13 – Letting go vs. bringing in: Two paths to business evolution
Sometimes an evolution involves expansion. Sometimes it’s about refinement and letting go.
In this episode, I'm joined by website and visual identity designer Alison Rose Castillo for an honest conversation about what business evolution really looks like — the process, the emotions, and the breakthroughs that come when you stop trying to fit yourself into a box that no longer fits.
Tune in to hear about our recent experiences and why outgrowing your brand is actually a sign you're doing something right.
LINKS:
Beth’s program, The Brand Reset
transcript
Beth: Welcome back, my friends. Today is really special because I'm joined by Alison Rose Castillo. She's a website and visual identity designer who helps self-employed women create an online home for their business that honors their individuality. She's also a self-proclaimed tech nerd with a passion for systems and tools that make our lives easier and our work more sustainable. Welcome, Alison.
Alison: Thank you. So happy to be here.
Beth: Now, Alison first contacted me in 2022 when she was looking to evolve her business and brand. She became a client and has worked with me on and off ever since. Recently the tables were turned, and I asked Alison to help me with a new visual identity and website to support my own evolution.
Alison: Yes, it's very exciting to work with you on that. I remember when I first found you, how excited I was to be in that position. I had been looking for a coach for quite a while prior to finding you. It was such a strange, kind of coincidental way of coming across you — when I was doing some research into Amsterdam. As a family, we were trying to move here from Maine in the US, and I found you that way during a perfect time. So it was exciting, and I was very honored when you asked me to help you with your rebrand.
Beth: Absolutely. I can't believe it's been a year already since you moved here.
Alison: I can't either. I know — just very recently, a year. It's gone by very, very quickly. Lots of changes in that time.
Beth: Yes. The first year is always so busy. So, evolution is the subject of today's podcast. I thought it'd be so great to have a chat with you about this because we've both been in business a while — I've been in business for about eight and a half years, you've been in business for about ten years — and we have evolved our business and brand many times over the years. Some were major evolutions, some were more minor, but nonetheless, what we have come to know and believe is that evolution is a natural and necessary part of business, and really of life itself.
Alison: Very much, yeah. You think about the nature of evolution, but also just the nature of entrepreneurship — it's all about creating something out of nothing. So it's creative, it's innovative, and it's evolutionary. There's this ongoing cycle in the journey. I always imagine the business journey as like walking along a big path, or taking a long hike, and there are certain moments when we need to just stop, take a breath, reflect, reinvent — asking what's working, what's not working, what do we need to add or let go — and then implement those changes and keep walking. Walk for a little bit longer and then stop again. It's this never-ending cycle.
Beth: Right, yeah.
Alison: And I hear a lot from clients that during those moments of pause, they go through some big feelings about where they are, how things have shifted, anticipating maybe where they're going. So when I hear from them that they're feeling like things aren't working for them anymore — and of course in my world, that means with their visual identity or their website or their content — there's a little bit of a feeling like somehow they failed because the brand that they built is no longer working for them. I just want to make it very clear: your brand is not supposed to last forever. Getting to a point where you feel like you have outgrown it — and we'll talk more about this later — that's actually, for a lot of people, a good measure of success. You have made it to the point where you have grown or expanded outside of that container, and it's time to rebuild. So it's not failure. It's actually a great sign that you're on the right track.
Beth: Yeah, absolutely. None of this stuff is supposed to last forever. It's supposed to last for a certain timeframe. One simple but good example of this is with my visual brand identity. I remember telling you, I've had this visual look for the past five years and I've absolutely loved it — and it worked great, there was nothing wrong with it. It's just that I had come to a place where it felt like this look, this vibe, didn't fit who I have become now and where I'm going. And the whole brand positioning and new vibe that I'm creating — there are many different reasons why you come to a place in the journey where you're ready to make some kind of shift. Sometimes the reason is the market. Sometimes something's going on in the market overall, or in your particular niche, and we need to stay agile and relevant and competitive.
Alison: Yeah. And I think the thing that most people are thinking about right now — and I'm definitely seeing some changes coming from AI, even just within the last few months — I've been approached by clients who I've worked with before, who are now in the midst of a project with an AI and have hit some type of roadblock, and are bringing me in to help with the part that a human needs to do from that point forward. Which is a completely different way of working. It hasn't led to the point where I need to completely pivot around it yet, but I'm noticing those market shifts already, just as one example.
