Stop Feeling Guilty About Pivoting. How to Close a Business and Start Your Second Act with Sharon Calle | #236

*Book a free strategy call to discuss your business or second act idea with Shannon here.

What happens when you build a successful business, then realize it’s time to close that chapter?

In this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, Shannon Russell sits down with Sharon Calle, founder of Luminosa Creative, to talk about the emotional side of business pivots, career change, and giving yourself permission to move on without guilt.

Sharon shares her “squiggly” creative journey. From studying illustration and graphic design, to becoming an art teacher, to launching a thriving art studio and brick-and-mortar space, to pivoting during the pandemic, and finally stepping into her next chapter as a website designer and SEO strategist for women business owners. She also opens up about burnout, sustainability, and why closing a profitable business can be an act of self trust, not failure.

If you’re navigating a career transition, considering entrepreneurship, or you’ve outgrown a business that no longer fits your life, this conversation will help you stop grieving the ending and start celebrating what you built.

What you'll learn:

• How to know when it's time to leave a job and build a business
• The real truth about brick-and-mortar overhead, burnout, and sustainability
• Why closing a successful business can be the healthiest decision
• How to pivot into a new offer using your transferable skills and experience
• What SEO (search engine optimization) is and why it matters for small business growth
• How to design a business that supports your lifestyle, energy, and mental health

*Get the full show notes here!

Leave a review for the Second Act Success Podcast here.

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Transcript

Second Act Success Podcast

Season 1 - Stop Feeling Guilty About Pivoting. How to Close a Business and Start Your Second Act with Sharon Calle | #236

Episode - #236

Host: Shannon Russell

Guest: Sharon Calle

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

 [00:00:00] 

Shannon Russell: Stop feeling guilty about making a change. You grew a successful business, but now that business needs to come to a close, don't grieve it. Celebrate what you've done.

 , This is what my conversation with Sharon Calle is all about. She is the founder of Luminosa Creative.

Shannon Russell: She went from being an artist to an art teacher, to running an art studio, and now she is a website designer. Let's get into Sharon's story.

Shannon Russell: Sharon. Calle. I'm so happy to have you here on Second Act Success. Welcome. 

Sharon Calle: Thank you so much,

Shannon. I'm so happy to be here. 

Shannon Russell: We connected on LinkedIn. We've chatted before and you have so many different acts that I think will be really interesting to our listeners.

But let's start off where your career began. 

Sharon Calle: I've definitely had a squiggly creative career. I started out after high school going to school for illustration and graphic design. So I went to art school. And then after art school, , I found that it was really difficult to [00:01:00] be a full-time illustrator.

It was like all freelance. There's no in-house jobs, and I was really burnt out from just. Spending four years making hand drawn illustrations. , I also at that point was still very much in my shell. I grew up a very shy, introverted person. But like I had an extreme social anxiety even at that point in college.

So after I finished college, I was like, okay, I need to do some jobs. That, pushed me out of my comfort zone, forced me to be sociable and like outgoing and put myself out there. So I did a whole bunch of random jobs. If you saw my list of jobs, you would be like, okay, I've had more than just a few acts.

Like I've had a lot of acts. But like some of the random jobs I had were,, I was a canvasser for Greenpeace in New York, so that was like one summer in my twenties. So I'd stand on the street and have to approach strangers, introduce myself, share Greenpeace campaigns, and get people to sign up to be supporters.

And it was so [00:02:00] scary but it, , I think that's the first place where I picked up just sales skills. If so that was like something that pushed my boundaries. Another thing was I ended up getting into teaching, which I never thought I would do.

Hated being in front of the classroom as a kid. Like when I had to present, I hated talking in front of the public, like public speaking. I was so anxious, but my mom was a teacher. She had a lot of teacher friends who were like, oh, why doesn't Sharon try teaching, use her, art degree, , to be an art teacher?

So I was like, Hey, that's actually a really good idea. It's something I haven't tried. It's scares me. I became a teacher. I ended up being a public school teacher for many years in Northern New Jersey. , then as I was teaching a lot of the parents of my students would ask me, do you do on the side, do you do art lessons?

