Well, this took a bit longer to publish than I had originally intended. Last fall when I was planning out articles, this topic was scheduled for the end of 2022. That date passed so I rescheduled for the start of March. Now, March is almost over and it has been almost two months since I last published an article.
As you might guess, life happened and my bit of organization got tossed aside while I dealt with other tasks that were of higher priority. The biggest task was due to big changes in the small business I've been involved with for the last fifteen years. A large change was one of the owners retiring. Our business started with ownership shared among four people. One of those four retired in 2020, now another one retired at the end of 2022. The company in 2023 is down to two of the original founders and one employee.
The retirement was a reminder that all of the owners are getting older and that all of us might like to retire at some point. In addition, with this retirement there would be the loss of key company functions that really needed to be replaced somehow. After a lot of discussion and soul searching we three owners agreed that it might be best to sell the business so we could reduce the impact of this retirement. The last half of 2022 was spent in finding a good match with another company for the future.
So as of 2023, I and the other remaining partner are no longer a business owners We are now an employees at the company we founded, which is different. A part of me enjoys the responsibilities and perks of business ownership. However, there is another part that needs a break from those responsibilities every now and then. After a great deal of reflection and feedback from my business partners, we felt it would be better to step back from ownership of this business and transition to a role that is oriented more on the technical work. The new role for me will allow me to transition administrative tasks to the new company and make it easier for me to retire gracefully from the business.
The year started with a focus on the transition and with my old company and the new company getting to know each other. In February the transition took a sudden turn, for a good reason. We were awarded a contract and now had a project that would keep us very busy for the next year or so. This work is in addition to other contracts we have that provide a solid financial foundation for us. This was great news and would provide a good addition for our finances.
However, there was suddenly a lot of work in addition to the task of transitioning administrative activities to the new company. To say I have felt a tad bit overwhelmed seems to be a bit of an understatement. I am also in the process of getting to know the new management team while overseeing work on our existing contracts. There has been a lot that I have had to deal with, including the stress of additional work from many different areas.
Some days are harder than others, but I feel fortunate with my situation. While there have been some misunderstandings between myself and the new management, everyone is willing to work to fix things and find a way to make things better. I also see that for the long term my job will get better as I gradually let go of more of the administrative tasks for the business. There have also been some situations that could have been a lot worse if the new management was not there to help out. There has been a lot of extra work and for the past month and half I've wondered if I would ever get my arms around all of the new stuff. This week, it feels like are starting to happen and move forward in positive ways for everyone. I also see new opportunities for our business so that we can all grow and thrive instead of just surviving as we have been doing the last few years.
The last few days I have been thinking about my writing again, after several weeks of too many other tasks that I needed to focus on. I still have a lot of things I need to do with the new company but at least I feel like I might have a little more bandwidth to spend on writing blog articles. I have a list of planned topics and I will slowly start catching up on articles. In the meantime I did want to post an update for those who might be interested in why I have been blog silent for the last several weeks. Happy Spring to everyone, another time of ending and beginning in the year. Enjoy some pictures of the changing season in our area.
Pictures by J.T. Harpster and Tamara, prints of selected photos of J.T.'s can be found at our Redbubble shop
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