At Last: A New Home for KIS

I learned something from Brene Brown recently. She was talking on a podcast about wholehearted living and the roles of fun and creativity.

In her research, she found that 85% of people can recall a memory of when they got criticized in grade school. In half of these people, they were criticized for their artistic work. Like writing, acting, or drawing.

This criticism changed how the research-ees viewed themselves as learners. They internalized the insult and stopped doing whatever action brought it on. In essence, the criticism changed how they viewed their potential.

We all have embarrassing memories. Sometimes they're teaching moments and we learn for the better. Others stunt us and make us fearful to try again.

Like half of Brene's research group, I have a "creativity scar" from my 11th grade AP English Language class.

This teacher decided to read out examples of bad writing from the class's latest essays. He saved the worst for last; a sentence I wrote. It was so bad the entire class laughed.

To this day, I remember the room, where I was sitting, and his red-ink comments by that sentence in my paper. It was a small mercy that I sat in the front row. I hoped my peers wouldn't notice that I was near tears.

Even before that day, I wasn't a confident writer. Afterward, I felt beyond horrible.

Now, years later, I can relate to Brene's research. I've come a long way in getting over my fear of writing, but it's still a struggle.

Case in point, my website. Today I'm launching KIS's new online home. You're on it right now.

For over two years, I've wanted to overhaul my website. But I choked. Words are so important and design isn't my forte either (also a creativity scar but not as severe). All my clients and prospects will see it, so it's paramount to do well.

I've started and stopped this project. Done most of the work and put it aside until it no longer was relevant. Taken courses, installed templates, and outsourced major parts. I've put in more hours than I want to know.

I still don't have an uber-detailed ideal customer avatar, but right now I can say that it's enough. The 80/20 rule, right?

For this biz, I need to write lots. Accounting and taxes are complex. I love finding ways to explain them sans jargon. It's taken lots of time, trial, and error, but I’m getting more comfortable sharing my work.

On occasion, I need to read my older blogs. When I wrote them, I thought they were terrible. Now I'm not so harsh. My writing has improved and continues to get better.

A month or two ago, I read a social media post my contractor made and it stood out to me. I complimented her on her writing and different take on the topic. She smiled and laughed. To my surprise, I wrote it. It was based on one of my blogs.

Fear, insecurity, and shame make us think we can’t do something. But they are liars. We can learn.

I refuse to be limited by a memory of a rude teacher almost two decades ago. While I don't aspire to be the next Hemingway, I do like playing with small parts, like words and numbers. And I firmly believe in my ability to learn.

As business owners, we face uncomfortable tasks and situations all the time. Sometimes daily. This website was my uncomfortable task on many a day. It was a rite of passage. It’s the last time I plan on writing it all myself. I had to get my voice and the message down. Next time, I can hire a copywriter along with a design team.

One of the blessings of owning a business is that we get to do whatever we want. Usually, it's something we love and are good at. That's why we started a business. Often it doesn't even feel like work!

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We empower each other to use our strengths. We all have different talents and trade them via a conduit, aka money. I couldn’t do the work that any of my clients or colleagues do. But, none of them can match what I do either.

This website is a great example. Once I had the words written, I bought a website template and started to install it. I got the settings and images ready and then went froze. I had to merge my words into the design.

This was last Fall, almost two years after I had started. I'd teased the new website in KIS & Tell... before I hit the design wall. I knew I was in over my head. Instead of putting all the focus into the design, I hired the team that made the template. Otherwise, it could have taken me two more years!

The design team had it ready within a couple of months. They could have done it faster but they had to wait on me. While they worked their magic, I was able to focus on my clients in my zone of genius.

So I’m glad to release this to the world. It's a small miracle! I'm proud of my work and of everyone who helped me.