Beth: Yeah, that's super interesting. AI is affecting so many of us in so many different ways. Why would we stand still in the midst of these changes? I think sometimes too with evolution, sometimes it involves expansion, sometimes it's about refinement and narrowing in. And we'll talk more about this in our conversation today. But whatever it is, I think it's ideally something that allows you to be more of who you are now. And I think also it should align with your current IKIGAI. Now, probably most of you listening to this are familiar with that concept — IKIGAI — looking at where you stand right now with your strengths, your passions, market demand, what the market needs. Looking at all that, considering all of that, because those things change. And the other thing you mentioned a moment ago, Alison, was the fact that when you go through one of these evolutions, the process tends to stir up a lot of emotions. We've seen it with ourselves, we see it with our clients. What emotions have you seen pop up?
Alison: Oh gosh. Well, I'm thinking about myself first and foremost. There's a lot of fear for me — a lot of fear. And with clients, I feel there's a certain level of shame that comes up as well, at least in the way that they communicate with me. Again, kind of what I was saying before — does this change indicate some type of weakness or failing, versus it being a positive evolution? Which is really just a mindset thing. But that definitely does come up. And some of those fears around having to make decisions — around what to keep, what to let go of. And interestingly enough, I see a lot of that when it comes to color. Color is such an emotional tool that we get very attached sometimes to certain colors we're using. Letting them go in favor of other things can actually be a big deal for some people when it comes to their branding.
Beth: Right. But it's exciting too.
Alison: Yeah, there's this mix sometimes of both excitement and fear. Usually both, I think.
Beth: Definitely both. Because any change — that's just the nature of change, right? It can be scary and exciting. You talked about shame, and I think that sometimes when we're making a lot of changes in a short period of time, there's this voice inside our head that says, 'Are people going to think I'm flaky?' But actually the reframe is: no, what you're actually doing is you're growing, you're adapting, you're refining based on your experience. Another fear that has sometimes popped up for me — and I think for you as well — is, what if I make this change to my business or my process or my services, and then I end up upsetting my current clients?
Alison: Yeah.
Beth: But what's so fascinating is, while there may be some disappointment with whatever change you're making, sometimes you make that change and clients respond really positively. I've literally had clients say, 'Oh, good for you,' in response to a change. I experienced this, for example, when I was placing some new limits on my support days, and even with my latest rebrand — clients have been telling me, 'Oh, it's so exciting and inspiring to see you making these changes and to see your new direction.'
Alison: Yeah. It is interesting how people respond differently. And the vast majority is positive. I think the negative reactions are few and far between, and usually it's been time to move on anyway in that case.
Beth: Yes. It's like our clients don't expect us to stand still. They're all human. We're helping them evolve, so why would we stay the same? And the other thing with evolution — especially when you're a solopreneur, a solo business owner — is this idea that we're sort of stepping into a new identity. So often when we make a major shift, and as a solo business owner, our business and brand is so directly tied to who we are. We want it to represent who we are — that's the whole idea behind having a human-centered brand. But here's the thing: who you are is always changing. Think about who you were five years ago or ten years ago. You've been through a lot.
Alison: I know. Personally and professionally. I think the last ten years of my life have been the most eventful ten years for sure. It's been wild. So to think about trying to hold on to that old identity now — yeah, definitely wouldn't work.
Beth: Yeah. So I mean, this is a huge reason why this is never a one-and-done project — fortunately or unfortunately. One of my last major shifts was in 2020 when I decided to start calling myself a business clarity mentor, and that was a big one. There was a lot of imposter syndrome that came up, because previously my identity had always been as a marketer — I was a marketing manager in the corporate world for years, then I was a marketing strategist and freelance marketer when I first started my business. So taking on that business mentor title — that was new and different.
Alison: Yeah. But often things need to — what I've found to be so true — things need to marinate a little bit. When you first start thinking about an evolution or an identity shift of some kind, you need to kind of sit with it for a while and get right with it. Sometimes a long while.
Beth: Yes. With some things, yeah. This idea of marinating — it's a cooking term. You make a sauce, you throw it in the fridge for a few hours before you're ready to cook it. But you do really have to be ready. You know, I had a client once who was very eager to ramp up her visibility in the very first week we started working together. So I came to that first session with all these great creative ideas for her marketing and visibility. And then, interestingly, she ended up saying not long after that, 'Actually, Beth, I think I want to take a step back for a moment and do some of this deep thinking with you — get some more clarity on my business and brand before really showing up in a big way.' And that's just part of the marination. Sitting in it for a while. And through that, slowly gaining the clarity and the confidence to show up in that new version of you.
