Webs as tiny business teacher in this big tech hellish time.
I've been feeling particularly called to webs lately, and ironically, I am very scared of spiders.
They're always taunting me. Similar to how squirrels taunt dogs. Coming down from their webs in front of my face. Showing up on my pillows, in the bathtub, in my water bottle (WTF?), and flying at me in the dang car.
Yesterday, on a hike, I walked through so many cobwebs. Every so often, I'd stop and be like, “Please get the cobwebs off of me!!” As I run in place, toddler-like.
Being part of a web doesn't actually come very naturally to me. I've always done life rather solo, and have felt immense freedom being able to do that.
Maybe that's why I've spent the last few years untangling from old business beliefs and my relationship to belonging.
I used to isolate, be afraid of sharing peers' work, and even sharing my own work. Clinging to belief systems that keep small business owners isolated and in opposition so big tech and larger corporations can swoopidy doopidy right on in.
When 2023 arrived, and my caseload was suddenly more sparse than it ever was, I spent a good year in shame, wondering if it was just me.
But it wasn't; we just weren't ready to talk about business and therapy.
Sharing how we're truly doing is something we keep in the dark.
We especially weren't ready for the wave of big tech to come through our field and wipe out so many small businesses. I keep wondering how we can weave our way back together and see each other's small business brilliance in a time of immediacy and scarcity.
That's when I started wondering what it truly meant to be in a small business web with other providers at the crossfire of big tech and AI. After a few years of walking through my own webs, here's what I found:
Sharing my peers' work helped people in my life feel better.
My caseload filled back up.
My burnout lessened because I wasn't holding onto clients out of scarcity.
Sharing my peers' work helped me see the beauty in all of our different offerings. It actually helped me get over a lot of my saviorism habits regarding referring out.
I cultivated deeper peer relationships with people than ever before.
I stepped into a learner role and expanded my way of thinking about business.
I valued the time and effort it takes to do anything because running a business solo is a lot of work.
I allowed for more humanness.
I expanded my offerings and allowed for joy.
There are many ways to get through this truly dystopian time, but the one I keep returning to is relationships.
The The Spiral Collective is there for folks who desire connection and are seeking spaces to strengthen peer relationships, be in community with people who want to share each other's work, find camaraderie, have a place for referrals, and a place to self-promote. It's quite low-stakes in the sense that you can just show up as little or as much as you'd like.
Hope to see you join the 🕸️!