Do you do painting birthday parties? And at that time, , I was working full-time in a public school, elementary school art. And so I was like I don't do that, but I could. So I was [00:03:00] watching, , some TV show about startups and I was watching like all these stories of small business owners and I always had the entrepreneurial spirit ever since I was little.

But I never thought I would be like a small business owner. I always wanted to be an artist. So then I'm like why don't I try this? So while I was working full time, I started doing art lessons. I started doing painting parties and then it just grew from there. And then about a few months into my first year of business, it was just a side hustle.

, I switched teaching jobs and I thought it was gonna be like the job, , great location compared to where I lived. It just seemed perfect, but it was the absolute opposite of what I imagined. It was just a bad situation. , You know what I mean when I say like a toxic workplace?

And it was all about the, in administration and just the setup of the school. So I could not like get out of there fast enough to preserve my health, preserve my mental health. , At the time my business was growing on the side, so I would teach all day at this toxic job. I would then go to [00:04:00] afterschool classes, hold them in community spaces, , and just grow.

And on the weekends I was busy hosting parties in people's homes. And so there came a point where. I had to decide I'm gonna stay in this, , permanent safe position that I hate. 

Or I'm gonna take a chance on this small business and I have no idea where it's going to lead. I don't know if it's going to replace my income.

It was scary. So I quit my job and I went full into my business, like 100%. And then it just grew from there. , but if you told me, , a couple years into my business that I would have. A brick and mortar at a prime location in a small downtown in New Jersey. We would be booked out, we'd be hosting eight events a weekend in addition to classes during the week. I would be have people asking me for more and more to the point where I got sobered out that what I had created, it was great, but it was also not sustainable.

But I wouldn't have even imagined what [00:05:00] it could have grown into.

 Let me ask you here, I just wanna pop in. So you began this business, moly, like just taking your classes out and about, and what made you decide to go brick and mortar?

Shannon Russell: Because I've done both with my franchise. I owned, did I was mobile, doing the same thing. Classes in different locations. And then I went the brick and mortar. Routes. Yeah. So I am just curious what made you decide to take that leap? 'cause that's a lot of overhead. 

Sharon Calle: It was, and looking back, like I would not have chosen such a gigantic space.

Like the space was 2,500 square feet, mine was 29 50. It was like the largest space, like on the street. . But I had a really big vision for it, but looking back, I wouldn't have chosen something that big. 

But the reason why I chose it is because my classes, my afterschool classes were getting really booked out and I was using a community space at the time that only allowed for public classes.

. I couldn't host any private parties there. 

Shannon Russell: Oh, 

Sharon Calle: so all the parties I had to like, bring everything to people's homes, which was [00:06:00] great. But some people they didn't want a party in their home. They're like, I wanna just go to your space. I don't wanna clean up my house. I don't wanna worry about it.

And they know that everything's taken care of. Parties became like almost our main income followed by summer camp and then afterschool classes, paint and sips, stuff like that. . But the funny thing is that you would think, okay, brick and mortar means like you've made it. Okay, you have a full schedule, money's coming in, people are happy, people are asking for more.

But I was getting so burnt out that I didn't know how much longer I could do it. 

Shannon Russell: So 

Sharon Calle: then, , our lease was coming to an end our, after two years. The pandemic happened and that timing, My lease just happened to be up, literally the month, , that the pandemic happened in March, 2020.

Shannon Russell: Wow. 

Sharon Calle: So thankfully, like I didn't have to then pay for space. But then it was just like everything was shut down. I wasn't doing any classes. I wouldn't do, wasn't doing anything. I took a little mini sabbatical and just reevaluated what, , direction I wanted to go in. [00:07:00] So then I started another business that was connected.

I opened an online Shopify store with 200 products. Starting small. Just kidding. 

And I wanted to keep in touch with my studio families by offering them, subscription art boxes, art kits that were mail order, , gifts. , Craft items, just fun, crafty things that tied into what I did at the studio.

