For those of you who have been following Rainbow Vision’s journey over the years, you know that there was a period of about a year and a half when things were pretty quiet. After a rocky 2020, followed by our best year ever, then gradual downturn in sales, I put Rainbow Vision on an indefinite pause.

While I kept selling some of our best sellers like the Undated Planner and notebooks, I had stopped all wholesale business and got myself a remote job. It was a huge shift in focus and way of life that was uncomfortable and new to me. A boss? A schedule? Requesting time off? Benefits?? It was a mixed bag, but at the time I felt I didn’t have much other choice but to start all the way over.

After some months of this path, I began to realize how much I had lost when I decided to pack up my business of over 12 years. I wondered if maybe I had overlooked other options whenever I had decided to close shop. In 2012 when I first started crafting and designing my own products to sell on Etsy, I was coming from a place of pure curiosity. I did not have a degree in business or product development, or any experience in marketing. Instagram was still unadulterated by Meta and artists were having real success building audiences there for their work. For the first time you could be seen around the world for whatever little doodad you made, and with just the click of a button. If you know, you know. It was a very specific time and place and we likely won’t see that kind of access, in that particular way, again.

The only issue with having started a business this way is that it taught me some not so great habits. For example: Marketing (or the lack of). Posting whatever whim I had on instagram was fun, but it isn’t a full marketing strategy. Marketing is a whole industry and expertise all on its own, with lots of different methods and tools to learn, and if you’re like most creative types trying to put yourself out in the world, you hate having to think about it. This was the way I felt for years, and I pretty much continued to throw spaghetti noodles on the wall hoping something would stick. Sometimes it worked, but let’s be honest. This wasn't a marketing strategy. This was gambling. 

Marketing was simply one of the things that I wish I had thought through a little more before tossing it all into the bin (only to dig my precious brand back out again a year later). Other things include the concept of taking a break (like a real mental health break), hiring more experienced contractors to help with things I was less good at, phasing out products that cost way too much to make, and so much more. I had put my whole heart and soul into my brand without paying attention to how much I also needed to be able to step away when I needed to. I had not created a foundation that could withstand the unpredictable moments when the world around us would shift, as well as the shifts within myself. 

I recognize that I have the benefit of hindsight when making this list, but I do hope my experience can be helpful insight for some! If you are facing the tough decision on whether you should close your business or not, understand that this is only to do with my personal experience and may not apply to all situations. Only you know what makes sense for your business and your life. Anywho, here we go:

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5 Things I Wish I Had Done Instead of Close My Business:

1. Trusted that there were, in fact, more options

When you’re faced with outstanding bills and low cash flow, the panic can really set in fast. I felt like I was stuck in a corner and that a decision needed to be made immediately, when in reality, when it comes to finances, you often have more time to wait things out than you think. I could have talked with my landlord or my manufacturer about delaying payments for an extra few weeks when sales would pick up. I could have taken out funds through business credit, or asked for a temporary loan to bridge over until sales picked up. Money is a fluid thing, not fixed, and I understand this concept much better now than I did at that moment. Sales are seasonal, the world continues to change and evolve, and there are ways to work within the cycles so you’re not caught with your pants down and reacting to every slower than usual moment.

2. Laid off my full-time employee (or cut back hours)

This one hits hard. I absolutely loved working with my Operations Manager who was also like family, and I felt very responsible for them. This ultimately kept me from making the difficult decision to let them go in order to save cash flow and get back on track. I know I'm not the only green small business owner to have to face this. In reality, I could have gotten my husband to temporarily help pick up the slack, or I could have packed orders myself at night until things steadied out. Heck, I may have even been able to hire my operations manager back if I had done either of those things. Instead, I had the mentality that if I couldn’t have her on my team full-time then I didn’t want to do it at all. I decided to sink the whole ship, which was ultimately a lose-lose for all of us.

3. Signed a commercial lease that could generate additional revenue

After a few years of moving around, we were ready to move back to Atlanta where we had first started. The only thing was that commercial spaces are few and far between and, well, expensive. In a moment of desperation I settled on an office space that was more like a studio apartment than anything else. We had lots of extra space, but it wasn’t great for hosting retail. While it was arguably less expensive than a retail space, the overhead was a bit too much for our operation to handle at that time and there was little way to ease it. Now Rainbow Vision is shipped from our home in a 300 square foot room (for now), and even though that’s not ideal for everyone it’s been working just fine for us while we grow again. A great reminder that sometimes we tend to jump into things that we think we “need” when really it may be taking away more than it’s giving. When we do eventually move into a new space I will make sure to take my time to find something that allows us enough space to function comfortably for a few years while also acting as a revenue generator.

4. Focused on the products that were actually working

Instead of expanding on the products that actually resonated well with customers, sold consistently, and had a decent profit margin, I kept hopping around to whatever new shiny object that caught my attention. Throw pillow cases? Let’s do it. Printed scarves? Cool! Handmade, hand printed, tote bags that cost a bajillion dollars to make? Yes, please. That was my mentality and it was a habit I had developed when I was first selling on Etsy. The more designs you listed in more categories the better exposure you would get on the site. While bringing in new designs is certainly fun and it can be great to experiment, in many cases I was stretching our dollars for not always that great of a return. Not to mention it takes a lot of energy to constantly create new, new, new. Artists and small brands don’t have to constantly bring in new designs to keep the world’s attention. This is something I thought I needed to do in order to stay relevant, but what ended up happening was that I was depleting myself and not giving each new product its due support (that whole marketing strategy thing again). 

5. Just taken a damn break

Beyond the numbers, the simple fact was that there was an emotional and mental toll at play that had been building for years. I was absolutely burned the heck out. I had been building the business for so many years without a real plan and I was constantly pulling from my own well of motivation. At some point, that well dries up when you don’t take proper time to replenish. For many years I worked overtime to expand and grow without a clear goal as to why I was growing and expanding, and that often kept me away from other parts of myself. Without allowing myself breaks to tap into other creative goals or aspirations, I ended up feeling like my work was somewhat meaningless and oversimplified, something that I realize now is just simply untrue. Whatever creative work we do is always important, and while the style of work may change and morph, our efforts are always what keeps the work meaningful. I had forgotten this for myself and was overlooking the vast amount of achievements I had already accomplished through the challenging feat of running my own business. Taking breaks does not mean someone is less of a badass. In fact, they are necessary. 

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All in all, the big lesson has been that the fear of asking for help was stronger than just asking. None of us are truly alone and there is always someone willing to help out if we simply ask. This was my biggest realization while working my little remote job for about 8 months before quitting and revamping Rainbow Vision: I had not wanted to admit that I needed help. I didn’t want to appear less than perfect or “good”, and therefore suffered silently for it. This fear of failure is so common that it almost feels cliche to point out, but damn if it isn’t a strong force. There is a romantic misconception in small business that you have to bear it all on your shoulders and do all of the jobs, but this mentality is ultimately a killer. Looking forward, I’m excited to implement new tools that will not only support this beloved brand of mine, but also support me in a way that I was not ready to do before. Instead of reacting, I can plan. Instead of burning the midnight oil, I can get real rest. Instead of trying to do it all, I can do what actually works with more ease. If you are facing a similar situation, just be sure you’re thinking about all of your options. Take a breath, take your time. Solutions can look a million different ways.