07/05/2026
15 years ago today we officially opened a sweet little dive after 10 months of remodeling the Wympee Building in downtown Dayton… my kids were in high & middle school, I had an amazing man by my side that I met during the reconstruction… two more businesses & a farm and so much laughter, friendships & stories grew out of it… we were so, so blessed!! Things changed abruptly behind the scenes when my partner in all things had to leave this amazing thing we call life… and a year+ later, after an accumulated pile of factors and stress trying to keep it all going without his help & laughter on top of the grief… I gave myself permission to stop, as responsibly as possible, which took another few months to pull off & even that was a constant roller coaster of pivots.
Transplanted myself to a mountain in South Carolina, the kids grew up & out, restored the land & opened a B&B and ran it for 4 years (the most content I have ever been) before Covid hit… remodeled for the ‘new world’, but it wasn’t the same anymore… the mountain & the work healed a lot and introduced me to hiking & backpacking…
so after making the decision & 6 months of ‘to do’ lists, I sold it all, rented a tiny spot and outfitted my truck into a simple adventure mobile.
Soon after met a bunch of offroad/overlander folks and made it half my personality, traveling mostly solo, for months at a time out west every year and even finally made it to Nepal, Thailand & Iceland in the last couple by living a super simple existence and concentrating on projects that feed my drive in between… and now I’m starting to imagine what almost 60 year old me can get into!
All this to show that there’s always a choice and stopping isn’t failing (or quick). The taking of a dream/idea all the way through & the thoughtful path you take to pivot at its end IS the success & pivoting on your own timeline (before it wrecks you spiritually and/or financially) is everything!
I applaud the small businesses that have had to close and do it well, even as my heart breaks for them knowing that signature ache of grief & relief that it leaves… those that shut the door and leave a sign for their people & guests… know you have been thoroughly cussed out from a small garden in South Carolina… & that goes for the ‘comment bullies’ too.
It’s getting tougher out there, even if you and the business are fine now, or you’re just starting out… make an exit strategy… I have never opened one without it at the end of the business plan & it helped immensely to have it ready when I was too emotional & exhausted to think of all it would take at the end of now four of them, not because any of them weren’t great, but because it was time.
Everything ends, one way or the other… your business (title/relationship/house) isn’t your worth, it’s just a super complicated job you chose in the end… change it if it isn’t working… let it go in the best way you can! Don’t take on more debt to keep it going, sell it to break even if nothing else, so you can walk away as clean as possible, with invaluable experience!
Don’t trade your future for something you wanted & worked for years ago, that isn’t serving you now… your gut knows the difference between a hard patch & a time to start working towards a different path… it just gets more expensive in so many ways the longer you delay. There are more stories out there, easier ways to live, new goals, opportunities and people will arrive… live it while you love it… let it go when you know. 💕
and if you don’t have a business, but you love a few… support them every way you can, and be so very kind if they choose to stop responsibly. I can’t imagine how tough it’s had to have gotten for so many of them and how much harder it could get… but grit & determination can’t fix everything… love them through every chapter… especially the last ones.
Bravo to all you dreamers and every drop of blood, sweat & tears you’ve, quite literally, put into them. Thank you to all the amazing supporters in Dayton that have blessed so many of us with your kindness & loyalty.
Keep moving forward ya’ll, even if the universe isn’t into straight lines, keep adapting and don’t be afraid of closing one book & putting it on the shelf, so your hands are open for what’s next… but never stop being brave enough to start- eyes wide open & brutal honesty as your guide!
and if it’s working… appreciate every freaking blessed moment of it and the people that make it so! 💕
