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Are you ready to make a shift in your life? I’m very excited about implementing my own shift toward helping others with the new Event Business Masterclass I am teaching. It’s called “Design your Escape: Building a value-based business and growing community through hosted events.” What is even more exciting is that my first Masterclass sold out in five days!
For a number of years, people have connected with me asking me for advice in starting an event-based business. This year it felt like the time was right to venture down the path of purposefully helping others see the possibility of creating this type of business for themselves.
Whether you are thinking about refurbishing a space to use for events, being your own boss, or retiring one life to begin a new one, it comes with mixed feelings. I understand all of those feelings. I experienced the very same anxieties when I took that leap. Sometimes the new direction is thrust upon us at a time we don’t expect it. Sometimes we choose the direction on our own. For me, it was a combination of both. I found myself with four daughters, living in the country and both wanting, and needing to make a fresh start.
I am proud of what has been created here at South Pond Farms, but it was not accomplished all by myself. I’ve had the most amazing help from my daughters, my staff, Shawn. Without their support and commitment, I wouldn’t have been able to go in the directions I have. This year, I am making another business shift – for South Pond to be more accessible to others. We’re transitioning from being strictly event-based to being open four days a week in the fall and winter months.
This will enable visitors to stop by and see the farm, check in with what we do, and taste what is in the soup pot and bakery oven. They can smell the campfire burning and pick up a loaf of bread from our gift shop. Visitors can explore the Ballyduff trails, and peek in to see the goats and chickens. Or they can walk through the progression of our own gardens and immerse oneself deeply in the forest – the Cedar Grove our farmer, Jarrod is creating.
My daughter, Carlyle is taking on a greater role on the day-to-day. This will allow me to step, not back – but aside, and focus on things that I love; writing, creating and beginning this new venture helping others design their own escape. My journey has truly been that – an escape from one life to another. I’ve landed in a place where all my interests and passions have come together. They reflect the commitment I have to both my family and to the land we live on. It’s been a wonderful and deeply satisfying journey so far.
Photo credits: Claire Dam Photography
www.clairedamphotography.com
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