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| Sunrise over the mountain 4/10/11 |
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today things are a changing. Today we announce to the world we are closing the doors of our retail store. Ten years we have had this business. A decade of hard work, building relationships, fighting against the odds. It certainly is not the easy, walk in the park so many consumers assume retail is. We have never been rolling in it, nor made the gazillions in profit so many assume us greedy entrepreneurs make.
It may not have made us our fortune, but it has bought us flexibility at a time in our lives it was crucial, it has bought us a family life, and more importantly, it has given Big Boy the chance to be what he could never have done successfully if he had stayed a senior exec... a Dad. And oh, what a Dad he is!
We have seen many others hit the wall, so many have closed their doors and walked away with nothing but debt, bankruptcy and failure.
We have not. In fact, if the GFC had not hit, we would have had this business on the market two years ago. It is a good business, built on honest sweat and effort. But it is time to move on.
Since Wise Woman passed nearly 12 months ago, we have been madly juggling her businesses and ours. Doing nothing well. Something had to give. So rather than hanging on another two or three years waiting for a buyer, we made the difficult choice to close down.
We are lucky. Whilst it carries some debt it is something we can manage. It will cost us financially, but the thing we need the most in our lives is time. Doing nothing properly and running, running, running is not helping anything nor anyone - this is the best solution for OUR family.
A new day, a new era, a new life in so many ways.
Oh, and yesterday I bought my ticket and booked my accommodation - look out Digital Parents Conference 2012... I am on my way! Woot.
