Why Patience Pays Off (After the Show)

Crystal Vilkaitis: Well, hello, hello, and welcome to After the Show. I’m Crystal Vilkaitis, and I’m here for your bite sized episode to talk about my insights and my big takeaway from this week’s episode. And this week’s episode was with Ladianne and Sheri of WoolTribe. I loved chatting with them and peeking inside of their world.

They’re doing some really cool things as it relates to really focusing on sustainable products and focusing on the supply chain and really building relationships with everybody that’s involved with the products that you sell. It was just very inspiring and eyeopening for me.

Why patience matters in business

Crystal Vilkaitis: It was a really great conversation and something that they said in this episode that got said a couple of times was being patient.

Being a patient business. They heard that from the Tory Burch Foundation. And I have just, I thought a lot about that when we hung up and when I was listening to their episode again, to do this recap, that just kept coming back to me at time and time again, because I think I needed to hear that. And so maybe you needed to hear it too.

It’s hard. I think it’s really challenging as a small business owner to sometimes be patient. I can speak for myself. This is what happens for me.

Patience can be a challenge for me too

Crystal Vilkaitis: I have big visions of what I want to do and where I want to go. And I have been doing things. I work hard, I show up, I commit, I am driven.

And you know, when you don’t get to those places that you see, it can feel really frustrating. And many times in the past, I have set goals that we just don’t hit, and we don’t hit, and we don’t hit. Because I was hitting unrealistic goals, or goals that like I really wanted to achieve, but there was no data backed by those goals. Or there was no really laid out plans on how we’re specifically going to get to those goals.

Or I wouldn’t be investing any kind of money. I wasn’t changing my marketing at all, but this is where I want the goals to be. It was not realistic. You know, whatever that can add to that feeling of like, well, we need to get there. We need to get there. We need to get there the hurry versus being patient.

And as I was prepping for this episode, I was just really thinking to myself, well, what does that look like to me? To be a patient business and a patient business owner. And so it feels like less pushing, push, push, do another launch, do another sale. More, more, more, more, more. Like it just feels more like, okay.

Instead, we have to take a couple steps back, get really clear on where we want to go. Cause I think we can get really caught up in the short term right now. My sales are down, you know, it’s this episode’s airing in September. So you know, Mid September. Oh man, we’re off. We’re not even close to hitting last year’s September. What are we going to do? What are we going to do? What are we going to do?

Instead of being in those like short term kind of freak outs, when we are a little bit more planned out, and have some of those long term visions, and then set those things in place to help us reach those visions. And then allow for the things to unfold.

So, stay the course. Here’s what we’re doing this month. Here’s what we’re doing this month. Then we’re going to analyze. That creates some patience, because it requires you to stop the pushing to see how it’s working and to possibly pivot. And that can feel uncomfortable. That can feel like it, it takes too much time.

No, let’s just keep going. I don’t want to stop and look at the data. I just want to keep going.

Trust the process and set realistic goals

Crystal Vilkaitis: So a patient business, to me is, it’s the vision where we want to go. The plan, the allowing the patience of understanding there are things out of our control that we just. It is what it is, and we can only do our best with what we have.

And this is something I remind myself a lot of, and I think that this is connected to patience of if you do the best you can today with what you have available, and that’s all you do is just your best today, you’re going to be fine. Today, like yesterday I was on a roll. I was in, I was focused. I had a lot of energy.

I slept really well. I just, I had a very clear what I need to get done today and why. I went to the coffee shop. I had the best seat. Like I just, I knocked out a bunch of stuff and then I didn’t that momentum stop. I came home and I did all my mail, like physical mail. There were emails I had to answer.

I had to prep for things and I didn’t have to do any of that at that point. It could have been like, no, I’m done for the day. It’s been, and I’m like, no, I’m going to keep this moment. I’m going. And then this morning when I got to my desk and I looked at how clean it is and there’s no mail, I was like, okay.

I said out loud, I said, Oh, thank you. I thanked my yesterday self because I was doing the best that I could yesterday. And that girl showed up, that girl had energy. She was on it. Okay, but there are other days where that girl is tired. She is stressed. She is sick. She did not sleep well. She just got back from traveling.