So I tried that. , I also had an Etsy store at the same time, so I balanced both to see which was more lucrative, which, , I liked better. And I found that I did not enjoy having a product based business and more power to the people who do, because there's a lot involved. With mine, some of the items were just, I was reselling, items retail.

I was getting 'em wholesale and reselling them, but other things I would be curating a whole art box. Typing up the curriculum, laying it out on Canva, nice PDFs that you could print out as instructions. Putting paint in little containers. [00:08:00] Curating these gift boxes and it was so fun and I was really thankful that I had that to keep me busy during the pandemic, but I found out that I was making no money for all the hours that you're spending.

That's a lot to curate. And like my home, like a large section of like our home became just like this storage of all these art supplies and just like boxes. It was crazy. It was like a warehouse. But it was a great experience, but it was something that I found that I tried and I didn't wanna do anymore.

Shannon Russell: Maybe you felt at that point that service-based businesses was where your heart was. You can do a service. Yeah, you can offer something, but the products is just a whole nother level. 

Sharon Calle: Yeah, it was just I mean it was a lot and I just didn't enjoy it as much.

During the pandemic, I also did some service-based offerings. I did online Zoom classes with I did Girl Scout workshops. I did some with PTAs and PTOs of schools. They wanted for Dr. Seuss draw read Across America Day, we drew [00:09:00] like the cat in the hat. I did canvas painting parties where I would ship the kit to them and then we would all get on a Zoom and like a 10-year-old party we're painting dolphins.

Oh. So I did do a lot of that as well, but I found that I really preferred the in-person. So then when the world started opening up again, at that point I had taken 18 months off from teaching in person and I was like, can I still do this? How am I not gonna burn out again? So I was a little apprehensive.

'cause I didn't want to stretch myself so thin. I didn't wanna overload my schedule the way I had at the studio when I was supporting retail rent. I started small. I started doing. Just in-home kind of pod classes that were art classes after school, then I found some new community spaces to partner with.

And then I grew back up again, and then I found that I was actually making more money than when I had the retail space. 

Shannon Russell: Because at 

Sharon Calle: that point I had learned to charge a little bit more. Now that I [00:10:00] knew what was all involved, I learned to be a little bit con more confident about what I was charging.

I learned that I wasn't competing with everybody. I was competing with a certain niche of clients who were looking for a certain type of art class. So I was actually making more money doing less classes. They were mobile, but I was partnering with community spaces. So that was really great. And so that was going really well.

I did that for a couple years, but then at the end of 2023, I found that I was ready for a change. This is my big shift to whatever act this is, whatever number access is. But that was for me, one of the hardest things I went through because. I had built something for seven years and I loved it.

The community loved it, but I also knew that I couldn't do it anymore. Like I knew I needed to do something new. I knew I wanted to be a creative again, I wanted to do design work. I wanted to have creative projects. But it was bittersweet [00:11:00] because. I felt a lot of shame around like quitting something, closing something that was profitable and to someone else they'd be like, oh, why would you stop doing that?

You're making money and people are happy. But I felt like I couldn't do it anymore, so I had to step back. Have a little reset. Just think about what I wanted to focus on doing with my skills, my creativity. 

Shannon Russell: Sharon, can I ask you how did you feel in that scenario where you knew you didn't wanna do it anymore, compared to how you felt when you were teaching in that toxic environment?

Were you getting similar feelings or was it just another what another burnout moment? What was it? 

Sharon Calle: I think it was that I had taken it as far as I wanted to take it, and I wanted to do something else with my life. 

I could have, if I had to, I could have kept doing it and, just been like okay, this is what I'm gonna do.

I'll just decide to be happy. I'm not gonna think about all those other ideas I have. Yeah. Creative [00:12:00] ideas, like they'll just be there, but I just won't do them. But like for me, like it was. I had taken it to the point where I felt like I couldn't take it any further. And at that point it was a lot of event promotion.

Filling seats. I was still doing all the teaching, but I felt like I wanted a new challenge. I wanted a new direction. I wanted to have creative projects. That were challenging me. Yeah. So yeah, there I did feel like it was bittersweet the idea of shuttering my business.

