
Speaker:trying to get into and I belong to a children's book
Speaker:Organization, Which I still belong to,
Speaker:but I learned a lot from that.
Speaker:And I took what I learned from there and I put
Speaker:it towards my kid or business.
Speaker:And that's how I approach things.
Speaker:If that makes any sense.
Speaker:It does.
Speaker:It totally makes sense.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you set it all up.
Speaker:You did a lot of research and analysis as you got
Speaker:started and then you follow through,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:best practices clearly as business development,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:So if you were to describe your business over the course
Speaker:of the years,
Speaker:what would you say that you enjoyed the most about the
Speaker:business that you loved about the business that fueled you?
Speaker:Like, just give us a feel for you in the business.
Speaker:What I loved most about the business was like,
Speaker:I guess seeing people love the product that what I gave
Speaker:to them,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:like when they come to me and tell me how much
Speaker:they love the fragrance,
Speaker:love the bird made me feel good that I was doing
Speaker:something right.
Speaker:That it was,
Speaker:this was like something that I was spot on if they
Speaker:had any questions or any concerns or anything that,
Speaker:that was like,
Speaker:I wanted to know how to make the product better.
Speaker:Or at least if I had any problems with it,
Speaker:I wanted to fix it.
Speaker:So I was just each time and I didn't stop learning
Speaker:either at the time,
Speaker:it continued on making sure that our product was working as
Speaker:it should.
Speaker:And also I was changing along with what was popular,
Speaker:also continuing,
Speaker:trying to make our stuff better.
Speaker:But most of my favorite part was actually being face-to-face with
Speaker:my pastors and hearing them love the product.
Speaker:Just as much as I love my product,
Speaker:because it was my baby.
Speaker:So I was like,
Speaker:I want to make sure that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when you send it out to the world,
Speaker:you want to hear whether people like it and it feels
Speaker:good. And so that was my favorite part.
Speaker:Yeah. And that just fuels you to do,
Speaker:like, what you're doing is giving other people joy,
Speaker:happiness. Like I was describing in the beginning about how it
Speaker:really helped me work better.
Speaker:I looked forward to going into my office,
Speaker:lighting that candle and having that atmosphere.
Speaker:So I'm sure,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:getting that feedback.
Speaker:And did you find that you were getting that mostly when
Speaker:you were face-to-face versus any online sales?
Speaker:Both through my Etsy,
Speaker:I got a lot of five stars.
Speaker:People praise my stuff.
Speaker:It felt really good seeing people from other states,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:not just a little local area threatened that I'm from,
Speaker:that loved the product.
Speaker:I got a lot of people around in my town,
Speaker:but it did feel good when you had other validation of
Speaker:people are out of the town,
Speaker:the area,
Speaker:especially in states,
Speaker:far away.
Speaker:So I've been,
Speaker:yeah, I got a lot of rave reviews on Etsy.
Speaker:And what would you say just to give us a feel
Speaker:again? What would you say in terms of your percentages of
Speaker:how much business came through e-commerce versus shows that you would
Speaker:attend in-person?
Speaker:Most of my business was from,
Speaker:in person at events rather e-commerce was I think just a
Speaker:much smaller percentage,
Speaker:but most of our profits came from being face-to-face or through
Speaker:consignment. All right.
Speaker:And so now let's get to the point at hand for
Speaker:the show.
Speaker:When did you start feeling that maybe this wasn't something you
Speaker:wanted to do anymore?
Speaker:What were the signs that came up for you?
Speaker:The science,
Speaker:where for me is like,
Speaker:I remember driving to one of my consignments and I just
Speaker:kinda was like,
Speaker:I'm kinda like,
Speaker:I would like to do something different.
Speaker:I would like to have some use of different product or
Speaker:something else that I'm selling.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:I just wasn't interested in doing candles anymore.
Speaker:And I think a lot of it was like the time
Speaker:that it takes to make a bunch of product.
Speaker:And then rather than if you have something on hand,
Speaker:like selling wine or something,
Speaker:you have a wine shop,
Speaker:it's easier to like you're buying stuff and you're selling it.
Speaker:You don't have to make it.
Speaker:I know there's probably more that goes into it,
Speaker:but I just felt like it was becoming so time consuming,
Speaker:making the product marketing felt like it was taking,
Speaker:even though I was like at home,
Speaker:in my shop or at an event,
Speaker:it felt like I wasn't really home that much.