She’s got some stuff she’s working on, or sometimes you just don’t, you’re just not feeling it today. And the hard part, if you’re like me, is you feel guilty that you are not on today. I need to be on. I need to be on. I need to be on. When I just take those days where I’m like, I am not going to get stuff done today.

I’m worthless today. Honestly, the best thing for me is read, netflix and chill, go for some walks and play with my dogs. Like that’s the best I can do today. If I honor that self of being that doing those things, and that’s the best I can do today, then tomorrow, when I do have more energy, I did sleep better.

An issue got solved, whatever the moon, stars are doing. I’m very much into astrology. Whatever my body is doing. When I do feel better, I took that time to rest, to fuel for my tomorrow self, or maybe in a couple of days. And that girl always shows up for me. So I have to trust. That was the next thing that came up for me of what a patient business looks like is there is trust.

You only do as much as you can control and you put the pieces in place for what you need to do and where you want to go. And then there is an element of trust that I know this will work out or I know this or something better. I say that to myself a lot too, because it doesn’t always go the way we wanted it to go.

But that’s a gift because there are opportunities for us to learn. Something I’ve said before, I think on this show is things happen for us, not to us. And so those are gifts, but we have to trust, we have to pay attention. We have to set those realistic goals because that impatientness of trying to reach the mountain when it’s So far away. And it’s like, you’re not ready to get there. I mentioned this at EVOLVE on our retailer pro panel, which we re aired on Rooted in Retail. If you haven’t listened to the retailer pro panel, we’ll link to it. It was so good. I love that conversation. We’re going to do another one at EVOLVE 2025.

But I said this, I heard Gary Vaynerchuk say this before, where people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in five or ten. And so when we’re thinking like, oh, okay It’s January. Let’s say new year. Here’s all the stuff I’m going to achieve. I’m going to have the best store, the biggest store, the highest sales, so much more profit.

I’m going to do all these things. And then you’re getting into it. And it’s like, Oh my gosh, I was completely way off.

Why the comparison trap makes us feel impatient

Crystal Vilkaitis: And you feel this impatientness of, but we got to get there, but we’re supposed to be there. Why aren’t we there yet? I think impatience can also come from comparing ourselves to other people.

I know that’s happened to me. Oh, look, I did it this morning, people. I did it this morning. Here we are. Let me be completely transparent with you. I have this show Rooted in Retail. I love doing this show. I want this show to be out there to more retailers. We have an incredible group of people that listen, that are part of our group.

We get about a thousand downloads a week, and I am so grateful for those downloads. And I just sit here and I think like, Oh, I just feel like these interviews and this content. It’s such a great resource. I want more retailers. I know that there are hundreds of thousands of retailers in the U.S. alone that I could be helping with this show.

And I just feel like, Oh, like how do I get it out there to them? And I feel like that impatientness and I feel the push. And when I stop and I’ll look, I’ll compare myself to what other podcasts are doing. And I know that there are other podcasts who work with retailers who have 2 million downloads.

We’re about to cross 50,000 as I’m filming this in July. So you know, we have 50,000 compared to 2 million downloads, 4 million downloads who also work with retailers. Okay, so we have the same audience and I found myself this morning being like, gosh, what am I doing wrong? Like, I just, I know we’re creating great content and I’m comparing myself and I’m feeling impatient.

I should be further along that frustration. And then I said, well, hold on. Are you realistically measuring yourself to people? First of all, you just shouldn’t, but I get caught up in that. And so I looked at a couple of podcasts and I looked, they have been going, both of these podcasts have been filmed or started in 2018.

They’ve been doing this for five and a half years. I’ve only had this show for a year and a half. So how dare I compare myself to their show? And also, and I very much come from like a celebration. I’m like they’re inspiration to me for sure. I’m like, I always celebrate people’s successes. I love seeing people win.

So there’s such an inspiration where I can’t wait till I’m at that 2 million, that 4 million, not like, why is she there? And I’m not, why is he there? None of that. It’s just the pressure I feel on me of like, God, you do better show up more what’s wrong with you. And that creates that impatience, this right.

