On the 11th of September 2024, my two coworkers and I were called to an in-office meeting. After having worked from home for nearly four years we knew it couldn’t mean anything good.

“We’re shutting down the brand. Your roles will be ending.”

I can’t say we weren’t expecting it. Being a small team we knew the ins and outs of the business pretty well. We’d seen the signs – the steady decline in sales, the constant changing of hands, the way the numbers weren’t adding up. But still, it stung.

I cried that day. I thought it was going to be my “forever job”, but instead I was being told I was a dead man walking.

After I dried my tears that afternoon I decided to start figuring out what was going to come next for me. They asked me to stay on until June of 2025 to help see the business off, so I had time, but I didn’t want to sit around and wait.

There had been a thought blooming in the back of my mind for some time. A business idea that would take my favorite hobby and turn it into something highly profitable.

I jumped into action right away. I contacted all the right people, got all the balls rolling. Everything was headed in the right direction. Sure, I hit a few bumps in the road, but nothing I couldn’t overcome.

Until one day there was something I couldn’t overcome. I hit a wall with financing, and when all other options fell through, I knew I couldn’t make my dream happen.

I think I felt worse that day than I did the day I was told my brand would be shut down. It’s one thing to lose your job, but it’s a whole different animal to lose your dream.

But then after a few days something clicked in me. I knew my options were to feel bad for myself and wait to see what happens next, or to take charge of my life and make my own destiny.

This is my journey of taking back my future and building a life I love. I turn 37 this year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t start anew.

After all, it’s better late than never.