Believe in the business you’ve built
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Hi Reader, Staying optimistic is hard when you can see a storm on the horizon. By February, Rachel and I could see that 2025 was going to be a different year. You probably felt it too. Clients lost funding, and business owners started to feel nervous about the state of the economy. When we heard “no” on multiple big contracts, we realized how severe those repercussions would be. We were going to have to weather some storms. The thing is, when you weather a storm, you don’t curl up in a ball and let the rain pelt you. You read the forecast, adjust your route, take shelter when needed, and, hopefully, help others find shelter too. You find a way to adapt and get through it. The hardest part of it all was keeping the faith that everything would be okay. There were moments where Rachel and I felt pretty deflated, but we knew that kind of energy wouldn’t help us or our clients. We still had work to do. The reality was many business owners still needed website design and digital marketing support. That wasn’t going anywhere. We just had to think differently about some of our solutions so we could meet them where they needed us to. To do so, we didn’t drop our prices or beg people to work with us. We focused on smaller scope projects and found creative ways to help move the needle for clients that matched their budgets. They still got to make progress (and weather their own storm) in a way they were financially comfortable with. By the time Rachel and I sat down with our business coach for our end-of-year review, we were pleasantly surprised by the numbers. We didn’t see the scale of growth we’d aimed for at the end of 2024, but we were still profitable. We were still able to add people to our team, take two international trips, work on WholeSite, and get Drio through the storm alive and well. 2025 has reminded us to believe in the business we’ve built. It reminded us to have faith in the work we’ve done after all these years. Whether or not your 2025 numbers have lined up with your 2024 goals, I hope you can do the same. Not every year will be a growth year, and that can be really tough. BUT, every year does bring opportunities if you allow yourself to see them. We don’t know what storms might come in 2026. Call me an optimist, but I believe, with enough adaptation and willingness to believe in your business, you can weather them. I’ll be there, ready to hold your umbrella.
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Hi! I'm Rachel, the Left Brain of Drio.
Hi Reader, August was a month of evolving, connecting, and looking ahead. From continuing to grow long-term client partnerships and digging into important website privacy updates, to refreshing Office Hours and getting closer to sharing what’s next with WholeSite, there’s been a lot happening behind the scenes at Drio. Here’s a little peek at what we were working on throughout the month. 🌱 How United Way of Central Maryland’s Website Keeps Evolving We’re highlighting one of our favorite...
Hi Reader, Rachel and I recently went to a presentation for international exchange alumni (because of our Professional Fellows experience). During the event, one of the presenters shared how he’s now working with a peacebuilding organization called Mediators Beyond Borders. You know I’m all about a good analogy, and I absolutely loved the one he referenced. He described peacebuilding as similar to the Japanese art form kintsugi, which is done by repairing broken pottery using a gold substance...
Hi Reader, I don’t usually work late, but when I do, it’s because I’m fully immersed in something, head down, earbuds in. Recently, I was up late working on WholeSite, the AI-assisted website building tool we’re developing. When I finally came home, I asked my husband if he wanted to see what I had been doing. I hadn’t actually told him much about WholeSite yet, so I gave him the spiel. I told him WholeSite will allow entrepreneurs to create a high-quality WordPress website on their own. It...