Today, We Moved.

October is the anniversary month of Next Page. In 2017, I filed with the state for business status and claimed the domain www.turnthenextpage.com. In 2018, we officially launched, made some shaky missteps, built a network, and by 2019 we had tightened our service offering, and were on a second iteration of our website. Almost 2 years to the day of being established, we received the keys to our new office space.

I live in a beautiful corner of the Elizabeth neighborhood in Charlotte and me and Max fit perfectly in this space (all 690 square feet of it). Turning my second bedroom into an office was a no-brainer. I upgraded my desk and chair, bought a wireless printer and began labeling and filing all of my work documents. I hustled during the day, then rolled open my yoga mat in the evening. And when guests came to stay, the blow-up air mattress landed smack dab between all those work files and my desk. It worked. For awhile.

Towards the end of year 1, I was beginning to feel unmotivated and flat out bleh when I worked in my office. I also started to feel bleh when I attempted to practice yoga. No matter how much incense or recycling of old papers I did, the space was too cramped. So my office became an office. Yoga moved out into the living room, and so did the air mattress on the rare occasions someone came to visit. This space was dedicated to work.

And that bought me one more year.

Now, as I am heading into year 2 of my business, I am finding more and more days stretch ahead of me where I am sitting at this desk, doing the work, building my business and fewer coffees (and those that I do have, I try not to schedule far out of my zip code). I’m busy with work - and that’s good. It also means I have outgrown this space. Even for someone like me who is a homebody, the past few months have been painful and really lonely.

Last Saturday, when Ben came to visit as he usually does, he asked me what I wanted to do for the day.
”I don’t care,” I replied, “I just need to get out of here. I will literally go anywhere.” That anywhere ended up being a handful of breweries and watching football by colleges that I never went to. Whatever got me out of the house. I’ve gone beyond bleh after 2 years working from home; I’m now arrrrrrgh.

Other than the fact I’m going to miss Max sleeping under the desk (on the plus side, he’ll get back to daycare which I know he misses), I am relieved about getting my personal space back in my condo and creating more space between me and my work.

Looking ahead to my third year (third year???) in business, in this new space, I want to use that word more: space. Creating space for growth - internally and externally. Creating space for clients, for family, for Max and for myself. For now, we’re beginning with the physical. But as I load up another box of books and business cards, and Max stretches gleefully across the emptying space of the carpet, I can already feel my heart and soul lightening.

*If you’d like to see our new space, join us for our workshop “When the Stars Align: Branding for your Audience and Beyond” on October 24!