Alison: Yeah. I heard it phrased one way recently and I thought it was a great term — there can be this kind of 'identity lag,' the space between the old you and the new you. One example of this for me recently was when I evolved my business and brand last quarter. During that process, I was looking at my LinkedIn profile, and the more I looked at it, the more I started to cringe. So one day I just said, 'You know what, I'm just going to start editing it.' And I started just with some pieces here and there in a kind of messy way, making some edits and changes. That probably went on for four to six weeks during that process before it kind of settled into its latest current form.
Beth: That reminds me — I need to take a look at my LinkedIn banner.
Alison: Ha! Yeah, it's due for an update. I saw it a few days ago and felt the cringe.
Beth: You felt the cringe! I didn't have time in the moment to do anything about it, but it reminded me — I need to get back in there. And that is something that I hear often when I'm meeting with a new client or potential client, that's the feeling they've been having — sometimes for a while — where they just have that cringe, or that embarrassment, or that need to explain and add disclaimers to what people are finding about them online. Sometimes that's their LinkedIn, sometimes that's their website or their Instagram. But it's that need to say, 'Oh, I haven't updated it for a while,' or, 'You're going to see some stuff on there that's not quite accurate anymore.' And sometimes they don't say anything and they just get really embarrassed when somebody contacts them having come in through their site. I think sometimes we need to get to that point to be ready to make a change. That's how you know that marinating process is kind of wrapping up.
Alison: Yes. And you can really feel that visceral difference between where you were and where you are now. Sometimes when you start the process, or when you're in the middle of it, it is a little messy and experimental — and that's fine. I was working with one of my current clients, and I said to her, 'Hey, it's up to you, but as we start figuring out pieces and parts here, you can immediately start editing your LinkedIn profile, or you can wait, we can do it all inside a Google doc, and when you feel ready, we can republish the revamped profile.' And you know, I'm a chronic public experimenter — not necessarily something I openly advocate for everybody, but I tend to need to see things in the live, public space in order to process how I feel about it. In a way that I can't really do in a Google doc. I need to be able to sit in the perspective of the viewer. And doing it for myself, it is very messy and very public, and that's just something I've had to get comfortable with in order to make progress.
Beth: Yeah, absolutely. And I think you have made peace with that.
Alison: Mostly. It still makes me uncomfortable, as you can tell. Ha!
Beth: Yes, yes. And the other piece of this too is that having a sparring partner in this process is just so necessary. None of us can read the label from the inside of the jar. There are blind spots, there are so many ideas that are swirling — it's so helpful when you're going through an evolution to have someone you can talk this out with, someone who gets it. I remember back in August when I first started this process of my recent evolution, I really thought I could sit down for a couple of weeks — things had slowed down in August — and do this by myself. Each day I would come back to it for a couple of hours and think through new ideas: positioning ideas, offer ideas, business models. After about two or three weeks of this, I was starting to go around in circles. And I recognized, 'Oh, I'm doing that thing that my clients do right before they come to me.' So I went out and I found a wonderful coach to work with, and that really helped. And I also realized I was going to be making some bigger changes than I originally thought, and I didn't want to do that alone. Part of what I needed — which is something I see in my clients as well — is not only the sparring partner but also this desire for validation. We want someone to validate our ideas, our direction. We want almost like permission to change.
Alison: And even in my work, being more on the execution side, I see the same thing — that need for validation and permission-giving, to say, 'Yeah, you can publish that. It's going to be great.'
Beth: Yes. So as we were thinking about ideas for what we would share today, we wanted to share some of our most recent experiences. For me, my recent evolution involved a lot of letting go — letting go of certain services and offers and client types. And for you, it involved more bringing in — bringing in aspects of yourself into your business and brand. I think that's a really interesting contrast: letting go versus bringing in. And both can be really, really liberating.
Alison: They can be. And it's interesting because we have talked about how we both went through such major changes, but almost on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. And it wasn't really even until I was able to look at my shift in hindsight that I saw so much of how I needed to allow more of myself to come into my business. I had created this box for myself that I felt like I needed to stay inside to stay on track — and obviously, I outgrew that box at some point. I have very recently completely revamped the way that I work with my clients. Everything is different — especially the pacing around how I work with my clients, how I get feedback, how we collaborate. All of that is completely different and more centered around how my brain works. And it has been extremely liberating.
Beth: Yes! Your most recent evolution — all this started to happen last summer after your move to the Netherlands. New life, new location, building a new network, and really changing the way that you work.
