Behind The Basket Business

To take a timeout of my normal day-to-day gift basket business duties and speak to other business owners and mentor them is something I love to do. It fills me and gives me a sense of purpose.

At The Ripple Effect 2023 that was put on by business coach Melissa Willis, I had a chance to share my story of "doing it wrong" and the consequences that came from that. What exactly do I mean, "doing it wrong?"

I'll take you behind the basket business for a minute and share this vulnerable story with you. When I was 22 years old and in college, I feared what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I realized I wanted to own a gift company at age 22 I was scared to death. I knew that I would be great at the creative side and I knew I could provide a service second to none that my customers would love, but never thought about how I would be at being a boss. Turns out, I didn't like being a boss. The biggest pain in my butt was myself. Sound familiar?

I didn't take vacations, I overworked myself and never allowed myself the grace to make mistakes. Because of that, I treated my staff the same way. While I have grown and learned from those mistakes, I know now that building a team managed company that can thrive without me is the secret to being a successful business owner. Leading a team is not something you're taught and often expected to already know. It comes natural to some, but it didn't for me. It wasn't until I decided I wanted to close my store that I found the coaching I needed to help me grow. Yes you heard that right. I wanted out!

In January 2022, I quit mentally. I wanted to close this beautiful & amazing company that I had built for the last 27 years. It wasn't me to quit anything, yet here I was. Tired and done. A few hours after deciding that I was done, I found Pinnacle Global Network. A company that coaches and guides business owners to help them scale their business and become the visionary they should be. My coach Tammy Moore and PGN Founder Allison Maslan are the reasons I am still here and thriving as a human and business owner. 

By March 2022, I was on my way to a healthier ME and a healthier team. By Summer, my team was enjoying having me out of their way, I was happy and was getting the training I needed to learn how to be a business owner instead of a business operator. Pinnacle did that for me!

By August 2022, I was completely out of the weeds and worked with my COO to maintain a team led company. What I learned during this time was that I loved my company and my team. I just had to stay on course and trust them.

What a great accomplishment to share at The Ripple Effect event in January 2023.  Turns out, a few days after the event, my COO announced she was moving and I had a few other team changes that rocked my world. My COO was not just my leader, but my work wife of 13 years. I had to take the skills learned in 2022 during my Pinnacle coaching year and transform my existing team, hire up and do so without putting myself back in the weeds.

With the training that I had received, I was able to appoint a new Director of Operations and fill team spots without getting back into the weeds. I am so proud of my team for getting through tough transitions and supporting each other. I'm also proud of myself.

My goal in 2023 is to mentor other business owners to help support them as they learn how to navigate the tough growing pains. When business leaders realize they have a community to talk to, it makes all the difference in the world. You feel supported and understood.

Thanks for following me!

Kristi B

The Ripple Effect 2023

To connect with Melissa Willis - Instagram: melissawilliscoaching, melissaMwillis.com