Speaker:I guess I envisioned like I'll be home working from home
Speaker:and I could be with my family at the same time.
Speaker:And then I realized when I am home,
Speaker:I'm not really home.
Speaker:And it just felt exhausting.
Speaker:It just didn't seem as I was like,
Speaker:do what I set out to do.
Speaker:And I kind of got frustrated with that And clearly a
Speaker:challenge for handmade product creators,
Speaker:for sure that you have that extra level of the time
Speaker:that you have to put into production.
Speaker:So as you were starting to feel like,
Speaker:gosh, this just isn't what I thought it was going to
Speaker:be. And it sounds to me like it was starting to
Speaker:pull you away from your family.
Speaker:How long did you go?
Speaker:Like you had this initial thought and these initial feelings when
Speaker:you were driving,
Speaker:as you were describing to the consignments,
Speaker:how long did you go?
Speaker:Did you battle the idea?
Speaker:A little bit saying,
Speaker:well, but gosh,
Speaker:I built this business and I liked the business or I
Speaker:did like the business.
Speaker:I don't like this anymore.
Speaker:It's done.
Speaker:Or was there time in between where you kind of let
Speaker:the idea settle in?
Speaker:I like the fact that the people love my stuff and
Speaker:I feel kind of bad for LA initially when I finally
Speaker:decided like,
Speaker:okay, I really am done with that.
Speaker:I didn't want to let my customers down.
Speaker:I felt bad for them.
Speaker:I felt like I was letting them down,
Speaker:but the time it took from there,
Speaker:it was finally November.
Speaker:Cause the fall is always a really difficult time.
Speaker:It just,
Speaker:we could never have any weekend for family.
Speaker:And it felt like,
Speaker:like all our weekends were no longer ours.
Speaker:So the business started retaking.
Speaker:And one thing,
Speaker:I guess there was a local family who owns like a
Speaker:soap shop.
Speaker:They live in,
Speaker:read the business and for them that works for them.
Speaker:But I realized it doesn't really work for me originally.
Speaker:I felt like,
Speaker:oh, I could build a SOC and eventually have a standalone
Speaker:maybe in town,
Speaker:something like that.
Speaker:But it just watching them,
Speaker:every event,
Speaker:everything they're all there.
Speaker:And to really do that,
Speaker:you have to spend almost 80 plus hours if you really
Speaker:want it to succeed.
Speaker:I just didn't really want that.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I was at an event at one of the local events
Speaker:they host and I had a booth there and I was
Speaker:like, you know what?
Speaker:I really don't want that.
Speaker:I kind of want to have my weekends where it's our
Speaker:family weekends and you know,
Speaker:where I can,
Speaker:like when I go to work and then come home and
Speaker:then it's my time.
Speaker:And I feel like when I was working,
Speaker:I was thinking the business when we were off just driving
Speaker:up the street,
Speaker:I was thinking like,
Speaker:okay, what am I going to do next?
Speaker:What's the next marketing thing.
Speaker:What's the next promotion.
Speaker:I feel like I had to be Facebook,
Speaker:Instagram, and constantly posting pictures,
Speaker:even when I didn't have much to say.
Speaker:And I know there's a lot of things you can do.
Speaker:I felt like I was never really into social media before
Speaker:that. And I feel like I had to do something that
Speaker:wasn't really that interested in to be honest for.
Speaker:It was kind of like a casual thing.
Speaker:And then I felt like I had to do every day,
Speaker:every moment,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:at least three times a day to stay relevant and also
Speaker:to be able to pop up on searches and stuff.
Speaker:So I felt exhausted.
Speaker:Got that.
Speaker:Yeah. And I love that you're speaking your truth because there
Speaker:are some people who love all of that.
Speaker:I talk with many makers who are fueled like their life.
Speaker:Just, it almost is like,
Speaker:that's the energy that has them living to go to shows
Speaker:and interact with people.
Speaker:And because that's just what fuels them.
Speaker:It also could be a certain time of people's life.
Speaker:Like if the children are up and gone and you do
Speaker:see yourself with time and you're a people person.
Speaker:So I think what you're such a good example of Erin
Speaker:is going after something,
Speaker:you really think you want going all in and then if
Speaker:you decide,
Speaker:no, this isn't necessarily either what I thought it was going
Speaker:to be was good for a certain amount of time,
Speaker:but not continuing on or for whatever reason that it's okay
Speaker:to make changes.
