Back in Business

         Work and owning a business has been a point of contention in my life for a while.  When I started I was full of excitement, hope, and promise of the opportunities that could arise from this venture.  Then the pandemic hit, a year and a half into being open.  We were still building a reputation at the time, my team was about a third of the size, and of course I had that new business debt.  Being closed down for those few months, and then again later really added to that stress, not to mention the rising costs of living and doing business.

        So, here I am a relatively new business owner, with more debt, more stress, and a bigger team.  There was definitely some exciting things that came out of the pandemic, but there were just as many stressors.  I know I definitely hit a point of exhaustion and decision paralysis.  I DID NOT want to make any more decisions.  On top of that I had a lot of frustrations with some of my practitioners and with how I was feeling as a business owner.  I'm not going to lie, I was thinking about walking away from it all and being either just a practitioner again in someone else's show, or switching careers entirely.  This was around the time of the Year of the Tiger starting, and well, if you know anything about the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of the Tiger is no time to make big life decisions like that.  So, I sat on it.

        As the year went on, I found myself stuck in net, one fabricated from the loom in my mind.  I realized that I needed to shift my way of thinking before the negativity consumed me.  I shifted to gratitude.  Instead of focusing in on the negative, I focused on the positive.  Acts of service accompanied this.  I wrote thank you cards, and got little gifts for each one of my practitioners and staff members.  Slowly over time, my relationships with everyone started to change for the better, not just that boss-employee relationship, and things began to bloom within the clinic.  I realized that my work as an Acupuncturist was something that was very fulfilling to me, and being my own boss was starting to look golden again.

        Here we are, going into year 5.  Yes!  Year 5 in August.  The excitement is back.  We're making changes to the clinic for the better.  Still in debt, but less worried about it.  Looking to add a couple more practitioners to the team.  Consistent effort, and an attitude of gratitude has really helped me change my perspective, but also spurred new growth.