That I don’t want to be that kind of business. I want to be a patient business who provides quality content. She’s on time consistently and understands her retailers. And delivers and shows up and shows up and shows up. And I’ll get wherever I’m supposed to go. And I can use these other podcasts as inspiration and see what’s possible, but really stay my course of what’s meant for me.

And so that’s something that I focus on of, okay, what being a patient business? She’s not comparing herself to anybody. She’s really focusing on what she can do. And then I just said a keyword focus. Focusing. When we are impatient, it will take us off the task that we should be doing to get us to the next step.

We will just sidetrack ourself. The bright, shiny object syndrome, right? For our entrepreneurs, squirrel, you know, we’re over here, we’re over here, we’re over here. And that comes from impatient. I keep saying impatient. Impatience. I guess that’s the right word. Impatience. Yeah, impatience. Sometimes I make up my own words you know, that’s okay.

But that, I think that getting caught off track is just because we’re trying to get where we want to go faster. Maybe that will happen, but actually what often happens is it. Takes us longer because we weren’t focused. We went off course, we tried something else, and now we’ve got to take this time to get back on course.

And then we’ve actually lost time. So it doesn’t mean that you can’t pivot. You can’t change, can’t evolve. You absolutely can. But if you don’t have that clear vision of where you want to go with realistic goals and you’re not focusing on the plan and really trying to stay course as much as you can and analyzing the data and connecting with customers, if you don’t do that, you’re constantly taking yourself off.

It’s going to be. It’s you’re going to drive yourself crazy probably because it’s going to take a long time to get where you want to go and you’re going to feel like a failure. You’re going to feel very impatient because it’s taking longer. Now the clock has been ticking. Now. I don’t see my results. Now we become more and more and more impatient, which I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that. I definitely don’t want that.

My friend’s advice that showed me the value of pausing

Crystal Vilkaitis: So I want to read something that just this morning, because I actually have a lot going on in my life right now. Personally, professionally, it is a massive change. I’m like in this weird limbo area, like floating in outer space, not knowing what the future holds. I’m trying to change and evolve.

And I have evolved in some things. There’s big unknowns in my life right now. And I hate to be like not tell you what that is. Cause I’m a very honest, transparent person, but it’s just too early to talk about it because I don’t know which way anything’s going. So, and that’s happening personally and professionally.

Also, I’m getting married in a couple of months. There’s a lot going on for me right now. So my friend Laura, just this morning said, Crystal, this feels like such a ripe and pregnant pause. Cause I’m just like, so much is up in the air and I’m just sitting here waiting, just have to be patient.

Isn’t that beautiful? This feels like such a ripe and pregnant pause. As hard as it seems, can you find joy in the waiting and unfolding? So that was a good question. Can I find joy in waiting? What can I do in the unfolding? There’s opportunities there. And then she says, it feels to me like external reality is reorganizing to catch up with your energy shift.

And I said, that’s exactly what’s happening. I’m just waiting for the universe to catch up with me. And that it’s waiting. That’s patience. We do evolve. We change. We’re humans. And sometimes the universe has to figure out things for us and re correlate where we’re going and provide us what we need in this new state.

And sometimes that happens immediately and sometimes it takes longer. And so that happens in our professional life. It happens personally, and it’s about that keyword of patience. And so that was my big takeaway for this week’s episode with Ladianne and Sheri. And I don’t know about you, but as we were talking, I just like could see.

I wished we were out filming on a pasture with sheep in the background, like just so magical. I just saw this scene the whole time we were filming. It was beautiful. But they are just such beautiful souls. And I love that conversation with them. And I hope that you’ve got some value out of this episode. That’s always my goal in sharing kind of my thoughts and journeys on these episodes and a little deep dive. And so let’s go out there and be patient with each other and together.

We can do this. I know we can, I’m in it with you. That’s for sure, and thank you for listening to this episode. As always, it means the world to me that you’re here and that you’re listening. So I’ll see you on the next After the Show and in our next episode. So have a great rest of the week. I’m rooting for you. See you later, bye.