Pivots, Plots Twists, and Epic Fails: a reflection

As the year comes to a close it brings moments of reflection, on the year, on the coming year, on life itself. I have plenty about all facets of my life, but for the purposes of this post I'll say that many of my reflections come from life as an entrepreneur. What went well? What didn't go so well? What should I continue doing? What should I accept as a fail (learning lesson?) and not do again? What stones have been left unturned that need to be flipped?

Membership

When I launched this business I thought I was being really smart by mimicking Amazon's model with a membership offering. Free shipping, discount on products, special promos, it was going to be glorious: the clean and green "prime". Well turns out it was a bit of a tougher sell. And while Amazon manages to rack in membership fees from most Americans, what I learned is that most Americans don't really want any more fees or memberships (especially when they can get just about anything from Amazon). It hit me one day when I was picking up Cafe Rio (don't judge - they have the best queso) and I literally get $10 off every.single.time I pick up food for my family there, which I love. And yet somehow that model had escaped me as the OBVIOUS model for a brand like ours. So we got rid of the membership & launched a REWARDS PROGRAM! Earn FREE Bucks on every purchase, no fee required.

Wholesale

It seemed obvious when I launched this business to sell our curated clean product lines WHOLESALE, meaning hotels, gyms, boutiques, spas, etc. could purchase products from us at a discount and resell them (for a profit) to their customers. This seemed like a great distribution strategy and, well, it was, it just was a TON more work to execute than I anticipated and I am ONE PERSON with a very small team. We do have wholesale relationships that are going great at Beau Collective with more coming soon.... and of course I always love warehouse visitors!

Payroll

I had what seemed like a lifetime's worth of a career before this crazy life I drummed up as an entrepreneur and I had absolutely NO PROBLEM accepting paychecks, asking for raises, negotiating more money. Paying myself is a completely different story. Not only is it emotionally difficult to take from something you are trying to build, but it requires the willingness to be WRONG about where you allocate your capital. I certainly had years when I prioritized taking a check for myself over investing in inventory or marketing and when I look back, I would have been better served to continue to invest the money back into the business for a little bit longer. I'm getting better at this but there is a fine line between being a sacrificial founder and being an idiot who doesn't pay herself.

Marketing

Marketing, marketing, marketing. The bane of my entrepreneur-mom-of-3-wearing-a-billion-hats existence. I know it's important, I know we need to be more consistent, I know we need to try more things, I know the email and social need to get better. I sometimes get so deep into the details of the business that I look up and realize the marketing has suffered. I'm consistently inconsistent. This year I'm committing to better and more consistent marketing, and I'll be leaning on some incredible people to help me get there. Stay tuned!

More Wins

And yet despite those areas of challenge we have grown meaningfully, evolved our product offerings, produced our own product line, been featured in media, partnered with some incredible people and organizations, and continued to build a business that is genuinely meaningful to me and hopefully to those who shop with us.

As I reflect on what's next and find the things that will surely push me and my team in the coming year, I'm continuing to bolster my resilience as we flip the calendar on a new year. I have so many exciting plans for this year and I am every humbled and grateful that you have joined me on this ride to live free.

Happy New Year! May it be filled with high vibes, grand adventures, and all the clean living love you deserve.

Live free,
Dana

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does it take to pivot as an entrepreneur?

A willingness to admit the current approach isn’t working—without letting it mean you failed. The best entrepreneurial pivots come from honest assessment: what did the market actually respond to versus what you assumed it would? Pivoting a membership model to a rewards program, for example, isn’t failure—it’s market intelligence applied in real time.

Why do rewards programs work better than membership fees for many brands?

Membership fees create an upfront barrier that requires customers to commit before experiencing the brand. Rewards programs let customers earn value organically with every purchase, building loyalty without friction. For a boutique brand competing against Amazon, removing the fee while creating reciprocal value is often the smarter path.

How should a small business owner think about paying themselves?

It’s a genuine tension: paying yourself too early can starve the business of growth capital; not paying yourself at all is unsustainable. Most advisors recommend setting a modest, defined salary from early on—enough to cover your needs—and reinvesting all excess revenue into inventory, marketing, and operations until the business can support a market-rate salary.

What are the most common marketing mistakes small business owners make?

Inconsistency is the most common—going weeks without posting or emailing, then overloading the audience when you do. Second is trying to do everything rather than doing a few channels really well. Third is prioritizing product over story—customers connect to the why behind a brand far more than to product features alone.

How do you build resilience as an entrepreneur through setbacks?

Reframe failures as data. Every model that didn’t work tells you something specific about your customer, your market, or your capacity. Document the lesson explicitly—not just "that didn’t work" but "here’s what it taught me and what I’d do differently.” Resilience isn’t the absence of discouragement; it’s the speed of recovery from it.