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If you haven't heard the news already, let me be the first to tell you: I have chosen to leave my position as CEO of Ella Publishing. As you can imagine, this is a big change for me -- and one that has kept me up at night more than the mouse situation in our old house (and you know that's a lot!). Because I don't want to avoid the elephant in the room (haha!), and because you're 5000 of my closest friends, I wanted to give you the story behind the story. Here's why I'm now business card-less:
1. Parenting. Starting a new business is like having a baby. And when you already have three kids (four, counting the hubby) at home, it can be near-impossible to balance it all. Online companies are 24/7 endeavors, with no time off for good behavior (in fact, the better you are, the more you have to work!). With my kids at the ages they're at, they still need me, thank goodness. I don't want to skip this time, spending it on the computer and plopping my kids in front of the TV so I can answer one more email (at least, not on a daily basis!). I want to soak in this time and enjoy it fully.
2. Pocket Change. When Angie and I started planning Ella (almost a year ago!), I had no clue I was moving to Boston. We were happy and settled in California, and life was good. Then my husband got transferred, the economy tanked, and we ran into unexpected expenses (private school, anyone?). The need for a regular paycheck has become more pressing (in other words, critical!). While the potential is there, the regular salary is not.
3. Personality. I always thought I'd be a good consultant -- someone who swoops in, tells a company how to do things, gets them started, and then swoops out. I adore analysis and strategy and planning... and I'm not so hot about the follow-through. Once things are up and running, well... let's just say, I have a short attention span.
4. Passion. I'm a writer, first and foremost. I can "do" the financial projections and the reporting and the details of the back end of running a business, but the whole time, I'm thinking about the next thing I'm going to write. Now I will actually have time to write those blog posts, articles, books, and essays I've been dreaming up (she says as she spends the evening on the couch watching 13 Going on 30 with her girls)!
5. Purpose. I'm so lucky in that, while I do have some financial responsibility to my family, I don't have to report to a cubicle and be chained to a J-O-B in order to keep my family afloat. I want to spend my time doing that which I feel I was uniquely created to do. I feel like I owe it to my family to use the time away from them doing something I love.
I hope this doesn't sound flaky. This has been a huge decision for me, one that I haven't entered into lightly. It's taken a lot of thought and a lot of prayer. I know it affects others besides me, but I also know that Ella is in good hands with Angie. And that each morning, I can greet the day with excitement about what's to come. And you can't beat that.