Alison: The move was a huge part of that. I had this opportunity to kind of reset and really had a chance to look at how I work best. There's this need to get to know yourself very well to be able to do that. And I think I was actually going through that anyway — getting to know myself in a newer, better way. An international move, having to decide physically what to keep and what to leave behind, required me to know: who am I, what are my needs? It played a huge role in my readiness for this shift. And I remember when we first worked together a few years earlier, we had done a lot of self-discovery work — I think it was my favorite module of our work together. You helped guide me through getting perspectives from people who knew me really well, going into the IKIGAI, all those different types of things. It really opened the door for me to feel comfortable getting to know myself that way and then shape things around that. It was great.
Beth: Yeah. It's just so foundational, isn't it? Getting back in touch with yourself, your vision, your purpose. And you know, it's interesting — while the two of us share a lot in common, we do have two very different ways of working with our clients.
Alison: We do. I'm a much more hyper-focused worker when it comes to collaborative project work. ADHD plays a huge role in that — it kind of allows me to really focus in and almost fixate on a certain project and come up with ideas very quickly, iterate quickly. But for years, I was listening to the more traditional business model advice. I had set packages, set rounds of revisions, set prices. I kind of bought into this idea, coming from all the more experienced designers out there, that good design took a lot of time — not hours, but thinking time in between iterations, rest time, marinating time. And I really tried to do it that way. I kept brushing up against burnout — almost burning out and having to say, 'Okay, I cannot keep doing it like this. I have to take a break, step away, recharge, and then come back.' That's how I ran it for years. And I think I was going through one of those periods when we first started working together. It wasn't until pretty recently — actually finding out about ADHD, finding out about autism and getting diagnosed, and realizing that I have these differences and how I process things — that I really gave myself permission to shape things around me and how I work. Which has been an absolute game changer.
Beth: Right. It really has been. You fully gave yourself permission to design your business, your process, and your unique way of working — fully around you. And I feel like we experimented with different things over the years, and they would work for a time. But now it's so exciting because you really have found your thing. And it's not only about finding and discovering it — it's about owning it as well. Having gone through the process myself now with my brand, it's really amazing to see how you work, your unique process. I was so amazed at all the creative ideas and how within a short period of time they evolved and evolved until it got to the point where it was like, yes, we've nailed this. And within one single project day — which is the way that you work, inside these project days — I was amazed at how much you were accomplishing and how fast we were moving. But it didn't feel too fast. It felt just right, because we had done the right amount of prep and conversations before the project days kicked off. So I'm so glad that you have finally come to this place where you've found your way and you're leaning into it.
Alison: The project day method took me a few different iterations to land on, and it'll probably continue to iterate as needed. There are these dedicated days of working together, and then rest days in between to still allow things to process — but instead of weeks and months of designing and collaborating, it's days, maybe up to weeks, depending on the project. And it's a lot more asynchronous — getting feedback and sharing things together in a way that doesn't require spending a lot of time on Zoom or putting together presentations to deliver concepts and rounds of revisions. It's done a little more loosely and casually, but it also creates faster iteration, which I think gets to a better end result more quickly. And it's fun that way too.
Beth: It is! You know, I can so relate to this because I have also, in my latest evolution, changed my process and the way I work with clients. And interestingly, it's more structured now — more structured than it's ever been. For years I resisted getting too structured because I really wanted to customize and tailor the experience and didn't want to be boxed into some kind of 1-2-3 process. I'm going to be talking more about this in a future episode, because the new nine-step process and structure that I have has just been a total game changer. It has elevated my whole process and method. And I can see how something like that would be a game changer — how your work with clients flows and how it feels. So maybe a little lesson there too: always be open to change, open to changing your mind, seeing things in a new way. That could be the breakthrough that you need.
Beth: Okay, so the other exciting thing happening right now with you that I wanted to touch on is this new membership or social club that you've created — all about honoring your individuality, which has become a very central core brand message and mission for you. You named it The Rare Company Club. Love that name.
Alison: Thanks! And it is for a particular type of business owner — not so much in terms of industry or business model type, but more of a human type, a personality type. I shaped it around the fact that I was connecting with a lot of people who are like me, wanting to have their business really center their uniqueness. I think that's happening more and more. With all these different influences and reasons, people are feeling that need to bring more of themselves into the work, or let go of certain things they were holding onto. And I've found myself in a lot of different spaces — communities, online networks — looking for connection, trying to avoid the loneliness that comes with being self-employed and working from home. But I was noticing that for me, there was this very specific flavor to each of the spaces where I was supposed to show up in a certain way. They were either purely networking — all about your business, offers, referrals, and sales — or they were a little more hustle-focused with financials as a success metric. And then the spaces that are more oriented towards intuition were a little too spiritual for me as well. There wasn't really one place where I could talk about all the different things or experience all the different things.
