Learning New Tricks - Year By Year
New year - new skills! I’m finding the learning never stops as a small business owner …and I don’t want it to!
Y’all - it’s been four years! It hit me the other day in the middle of a (totally unrelated) meeting. I have been the boss of my own business for four whole years! Starting up back in 2019, I could not have anticipated all that has happened since. Quick review – there was a global public health pandemic that not only disrupted my business plans but also positioned my business to step in and help school leaders with the biggest thing to hit their careers. My health policy expertise and communicable disease prevention/mitigation background made me the right person at the right time. It often felt like we were building while flying, but they trusted me to know how to interpret, implement and operationalize changing public health policy heading their way. It was such a joy and honor to advise and support schools during the pandemic.
But let’s see. What else happened over the past four years? I graduated both of my children from high school, graduated one of them from college, made countless mistakes, made even more colleagues who are friends, traveled a ton for both work and pleasure, and proved the concept I tested when I started out on my own – I like running my own business, and it’s sustainable. It’s been a whirlwind to say the least, and I wanted to take some time this month to step back and reflect on what I learned each of the past four years. I’m a big fan of the idea that we are all lifelong learners, constantly stretching and learning new things no matter our age or current circumstances.
So, with that in mind – what did I learn (and what’s next)?
Year One, 2019 - Which Way Is Up?
In January 2019, I began to learn which way was up. In all seriousness, starting a business and taking the leap away from a 25+ career in schools, nonprofits, and government is scary as all get out. I will forever remember the Tuesday that I filed for my LLC and walked away with my first basic business license, certificate of organization, and several other documents that I (still) get confused about. It was overwhelming, exciting, and just the slightest bit terrifying. And I was so proud to be taking this step on my own. This was a year of learning the basics, finding a rhythm within my new normal, and throwing up a website so folks could find me. I found systems and routines that served my goals (thank goodness for QuickBooks), and some which were clearly designed for a different entrepreneur. Honestly, I loved it. Through all the excitement and plenty of mistakes, there was an undeniable feeling that I was doing it – I was making it happen. That feeling of self-reliance has yet to fade, and while I’m still learning which way is up (I’m pretty sure most days), I will never forget those first few months of starting out solo.
Year Two, 2020 - Gotta Be Flexible
Queue COVID-19. A global pandemic was not on my plan for year two of my business, but there we were. All of a sudden my clients needed something different - and fast. Almost overnight, my business switched from school-based health centers and transgender accommodations to COVID-19 – 24/7. Schools were (rightly) worried and going through an unprecedented transition. Schools closed, and school leaders had to figure out how to safely bring back their staff and students. And then, they figured out how to engage and communicate with staff, students, and families so folks trusted that they could come back safely. Throughout, I tried to remain positive. I recall chatting with a school leader as she was facing the fact that her school would start SY20-21 virtually, and I added, “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about lice!” Funny, well, sort of. While the work hours got longer and the decisions got harder, I was honored to be a part of the solution and support network for schools. Moving my business from where I felt (in Jan 2020) I needed to be to where the work was actually needed was a huge shift! Pivoting and following the need opened so many doors and connections for which I will forever be grateful. This level of flexibility and adaptability has continued to serve me as we move away from a COVID focus and onto recovery. I want to support students and educators. Wherever that takes me – I’m in!
Year Three, 2021- The Work Doesn’t Stop (especially with Omicron around) …
I was two years into the business and pushing three, so I knew everything (right?). My COVID-focused work continued, and schools and organizations still managed to keep their focus on those things that students needed regardless of the pandemic. As students returned to their school buildings, I was busy. School-based health centers still needed to help young people move into adulthood (kids didn’t stop aging when the world seemed to stop), and schools still needed to make sure their transgender students felt safe and included on Zoom and in the classroom.
There was (and still is) so much need in the K12 world to create environments where students facing challenging situations could still show up to school (virtually or in person) and find a welcoming environment that cultivated learning and community. I found myself answering emails and phone calls at all hours of the day, taking weekends and vacation time to catch up on work-related tasks or rushing to update educators on new guidance or testing measures that still kept changing, albeit at a slower pace.