Speaker:It's okay to,
Speaker:as a handmade creator decide you're done.
Speaker:And you shared this with me earlier and I'm going to
Speaker:have you elaborate on it,
Speaker:but you didn't put down because your business wasn't successful.
Speaker:Right. Talk to me about the business,
Speaker:the results you were having and all of that overall.
Speaker:Yeah, actually we left the business with the profit and when
Speaker:we were finished,
Speaker:we were able to sell,
Speaker:like I said,
Speaker:that local soap,
Speaker:that shop maker,
Speaker:they bought all of our candles,
Speaker:all of our melts plus the equipment and everything that we
Speaker:had. So we were able to actually,
Speaker:we were able to kale,
Speaker:I head and able to use that money to buy a
Speaker:new furniture.
Speaker:We were able to,
Speaker:we got something from it and we came ahead.
Speaker:But what I realized we were able to make a profit
Speaker:when I was finally,
Speaker:because I used to think that I had lifestyles.
Speaker:I started out,
Speaker:I had like six different stores I can sign to.
Speaker:And what I didn't realize at the time.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:this is early on.
Speaker:This is like between 2018 and 2021,
Speaker:that more I made,
Speaker:I sold a lot and it felt really good seeing the
Speaker:big numbers of selling a lot of products.
Speaker:But I didn't realize because I was learning as I was
Speaker:going, that,
Speaker:that takes away from your profit because you're putting all that
Speaker:money back into the business,
Speaker:to the money that you made.
Speaker:It goes back in the bin and make more products for
Speaker:the stores you're selling.
Speaker:And so I was kind of at the time it felt
Speaker:like I was kind of losing,
Speaker:not understanding like,
Speaker:oh gosh,
Speaker:I didn't make a profit.
Speaker:And I felt bad for not making a profit because it
Speaker:felt like,
Speaker:oh, I didn't make a profit.
Speaker:Something's wrong with our,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'm doing it all wrong.
Speaker:And my husband's like,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:he's got a business degree and everything.
Speaker:I don't know,
Speaker:this is how it works.
Speaker:And I'm like,
Speaker:are you sure?
Speaker:I feel,
Speaker:Yeah. So you were making money.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you were pricing your product correctly,
Speaker:but because you were in consignment,
Speaker:so you had to make more for those shops,
Speaker:the money that you did make,
Speaker:went into creating your product.
Speaker:Right? So that was a business decision that you made,
Speaker:right? Because you could have pulled more for yourself as a
Speaker:salary, but if you're in growth mode,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:those are all decisions that you make as an owner along
Speaker:the way.
Speaker:Right. But the point is many people.
Speaker:I think if they've put a lot of time and energy
Speaker:and effort,
Speaker:and you talk about how you're not as thrilled about being
Speaker:on social,
Speaker:but you did it anyway.
Speaker:So putting all of that in,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:many people might say,
Speaker:okay, this business is profitable.
Speaker:How could I stop now?
Speaker:Like, I'm finally where I was striving to be.
Speaker:I shouldn't stop.
Speaker:Even though they're unhappy.
Speaker:What would you say to someone like that?
Speaker:You'll hear how Aaron responds to this right after we take
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Speaker:Well, you got to really decide what your goals are and
Speaker:why you imagine your life to be.
Speaker:And I think that's one thing I guess we love to
Speaker:travel. And the idea of like I'm taking a business from
Speaker:a shop from Burbank house and into like,
Speaker:say like invest money,
Speaker:ports, be a standalone shop.
Speaker:Cause that was actually for the next step we would have
Speaker:taken. And I think we would done pretty good,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:but it's like,
Speaker:you have to like,
Speaker:that's the money that would've gone to vacations possible travel abroad.
Speaker:If we get a chance that was one of her goals
Speaker:when she graduate or class,
Speaker:we did,
Speaker:weren't sure if we're going to stay in Indiana.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we love to go to Tennessee a lot and we thought
Speaker:about like,
Speaker:maybe we stay in Indiana or maybe we might end up
Speaker:retiring down south.
Speaker:But that kind of puts us in a place where we
Speaker:feel like if you talked to stay,
Speaker:it didn't really fit into like our future dreams that we've
Speaker:always had.
Speaker:I think it depends on like,
Speaker:you got to really think about like,
Speaker:it's okay to change.
