Facing the Empty Nest of My Blog and My Brand

When I announced my intentions to rebrand this site last week, I hardly thought about what a rebrand would mean to me personally & emotionally. I knew it would be hard work, and I knew it needed to happen – what I didn’t know is that it would leave me feeling a little empty inside.

It’s been amazing to read some of the posts commenting on our rebranding process. Valeria Maltoni talked about the need to separate the person from the brand, citing my buddy Technosailor, Aaron Brazell. He is a perfect example of someone who is his brand, and when he made a move to sell his site last year, he found he couldn’t sell the brand without selling himself into employment with another company.

When I made the shift to a blog network, I was specifically trying to separate the brand from Wendy Piersall – I was successful with that to some degree, but this next step is going to truly cut the cord, and I feel a little bit like I am losing a part of my identity. And it’s honestly a lot more personal than I thought it would be.

I have to say that it was easy to let ‘eMom’ go when it came to the site as a whole – yet I’m finding it much harder to let go of when we’re talking about my baby, this blog right here.

I guess I’m truly looking at the end of my brand.

I feel like this site has squeezed 21 years of life as a parent into two short years.

In the first few months, this blog was my infant – I had to nurture it constantly.

Then I started growing, and it was like a big game of kickball in the elementary school playground – really fun.

As I started experiencing growing pains, the blog was going through adolescence, and it was awkward to say the least. I can even venture to say I had a fight or two with my little stubborn teenager.

Then we graduated into a blog network – the college years. Away from eMom (and eDad) to some degree, but I could still go in and make everything right with a big bag of groceries while slipping an extra $20 into my blog’s back pocket.

And Now, We Come to the Empty Nest

This site started as my hobby. My hobby. And I now appreciate what it is like looking back on life, wishing I knew all that was in store for my child, because I would go back and parent this blog a little differently. I wish I knew how it was going to grow, because I’m getting one of those parental inferiority complexes now as I wonder if I have done enough, given enough, taught enough and worked enough for this site to stand on it’s own without me hanging over its shoulder.

My little hobby blog is all grown up now, and it’s off to find it’s own identity in the real world. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I am crying my eyes out over this – I’m excited, scared, nervous, proud, and worried all at once.

Anyone who tells you that business isn’t personal is full of crap, imho. When our business succeeds, we take the credit. When we fail, we take the blame. True entrepreneurs put their hearts and souls into what we build – how can we not get attached to the “children” we have created?

I know there are times when I have to take emotion out of the equation when I am running my business. And then there are times like this that emotion sneaks its way back into my business, and I just need to make room for it.

So Where’s the Lesson in This?

I know it feels harder than it is probably going to be. And I’m still eMom, that identity will always be a part of who I am. I can still mother this site, because obviously, I’m the one running the show. But like any mother of a grown up child, I’ll be doing it a little differently. I’ll have to let go of some things – I’ll have to coach more and be less hands-on.

With this new phase will come bigger challenges – and bigger rewards.

I don’t know if any parent feels ready to face the empty nest of her brand. But I’m so proud to be here, and I’m so grateful to you, for being a part of my family here as we grew up together.

Hugs to all of you.