The doors are closed on GGC.
For those of you who don't know, straight out of college (2019), I started an agency with my college bestie, Mel. It has evolved from many different faces to what it ended up as today. Lucky for us, we started the business right before the lovely global pandemic. Mel was also in Seattle the first year we were in business, which also taught us a lot about working remotely, something I can say became very essential in the coming years.
We started as a social media agency which then shifted to an all-inclusive marketing agency based on the market's needs. Then we shifted with the needs of the market, yet again, to a lifestyle content agency. That is, now, where we are leaving it. Somehow, we are still picking up clients on a whim. Of course, as we decide to close its doors and people are suddenly interested. Doesn't it always work that way? Once you break up with that awful ex, they want to keep that door open and beg for your attention again. Not that our clients are awful exes lol. With the door cracked, we decided to still invest in our LLC. Keep the LLC and invest in ourselves in that way indefinitely. Especially if we plan to freelance going forward anyways.
Along this journey, we have learned so much about marketing, social media, each other, and ourselves. That's an experience I know we will never take for granted. In our early 20's, we were building branding guidelines that should've taken a whole ass team of people, weeks more of time, and a wholeeeeeee lot more money. Emphasis again on the whollllleeee lot.
We discovered so much about business and taxes I could not even begin to describe the headaches, stress, and tears we shed.
We also learned new skills and built upon our existing ones. We invested in our education a little more and leaned into our creativity when we had the chance.
It came to a point that it felt like everyone else in our space was succeeding, easily, without any effort, just making "6 figures in one month". I don't think either of us knows exactly where we went wrong, if it was ever something "wrong" to be done. Really, we are right where we are supposed to be. No matter how uncomfortable that feels right now, I know it's intentional.
On the one hand, it feels like a failure but on the other maybe it's just our first major stepping stone taking us where we're meant to land.
So while one door is closing, as they say, another one must be opening, right? I am not completely certain what is next and that's terrifying but I am reminding myself of what I do know. I know the support I have, the skills, the knowledge, and the interests.
This post might be coming off very... I have it all figured out, it's gonna be fine, life is just happening to me and I am going with the flow. Really, every day has been a struggle since we made this decision. My identity has shifted. I feel purposeless, even more than I did before, something I thought wasn't possible. It's difficult to speak on worth. Judging our own worth in our heads and deciding what we deserve or don't deserve. As a society, we are so incredibly hard on ourselves. In this phase, I am trying to be even more aware of that mindset and shifting it to being open to what is next. Affirmations are always helpful. Especially putting them on my mirror in my bathroom. I am honestly figuring it out as I go, aren't we all?
If you want to know more of my thoughts, as well as Mels, we recorded an entire episode on our podcast about this shift. We would love it if you gave it a listen here, We Care A Lot Podcast.
The door may be closed but I will always think of the past few years fondly. Faking it, making it, crashing and burning when it came to the IRS, the long days, the headaches from our eyes burning after staring at a screen too long, brainstorming on Pinterest, cutting photos from magazines, revision after revision, meetings where we felt like absolute imposters, celebrating ourselves with wine after our first big client, and so much more.
Whatever is next, it kinda has a lot to live up to. I am scared as fuck. Excited. Nervous. Eager. Ready.