And, telling my customers like, I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna do this anymore. But thank you so much for seven years of

Following along. And I had students who. I knew since kindergarten and they would grow up through the program. Some of them were, my first clients or customers were students that I had taught in public school that came with me to my business.

So then by the end of my business, they were in high school and they were like working as counselors in training at my summer camp, like helping me with the younger kids. So it was [00:13:00] like I had been with them and they were still like into art. Just like seeing them grow into young artists in high school and like having them help my younger students.

That was like such an amazing full circle thing. Yeah. And I also looked into the idea of selling my business because I did have a really great structure especially since it was mobile. At that time, you didn't need a brick and mortar. But I felt like it was really hard to find the right person.

And I'm like, I'm not just gonna sell this just to anybody. This was, it was so personal for me. It was like, my baby, my business that I created from scratch. So I didn't end up selling it. I had a few leads and looked into 'em, but I just made peace with the fact it was just a moment in time.

And it ended, but it made space for something new. Yes. Yeah, I had to mourn it a little bit before I moved on. 

Shannon Russell: You do? And I did the same thing. I just sold my franchise last year. Yeah. And it was the same thing of wow, this is a huge part of me. [00:14:00] I spent so much blood, sweat, and tears in building it, and now I'm, I was able to sell it and give it to someone else.

Yeah. But either way, you are saying goodbye to it, and so it's, yeah. It's definitely a bittersweet moment. But I think that you can be so proud of what you built. , I love the fact that you are so self-aware to know when it is time to move on. You knew that with teaching, you knew this with your business you just had other creative endeavors that you wanted to test out. And I think that's exciting. We only get this one life, so why not try everything that we're thinking about?

And I feel that you're the type of person who would just hold onto that idea in their head and never really let it go. So you had no choice but to just sell that and go for this next 

Sharon Calle: thing. It's almost like a blessing and a curse of being an entrepreneur and having that mindset that like you have these ideas knocking on your door and they're not gonna really stop knocking until you explore them.

And I don't know if it's just like the creative mindset we have or just the growth mindset. We can see [00:15:00] opportunities where someone else might not see anything. Yeah. So it's exciting. It's super scary. So yeah. So when I took that time off after I finished my last summer camp I looked back over my time as a business owner and I thought about what I really enjoyed.

And I found that one of the biggest, most important tools for my small business was my website. And it hadn't always been a good one, actually. 'cause when I started, I was teaching full time. I launched my business on the side. So I just threw together like a WordPress website. I found that it wasn't really a good platform for me at the time.

It wasn't intuitive, it was time consuming to edit. I'd have a full schedule and then I'd be up late at night trying to like, add stuff to my website and being frustrated. So then a couple years into my business I discovered Squarespace. And it is a drag and drop builder.

And the great thing is you don't have to be like an expert web designer or you don't have to know code to use it. the funny thing is like I have a design background and I took web design classes in college, [00:16:00] but at the time I said to myself, oh yeah, I'm not gonna be a web designer. But it wasn't until I was a small business owner and I understood.

The importance of a website, like as a tool for saving time, for bringing in money, for answering people's questions clearly, so they don't have to be messaging you wondering about your programs. Once I got my Squarespace website up and it was so easy to edit it just evolved with my business and I was always testing out different programs and services, finding what worked, finding what didn't niching down.

'cause at first when I started my art studio, I was trying to be everything for everyone. And people would ask me, oh, can you do this? I'm like, sure. Can you do this? And I was like, doing all these things. And then, once I switched back to mobile, I was like, I'm just gonna focus on this, and this.

Do that really well. Have it be my core offerings. And it was great. It was such a relief because I didn't have to keep [00:17:00] reinventing the wheel

But I found that web design was something that always was a tool that my business needed it was so helpful, it helped broaden business. So then I'm like, oh, maybe I could, do web design for business owners. So then I decided to niche down to women business owners. I mostly wo work with service-based businesses. But I also started offering search engine optimization as an add-on, which at first, a year ago when I launched my web design business I thought, oh, I'm gonna learn all about SEO so that I can offer that to my web design clients.

