The Business I Thought I Was Building… and the One I Was Being Led To

It always starts with a thought.

A quiet nudge.

An idea that won’t leave you alone.

A feeling that there’s something more… even if you can’t quite define it yet.

That’s how this began for me.

Not with a perfect plan.

Not with a polished brand.

But with a thought that maybe—just maybe—there was something more for me to do.

So I started.

And if I’m being honest… I thought I was building a business.

At first, it looked like trying things on.

Different names.

Different directions.

Different ways of showing up.

Some felt right for a moment.

Some didn’t last long at all.

Some I held onto longer than I should have.

And every time something didn’t quite fit, I questioned myself.

Was I doing it wrong?

Was I changing too much?

Why couldn’t I just “figure it out” and stick with one thing?

But here’s what I couldn’t see at the time:

I wasn’t failing.

I was being refined.

Every shift… every pivot… every name change…was pulling me closer to something I couldn’t fully see yet.

Because the truth is—

If I had landed on the “final version” too soon,

I would have built it on the wrong foundation.

On my understanding.

On my timing.On what I thought it should look like.

There’s a part of building a business that no one really talks about.

It’s the in-between.

The space where:

• nothing feels fully aligned yet

• clarity comes in pieces

• and you’re constantly adjusting as you go

It can feel messy.

Uncertain.

Even discouraging.

But what I’ve come to understand is this:

That season isn’t where things are falling apart.

It’s where things are being put together… differently.

Better.

Stronger.

More aligned than anything I could have created on my own.

Because somewhere along the way, something shifted for me.

I stopped trying to force clarity…and started paying attention to what was unfolding.

I stopped asking, “How do I make this work?”and started asking, “Where am I being led?”

And that changed everything.

The business I have today doesn’t look like what I first imagined.

It’s deeper.

More meaningful.

More aligned with who I am—and who I’m becoming.

It’s not just about building something.

It’s about guiding others through the same space I walked through.

The in-between.

Because I know what it feels like to:

• lose a sense of direction

• question what’s next

• try to figure it all out on your own

And I also know what happens when you stop carrying it all yourself.

When you begin to trust the process.

When you allow yourself to be led.

When you realize that maybe… you were never meant to build this alone.

That’s where everything starts to come together.

Not perfectly.

But clearly.

If you’re in a season where things feel uncertain…where you’ve started and stopped more than once…where you’re wondering if you’re ever going to “figure it out”—

I want you to hear this:

You’re not behind.

You’re not doing it wrong.

And you’re not starting over.

You’re being shaped.

Refined.

Prepared for something that fits you better than anything you could have rushed into.

It started with a thought.

But it didn’t end there.

And if you’re willing to keep going—to stay in it, even when it doesn’t all make sense—

you may find that what you’re building…

isn’t just a business.

It’s the life you were meant to live.

Your Encore isn’t something you figure out.

It’s something you grow into.