Speaker:If, if the,
Speaker:the business goals might be go one direction,
Speaker:but your goals in life might be go to the other
Speaker:one and you kind of have to decide which you go,
Speaker:which is going to be the happiest.
Speaker:Yeah. That's really good advice.
Speaker:And like I said,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it didn't fit for you.
Speaker:It could work for others.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it's just your own individual choice along the way.
Speaker:Tell me about the conversation you had with your husband when
Speaker:you're like,
Speaker:I think it's time to shut it down.
Speaker:He was ecstatic on us to be,
Speaker:cause he is my business guy.
Speaker:I was the creator and he was blend that did the
Speaker:taxes because actually the business was really in his name the
Speaker:first and that was the co-owner because he set up all
Speaker:the paperwork and all the license and all that stuff.
Speaker:That's all him.
Speaker:And so he was actually really,
Speaker:really kind of like finally I could have some breasts,
Speaker:so he was excited.
Speaker:So that's good because you both saw that this was great
Speaker:to do,
Speaker:probably loved the experience of doing it.
Speaker:It got to the point where it wasn't until you were
Speaker:both bought into the fact that you should fold the business,
Speaker:which is perfect.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:That's another thing I could say that I've done.
Speaker:I think I look at it as like,
Speaker:okay, well I've done this.
Speaker:That's kind of another thing in my life that I could
Speaker:say that I,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:check off my variances.
Speaker:Right. So what kind of steps did you take to actually
Speaker:close the business?
Speaker:You've already started referencing the other shop if someone's in this
Speaker:situation. And also the other thing I just want to say
Speaker:to anyone who's listening is sometimes you shut down one business
Speaker:to start another to a lot of people will have multiple
Speaker:businesses over the course of their life.
Speaker:You've learned something from the business you currently have.
Speaker:Maybe you're just not in love with the product that you
Speaker:make anymore,
Speaker:or maybe the product has lost its relevancy because it's just
Speaker:not part of our day-to-day lives.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there are so many reasons why you would do this type
Speaker:of thing where you would completely shut down and either start
Speaker:something new,
Speaker:move on to something else or just be done with business
Speaker:overall. And I want to just say here,
Speaker:because I want to make sure that we put it in
Speaker:this show when you close a business,
Speaker:for any reason that does not mean in any way,
Speaker:you're a failure because that big F-word could shine its little
Speaker:gnarly head anywhere.
Speaker:So get that out of your mind.
Speaker:Always, you know,
Speaker:you're just,
Speaker:you're moving on.
Speaker:You're changing things,
Speaker:you're adjusting,
Speaker:whatever. Okay,
Speaker:Erin. So if people are thinking,
Speaker:gosh, you know what,
Speaker:this is speaking my truth.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I don't know if I'm really so happy anymore.
Speaker:I'm not even sure how I shut down a business.
Speaker:What types of things did you do?
Speaker:Well for us,
Speaker:we were as huge,
Speaker:like saying like we don't have headache,
Speaker:like someone who had a shop on main street or anything
Speaker:like that.
Speaker:So I'm not sure it's more complications,
Speaker:but first thing I did,
Speaker:I let my customers know I had a newsletter cause I
Speaker:had a website and I had a newsletter and I made
Speaker:sure everybody knew.
Speaker:I kind of explained it in my newsletter.
Speaker:Kind of like a thank you to my customers for being
Speaker:there and supporting us throughout the years.
Speaker:And I kind of just let them know as well as
Speaker:I let all my kids mine and then also made sure
Speaker:I thank them very much.
Speaker:And then I also,
Speaker:I let my the same,
Speaker:no, cause like by that time I cut down my consignments
Speaker:down to just maybe like a handful,
Speaker:maybe two or three at that time.
Speaker:So I let them know and I gave us a time.
Speaker:I remember if I'm thinking correctly,
Speaker:you also had a specific time when you were going to
Speaker:be done.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:So you told all of us,
Speaker:the supply is what the supply is.
Speaker:If you're interested,
Speaker:you have until this date and that's it.
Speaker:So you were very definite on the end date,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:I made sure they knows everybody wants to get something.
Speaker:Plus I also want,
Speaker:I could sell as much as I possibly could sell.
Speaker:So it wouldn't have a bunch of product by the end
Speaker:of the thing.
Speaker:Cause I would be able to have a warehouse of candles
Speaker:and you know,
Speaker:my house.
Speaker:And so I sold as much as I could.
