Switchback Creative

How to be honest when writing a blog post

July 26, 2016 | Business Journey

By Suzy Rounce

I have preached it 100 times and read dozens of articles on the topic, but as is the case with most challenging things in life, the concept of ‘be honest’ and share yourself completely, quirks and all, is a challenging one when you actually sit down to do it.

We just entered our third year of business at Switchback Creative. We’ve been fortunate enough to see our company grow from two to four people plus many other contractors we’ve collaborated with outside of those four people over the course of that time. We’re grateful that we’ve seen our business grow each year, even through an economic downturn; and we’ve expanded our skills over and over as new challenges arise.

But… now here’s the honest part… did all of that come without challenges? Of course not; I would hope that it didn’t. If it was easy then we wouldn’t have been pushing ourselves enough. If it was easy then we would have just been staying in our cozy comfort box. If it was easy then we wouldn’t have been researching, growing and creating new, exciting things for our clients.

It’s the roller-coaster ride of the unknown that makes this line of work so exhilarating and sometimes tiring, too.

So back to the title of this blog… how to be honest when writing a blog post? Just remember a few things. Be honest with yourself and what you are going through as a business—the triumphs you experience along the way and the lessons learned, too. It can be exhausting running your own business and at times feel like it is taking over your life. Acknowledging that and remembering that everyone goes through this on their way to greatness is important. Reflect on why you got started in the first place.

I absolutely love what we do, love our clients, love our team, love our work and love our community. I have never felt so connected to so many people or a community in my life. That is a blessing beyond all others. With that comes great responsibility to ensure that we bring our very best to the table every day—the passion, creativity and drive that they deserve. We are tasked to make sure that happens, no matter what, and that is a beautiful honour.

The community connection is especially brilliant when adversity strikes. A couple of weeks ago we received the sudden news that one of our parents is quite ill, needed major surgery with a long recovery process to get back to the norm of everyday life. With our honesty about what was going on, our community has been so generous and caring to check-in and see how everything is going. That means so much to us and only strengthens our bond to our community.

As all business owners experience first-hand, your business has a tendency to try and take over your life. You always want to put everything into the work because that is what matters the most, but taking care of yourself is also a critical step that can’t be skipped or overshadowed. Being you is what makes you so good at what you do.

Being you is what makes you so good at what you do.

We started Switchback to create and raise something together for our community. To raise a business together as partners, and raise our community and each other up as a family and as global citizens. To create the life we want to live in that space of connection.

As I write this there is a sense of clarity that is washing over me… We are fulfilling needs and aspects of life that people sometimes never even begin to touch. Trevor and I have a partnership both in our work and outside of it that is strong, curious, patient and uplifting to drive this beast; to be in the throws of the chaos and still smile, hold hands and take in the moment to enjoy what we have created.

The work fuels the soul and the soul fuels the work.

We are connected to our community in such an authentic way that people know who we are and what we stand for. They know that we are willing to help as much as we can and that we will be there when times are tough. We have found a way to help entrepreneurs get excited about their businesses again. Found a way to reach out and help them when they are in the throws of chaos, and don’t know how to tell their story so others will listen and join them on their adventures. We have found a way to be honest and show our imperfections, but back it up with determination to push through and always ‘show up’ with our Sunday best on even if we feel a bit beat up every now and then.

The work fuels the soul and the soul fuels the work. As long as you have that in place, I guess the honest truth is, a few challenges along the way and some lost ZZZs is a small price to pay for building something that fuels our soul and gives us purpose bigger than ourselves.


Photo credit to Shari + Mike for their brilliant work