Long time comin'

There are a number of you who've known this was coming for a few months now, and for some this may come as a surprise. To you all, I thank you for your incredible support of this business. It has been an absolute joy starting and growing Clippo for the past five years. What started as a craft I made in my spare time turned into a huge full-time success all because of the amazing people I've worked with and had as customers. I'm lucky to have you all.

The time has come to put Clippo on a shelf and focus on other things. 

Remember when I wrote this post? I still mean every word. So many changes have happened to Clippo since that post. You proved to me that it was the right decision by supporting the company beyond my imagination. To think we'd be more successful without selling through retailers still blows my mind. I thank you all for sticking with us, and bringing your friends along, too.

My children are now five years old and two years old, and I miss the days when I could drop everything for a trip to the zoo. I miss the times when my evenings were spent hanging out with my husband watching movies. Clippo has been all-consuming  for a long time now, and it's time for me to take a break and spend some quality time with my family. I also miss my storage space. ;) When I decided to leave the traditional workforce, I didn't have to bring home an income. I started the company for fun... but the fun became a whole lot more work than I ever dreamed possible in such a short time. And five years later, I am so proud of how far we've come.

Growing a home-based business  has been the most exciting adventure I've undertaken to date. As someone who never dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur, it's been such a phenomenal personal growth experience. I've learned more about sourcing materials, product development, accounting for small business, website development, marketing, public relations, competition (and competitors... hoo boy, that's a blog post in the works!); I could go on forever with the absolutely incredible things I've learned these past five years. 


I've been lucky enough to meet the people behind the companies I respect most, like Admiral Road and Mabel's Labels and Name Your Tune CDs, and call them friends. Because of my job, I've met customers, online acquaintances, celebrities and made friends with them all, and it's just been so much fun! This hasn't been an easy decision, to say the least. Many people call me "Clippo" and it has become a part of my identity.

Of all my lessons in business, the most important thing I've realised is that Spider-Man's Uncle Ben was right:  With great power comes great responsibility. (Spider-Man, 2002) I've got a big job here at home raising my peeps and I'm lucky to be able to not have to work. So instead of choosing to do so, I'm choosing to be with my kids for just a little while longer. It won't be forever; goodness knows they grow so fast they'll both be in school full-time soon enough. And when that time comes I'll need something new to challenge me again and fill my days. 


But for now I'm choosing my family as my only priority.

Remember that success isn't always related to money.
Remember that family comes first.
Remember that time is fleeting and we cannot rewind these years.
Remember that it isn't the money spent that matters, it's the time spent that they'll remember.

These are the things I'm telling myself as I sell off our current stock and head back to the couch with my husband and off to play with my kids.

Starting January 30th, 2012, there will be a HUGE blowout sale over at Clippo.ca, while supplies last. Enjoy!

I can still be found on Twitter and on my personal blog, too.

Thank you. All of you. I hope to see you soon.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.