Speaker:And then I let people know that is certain time.
Speaker:And then we're going to have to close down the business
Speaker:that the shop will be done.
Speaker:And I let everyone know online as well as locally,
Speaker:they would come to the shop.
Speaker:I would feel bad if I just kind of let them
Speaker:high and dry,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I didn't like disrespect them I guess.
Speaker:Yeah. And honestly you never know what the future holds either.
Speaker:Say 10 years from now,
Speaker:you decide,
Speaker:you want to go back into business.
Speaker:You want to make sure that you're closing the door nicely.
Speaker:You're not slamming a cha.
Speaker:You're just saying bye for now and closing the door and
Speaker:you never know,
Speaker:You never want to burn the bridges.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:So you did that.
Speaker:You alerted your customers also your consignment accounts.
Speaker:And then what else did you do?
Speaker:Once I checked all the accounts of all my consignments,
Speaker:we kind of started like looking at for people to buy
Speaker:our materials and everything.
Speaker:It's like all of our pots and all that stuff that,
Speaker:that goes in.
Speaker:I still had a bunch of wax and stuff.
Speaker:I was looking to sell all my materials that I use
Speaker:to make the product.
Speaker:So I want to make sure that I don't lose money
Speaker:on that.
Speaker:First I checked some of the people I consigned signed with.
Speaker:I had a few bites there,
Speaker:but I eventually put it out there on Facebook.
Speaker:And luckily the lady in town who owns the soap shop
Speaker:was very much interested and she also bought all of our
Speaker:products and to sell in her shop.
Speaker:So your material on an average,
Speaker:did you decide to price it just to reimburse your costs?
Speaker:Or were you trying to get a little bit of margin
Speaker:off of it?
Speaker:Or what were you thinking there?
Speaker:We calculated all the cost of it and then just kind
Speaker:of gave her basically at cost because it wasn't so much
Speaker:about, we just,
Speaker:we didn't want a bunch of it just be here.
Speaker:So we just kind of like You recoup your investment there
Speaker:and also the convenience of then just getting it all done
Speaker:in one full swoop is really worth it too.
Speaker:Yeah. Okay.
Speaker:And then I'm guessing your husband went through the paperwork processes
Speaker:then of formally closing down the business with the government and
Speaker:the reseller license,
Speaker:all those things.
Speaker:Yeah, he did all those steps and the get got a
Speaker:little time consuming,
Speaker:but yeah,
Speaker:he did all that stuff,
Speaker:so I didn't have to worry about that.
Speaker:Okay. So take us to the moment when it was done,
Speaker:like everything was done,
Speaker:get there's that recognition that nothing else left to do,
Speaker:did you guys go out and celebrate or did you do?
Speaker:It was kinda funny because when the,
Speaker:the people like the subtype,
Speaker:they came in and picked up all our stuff,
Speaker:all of sudden it felt kind of bittersweet a little bit.
Speaker:Cause like,
Speaker:this is kind of,
Speaker:you're kind of giving your baby away,
Speaker:but once it was done,
Speaker:it was kind of this big relief,
Speaker:like, okay,
Speaker:I don't have to do the Christmas fit.
Speaker:I can just enjoy,
Speaker:I don't have to worry about,
Speaker:like I had like a bunch of like places I would
Speaker:have to go here and there,
Speaker:I could actually just enjoy Christmas and not have to worry
Speaker:about selling and advertising and trying to like get as many
Speaker:cells possible in there and just kind of relief a little
Speaker:bit, just to be able to just joy,
Speaker:to not take the time and find a little bit.
Speaker:Yeah. So you enjoyed the season,
Speaker:you recognized it for what it had been and you walked
Speaker:out successful for sure.
Speaker:And you also had a plan for the future too.
Speaker:You have a vision of what happens next.
Speaker:So share that with us a little bit At the time,
Speaker:it's like,
Speaker:I was trying to figure what I want to do next.
Speaker:I decided to,
Speaker:like at first I thought about going back to school,
Speaker:but it's like,
Speaker:I already got my bachelor's.
Speaker:I spent like a long time when I was a single
Speaker:mom in 11 years of school off and on.
Speaker:I was like,
Speaker:okay, I'm done.
Speaker:I was going to do that then like not,
Speaker:I'm just going to go back to subbing and,
Speaker:and working as a teacher's aid again.
