Pivoting Through Setbacks: The Reality of Building Willowjak Services

I have the best intentions. There’s a schedule for my social media content, a calendar for my blog posts, and outlines for my emails to go out. I have a planner full of to-do lists. I use apps and software to break down my tasks and keep me on track, and I’ve got notebooks filled with strategies and concepts I want to share with my community. I’m pivoting through setbacks.

But despite all this work, all these wonderful ideas, and all this helpful information, they stay tucked away in my little cocoon while the calendar days flip by, and the due date notifications get switched to “overdue.”

Overcoming Challenges as a Caregiver and Entrepreneur

It doesn’t take much for a setback. Being the caregiver who wants to launch a business to support other caregivers? It’s easier said than done. Because I’ve got some caring to do!

My 22-year-old twins don’t care that I have goals to meet. ‘W’ has relentless demands—wishes that I just can’t grant (currently, he wants to go skydiving, into a spaceship, and up in a hot air balloon)—and day-to-day asks that I try to honor just to keep his behaviors at bay. ‘O’ has had a multitude of health concerns that we’ve been addressing with appointments. Both boys have just started their summer sports season, and we’re out three nights a week.

Besides that, life happens. New challenges present themselves and new tasks pop up. Here is one for example:

As for me? I’ve been doing all the things you’re supposed to do when you’re starting a small business for the first time. “No big deal!” friends told me when I started. “Just register the business, talk to an accountant, build the website, and set up a business bank account.”

How I wish it were that easy.

It has been incredibly frustrating and painstakingly challenging. Without going into detail, I’ll just say it’s been one step forward and two steps back every time.

My biggest challenge? No startup money. No credit. It’s almost impossible to get anything done without subscribing to yet another app or software service. Being a single person who is currently unemployed, I’m not in any position to be given credit. It’s been HARD.

The Power of Pivoting: How I Keep Moving Forward

But here’s the thing I’ve learned over the last 20 years raising these boys: when you’re stuck, you’re not really stuck. Paralysis happens when you’re in fear. Action is progress. Even if it’s a leap into the unknown, it’s still a step forward. Because action, even when you’re uncertain, leads to progress. And you just don’t know what doors will open when you choose to move in a new direction.

COVID coined and glorified the term ‘pivot,’ and it might just be my mantra now. When I’m stressed, scared, and stuck, my inclination is to cocoon and isolate. Stay inside, quit answering texts, and deal with my anxiety in painful silence. But something changed during COVID, and now I embrace the concept of pivoting. When I feel stuck, I take drastic action in the opposite direction. I throw energy at a whole new idea and act on it. I pivot.

I had a personal setback in my private life recently. I’m fine, just needed to process and note the lessons learned. But it was still a setback. Combined with the overwhelm of realizing I didn’t have the funds I hoped for to start this business venture, I found myself cocooning again. After licking my wounds and looking at my kids, waiting for me to be “Fun Mom” again, I had to pivot.

I had no ideas. All of my brainstorming sessions had burned out, none of my attempts to create something from nothing had panned out. In the past, I would’ve felt hopeless. But nowadays, I live by this motto: When there are no ideas, no magic solutions, and no one coming to save you, what’s left?

Building a Business While Navigating Life’s Setbacks

In this case, it was talking to someone. I made a list of people who, over the years, have shown interest in me and my boys—people who’ve reminded me to call if I needed anything or tried to book a coffee that never happened. My list is 12 years long. So I called a few. I gathered the courage to overcome my anxiety of reconnecting with someone I hadn’t spoken to in years, and I met them for coffee.

I didn’t come with an ask. I came with the intention of sharing my dreams for me and my boys. My multi-phased dream of starting a business to care for caregivers, later opening a day program for developmentally disabled and autistic adults, and eventually establishing a residential respite home. All while creating an online community where parents support each other in navigating caregiving and planning for their children’s futures.

Something magical happened in those conversations. I was energized. I was emboldened to make this dream happen. I felt the spark that was within me 20 years ago when my boys were diagnosed with autism—the spark that reminded me that I had to do this… I COULD do this. By putting words to my plans and putting it out into the world, I made it real. My coffee dates opened conversations that suggested new ideas I hadn’t considered. They challenged me and offered to connect me with others in their networks who might have ideas, services, or experience to contribute.

The Importance of Community and Support in Caregiving and Business

Pivoting got me unstuck. Pivoting breathed life back into me so I didn’t stagnate and fall back into that auto-pilot state. Pivoting reminded me that there are always options.

I’ll keep chipping away at building this dream into a reality. I intend to be as transparent as possible on this journey with my growing community, in the hope that it might inspire you to pivot and dream with me for your own family as well. Nothing about this is easy, and if I’m being honest, I’m always a heartbeat away from giving up. But I truly believe that holding onto this commitment to pivoting is what keeps me going. My boys and I will get there, and I hope you will too.

Join the Willowjak Treehouse: A Community of Caregivers Who Pivot Together
Building a business and planning the future for our kids is hard, but having the right support makes it a little easier. Join my Facebook Founding Roots Group for behind-the-scenes updates, exclusive content, and the opportunity to connect with other caregivers who are navigating their own pivots. I’d love to support you as you dream big for your own family.

Also, sign up for my newsletter to receive regular updates on how I’m building Willowjak Services, tips on caregiving, and stories of inspiration that will help you pivot too. Let’s keep moving forward together!