Stepping Out of the Spotlight and Building a Thriving New Business

“Visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. Do not be afraid to disappear. From it. From us. For a while. And see what comes to you in the silence.” – Michaela Coel

I have spent the past year and a half building The Water Cooler alongside my Co-Founder (and boyfriend) Ben, and our amazing team including Jess, our Creative Director.

You may remember that about six months ago I made some big announcements about Nesting Story coming back and new team members and contributors helping me. But soon after that I realized that I was trying to do WAY TOO MUCH!

The saying you can’t do it all is so true.

On top of trying to nourish two businesses, I also had two teams to manage and of course, four kids… two of which needed a little extra attention during that time.

If you have followed me for a while, especially on Instagram you know I am a Greys Anatomy super fan, and I often pull advice and life lessons from episodes of that show. Kind of like how Tom Hanks’ character in You’ve Got Mail gives Meg Ryan’s character advice from his favourite movie The Godfather… “go to the mattresses.”

In Season 4, Episode 17, Freedom Pt 2 of Grey’s Anatomy, Bailey makes the hard decision to give Izzy the keys to the clinic. Bailey has seen the bigger picture. She loves the clinic, but she doesn’t love it as much as she loves surgery, being Chief Resident or her family. She’s seen the bigger picture and she can’t do everything and still have everything, so she has to let some pieces go.

I had seen the bigger picture and I had to let some pieces go. One of those pieces was Nesting Story… at least Nesting Story as a business.

Although sad, there was also this feeling of relief. Not only was I freeing up time for myself, but also I was taking the pressure off of myself of having to share so much of my life, allowing me to have more privacy.

I was also able to remove myself from the spotlight of being a Content Creator/Influencer, which is not my favourite and focus on creating something I am passionate about… building brands, helping businesses tell their story online and creating tools to empower small businesses to effectively use social media to market and grow their community.

The Water Cooler has gone through some transformations since launching in 2021 and I am so proud of where it is now. We narrowed our focus (branding, social media, video editing and YouTube management), and Jess and I have spent the last four months creating The Water Cooler Academy, consisting of a series of online courses and a monthly membership, as well as now offering one-on-one coaching.

I am beyond proud of the roster of incredible clients we have, our team and the Academy and know that as we complete the chapter of quietly building, we can now focus on growing, teaching and being more visible.

Now that I don’t pursue brand partnerships with Nesting Story and I do not have the pressure of creating content and sharing my story with the pressure of growth and generating an income, I think I may actually feel like sharing here from time to time. I definitely have a lot I’d like to talk about, and honestly, I miss blogging.

I am definitely not ready to go back to YouTube. At least not like I used to. It feels too exposed. But here, where it all started has this feeling of coming home. Of integrity and like I am connecting in a really authentic way while still honouring my boundaries.

Actually just before writing this I poured through the most recent comments left on some of my blog posts. It made me remember what I used to love about pouring my heart out in this format. That feeling of knowing I cannot be the only one experiencing this.

Okay. I’ve gone on for a while now. But I have shared here the way I love to share… just letting it flow as if I am catching up with a friend over coffee. So, I’ll see ya around?

I am still very active over on my Nesting Story Instagram stories, so head on over there to check in. xo