Speaker:And then also I thought about going back and perhaps writing
Speaker:another book and because I already had ideas and stuff,
Speaker:I kind of put that on the shelf.
Speaker:I still kept my state had my membership to that WWI,
Speaker:but the society for children's book writers and illustrators,
Speaker:and I stayed,
Speaker:stayed that and kept my membership.
Speaker:And I kind of put that on the shelf for a
Speaker:while, while I was making candles.
Speaker:And it's like,
Speaker:no, I'm thinking about maybe making another book,
Speaker:but think of it as more as like a hobby and
Speaker:just kind of focusing on just raising my daughter working And
Speaker:the teen years are coming.
Speaker:Right. So you have a lot going on,
Speaker:you have a lot coming at you soon.
Speaker:Very much so.
Speaker:Yeah. We we're already hitting the teens.
Speaker:Yeah. So tell us about your first book that's out there
Speaker:now. What's that all about Zero two is observed,
Speaker:is aimed at ages like zero to,
Speaker:I would say five,
Speaker:probably three is counting frogs.
Speaker:It's basically a numbers book that talks about the little thing
Speaker:I illustrated.
Speaker:And it's kind of like a story of these frogs going
Speaker:to this little girl's house to help to surprise her for
Speaker:her birthday and as kind of each one.
Speaker:And the rhyme is like one frog,
Speaker:two frog is a very kind of like rhyming book,
Speaker:rhyming counting book.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:I was really proud of it.
Speaker:I didn't think it would get much attention,
Speaker:but I got an award for that for like the reading
Speaker:for kids.
Speaker:I can't remember the name of the podcast,
Speaker:but he has like a little podcast on there.
Speaker:That's like all about books.
Speaker:So I was really proud of that.
Speaker:Very cool.
Speaker:And could we get our hands on that book today?
Speaker:Is it available?
Speaker:Yeah, it's available on and I believe if it may still
Speaker:be available in print order on Amazon,
Speaker:you can get it.
Speaker:I think at Walmart,
Speaker:like counting frogs,
Speaker:Counting frogs.
Speaker:So if anyone's interested,
Speaker:you go and look and see find counting frogs by Aaron
Speaker:Wensley. I know you can't share everything and you probably might
Speaker:not even have it formulated yet in your mind,
Speaker:but what are you thinking for another book along the similar
Speaker:type path or something different I can write for preschool-age cause
Speaker:that's cause the area that I used to work in it
Speaker:classrooms like preschool and I used to work off and on
Speaker:when my oldest daughter was young between going to college and
Speaker:that I used to work with preschool aged children a lot.
Speaker:So I gave right for that age group predominantly so,
Speaker:and I also like to illustrate my books.
Speaker:So I have a few ideas stories that are manuscripts I've
Speaker:already written.
Speaker:And I worked on,
Speaker:I used to try to get traditionally published,
Speaker:but that's really difficult.
Speaker:It doesn't mean it's not off the table.
Speaker:It's a long haul.
Speaker:So that's my goal.
Speaker:It's a long haul.
Speaker:And you don't have to,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:in this day and age,
Speaker:I mean I self published my book.
Speaker:You could get more books out if you wanted to not
Speaker:going the traditional publisher route.
Speaker:So maybe there'll be a little line of books in the
Speaker:future era and you never know I am.
Speaker:So you never know.
Speaker:It used to be like,
Speaker:kind of looked down upon more,
Speaker:especially in by organization,
Speaker:but now they're kind of embracing it more and they're embracing
Speaker:the idea of self publishing.
Speaker:Yeah. Well,
Speaker:it's become a thing now and it's so much easier and
Speaker:timely. And if you'd want to talk about something,
Speaker:fitting in your lifestyle,
Speaker:self publishing,
Speaker:way more than publisher,
Speaker:deadline demands and rewrites and all that craziness And try to
Speaker:get agent that's the hardest part.
Speaker:Well, we won't go down that path cause that's a whole
Speaker:nother thing,
Speaker:but I'm so happy that you've come on and talked about
Speaker:this because it's not anything we've really addressed yet.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we talk about,
Speaker:yeah, you close your company.
Speaker:And of course some people like within our groups have closed
Speaker:and you're part of gift biz breeze.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:you've seen some posts about people who are revising,
Speaker:adjusting, changing for all different types of reasons.
Speaker:And I love your example and you truly are a model
Speaker:for someone who has a successful business and still makes the
Speaker:choice that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it just doesn't fit anymore.
