In my early twenties, I wanted to be an opera singer. I loved putting my own take on the music, and especially loved creating music with other people. But it was years after I slipped into startup land that I realized how much startups actually have in common with art and music: Creating something from nothing changes you. It’s human-making. It’s an inside job.
I am so thankful to Sarah Colburn, our guest today, for speaking about this from her heart. Sarah’s company Backdrop was one of the first companies to sell wall paint online, and they exploded overnight as Covid hit (and we were all staring at our ugly white walls). Backdrop was recently acquired, and Sarah now spends her time working as a fractional finance leader and advisor to DTC brands.
A true gem among us, Sarah’s strengths are both analytical and in her open, generous vulnerability. I know you’ll enjoy learning from her.
Drop 1. Recovering from burnout is a process, and when you return to work, you won’t be the same
After I quit, I sat on the couch for 2 weeks without watching TV, no book, no music. I just sat there. I was like a frayed nerve… A lot of my anxiety about work was still there, but it had nothing to latch onto.
I did a lot of writing, I was also traveling by myself, going on hikes. Something I worked on was leaving my phone at home. Now, I’m back, but taking time away gave me brain space to process what happened. I’m changed.
Take it back to your team:
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Burnout isn’t something you can recover from on a vacation or with some extra sleep on the weekend.
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Sarah’s recovery involved writing — it “helped me realize things I didn’t even realize in my own brain.” You’ve heard this advice before: incorporating a daily, stream of consciousness, judgement free writing habit can be a massive unlock.
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On the other side of burnout now, Sarah gives herself “brain space” at the end of each day to process what she’s gone through. She even schedules it on the calendar to protect the time. How might you incorporate regular, slowed down, brain space into your day?
Drop 2. There’s true joy in the wins
I don’t think I realized until I left and had some time away — that look, what I did was incredible! You built something that didn’t exist, and people love it. That’s so cool. But day to day, especially if you’re on the operations side of the biz, if you’re doing a good job, no one should know you’re even doing your job… the only feedback you get is when something goes wrong.
Take it back to your team:
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Broken systems are just part of the program in the early days of a fast growing team. We focus on what goes wrong so we can fix it, but how might you also take time to celebrate the wins?
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In particular, how might you create a culture of positivity in your operations teams? Teams like Customer Support typically only hear feedback when things go wrong.
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Try it today. Take a moment — name the positive, recognize the wins, call people out by name. It feels great!
Drop 3. Focus on what you can control, and let go of the rest
This is where we’re going to exceed all of our targets! This outside event (Covid) made out biz model even more important. BUT, our factories closed down, there was a global supply chain shortage, our warehouses were working with reduced staff, and we had more orders than ever.
I learned that you can’t control everything. It’s not possible. But there are things we can control: We can control how we communicate with our customers, our partners, and we focused on those relationships.
Take it back to your team:
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In moments of true crisis, you will not be able to control everything. Honing in on what you can control (like communication!) will empower your team to act, and, like Sarah’s team, bring you closer to your customer.
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No matter how big you get, your personal relationships still matter. Ultimately, you can only control how you show up with the people around you. How do you want to show up?
Drop 4. A crisis is a terrible thing to waste
Hold on, let’s use this as a chance to reevaluate. Is there something else we could be doing to have a better experience for ourselves and our customers?
Take it back to your team:
- Sarah’s team embraced Covid’s impact on their 3PL to re-evaluate their usage of a 3PL altogether. While Covid’s clearly a giant crisis, we face small ones all the time. Instead of pushing through today’s crisis, how might it spur a new opportunity for you?