Just a few short months ago I was thinking of throwing in the towel. My readership wasn’t going anywhere, I’d lost all inspiration to write, to say that I was frustrated was an understatement . Everywhere I went people were trying to put me into a “Christian box”, telling me, “You should only talk about this” or “you can’t talk like that”. It made me feel that if I was a Christian, then I had to be a BORING person.
Deep down I knew they were wrong…I knew I could be a Christian, I knew I HAD to be the imperfect definitely not boring me that I am, & I had a lot to share. So I made the decision to go all in & make Three23 a real bona fide business.
Not just any business though…Nope not for me. It not only had to be a legitimate business, but it had to inspire women to embrace everything that we are, all in an amazing package that we all just wanted to eat up.
Much to my dismay the current name of our site, Three23 was already taken & we quickly had to come up with a second choice…
Drumroll please!…Aaaaaand the winner was…Three23Way.
We were quite smitten with it. I mean after all Three23 is a Way of life, my Instagram was already set up as three23way, & all the other social media outlets had that name available. It seemed that all the stars had aligned …So, I was off to phase 2 of my brilliant new business.
Now, some girls are just born with glitter in their veins. Something about them shines in a way that the whole world knows they’re special. I knew this about Kelly before I ever spoke to her, before I inquired about her working with me, & her glitter was crazy contagious the 1st time I spoke to her. I knew from the get go she was the brand designer for me & she quickly got to work making my vision a reality.
Before I knew it I had my first round of rough sketches for my logo. I thought they were Fan-to-the-tastic! I mean y’all they were great! So great in fact I couldn’t narrow it down to just two.
I need to tell y’all that for me, business relationships need to be personal. I need to not only like a person’s work, I have to actually like them, to be able to trust them. I like Kelly, so it was only natural for me to trust her opinion, after all she’s done this loads of times & I’ve only done it once.
Then things got awkward… Not for me… For her.
We’ve all been there…you know, that awkward moment when you know you have to tell someone something, that will not only embarrass you to say it out loud, but could potentially embarrass or offend the person you need to tell…I had just created that for her.
Bless her heart y’all. She could have easily said, “Oh! My favorite is this one or that one”, but she didn’t. She had the moxie to take the road less traveled & decided to be honest with me…
And y’all, this is how it went down.
Me: Kelly, the rough sketches are amazing! I love them all soooo much I can’t pick…HELLLP! Please!
Kelly: I’m glad you love them…But, uuum do you think we can jump on a call?
Me: Sure
Ring-A-Ding-Ding!
Kelly: I’m so happy you love them, but do you see anything strange?
Me: (with a duh expression on my face). Nooo. They’re great.
I honestly thought she was being self critical of her work.
Kelly: I don’t know how to say this. I’ve asked my husband & several other friends & they all see the same thing…
Me: (still not gettin’ it) Whaaat?
Right about now all I can imagine is that she must have been clenchin’ her butt cheeks like here mama was about to beat her tail for shaving the dog or something. Cause this is where it would get hard for anybody.
Kelly: Uumm…uumm…Well…the eye naturally removes the numbers, sooo all we’re seeing are the words…uumm…THREE-WAY…
Me: (in utter disbelief- because now I can’t unsee it) OOOH! MY! Goonie-Ma-Goo-Goo! Well I guess that explains some naughty stuff that’s been sneaking onto my Instagram!
This next part must have been terrible for her, especially as a business woman because I feel like I left a lot of uncertainty just hangin’ out there for her.
Me: Can I have a few days to see what my husband thinks.
Kelly: Of course, we’ll talk again after the weekend.
The End…Or so you might think.
I showed my husband, our daughter, & a couple friends…You know, just in case I was being overly critical.
NOPE! Everyone saw it & like me, once they saw it-IT could not be unseen!
How did I not see? How did I let it get this far & never notice? How could I be a Christian, teach my values, & hold my head up knowing that my name would always attract three-way kinda people? I was completely deflated. I felt like I was back to square one. I didn’t want to be in business anymore.
My husband came in like the giant that he is, swooped me up, & said, “Let’s just change the name”. Practicality kicked in & wanted to worry about the money, the timing, & after all this was a good place & a good reason to quit.
“NOPE! Not today!”, he said. “Call Kelly.”, he said. “She’s got you.”, he said.
He was 100% right!
Kelly reassured me that nothing had really changed. The vision was still there, the passion was still there, & now my support system was stronger than before. This debacle had actually made us a stronger team. It taught us that honesty is definitely the best policy, that bravery happens in every day moments, & that two seemingly polar opposites can communicate effortlessly. Best of all this near catastrophe allowed me to trust that another point of view can actually make my vision better.
I know that my journey is just beginning. I’m learning that success comes not only from within, but also from the relationships you build along the way, & that is why I am grateful that this lively-lilac-locked lady is my RockStar ✨
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