In Gratitude
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you’re enjoying time with loved ones today. This past week, we sat down and chatted with our founders, Michelle and Trisha, to get some of their thoughts and reflections on this past year and what has them feeling grateful and hopeful going into 2020:
Q: How do you feel about the way Golden Coil has grown since launching?
T: What I've really appreciated about what Golden Coil has taught me is that growing steadily and growing at a good pace is a really good thing. I feel so good about the trajectory that Golden Coil has been on and I'm so excited about the things to come. I'm really grateful for people who make it all possible — the people on our team as well as the people who love our planners and use our planners and touch them everyday and write in their hopes and dreams and all the things that they want to accomplish. I feel so good about how it's growing and really hopeful about how it will continue to grow.
M: It’s been humbling to see the way things have worked out with Golden Coil. We launched as a Kickstarter because we wanted social proof that our idea was something people needed. Seeing people make and receive their planners and then take time to reach out and let us know how much they love their planners has been incredible. It’s so humbling to see the fruits of our hard work and to see planners change people’s lives and help them be more organized. The people who love our planners are the reason we do this, so seeing people love them has been the greatest blessing out of all of this.
Q: What helps you keep perspective when times are difficult?
M: I try to remember to have joy in the process. There’s a lot we have to troubleshoot and problem-solve and learn as we go with Golden Coil, but Trish and I love the work, so even when we’re faced with difficult tasks, I remember how much we love this work and love doing it together.
T: We had a really difficult 2018. I had broken my shoulder in a car accident and I was really bogged down mentally by trying to keep perspective in a difficult time and trying to prioritize what needed to happen in my life because we were about to move across country. I remember my husband asking me, "Will it matter 10 years from now? If it does, it needs to matter today. If it doesn't matter in 10 years that we took our plates with us or donated them, it doesn't need to matter today.” It helped me have a better perspective on what needs to fill up space in our lives and take up time. There are still things that matter day to day that will not matter in 10 years, like client work, etc, but when life gets crazy and hard, there's leeway for things we can let go.
Q: What’s your biggest lesson/takeaway from this last year?
M: Personally, things don’t always go the way you plan and it’s not always a bad thing. Despite difficult times, we can sense there’s a greater purpose. In business, we’ve been learning to take risks, work hard, not run faster than we can. We’ve hired employees this year and it’s been one of the best decisions we’ve made so we can have time for our families. When you’re overwhelmed, be willing to ask for help. When you can’t handle something, there’s always someone to help in business and in life.
T: We've had a lot of interesting things happen in my family this year and it's made me realize that from the outside you can have one perspective of what my life looks like but it can be very different, so I think it's really important to look on others with love. Maybe you see someone at the grocery store and immediately want to judge them, but instead of judging them, try to have space in your heart for love and understanding. You can never know what other people are going through. We really need to make space to love people, take care of them, and not judge them.
Q: What are you most grateful for this year?
T: Family and safety. Our family has come together so closely this year through some difficult times. My husband and baby and I also spent some time living in an unsafe neighborhood and it’s made me so grateful to move back to our home and to feel safe where we live.
M: Family. They bring me so much joy and the strength of having close relationships makes it so nice to have a support system when things get hard. I’m grateful to have people to share the good and the bad with. Golden Coil has helped me and Trish continue our relationship and allowed us to be in each other's lives in a really big way, which has been a huge blessing.
Q: What are you looking forward to next year?
M: I’m looking forward to some nice changes in my life. We’ll be moving on from dental school and I’m looking forward to meeting new people and for a new family adventure. For Golden Coil, I’m looking forward to growth and giving more people the opportunity to make the planners they want.
T: I’m looking forward to growth, both personal and business. As a mom, I’m really looking forward to spending more time with my little guy. I’m also excited for new products coming for Golden Coil (wink, wink). :)