Beth: So you just ended up joining a whole bunch of groups.
Alison: Yeah — different needs, different parts of yourself. And none of that's wrong. They do serve their purpose. But there are so many people who want a place where they can openly talk about their intuitive feelings or their gut feelings about certain things in the same conversations where we're developing goals and strategies and content calendars — where those two things don't have to be separate.
Beth: I love how this community is giving you the ability to bring in more of these different sides of yourself. And I think it takes some courage to create the things that align with you the most and that you believe will create the most impact. When I talk about a human-centered brand, it requires this kind of bravery and honesty with yourself.
Alison: Yeah. It took me a very long time to figure this out. I've wanted to have some type of membership offer for a couple of years — but I kept going down the path of a natural extension of my existing business as a service provider. And I would go so far down the path — like 80% of the way to developing a membership — and then realize that I had completely built something that didn't include me and how I want to work. And I would burn it to the ground and start over again. I did that like two or three times. Luckily, none of them launched. But that work is so important — being able to know yourself well enough to say, 'Okay, this doesn't actually have me in it, so it's not going to be sustainable for me.'
Beth: Yeah, and that's crucial. I've seen well-meaning, smart, amazing people start communities and then burn out. So, what I want to tell everyone out there is: The Rare Company Club is now open. And if you've ever felt too practical for spiritual communities, but too intuitive for those tactical business groups — this is for you.
Alison: Yes! It's a small community, lots of opportunities to have discussions in forums, so it can be completely asynchronous. There's recorded content in there as well, so you can do it on your own time. But there's also a decent amount of live interaction and live events — co-working sessions where we actually talk during them, not just silent co-working — opportunities to connect with people, seasonal planning sessions, monthly reflections, all that good stuff.
Beth: I truly think what you've come up with is very unique — I haven't seen another community quite like this. For anyone listening, you can go to alisonrose.nl to join. That's Alison spelled with one L, not two.
Beth: Now, as for me — let's talk about my story a bit. Because a big part of my recent evolution involved letting go. And the biggest thing I let go of was the marketing piece of what I offer. In my last podcast episode — Episode 12 — I talked about lots of factors that actually influenced this new direction for me. The trust recession that has been caused in part by overhyped messaging and overblown promises, AI creating a wave of generic, surface-level content, and how all of this created a stronger desire for me to work in a more human-centered, in-depth way. So I was at this place where I was feeling a sense of disillusionment with marketing and business, and trying to figure out my place in it all. At the same time, I was feeling more drained by the marketing strategy and support I was providing. Why and how did I come to this place? Well, first of all, I've always done marketing my entire working career, so in that way, it's sort of the least interesting aspect for me now — creating marketing strategies, being a marketing mentor, providing hands-on support to do things like edit social media posts, set up people's email newsletters, work on proposals, and so on.
Alison: I can totally see that. I have the same kind of love-hate relationship that develops when there's something you do really, really well and have been doing for a long time — and having that feeling of being tied to it.
Beth: Absolutely. And this kind of marketing work has pros and cons. On the pro side, it is a service that is in high demand, it's something I'm good at, it's profitable, it allows me to bring in recurring monthly revenue, and it allowed me to extend the impact I was having with clients from strategy to full implementation long-term. But on the con side, it is incredibly demanding and creatively draining. I really struggled to put boundaries around it — I tried limiting my support, tried creating a point system — but it was difficult. Then as AI entered the scene, clients started giving me AI-generated copy to review. And let's be honest, a lot of AI slop.
Alison: Guilty.
Beth: Ha! Well. And that ended up shifting this kind of work from 'done with you' to 'done for you' — it created more work for me. Now, if you're one of my past clients listening to this, I certainly do not want you to feel bad, because the problem was never you. I needed to face the fact that this kind of work just wasn't lighting me up anymore, and I needed to give myself permission to let it go.
Alison: You felt that strain — you felt that you were out of alignment.
Beth: Exactly. I think I reached this kind of tipping point last year, and maybe some people listening can relate to this — or maybe you're feeling it right now. I was finding that I had clients giving me entire websites to review, big 40-page documents to review, wanting specific content ideas from me, detailed launch plans. And I started to feel sort of crushed under the weight of all that. Again, none of this was my clients' fault — I gave them every reason to believe they could keep asking me for help with anything, and I sincerely wanted to help them. But when I slowed down in August and did some reflection, I realized that the changes I needed to make were much bigger than I originally thought.