Now I find that people are coming to me just for SEO and some of them are on all different platforms like Shopify, Wix. So I'm now doing SEO as like a standalone because people are coming to me for that as well, which I didn't expect a year ago when I was like, oh, let me just, dive into SEO.

It was a real eye-opener. 'cause I didn't know any of that with my first business. I'm like, what is all that? I didn't even know what SEO meant. Like I don't even think I [00:18:00] had a Google business profile for the first few years of my art studio and it was like an in-person, area.

Yeah. Like I just did a certain area. So yeah, so just finding out about SEO now helping women business owners with that it's been. So rewarding. And I feel like even though, like I've done a lot of things in my squiggly career path every experience I had, like I pulled something from it.

Even jobs I hated, like even just temp. I met my husband temping at an office job. Oh really? So that's what I got outta temping. I got my husband. Yes you did. But jobs that scared me, jobs that pushed me I feel like I took something from all of them, even though I didn't stay with them.

So I've quit so many jobs in my life, but. In doing so, I found the path that I really want to follow. 'Cause I'm creating it myself.

Shannon Russell: So that is so beautifully said. You are creating it yourself and you probably learned so much just in this last year or so of building your [00:19:00] business of what you really enjoy.

And even that search engine optimization can be creative because you have to figure out, yeah. How to get those words on the page. And how to, so there's just such a level of creativeness in what you're doing. Congratulations on the business. Tell us the business name and how people can connect with you if they want to, hire you for work or learn more about what you're doing.

Sharon Calle: Yeah, so my web design and SEO business is called Luminosa Creative, and you can go to lumino creative.com. You can also look me up on Instagram. I'm on LinkedIn as well. And my smallest offer is something like a Squarespace Power Hour, where if someone has an existing Squarespace website they can book an hour with me.

And whether they are updating branding, whether they're doing a redesign, whether they need help embedding some sort of third party application, like they want a booking system. That's like my smallest offer. I also do designer for the day. That's one day of whatever you want done with your [00:20:00] website, and that can also include SEO.

And then I do full custom web design. And then the same thing with search engine optimization. I offer something as small as a SEO power hour. And then from there I have a full SEO service and I have a monthly SEO service if someone wants me to manage their SEO moving forward. And I've had the the pleasure of working with a lot of different women business owners on their websites and SEO, everything from therapists to coaches.

To product-based businesses designers, all kinds of things. So it's been a really great ride 

Shannon Russell: and it brings everything together. Because you're helping, you're speaking that same talk with your clients.

Yeah. And how you want them to show up with their business and why it's so important to have this website beautifully designed, I'm sure, with your creative eye. And while we're talking about SEO for listeners who might be listening, thinking, I don't know what SEO is either. Can you give us like a quick breakdown of what SEO is and why it's important for our [00:21:00] businesses?

Sharon Calle: Yeah. SEO stands for search engine optimization and it basically, the clearest way I can explain it is if you set your website up correctly so that it is easy to use for your clients, they can find everything they want. There's a lot of content on there that tells about what you do and what you offer.

Google's gonna notice. If they're gonna notice also how long people spend on your website. If they're clicking around. If they are converting, which means they are becoming clients and they are clicking on buy this, or they're saying, okay, book this. So Google notices how much time they spend on your website as well.

And all of those things will reward you in terms of how your website will rank. Whether it shows up on the first page of Google, whether it shows up in the ideal spot is like the first three organic listings. SEO also has to do with if you have a local business, you wanna show up in local search.

So you have a Google business profile. When [00:22:00] people are typing things up on the map, do you show up? It has to do with our other websites linking to your site saying, oh, this person knows something. They're an expert. I'm gonna link to them. So it's it's a whole package that has to do with everything that's connected to your website and. How Google views it and reads it and how it shows up, but it's also not limited to. Just your website. It also all of your descriptions on social media, all of your profiles where you might decide to host your events based on event platforms.

If you're using a third party which one of those has really great SEO. So definitely it's like a whole thing to look at. But it means that when people are searching for you, they're gonna find you on the first page of Google. That is the ideal. 

