October 2022: Let's be vulnerable.

by president and principal designer M. Kendall Ludwig

What is it about being a business owner that makes one think we have to project an air of success and confidence all of the time?

I can remember clearly when I was early in my CurlyRed days, and how important it was at the time to convey self-confidence in meetings and at networking events. I wanted clients (and potential clients) to feel good about entrusting me with their projects.

But the downside of that is when things are not going well, and you feel like to have to pretend otherwise to not lose face. I just finished reading Scary Close by donald miller, and my big takeaway was that real, authentic, meaningful relationships only happen when we are vulnerable with one another.

And while I feel I am vulnerable in my personal relationships, I'm not great at "being real" in my professional life. So a few days ago, I posted about how hard the past 6 weeks have been. How scared and stressed I've been buying a building and starting a new endeavor called Jitterbug.

The outpouring of love and support in response to that post has been absolutely incredible. Even though my circumstances haven't changed much since writing that post, I feel so loved, and so much less alone. What I'm saying is this: being vulnerable takes practice, but it's completely worth it. I encourage you to try it: with your boss, your co-workers, your clients, etc. You might be surprised how much your community wants to root for you in times of adversity.

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Monthly words to remember:

“And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”
—donald miller

Categories: 15 years of CurlyRed