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Why change?
Because of a customer who told me he couldn’t keep taking as many classes, which meant a significant fall in income for me the following year. Significant enough to get me thinking about the durability of my business. Looking through my figures, the biggest expense was rent. That’s the direction I started thinking in. But that’s not all. There were also… some personal elements that came into play, I had always worked Monday through Sunday non-stop. Always my nose to the grindstone, always full out never a break. And a health issue came up. That too got me thinking. That’s why I changed business models. To be able to protect myself and protect my business. I mean keep the business running and keep it profitable.

Telling your employees
The employees were informed right away I even went through the thought process with them.

Telling your customers
All in all, it was well received, because we had a close relationship with our clients.

Lessons learned
Don’t let your passion lead the way. I tend to be very Cartesian, very practical. I always keep my feet on the ground, but I let myself get carried away anyway. Get guidance, get guidance from the right people and allow for a trial period. Not a 3-month trial period, but more 6 months or a year. Where you don’t incur any substantial expenses. Factor some down-time into entrepreneuring, meaning keep time to be who you are. Me, for example: There’s Barbara the entrepreneur, who works Monday through Sunday, but there should have been Barbara the entrepreneur Monday through Saturday, and Barbara the wife and mother on Sundays. It calls for a 200% investment of yourself. But you have to keep at least 1/5 of your time for you, for who you are, to reconnect. Also to keep your cool, not work yourself silly, not exhaust yourself for nothing.