A NOTE TO BLOG READERS: This is a continuation of a message that starts off in our bi-weekly newsletter hence the reference within the body of this blog post.
I am going to take a moment to share from the heart of what it is like to be a successful business owner when you are faced with life-changing experiences that cause you to fall out of love with your business to the point of loosing your passion for what you have done for so many years.
I realize this is the first newsletter I have sent out in quite some time, in fact for some of you, it may be the first one you have received in well over a year, perhaps longer. This is why I want to share with you my experiences in recent years - I promise - it won't be too long or 'heavy' - and it won't be too personal. Some people thought I closed my doors and understandably so. The truth is, life threw me some unexpected curve balls that took me completely off in a separate direction.
You see, the last few years I have experienced a lot of change that actually had me questioning whether or not I was on the right track with my professional and personal life. Quite frankly, these years have been transformational to say the least. I was working on a two-year cyberviolence research project for Prince Edward Island that occupied much of my time, plus I was doing quite a bit of work in the Agriculture sector. I was also dealing with a serious personal health issue where my quality of life was significantly diminished. Fortunately, I have fully recovered and this has made me realize just how precious life is and is the key motivator for me to launch a new community called Wome On The Move.
You see, the last few years I have experienced a lot of change that actually had me questioning whether or not I was on the right track with my professional and personal life. Quite frankly, these years have been transformational to say the least. I was working on a two-year cyberviolence research project for Prince Edward Island that occupied much of my time, plus I was doing quite a bit of work in the Agriculture sector. I was also dealing with a serious personal health issue where my quality of life was significantly diminished. Fortunately, I have fully recovered and this has made me realize just how precious life is and is the key motivator for me to launch a new community called Wome On The Move.
During this time period, I have to be completely honest, I fell out of love with Sweet Spot Marketing Canada and felt I could no longer continue operating that business, so I completely stopped that portion of the business in Fall 2015. What I did love and felt excited and enthused about was providing skills training and empowerment programs. This side of my business has actually opened up new exciting opportunities that has allowed me to expand my business operations beyond the borders of Prince Edward Island and Atlantic Canada. I have always enjoyed lifting and elevating the lives of others, helping them to reach their dreams and destiny whether for personal, business, or a combination of both.
Meanwhile, 2016 has been a year of complete transformation for me, of which I will share bits and pieces over time. The long and short of it is, I worked part-time finishing off the Cyberviolence Research project which is a very meaningful piece of work but also very emotionally draining due to the nature of the subject. I went from thinking I was going to have to retire from working at the age of 45 to reaching pretty much a full recovery of which myself and my specialist cannot explain other than to say I believe there was divine intervention, I was crazy enough to accept the offer to run in a political nomination which I honestly have to say was on of the BEST experiences of my life. The results of everything I have been through over the past few years, especially this year, I have never felt more focused, excited and filled with passion. There are an abundance of opportunities waiting for me since doing a soft relaunch of my business this year.
Meanwhile, 2016 has been a year of complete transformation for me, of which I will share bits and pieces over time. The long and short of it is, I worked part-time finishing off the Cyberviolence Research project which is a very meaningful piece of work but also very emotionally draining due to the nature of the subject. I went from thinking I was going to have to retire from working at the age of 45 to reaching pretty much a full recovery of which myself and my specialist cannot explain other than to say I believe there was divine intervention, I was crazy enough to accept the offer to run in a political nomination which I honestly have to say was on of the BEST experiences of my life. The results of everything I have been through over the past few years, especially this year, I have never felt more focused, excited and filled with passion. There are an abundance of opportunities waiting for me since doing a soft relaunch of my business this year.
The purpose of this blog post was to share with you from the heart, that as an Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner, I know what it is like to reach the highs and lows in your business. 2013 and 2014 were my best years in sales. I was expanding the business and hiring contract trainers within the Maritimes and I was excited about where the company was going, although this was right around the time I started having medical complications and we really didn't know what was taking place until November 2014 when everything came to a halt and a crash. It took from November 2014 to April 2016 to work through to a full recovery. During this time I worked part time and as you can imagine it completely changed the direction of my life and my business.
I am a full believer that things happen for a reason and I do believe I was meant to travel down the path of success to end up having my life completely re-directed, because now I have a new appreciation and understanding for my life purpose and my business.
I can only tell you that during this year (2016), after my full recovery in February/March/April, I have entered into a space of complete clarity and focus. I spent a lot of time refocusing and repositioning Sweet Spot Academy, with the help of Fresh Media. In fact, the company has been renamed to Sweet Spot Academy as our focus is primarily business and digital skills training, with a strong focus on small group training and empowerment programs, and I have launched a new community called Women On The Move.
If you have made it this far in reading this blog post - thank you for staying with me, I appreciate you taking the time to read the full post. If you have similar experiences, I would be very interested in hearing from you to share your story. If you feel you are stuck and in a rut and need some help getting out of it, I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you.
In closing, I wish to thank all of you for visiting my business blog, taking an interest and sincerely wishing you much peace and abundance in your personal, professional and business life.
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NANCY BETH is the President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.
At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs. We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.
Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.