"Don't skip steps!"

“Don’t skip steps!!” I said that often as a school teacher. Now it is a motto that I follow and remind myself of often. When I started Sugar Beeze, LLC in 2014 I had no business experience at all. Many family members owned their own businesses but I had no firsthand knowledge. I proclaimed that fact loudly and often. I no longer do that.

I own a business and I OWN that fact now. I work hard to learn the ins and outs. I make mistakes and I mess up but I get over it fast and keep going. Often there is family, friends or colleagues who help me. But here’s the thing…..I never had a vision to own a business. I had a vision and I needed a business to move it forward. In my case, it was brining Benji Bars® to market.

I love the story that our local newspaper ran about Benji Bars®...

Check out this story on greenvilleonline.com: http://grnol.co/2hnhFBK

My husband made an observation many months ago about someone who was telling us about a project they were working on. This person was skipping some steps to get the project moving forward. Maybe there are times when you should but in most cases, I think that skipping steps leads to a shaky foundation. That observation has stuck with me. It has made me think a lot about taking steps.

We tend to think that all steps should be forward but I have come to realize the necessity of those awkward side steps and even those painful backward steps. I have come to trust the space in between steps when you just stay still and gather data and think about when and where to step next.

Steps are important. Forward, sideways, backward or midway with one foot perched precariously in the air...steps are important. Most importantly to me is to not skip steps. To MAKE each and every one of them and learn from them and to take a breath here and there to see where you’re at on the journey.

Don’t skip steps. Build a solid foundation. I tell my sons all the time that on your path no one is ahead of you or behind you. It is YOUR path. The world will tell them otherwise. The world told me otherwise. Then I decided to not only take my own advice but to live it out. Do I trip up and fall? Often! I’m here as proof that tripping is OK. Just do it quickly and get right back up.

I’m cheering for you to do the same! Have a blessed 2017!!!