Shannon Russell: Yeah. Yeah, and I think it's really important and as a business owner myself, to get that set up in the very beginning, and that is something I did not do with this with my coaching business.

Okay. With second act success, I waited a couple of years to really dive in and [00:23:00] make sure my website was set up and that I wish I didn't do. I wish I had known someone like you to help me set that up from the very beginning. Yeah. So I think for anyone who's listening now, if you're thinking about starting a business.

Reach out to Sharon and or find out how you can set your website up the right way. Because that's only gonna help you find your ideal clients or customers faster, in my opinion. Yeah. 

Sharon Calle: Definitely. And I also if anyone wants to chat with me, I offer a free 20 minutes discovery call.

We can just chat about your goals, talk about where you are right now with your business or your website, or SEO. And, no obligation just to chat. 

 I wanna also talk about on top of Lumino Creative, you started another business this past year. Tell me, I did, tell us about that.

Shannon Russell: Because it's such a brilliant idea and I just wanna share it with everyone. 

Sharon Calle: And it's funny because a year ago when I started my web designs business I thought that was like, it okay. Art studio for seven years. Okay. Take some time off then. Web [00:24:00] design. I had no idea I was going to even want to start a networking based business.

I had never even been to a networking event until December of last year. So December, 2024, I went to my first networking event. I didn't even know what networking really was. I had done it for years in my studio just by talking to parents, but I had never gone to a traditional oh, networking event.

I didn't come from corporate. So I wasn't like, aware of what it was gonna be like, so I was nervous. I knew I had to share my business, my web design business, which was brand new at the time. And I didn't know what I was gonna say and I remember driving to it and being like. Nervous in the car and thinking, how am I gonna put my words in the right order to share what I wanna share?

And so starting in December, I started exploring different networking events and I found that some of them were overwhelming to me as an introvert. And the funny thing is I had been a teacher for 15 years. I've stood on stages in front of 120 people, like showing them how to [00:25:00] do paintings and instructing.

But when it comes to being in a group and having to wait your turn to share your intro, it just my anxiety like goes crazy and I'm not hearing what the other business owners are saying when they're sharing. I'm just focused on, okay, what am I gonna say when it's my turn and how are the words gonna come out and am I gonna sound good?

Shannon Russell: Yeah. 

Sharon Calle: So I felt like a lot of events I went to were structured that way. Some other events I went to were, like in very loud interior settings restaurants or bars or just small spaces that you have a lot of people in there, it's gonna get loud. And I found that I would find myself like going into the bathroom and like taking a little break just from the sensory overload and feeling overwhelmed and also finding that.

It felt like speed networking and it felt like I was talking to all these people, but the conversations weren't that valuable. We didn't get to go that deep. A lot of times the conversations like would get [00:26:00] interrupted by other people coming over, which, it happens when there's no structure.

Envisioned what it would be like to be outside networking. And I love to go for my daily walks. I also am a big hiker and outdoor person, but I'm like, okay, what if we could be doing this on a walk? It would be a lot less stressful. So I started in May of 20 25. I started Biz Bestie Walk.

And so it's basically a two hour networking event where women entrepreneurs and business owners we will meet at a location in a cute downtown. Right now it's in New Jersey and I host some in New York City. So we'll meet and we'll start with small group icebreakers, so either groups of four or six.

We'll go around the circle with something personal and fun. So instead of just jumping right into your elevator pitch, talking about your business, making it sound great, we start with something that's connecting on a personal level. And we, share our first name. Then we go around again, share our first name in our business, but keep it [00:27:00] short.

So that's something that's digestible, it's not overwhelming. Then we go for a one hour walk and during that time we pair up. So each woman gets to be with another woman for 15 minutes. So we share, whatever we wanna talk about our businesses, about life, we switch every 15 minutes. So the goal is to get a conversations with four women business owners.

And then after that we end up at a coffee shop and we just have some more time to chat with anyone else we missed. Connect some more. And this is very personal. It's two hours of networking. It's all conversation. There's no speakers. There's no panels, there's no. Person talking about themselves for 45 minutes.