Speaker:So it was wonderful for the time that it was.
Speaker:You have that experience.
Speaker:You can say that you did it.
Speaker:And you also saw when it had run its course.
Speaker:So sharing all of that with us is just such a
Speaker:great gift for all of us.
Speaker:Just to know that it's okay to do final words to
Speaker:anybody who's experiencing what you were experiencing when you were making
Speaker:the decision to close down,
Speaker:Evaluate what's the most important for them.
Speaker:You need to think of like,
Speaker:what is it that makes me happy?
Speaker:Where do I see myself in five years or 10 years?
Speaker:Does the business really reflect where I want to go?
Speaker:And if it isn't,
Speaker:maybe that's not where you should go.
Speaker:So you own a wine shop.
Speaker:And I like to use the example,
Speaker:I guess<inaudible> first is exciting,
Speaker:but you just don't see yourself in it anymore or your
Speaker:choices like it is to do more of it or you
Speaker:know, and that's not it then maybe it's okay.
Speaker:It's okay.
Speaker:Don't worry.
Speaker:What others or friends think or say,
Speaker:because you know,
Speaker:they're going to think and say it anyway.
Speaker:So you might as well do what's best for you.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:because in the end,
Speaker:you're the one that's going to have to live the life.
Speaker:It's all about what makes you happy.
Speaker:And if that's going to make you happy,
Speaker:then you might as well do it.
Speaker:So you're giving us permission from Aaron to us.
Speaker:You're giving us the permission.
Speaker:Yes, definitely.
Speaker:Okay. Well,
Speaker:and I really,
Speaker:I want to underscore the point that you're talking about.
Speaker:You've got to look inward and how you feel inward versus
Speaker:looking outward and how other people are going to respond because
Speaker:in the end,
Speaker:it's your life.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you don't want to live your life for others.
Speaker:You want to live your life for yourself and your family.
Speaker:Definitely. Excellent.
Speaker:Aaron, thank you again so much for coming on the show
Speaker:and sharing your story.
Speaker:I appreciate you so much.
Speaker:You're welcome.
Speaker:Thank you so much to Thank you,
Speaker:Erin, for sharing this very important story and being an example
Speaker:of how to pivot and stay on course with what you
Speaker:want out of life.
Speaker:Aaron has modeled for us that it's okay to decide being
Speaker:a business owner is not for you anymore,
Speaker:or it's okay to shut down one business and open another.
Speaker:What isn't okay is to feel like you're held hostage by
Speaker:a business of your own making.
Speaker:As a soon to be current or past business owner,
Speaker:the rules are always under your control.
Speaker:You get to call the shots and sometimes moving on to
Speaker:something else is the perfect key to happiness in life.
Speaker:The choice is all yours.
Speaker:Before you move on to your next activity today,
Speaker:make sure to get your name on the list for at
Speaker:least one gift biz bash.
Speaker:You can see the dates and times for upcoming sessions and
Speaker:get signed up over at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash bash.
Speaker:And if you're enjoying the podcast and would like to show
Speaker:support a reading and review would be wonderful.
Speaker:It helps spread the word about the show too.
Speaker:So it's a great way to pay it forward.
Speaker:There's also another way to get something tangible in exchange for
Speaker:your support.
Speaker:Visit my merch shop for a wide variety of inspirational items
Speaker:like mugs,
Speaker:journals, water bottles,
Speaker:and featuring logos images and quotes to inspire you throughout your
Speaker:day makes a great gift to,
Speaker:and we've just added some new products for the season,
Speaker:which is my favorite design right now.
Speaker:It's a toss up with that gorgeous lemonade image and a
Speaker:quote about refreshing and the beautiful butterfly design.
Speaker:What yours turnaround is quick and the quality is top notch,
Speaker:nothing but the best for you.
Speaker:Take a look@alltheoptionsatgiftbizonrapt.com
Speaker:forward slash shop.
Speaker:All proceeds from these purchases helps me offset the costs of
Speaker:producing this podcast and now be safe and well.
Speaker:And I'll see you again next time on the gift biz
Speaker:unwrapped. Yes.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:Got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week to get
Speaker:reaction from other people and just for fun,
Speaker:because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody
Speaker:in the community is making my favorite posts every single week,
Speaker:without doubt.
Speaker:Wait, what aren't you part of the group already,
Speaker:if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search
Speaker:for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.