Alison: I remember you had to make the decision to let go of Confident and Clear.
Beth: That's right. That was a really tough one. That had become kind of like my baby. Confident and Clear was this challenge I had run periodically — four or five times — and I had made a big effort to improve it each time. It was tough to let go of because it really didn't align with my new direction. It was mostly about resetting and creating your marketing strategy and marketing plan. So I had to let that one go. And you might have heard the expression: kill your darlings.
Alison: Ooh — it's a little violent, that one.
Beth: But very apt! Sometimes in this process of evolution, part of it is letting go and killing your darlings. Now, Alison, there's something else I want to mention — a few of the telltale signs that you really are ready for a shift. What are some of those signs that you're done marinating?
Alison: I kind of break it into being able to categorize the kind of shift you're in, because if you're feeling that readiness or that pull, there probably is some level of change that is happening and is ready. I have a little guide on my site that you can download — it's free — and it helps you reflect on whether something is just tweaking and making minor changes, if you're actually in that middle ground of refreshing but not completely rebuilding, or if you are all the way in that rebuild zone, which is more where you found yourself last August. The guide is a little bit more reflective — it's not very prescriptive, it doesn't tell you exactly what to do in every step, but it's in that discovery-mindset space. It gives you tips for what to look at to kind of objectively assess how things make you feel, and lets you know where you fall so you know how to take your next step.
For example, you might find yourself just noticing that it's feeling a little dated — maybe the colors are feeling a little off, or you don't like the textures you're using, or maybe the way you're wording a few things doesn't feel right. That's probably going to be more in the tweak-or-refresh zone. If you were just to swap an image or change those colors, would the rest of it still feel okay? Then you probably don't need to start over.
But if your packages and pricing and proposals and everything is feeling completely off, and you're in that world of having to give total disclaimers to people before they come to your site, or you're avoiding putting your logo on something before you send it out — that's going to indicate you're probably in that higher refresh-to-rebuild zone.
Beth: And I know some other telltale signs are: if you're doing lots of custom proposals, if your business model is starting to feel exhausting, or maybe — I heard one of my clients say recently — she was finding herself saying yes to every opportunity and prospect coming her way without giving it critical thought, and ending up with a lot of wrong-fit clients. Sometimes it's a feeling of resentment or being drained. I think that resentment gets a little overlooked — the resentment that can build up when you're doing something out of alignment.
Alison: Yeah, yes.
Beth: Sometimes you have this sense that your message no longer feels as exciting or fully aligned as it once did. You're sensing that your positioning no longer represents you and what you want to be known for now. And sometimes it's just an overall feeling that you've kind of fallen out of love with your business.
Alison: Or your brand, or your website.
Beth: Yes. So if any of what we're talking about resonates, of course we can both support you. And my way of doing that is through my signature one-on-one program, which is called the Brand Reset. In the program — which is specifically designed for coaches — we refine your message, your brand positioning, your signature coaching program and framework, and your business model, all in a way that is totally aligned and authentic to you, so you can stand out, resonate with the right people, and create more meaningful impact.
Alison: So much good stuff!
Beth: It is a lot! So, Alison, to close this all out — we have covered so much ground here today. And what strikes me the most is that both of our evolutions, as different as they were, came from that same place: a feeling of being out of alignment. So let's leave everyone with some of the biggest lessons we've learned.
First: give yourself permission to evolve. Your audience does not expect you to stay the same. If something has changed for you, that's okay — it's not failure. It's actually a pretty good measure of success.
Alison: And number two: make time for deep reflection. Don't wait until you start to feel crushed under the weight of the elements that just aren't working for you anymore. Your business is a living thing, and it needs to be tended to and occasionally reset.
Beth: Next one: start with yourself, not your visuals. Don't go changing your website or tweaking things before you've stepped back to get in alignment with your values and your vision — and then muster up the courage to shape it around you and what you really need.
Alison: And get support. Get a sparring partner — whether that's a coach, a peer, or a designer. You can't read the label from inside the jar.
Beth: We really helped each other through our own evolutions this past year, and I know we wouldn't have gotten there as fast or as clearly on our own. So thanks so much for being my guest today, Alison — and thanks to everyone out there listening. You can find Alison again at alisonrose.nl — that's Alison spelled with one L, not two. Until next time, my friends. Bye!
Alison: Bye!