Which is fine. Okay. Yeah, it's fine. That's just like a different structure.

? But my group is more about building community and building like connections that feel a little bit more authentic.

People are gonna remember you. And that's the point because what is the point of going to large events, grabbing a whole bunch of business cards and people can't even remember you 'cause [00:28:00] they didn't talk about anything that like, sparked a memory.

You know what I mean? 

Shannon Russell: I'm nodding my head yes, because it's, those are transactional networking events Yeah. Where you don't take anything from it for the most part. Yeah. So it sounds like what you're creating. Is something where you're gonna walk away with actually a new friend or two, or someone that you can connect to and share contacts, partner, help a little bit, and then continue that conversation. 

Sharon Calle: , And I've been sharing that it's introvert friendly networking.

Everybody's welcome. Extroverts, introverts, I consider myself an extroverted introvert. Yeah. Because I love being social, but I also know when it's a point where, okay, I've had my quota, now I need some quiet time or some alone time. 

Shannon Russell: Yeah. 

Sharon Calle: So that feels really good because that's like the whole goal. For people to find community to feel less alone. We all have it. The thing in common that we were either brave enough or crazy enough to become entrepreneurs. So you have to have a certain type of spirit to even decide to start your own business.

So I feel [00:29:00] like that brings us all together. Like we're all, cheering each other on. We're not gonna be, doubting each other and say, oh, how's that little how's that little thing you're working on? 'Cause when you talk to people from other backgrounds, like maybe. Whether it's family, friends, community, like they don't understand, they're like, i've actually had people ask me, okay, what's your day job? Or what's your real job? And I'm like this is it. Yeah. What is a real job anyway? No. If it's real to you, if it's supporting you and your family, if it's a way to make a living and also make that living on your own terms, I feel like that's a real job.

Absolutely. That's a dream job. Yeah. So yeah. So it's been a really great adventure. And yeah, so I've been hosting walks all over North Jersey a few in New York City and then, people are asking me for South Jersey, but right now I'm just hosting where I can drive to reasonably because I live in Northwestern, New Jersey.

So the walks I'm hosting are, some of them are an hour from [00:30:00] me. Some are a lot further if they're in the city. But yeah it's been great. 

Shannon Russell: I'll link to that in the show notes for anyone who's in the New York, New Jersey area to come and follow along.. 

Sharon Calle: And I just wanted to share one more thing. Yeah. I know I've had a lot of stuff that I've shared in this episode. I think the one takeaway that I would like to share is that it's taken me a long while to design a business that not only was, profitable, obviously, 'cause you need a business to, to pay some bills.

But I, it's taken me a, like a long journey to find out like really who I am and what kind of business supports the lifestyle that is the healthiest for me. And after doing, my art studio for seven years and it was like super social. I was on all the time, performing all the time as a teacher on stage.

It was draining overall because naturally I like to have more balance. So even just like when you're thinking about what type of business you wanna do key into what makes you tick. And how you feel, the healthiest, the most balanced, the [00:31:00] most calm. And just make sure that when you're choosing a business, it fits into that because now that I can, I have my, meetings with my clients. I get to work with women business owners, but I also can work from home. And then I go on my networking walks with biz bestie walks, so I have my social time, but now I feel like it's a lot more balanced, where I'm not being overwhelmed by one thing.

Which it used to be just being a teacher and being on display all the time. Which was great, but it wasn't great for me. Yeah so yeah. So as you're exploring your own journey becoming a business owner or starting your own thing, yeah. I really think about who you are and what makes you tick.

Try to plan a business that won't burn you out, if possible.

Shannon Russell: And I love that advice so much. And I think what you're saying is so true. And you were able to be that perfect example of someone who took your passion, you took your art, and you brought it into every aspect of your different roles and your businesses over the years.

Would you say that's something that women should [00:32:00] look out for is what do you enjoy? What is your passion? What is your hobby? You are proof positive that you can turn that into a profitable business.

Sharon Calle: Yeah, definitely. See how you feel about doing something a lot because you don't wanna do something you love and then if you do too much of it, you get, it's a little bit overwhelmed.

