Here's How I'm Building a Business Rooted in Simplicity and Success

Because, just because you can pursue certain strategies, doesn’t mean you should.

“Every day, entrepreneurs wake up unemployed. Let that sink in.”

I saw that quote shared by a distant biz connection on Facebook and thought, huh…I’d never thought of it that way. 

Unemployed. That term has such connotation to it, doesn’t it? Jobless. Penniless. All the things people typically don’t want. 

But I see it differently. To me, entrepreneurship isn’t about being unemployed. It’s about being employed by freedom. Sure, freedom is an overused term, especially in the entrepreneurial space, but work with me here. Entrepreneurship is freedom to start over. Freedom to consistently reinvent yourself. Freedom to rethink how we show up and who we show up for. Freedom to serve on a deeper level. Freedom to say yes when others have to say no because of a J-O-B. 

Freedom to operate with empathy. 

This empathy-filled freedom sparked my desire to reinvent myself and my business. 

It’s not that what I was doing before wasn’t working. It was. Still, I felt things could be done better. More specifically, I saw a new way to get people results faster by avoiding terms like “unemployment” with entrepreneurship and instead lean into terms like “action-takers, adventure seekers, and catalysts.” Those feel more apropos, don’t you think?

So, I did the scariest thing I’ve done in a long, long time. In fact, it’s felt a lot scarier than I even imagined on the surface. I did a CTRL + ALT + DELETE on my business and decided to start the whole thing over. 

And not just one business, either. BOTH of my businesses. 

• Roadpreneur School has been shut down, and I’m reinventing where and how I show up, make offers, and impact others on this journey.

• Cruisin’ + Campfires has shifted from focusing primarily on Direct-to-Consumer product sales (which are still available and good and I want), to a wholesale focus.

I’ve felt completely untethered in this shift but in a good way. I hold the needle. I hold the thread. And I hold the pattern in how I want this new tapestry to unfold. 

If you feel like you’re at the precipice of starting over, allow me to shine a light on what I’m doing behind the scenes in hopes that you can take a few pages from this pattern and weave your tapestry in a way that gives you the freedom to create and travel.

Overnight success stories will have you believing that you should be a massive hit overnight or else it’s quitting time. All or nothing, baby! You’ve either got it or you don’t! 

*cringe*

I disagree. It takes testing, tweaking, trying, tweaking again, and a lot of tenacity along the journey.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been at this trailhead before, holding the map and navigating the journey, so I know a thing about starting from scratch. I’ve found a thousand ways NOT to do business, and I’m leaning into how I am doing business. Here’s how.

1. I’m Owning My Art, My Voice, My Line

I’m a chronic YES woman. I love saying yes. I love trying new things. I love proving myself through all that I can do. Until now, saying no has felt like saying I can’t or I’m a failure, which couldn’t be further from the truth. 

In this reinvention, I’ve decided to ditch the yes mentality. My new mantra is:

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Can I volunteer at that organization? Yes. 

Can I create that graphic for you? Yes.

Can I manage your social media? Yes.

Does it serve my big-picture goals? No.

I'm also reclaiming my big-picture goals by reclaiming ownership of my art, voice, and product lines. I’making decisions through the lens will serve my greater vision and make a greater impact on those I serve. And in doing so, I can be more strategic about where and how I spend my time.

Saying no is hard. Damn hard (especially when dollars are tight). But, it’s important as you lean into that next level to trust yourself to make smarter choices for YOU. 

2. I’m Owning My Status as a Business Owner

With Cruisin’ + Campfires, I’m creating art. I’m drawing. I’m shaping. I’m combining colors. Too often, that role isn’t seen as a business owner. It’s seen as a starving artist. But I’m not here to be a starving anything. I’m here to build a business that inspires others to get outside. Doing that requires shifting my mindset away from “fun side hustle” to “business owner.”

I want Cruisin’ + Campfires to be in thousands of stores across North America. To get there will require me to roll up my sleeves, put on my big girl pants, and get to WORK. 

There’s fun in the work, too. It’s scary to put yourself out there, sure, but it’s fun to put yourself out there and know you’re giving it your all. This idea of giving it your all doesn’t have to mean falling into a hustle culture mentality, but it does mean that there’s beauty in the grit and the guts to take action. 

To reach those goals, I have milestones that I want to hit. First up - get my products into 100 stores. Next, 250. Then, 500. And so on until I reach my big goals. It’s all possible, but I must buckle up and do the work. And that work requires that I approach every day through ownership of being a business owner. It’s time to act like we’re already there, my friends, and GET IT DONE! Are you with me?

3. I’m Building Systems

I’m so grateful to live in a blessed age of technology that can streamline that massive lift of pitching and following up with thousands of stores. I’m equally grateful to live in an age of technology where I get to simplify where and how I bring YOU along for this ride, hopefully inspiring you to take these same actions in your business and get yourself out there.

The past me did this via 1:1 work or small group coaching programs. While those are impactful, and there’s still a space for showing up in this way, they weren’t scalable for where and how I wanted to live my life and make a difference. So, I’m changing things up and systematizing the approach to reach more people and make a bigger impact. 

• For wholesale: I have a systematized approach in Airtable that allows me to personalize the wholesale outreach and automate certain parts of the follow-up. 

• For Roadpreneur: I have ideas for how to simply and effectively get people into action, allow them to gamify the experience, but not have to be on live all the time so I can be boundaried with my time. 

These are just two examples. There are plenty of other systems working smoothly in the background. In starting over, I’ve been rebuilding and refining these systems to honor my current lifestyle. In an upcoming course, once I’ve done the heavy lifting of working out those kinks, I’ll also help you do the same for your business. 

4. I’m Embracing Rejection

I’ve often said that rejection is just the beginning. It’s a learning experience. It’s a tool in your toolbelt. Hearing the word no doesn’t mean never. It just means “not like that.”

There are so many lessons baked into rejection. By shifting our mindset away from thinking poorly of ourselves and finding new opportunities to improve, it’s easier to take that rejection and use it as fuel for a greater good. 

But here’s the thing – to hear “no,” you must make an offer. You have to give someone a chance to respond to you. 

So, in starting over, that’s what I’m doing. I’m putting myself out there, making the pitch, and doing it a little scared but more confident. And that confidence is going to make all the difference. 

5. I’m Done Playing Small

For too long, I let naysayers around me bring me down. Specifically, my dear husband. I love that man to the end of this earth, but he is not in my corner until he sees HIS definition of success. He draws a hard line in the sand for everyone he encounters, and although I see a big-time fault in that approach, I know I am celebrating the pursuit of reaching both of our definitions of success. I’m done letting the fear of how he perceives me through his definition of success hold me back. 

I’m done playing small. 

I’m done pretending my voice is weak. 

I’m done pretending I don’t have value to offer.

I’m done pretending that mistakes define me and that a simple mess-up means profound failure. 

None of those statements I used to tell myself were true. They weren’t true then, and they aren’t true now. Neither are they true for you. By committing to stepping up to the plate and going for the home run, we get to decide who we listen to and the messages we let in. We get to shift our perspective toward something more positive and empowering…

… because isn’t that what this whole entrepreneurship thing is all about? It’s about the freedom to travel the backroads, confidently share your dreams, and build a brand you love to discuss around the campfire.