I was humming along, feeling great to be so busy because the work was so important! But guess what? It was also exhausting. K-12 schools are filled with passionate, innovative folks who go far beyond the call to support and protect their students. It’s a fantastic world to be a part of and an honor to work beside these amazing people, but with such a critical mission, the work will never stop (and that’s a good thing). Just when we started looking ahead to a very well-deserved winter break, what happened? OMICRON!!! That’s right, the Omicron Who Stole Christmas. Good luck if you got your faculty holiday party in before everything got canceled and some schools finished their last week virtually. Actually, you were better off not making it to your faculty holiday party because those who did get to have one – guess what – spent their winter break with COVID. And those well enough to work did just that through the break, so schools could open up safely come January, stocked full of rapid tests and ready to go!
Year Four, 2022 – ..But Sometimes I Need To
Year four started out in the same flurry that 2021 ended in. Omicron raged on, and schools were struggling to interpret all the new COVID testing guidelines that were coming out. I had the opportunity to lead a nationwide learning network on starting up and sustaining COVID testing programs in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, the White House, the CDC, and the U.S. Department of Education. The realization set in that recovery from COVID would take much longer than anyone anticipated.
Somewhere, in the middle of back-to-back meetings and network calls, I realized that I’d hit a wall. I needed a break to be at my best for my clients, so I decided to try out my hand at travel/ work life in an effort to give myself a little break and hopefully recharge. I flew home to El Paso, Texas, to “work from home” (cute, I know) and participate in a life-affirming El Paso, Everywhere program for El Paso expats. I visited my two young adult children, thriving in college. I returned to my new love, Puerto Rico, for a few days of sun, food, awesome people, and lots of Bad Bunny on the radio! And took off to Amsterdam and Paris to see family and friends while squeezing in my work days via my laptop. Through all of this, I really tried to balance my time between work and play on these outings, but I realized at the end of the year that when I tried to split my time, I ended up shorting both – work was hard to focus on surrounded by fun, and fun felt like I was cheating by leaving my laptop behind. After some reflection, somewhere along the Seine river banks, I put the laptop away, and fully unplug for a week. It. Was. Amazing. I came back fully charged and better for myself, my clients, and my business. Taking a step back from work is hard, especially for a consultant (don’t work, don’t get paid), but very necessary. For me, that was a really hard lesson, but so needed.
Year Five, 2023 – What’s Next? SO MUCH!
Now that we’re all caught up on my life as a consultant, where am I today? Inspired! Invigorated! Innovative! I’ve learned so much about myself in four years, some of what I’ve shared and some that I haven’t (wait for the book!). And I know that my work and the needs of my clients continue to evolve as we work to recover and prepare our students for their own personal greatness. What I know is that we do better together – teaching, learning, and doing together. I’ve learned I learn so much from my peers, school leaders, teachers, students, healthcare professionals - the list goes on. This year, I have been striving to focus on communication in all it’s forms. I want everyone in my network to benefit from my knowledge and connections in the same way that I benefit from them! Using newsletters and social media to spread the word of innovative and praise-worthy practices, blogs to share new ideas, and now a vlog to continue the conversation.
That’s right, this month, we are officially launching my vlog - Thrive to Learn. I want everyone to have access to the same experts and information that I do so that we can work towards better and healthier schools together. Working in silos is done (probably should’ve been a while ago), and we have the opportunity to build back a brighter and more equitable K-12 landscape where ALL students thrive … to learn. My vlog will introduce guests from around the country to share their knowledge, stumbling blocks, best practices, and solutions for common K12 issues. This is a vlogcast for school leaders, teachers, public health professionals, students, parents - any lifelong learner. I don’t know everything (yet) about business growth and development. What’s a vlog or vlogcast? It’s a short video conversation that I’ll record and post for folks to watch. Four and a half years in, I still find new and exciting ways to grow and learn. I’m so excited about this next chapter, and I can’t wait to share “Thrive to Learn” with the world.
But wait! That’s not all! The vlog is just one of the many exciting changes I have in store. Tune in to Thrive to Learn, and stay tuned for an online course and a membership package for schools and organizations that want to work with me in the longer term to empower their students to thrive … to learn.