So think about it could even be something adjacent. Like for example, my first love was illustration, so I still love like drawing and painting. I would never do that as a business, even though that's what I originally wanted to do. I wanted to be a full-time traditional artist, but looking at that now, like that is something I'm keeping just for me. 

Shannon Russell: So That's brilliant.

Sharon Calle: You can try things out and they might not work, which is totally fine, but you're going to find something eventually that does work. And it's gonna be the thing that like lights you up. That's. Makes you excited. You're not gonna have the Sunday scaries anymore on Sunday night. Like I used to have that all the time.

Anxiety about my lesson plans and I bet teacher observations, students getting crazy [00:33:00] before, Halloween, whatever. So all of that, like anxiety, you know, behavior, classroom management. I don't have any of that anymore. And I also try not to fill my schedule so much that I feel like I'm in that 40 hour week.

 I also try to batch my work. So I try to take calls with clients on Mondays and Tuesdays. And then the rest of the week is left for project work, for, biz besty walk.

Sharon Calle: But I also try to build a schedule for myself that feels human. Because I think a 40 hour work week like that was created a really long time ago, and I don't think it's appropriate anymore. 

Shannon Russell: No, I'm with you. 

Yeah. Yeah. Not as realistic at all. No. It's building your own schedule around what lights you up.

What you can do. So you can go on your walks and you can do your part. Yeah. And you can have that, like you said earlier, your balance. And I think that's the most important thing. I'm so happy that you found that, Sharon, and that you're just growing these new two businesses so much and you're taking [00:34:00] everything from your past and bringing it until now and your future.

Congrats. It's so exciting

 I just also wanna say that like, when I first discovered you, your podcast when I first reached out to you, I listened to one episode. I can't remember the name of the woman you were with, but, it was about like pivoting away from something you had built the woman had built from scratch and it was successful, it was profitable, but she was ready to move on and she gave herself permission to celebrate it and just move forward.

Sharon Calle: And that really that episode impacted me because I hadn't had anyone to talk to about what I was going through. I didn't know anyone who had, built a successful business and then decided, okay, I'm not gonna do this anymore, but I'm not gonna feel bad about it.

I'm gonna feel good about what I accomplished. So hearing that episode that you shared yeah, it was really helpful to me because I was like, oh, like I should be celebrating those seven years, not feeling bad that it's over, but just in say instead say, this is something I'm now building on. 'cause I would never be where I am today without those seven years.

That [00:35:00] first business. All I learned and someone recently told me when I had first started Biz Bai Walk, they said to me, oh wow. That that seemed to take off pretty quickly. And then I thought about, I'm like, no, that's built on nine years of being a business owner. That's why it took off. It didn't take off because it was a fluke because it was just, something new. It's built on nine years of trial and error failure success. That's why it took off. So I just thought about that and then, it felt really good. 

Shannon Russell: I love that. Yeah. There's no luck in business, right? It really is putting in that hard work and knowing you're doing it for the greater good of your life and your wellbeing.

There are so many great takeaways in this episode, in this conversation, and I love that other episode really impacted you, and that's the whole point, right? To hear stories from other women and say, if she can do it, I can do it. And you're allowing that even with Biz Bestie Walk of women saying, yeah, we're all alike.

We're on this walk now, but we're [00:36:00] talking about our businesses and sometimes we are behind the screen all day and it can be really lonely. When you reached out, when we became friends online, like it's just so great to know that there's other women going through the same thing that we are.

And to be able to support each other. 

, Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for everything that you've shared. I know a lot of listeners will be connecting with you, and I'll have all of the ways to do that in the show notes. But thank you so much. I wish you the best in all of this, and I can't wait to watch you just keep growing and succeeding with your businesses.

Sharon Calle: Awesome. Thank you much, Shannon, and I'm just so happy that I could be here and talk with you, and I'm looking forward to staying connected with you too.

Speaker: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to second act, success. To view show notes from this episode, visit second act success.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for [00:37:00] listening. I'm Shannon Russell. And this is second act success.