It really doesn’t have to be messy
I have to chuckle to myself when thinking about how my life and business have played out. As most of my friends probably know by now, my d-i-v-o-r-c-e (Tammy sang it better)…my divorce was final in January of 2021. That marked the end of a very bizarre year. I won’t go into the weeds here. We each have our 2020 stories.
Despite the ugly “D” word, I am happy to report that our family is still intact. Things are the way they should be and we have both settled into our new lives and routines. Bottom line – it doesn’t have to be messy. Joy and I still respect each other. We talk frequently. Lily comes down to spend time with me whenever I want. We have a very good relationship – The Three of us. Joy has truly developed her domestic side with a cute place on the hill overlooking Lake Superior. If you stretch your neck slightly, you can see it. Me? I landed in Saint Anthony, a beautiful little pocket of Minneapolis I didn’t even know about. I am two blocks from everything I need. Cub foods, US Bank, my dentist, my doctor, Fat Nat’s Eggs, and Caribou Coffee. I love my place more than I ever expected.
What about the Web Shack?
What about The Web Shack? Our web design business was started 23 years ago and we served hundreds of clients over the years. I started out doing all of the design work way back when. Now, Joy has become an expert at WordPress. She was able to keep her University job doing web and graphic design, and we have slowly dissolved the business partnership. Joy continues to maintain a handful of clients.
Myself, I decided last year to re-brand my existing Photography business. I added two new services, Voice Acting & Video Production. I changed the name of the business slightly to accommodate the new offerings. Archibald Studios Photography has become Archibald Studios Media.
I’m diving deep into the voice-over community and spend every evening recording auditions and building my prospect list. The photography side of the business has expanded into shooting more of the things I love. Food, Nature, Architecture, random objects on my coffee table or kitchen counter. So, from Portrait photographer to Commercial photographer. I’ve already been shooting everything, why not call it what it is. I recently upgraded my equipment which also motivated me to…..pay for it.
I “did a thing”
Yesterday, I got a message from Joy saying, “I did a thing.” (she’s quoting Lily again.) “What thing?” I asked. She threw me a URL which I clicked on. Low and behold (I never knew what that meant, such an odd phrase)…LOW and BEHOLD, it’s a really really cool website announcing her new business…Web design. Ha! What a great idea. Seriously you must take a look at this site. www.joyofmn.com She totally nailed it (like always). She’s created some beauties, but this one is so HER.
I hope it does really really well. In fact, my ex-wife is now a subcontractor for my business, or am I a sub-contractor for her business? Either way, we will be working together but from our own companies. I dabbled with the idea of doing web design as part of my line-up but quickly got it out of my head. I want to focus on my voice work and photography and not muddy the waters with servers, email accounts, domains, FTP servers, blah, blah, blah. She’s the expert now and I know she will thrive.
We are Still a Family
Our new lives are just beginning. We are together, but not. We are still a family (though people don’t quite get their heads around the fact that we still care about each other.) Divorce doesn’t have to involve arguing, drama, hate, spite, and all of those ugly words the thesaurus is throwing at me. Thank God that we’ve been sensible, caring, supportive, and (come on thesaurus, you’ve got one more in ya.)…Oh yeah, HAPPY…… We’re truly happy. If you need a web designer – I know a great one. If you need a voice-over, video, or some darn good photography, I know that guy too.
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