This year I’ve kinda danced around the fact that I’m not on here as much. If you’re looking closely, it’s not just here- it’s pretty much everywhere online.

I’ve hinted that there were other, perhaps more pressing, things that I needed to focus on for now. But I haven’t told you the whole story. Or really any of the story at all.

The story is important to me. It’s kinda the whole reason I do this blog thing to begin with. So let’s do it.

Over the course of this year, I’ve gotten my real estate license, and am now working as an agent on a team with my mom. She’s been in the business for almost 15 years, and I’ve been there pretty much every step of the way. We’ve talked about it for years, but 2015 was the year it finally happened.

I’m still working on web design projects and plan to take on new projects in 2016, but I will be taking on less than before. Ultimately this will allow me to dedicate more time, care, and creative energy to each client. Turns out that I need to get out from behind the screen so that I can enjoy my time in front of the screen.

Now that I’ve gotten the nuts and bolts out of the way, I want to take a minute to talk about my capital F Feelings. It’s taken me so long to tell you guys about this for a reason. That reason mostly being afraid of what People would think. “People” being you.

I didn’t want you to think that I was a quitter. Or that I was less legit of a web designer for not spending 110% of my time in front of my computer. Or that I failed at this and had to move on to find something else. Or that I’ve been untruthful and super shady by not telling you sooner. And I didn’t know how to tell this story without the possibility that someone might think those things, mainly because over this long process, that little voice in my head has told me each of those things at one point. Even if it was only for a second.

But after a while, I got tired of things online not matching my real life. Keeping things separate basically sucked out all my desire to share online, anywhere. And I like to share, so that kinda… sucked. That’s ultimately what drove me to put my big girl pants on and show up here today.

I’ve been closed off online for a long time, but I’m ready to open up again. I want to talk about my day-to-day, about what I’m learning through this process, and about personal things like what kinds of curtains I’m considering for my office. You know, the really important stuff.

I have some behind-the-scenes work to do around here. But in the coming months, I hope to slowly come back. Maybe in a different way than before, but I hope to inject more of myself into this space than I have this year.

In the meantime, if you want to hear more about this process of change (the what, why and how) or the business-y end of things, I plan on sending my first biz nugget since this spring sometime this afternoon. And if you’re a small business owner and you’d like to work with me on your brand and site in the new year, I’m currently booking a spot for late January.

And if you’re in Northern Virginia (or anywhere, really!) and are interested in this new venture I’m working on, here’s a peek new real estate website I’ve got in the works.

And finally (because I don’t say it enough!) thank you for taking the time to read the words that I put on this space. It means a lot to me!

Story time! I remember one afternoon in early 2102, I sat at my computer feeling so frustrated. So much had changed for me in the last six months. I’d learned to code online and opened my business selling blog design services to creative women. I’d experienced how much information was out there on the web, and it was pretty incredible.

But I still felt in the dark. I felt like I was plugging away building this business, pouring all my time and energy into it, but I wasn’t sure what IT even was yet. I felt so uneasy because I had no idea where I was headed or whether this crazy thing I was doing was feasible. But most of all, I felt really alone in this entrepreneurial journey.

So I sat at my computer and I asked myself: “what do I want? What will make me feel better?”

At first I thought I just needed to attend a conference. That would solve all my problems. I’d make new friends and they’d tell me about how they’d overcome obstacles and I’d feel more secure in what I was doing. I attended some, and don’t get me wrong- I got a ton out of them. Highly recommend. But they didn’t necessarily scratch the itch that was nagging at me. The voices at the conferences were predominantly positive, and didn’t delve into things with the depth that I was looking for.

After that, I thought I wanted a mentor. But in my gut I knew that there would be something inherently unbalanced in asking someone to devote tons of time to me and my business, in hopes that I would go on to a greater level of success, without being able to offer them anything in return.

Then I thought I needed a coach. But given my personal circumstances at the time, I didn’t feel like I had the money to invest in this fledgeling thing I was building just yet.

Can you see where this is going? I didn’t find what I was looking for just then, but over the course of three years in business, I’ve done a lot of thinking and soul searching about what exactly that would have looked like (and what would continue to benefit me to this day.)

It wasn’t something that I’d already seen out there. It wasn’t a typical ecourse with modules and worksheets, but a sharing of personal stories and examples of experiences. I wanted to be a be a little birdie in the office of someone who was farther along than I was, I wanted an internship without having to sacrifice too much time away from client projects that were ultimately getting me paid.

If you subscribe to my email newsletter, you probably know what’s coming. This story leads up to the new ecourse I’ve created called In Retrospect. My hope is that by sharing what I know with you, that you’ll feel less in the dark about what’s ahead. Even though my path isn’t yours, in my experience (through a combination of making friends online, reading blog posts, and my own trial and error) the more you know and the more examples you have, the more you’ll feel comfortable in your own journey, taking your own risks.

I’ve found that there’s power is knowing. And that the more I know, the less there is to fear.

Interested in joining me? I’ll be talking about my experiences framed around three areas of focus: time, clients, and money. I’m running an early bird registration rate through the end of the week. If you want to sign up, don’t wait- the regular rate takes effect October 25th!