Behind-the-Scenes: Trust and Partnerships
Most of our blog posts here at Crooked Steeple are focused on weddings or traveling to Maine. We are starting a new blog topic to give you a sneak peek behind the curtain, giving you the chance to see what makes Crooked Steeple Hall so special. Our first topic? Trust and Partnerships, which we will go into by introducing you to our team members over the next two weeks.
When I started Crooked Steeple Hall, it was during my marriage. Back then, although I was a cyclical entrepreneur, it was always under the guise of helping support someone else’s dream. The thought of being the face and front of any business terrified me. I gave myself a million reasons why. Thoughts like, “No one wants to listen to a woman.” “I need to be married for people to take me seriously.” “I could never do this for myself.” “I’m not strong enough.” “I’m scared to put myself out there.” “I’m not good enough” “No one likes me”
I’m telling you guys, that inner voice was not very friendly! Couple that with an abusive relationship that reinforced my negative inner dialogue and I’m the last candidate you might pick for someone currently renovating a 170 year old building into an event hall! When my eventual divorce spiralled into multiple restraining orders, a structure fire, job loss, and enough drama to fill a Netflix mini-series, I knew something had to change. I went to therapy, got my OWN life, a life coach, worked on myself, and I dove headfirst into the renovations of the building I now call Crooked Steeple Hall.
Fast forward 3 years and I am in a much different place. Far from perfect yet well on my way to an ever-evolving better version of myself. The key to much of this has been learning to trust and partner with other people. I am a one-man-band that’s learned to become conductor of the orchestra. Without the partnerships I have developed, I would be far from where I am today. The key things I can recommend are this:
Go out and meet people - even when what you would rather do is crawl into bed with a good book. Talk to just one person at a networking event.
Be well read and an information consumer.
Start small - pick one thing you can outsource or partner with someone on.
Keep going even when the partnership feels a little rocky. Try and try again.
Know when to respectfully move on and do it with grace.
That’s it for now, I’ll be doing more posts like this soon. The goal is 2 - 3 a week to help you all know more about me and this fantastic place called Crooked Steeple Hall!