I alluded to this last week but I am getting ready to end my warehouse lease next spring. 

Let's talk about it.

I got the keys to my warehouse when Get To Work Book® was about about 18 months old and Piper (my youngest daughter) was just 5 months. I needed the space (MAN, DID I NEED THE SPACE) and I had the money. I didn't stress over it. I just did it.

It was totally the right call. My business grew in the warehouse and then (mostly over the past year), it stalled out.

I am not supposed to say that. I am supposed to say "It's all rainbows, you guys! Let me show you this chart where all the arrows point up!" But that's not true. And that's okay! At the end of each year I am in the black. My self-funded business has no debt. I could keep paying for the warehouse. But after looking at all the expenses, I know I should bring it home, make smart inventory choices, and save the $27K I currently spend in rent, utilities and insurance to keep a second space.

Get To Work Book® provides good income for me. It makes money. But, right now, it's not growing.

I guess I could be emotional about that? That's not really my style though. This is my job! This is not my life. I can run this business from a warehouse. Or I can run it from my garage. I tried garage. I tried warehouse. Now I am trying garage again. This time, by building out a functional and beautiful home packing space. (Fun right? I am legitimately excited and can't wait to share with you as I get it all set up.)

So here we go! Below is my first take at a project breakdown plan for bringing my warehouse back home.

Above is a general overview of what I have to get done. In short: demo, drywall (we will hire this out), rebuild, move in. Do I need to see this all written out in order to get it done? Honestly, probably not. It's not like I will forget to demo the garage.

But I use this page layout to sort my thoughts whenever I gearing up for a big project because seeing all the steps helps me feel calm. I do this because it gives me a chance to think about the full timeline. I don't have to get started this month but when everything is on paper, I notice the things I can do now. So far it's putting some inventory on sale (see that here), selling big items on craigslist and making sure that I am being smart about what sort of packaging material I order over the next few months.

I will, of course, share more as I work through all of these steps but I thought it was important to highlight what happens at the beginning too.

Before signing off I want to address how I separate my work from my emotions.

Here's the thing: I have spent the last 14 years creating content on the Internet. I have wrote the posts that got all the affirmation. I have read emails that begin with "I just thought you would want to know what people are saying about you on an anonymous message board..." (For the record I really don't.) I have released simple products that exploded past my expectations. I have poured my heart (and money) into products and watched them get no traction. 

I have had years where my net (working for myself) income was $6K. I have had years where my net income was $190K.

But through all of that - the highs, the lows, the praise, the hate - I was still exactly me. No better. No worse. No happier. No sadder. After enough times through the cycle you still feel things (of course!) but you also learn that no matter what, you are still you. This next phase, like everything, is just a step in the (hopefully very long) middle.

Try something new! Stick with the same! Do your work! Enjoy your work! Hate your work! And then repeat after me...your work is not your worth.

Did a friend forward this email to you? Please thank them for me! 

You can subscribe here and never miss another update.

Copyright © 2019 ELISE JOY INC, All rights reserved. please note, I often use affiliate links in these emails which means if you make a purchase through an affiliated link, I make a small commission.