Relationships Revisited...

Ok, so here's the backstory on the other entrepreneur. As you may or may not have read, this entrepreneur and I work in the same shared workspace and have become really good friends. We are very similar people and since we work so close (our workspaces are literally right next to one another) so we spend a lot of time talking about everything from our respective business to life philosophies to favorite books and movies. Since moving to this city two years ago she's become an incredibly close friend whose opinion and insight matter significantly to me.

One of the best things about our relationship from a business point-of-view is that we're very honest with one another and spend a lot of our time together bouncing ideas off the other. We joke that our relationship helps keep our respective husbands sane because then it means we don't have to constantly bounce all these ideas off of them (though we still end up doing that anyway). For me, working by myself, her ideas, resources, and feedback have proven invaluable in helping me grow my business.

Sadly, she has decided to close down her business. Keep in mind that she is a VERY accomplished corporate professional who, like many people, decided to change careers completely and start up something she believed in. She has done an incredible job not only developing a product that people love, identify with, and enjoy, but also a brand that actually has some weight behind it which is not an easy task to do in only one year.

But, like many entrepreneurs, she's burnt out and no longer loves the business like she once did. In truth (and for what it matters), I think she's doing the right thing. She and I have often talked about the definition of success and I've told her that my believe is that success if not defined by money (though it would be nice!) but by the fact she took the risk to start up something from scratch. So she's put the business up for sale and I'm hoping that she does find the perfect person to take "her baby" and grow it to the next step because what she's created is truly something special.

My friend said something very profound to me not too long ago as she realized the she needed to sell the business. She said that starting the business and running it for the past year was what she needed to do to take herself from one place in life(a bad emotional/mental spot) to the next. The business was a transition phase that helped get her mind, heart, and spirit ready for the next phase of her life which she is now really excited about. That truly is success.

So I'm really bummed that she's leaving but am really excited to see her take on this next phase.