Chapter 20: My Life In Business - Turning The Page (2022-2023)

My life as Co-Founder of Thirty-One

20 chapters from my 20 years

Including never before shared stories

It wouldn’t feel like January if the year 2022 didn’t start with a work trip for some in-person time with our top sales leaders. We again traveled to Dallas, TX where our Operations facility was located for our event. We never got tired of celebrating our consultants and each time to spend even just a few days together was worth it.

As we were approaching the 20th anniversary of the company in 2023 I was invited to contribute to the writing of a book about the business. The first discussions happened in February and by April we were deep in the draft process. I wrote a good amount of my portion of the book while in the Dominican Republic.

The writing process opened my eyes to how much I really enjoy writing, something I had not taken the time to realize. While journaling had been a thing I always made time for, that was the extent of my writing, and I had never shared any of my journals.

The incentive trip with our sales field was in the Dominican Republic in April. The weather was amazing and the trip was overall a very good one. My husband, Jason, and I arrived together and then after a few days he returned home and I stayed to finish out the week. It would end up being the last incentive trip I would travel for and I was grateful for each and every destination I was fortunate to have visited through this job of mine.

In July we were able to resume an in-person conference in Columbus after two years of virtual conferences. This time I took my daughter, Jozie, and showed her what the term “pink bubble” with Thirty-One meant. This would also end up being my last conference I would attend.

What better way to end it than with my sweetheart by my side witnessing what I had dedicated so much of my life to while never giving up my focus of being her mom.

During that week the book manuscript was finalized and sent off to a copysetter. We would go back and forth a few times with a PDF proof to edit before we would see a physical book proof.

What started in February as a draft of ideas was now a physical book proof in September. The book “More Than A Bag” was in my hands and the only thing left to do was launch the book publicly. The date for the official book launch and social posts was 10.10.22. Two weeks later would be my last time working full-time with Thirty-One. I transitioned to a very part-time contractor role focusing only on the Thirty-One Gives element of the company. While I appreciated the opportunity to retain a small role with the company I had loved for so long, I was feeling the pull to do other things. My final day working at Thirty-One was June 30, 2023. Time to turn the page. The future is waiting.

October 1, 2023 – I posted this tribute on Facebook.

“WOW! Today marks 20 years since Thirty-One was launched out into the world by way of a little catalog, a quaint local craft fair and a whole lot of ambition.

This photo was taken in 2018 at our 15th anniversary celebration and it’s one of my favorites of the original six ladies that worked at Thirty-One in the early years. We called ourselves the founding mothers – myself, Cindy, Kim, Laura, Cathy, Erin. We were so lucky to have each other on this journey. Most of us have moved on to other things but back then we all brought different strengths to the team.

Looking back, the first 10 years were the sweetest, most memorable, but also the most difficult. Much like raising a child through the first decade of their life. Things were messy, but beautiful in their own way. My family and several others moved our entire lives to Ohio to grow the business with no idea how things would end up.

Years 11-15 were a blur, kind of like a non-stop roller coaster. My family and some others chose to return home to be closer to family. Remote work made it possible so we could have the best of both worlds.

The most recent five years were both rewarding and challenging, kind of like raising a teenager. For any business to remain strong through a pandemic is a big deal. Much like the relief I felt when my daughter turned 20 earlier this year and I thought “We made it through!”.

I am grateful for the memories, the laughs and the lasting relationships most of all. What a journey it all was. Happy 20 years to Thirty-One.”