Why My Web Site Sucks

I've been apologizing for years for having a pathetic web site where people cannot order shortbread online.  I stopped apologizing this year.  I've been thinking a lot about the slow food movement (mindful, non-obsessive, long meals with everything in moderation) and applying it to my personal life and my business. 

Vermont Shortbread Company has never been my full time job.   Of course, I'd like it to be...someday, but I also have to balance the dream with caution and responsibility.  For years I've been a single parent, financially independent (i.e., no child support or alimony payments here because I value self reliance above all else), and at times, well...struggling to get by and just make the mortgage payment.  So for me, spending thousands on a web site or baking equipment felt downright irresponsible in the big picture. 

What I realized today is that when you start a business, everyone knows what you "should" do. Everyone's got ideas for customers, marketing, and explosive growth.  But, the bottom line is that at the end of the day, YOU are in charge of YOUR business.  Only you know how much you can physically handle in one day.  It's  like being a parent.  You nuture this growing thing and hope it will grow into something beautiful and fruitful.  There's no right or wrong way to do it.  You make some mistakes and then you try again because you won't ever give up on your baby. 

Intuitively, I've always known that growing my business slowly is right for me.  But, still I'd always apologize for my sucky web site or the fact that I didn't have time to develop new products, or that I don't take credit cards.  I did the crazy all-over-the-place thing.  I didn't back up my computer.  I had no systems or processes in place for managing work. I didn't sleep.  I had a cancer scare. I had no social life. I was a witch. I made mistakes (for which my perfect customers forgave me - that's why I love them so much). I made some crappy business decisions, I nearly lost my home in bankruptcy because I tried to move too fast before I was ready.

In 2004-2005, I began to recover - to understand the value of slowing down.  Interestingly, I have not been pulled over by the cops for speeding in my car in the past two years (I had a string of one speeding ticket after another in the years prior). Now I say, "In due time..." and feel all the time in the world is at my disposal.   Now I am putting the foundation under the big dream.  Explosive growth IS in the cards on MY slow terms.   

The days of constant anxiety are over.  My "baby" (this business) is now 10 years old.  I have no business debt. I have never paid for advertising.  I have a large and loyal customer base who doesn't care about my web site. I attract just the right people who can help and share similar business values and I choose NOT to do business with people whose values I don't connect with. I make a healthy profit each year based on the amount of work I am able to handle with my physical resources and the amount of time I have in a day (I still work full time outside the business) and most importantly, I know EXACTLY how to sift through all the advice that comes my way.  That knowledge is born of 10 years of slow trial and error. 

I see so many new business owners willy-nilly trying everything that comes down the pike and acting on every piece of advice the "experts" give them. They can't understand why they're getting sick or feel obsessed and anxious about their business.  The pie-in-the-sky dream is there, but there's no mindfullness under it; no foundation.  I have been to the anxious, obsessed place regarding my business and I am never going back.  I've listened carefully for the past 10 years to what my heart and what my experience tell me about building this business and I know I can trust myself to do it right.  This doesn't mean I don't heed advice from others - oh no, we all need a support team and a creative nudge now and then.  It simply means that I'm in a new place of self reliance.  I know the specialty food business.  I know me.  I know how to create CONTROLLED explosive growth and lead a balanced life.  I now know that for me, growth can only come from a quiet and peaceful place. 

In the past year, I hired a web designer, I bought a commercial oven, and hired a virtual assistant.  I won a marketing makeover contest, I increased my sales, incurred no new business debt,  AND increased the amount of sleep I get every night. 

I am grateful.  I am lucky.  I love being a small business owner. 

Mindfully and slowly, I WILL become a big business owner.  I will write about it.  I will help others do it.  Part of me wonders if I've revealed way too much personal information here.  Then the other part of me knows that I am not alone - many people have experienced exactly what I describe and that there are nuggets of wisdom in my experience which could be useful to other small business owners.  My days of worrying about what people think are over.  Maybe that's something that came with middle age...or maybe it's something that came with beginning to understand my mission in life (yes I have a mission statement for my life and for my business and lo and behold, they are pretty much the same).

Our culture encourages us to process everything at warp speed.  I don't buy that mentality. Human beings aren't designed to process as much information as we get clobbered with. It nearly killed me just a few  years ago.  No more for me, thanks. 

Now I know slow and steady wins the game.  My perfect customers get it.  I adore them. 

Yep, my web site sucks and I'm proud of it.   

 

Comments

[deannaspencer]

I couldn't have said it better myself! I also have decided to grow my business slowly. I get tired of explaining why I want my business to grow slowly. It feels good to see someone else thinking the same way I am. I'm glad things are progressing at a pace that makes you happy. Keep up the good work!

DeAnna Spencer
http://learnsmallbusiness.typepad.com

[Dina at Wordfeeder.com]

HA! Girls, I value your points here but my "Type A" doesn't let me live your philosophy. And here I am staring at the Google ad that's telling me, "Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally." You know it, baby.

;)

Dina
Thanks for the perspective. I need this!!

[Sue Koch]

Ann, for me your post is a perfect testimonial for how to create and design your life your way. Good for you for listening to your own heart inside your mission and purpose! I think what you've posted here will give breathing room to other readers who find themselves in a similar spot. I know it's a good reminder for me. Thanks!

Sue Koch
www.corporaterats.com

[Cathryn Hrudicka, Chief Imagination Officer]

Hi, Ann--

I've been reading your blog, enjoying the clear, honest and delightful way you write about many topics, and I actually felt a sense of relief when I stumbled upon this entry. I've been building my newest business, Creative Sage, very slowly, after doing six years of painstaking research with many of the world's top experts in creativity and innovation. A placeholder page is up at: http://www.CreativeSage.com . I know it will pay off soon, but I've felt really slow in building my web sites for both of my main businesses, including http://www.CathrynHrudicka.com , my writing, publications development, PR, marketing and fundraising mentoring/consulting biz. In the meantime, though, I have managed to successfully network and get clients without having a finished web site or blog, after being in business since the 1980s! I'm going to launch them soon, after "beta testing" four versions of my blog, but let's hear it for us slow people! I lead a very rich and creative life, and my businesses need to reflect that--I must set an example by being my first client! After all, in addition to helping companies and nonprofits develop more creative ideas and manage innovation, I'm also helping individual people design more creative, fulfilling lives after retiring from the corporate rat race. Hats off to you for saying what many of us have felt was true!

Cheers,

Cathryn Hrudicka, Chief Imagination Officer
and fellow writer
Creative Sage/Cathryn Hrudicka & Associates
Ryze page: http://www.ryze.com/go/hrudicka