Phew, 2018. It was a coming of age year for us in so many ways: we grew our team by nearly double, built out and settled into a new space, and learned so many hard but foundational lessons along the way. Growth, in every sense of the word, is almost always painful. Over the past month, Pat and I have counted and recounted the many victories and missteps of this past year. These reflections have led to tough conversations, fits of deep belly laughter, some tears, and countless sighs - of relief, of apprehension, but mostly of gratitude that we rest in unshakeable, unfailing Hands.
During a recent chat on our drive home from work, Pat likened our growing pains to her infamous 4th grade growth spurt, during which she shot up like a bean sprout (to almost her current height and then barely grew again!) and found herself in a suddenly taller, ganglier body. It’s an awkward but necessary process to learn how to own your body again, she said, to understand how to maneuver its new heights and lengths. How to not simply exist in this new body, but to thrive in it.
Our three biggest takeaways from the biggest growth phase to date, pains and all:
1. Make wise financial decisions.
All the things we want to want to accomplish - provide our team competitive compensation, create real community, partner with causes that our near to our hearts - are only possible if the business generates enough revenue. Period. Making money is not the be all end all of what we do, but it’s an irreplaceable means to the end. As a small business, we don’t have an infinite supply of resources or a team of experts advising our every move, so it’s up to us to thoughtfully, prayerfully weigh every single financial decision, big or small.
2. Create systems, not simply solutions.
When our team was smaller, we could get away with creating one-off solutions for issues as they arose, but as our team and business grow, we need to respond by creating scalable systems that can be implemented, executed, and replicated with ease. For us, this means running the business preemptively rather than reactionarily, from developing sustainable operational systems to creating an employee handbook that outlines every company policy.
3. Invest in strong company culture.
Company culture can be such an elusive thing. You can’t measure its growth in percentages or assess its performance through data reports, but it’s just as important as all the tangibles. We want our company culture - to do all things with love, light, and integrity - to permeate every level and dusty corner of the company, from daily interactions among our team to the overarching energy of the studio. But company culture must be cultivated with care - watered and nurtured and pruned - and this starts with us.
We’re so looking forward to settling into our new body this year, for these growing pains to give way to a more graceful stride as we learn all that these longer legs can do :)
to thriving,
dot
