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When One Door Closes...

Writer's picture: Laurene RodriguezLaurene Rodriguez

So there we are...it's the first week of March and we are enjoying our new space inside The ABQ Collective. We moved two booths down. It's so cute. It's perfect. We've re-calibrated and refocused and we're ready for Spring. We've downsized because we wanted to focus on our marketing services and make them front and center. Wow, how proactive of us. Insert hair flip. bada-bing, bada-boom. Done. New space, check. Inventory purchased, check. Mural painted, check. All is good in the world... until it wasn't.


When COVID hit, it felt like the rug was pulled out from under us because it was. Like so many, we grasped for a place to put our feet, but there wasn't one. Life as we knew it had changed. All of a sudden, I found myself serving as business owner, mom, and homeschooling mom for part of the week. I was so humbled and very clearly realized how little control I have.


My employees and I could no longer meet in person and we couldn't meet at our space inside The ABQ Collective. It was a sad and hard time. I remember crying for no reason for a while. I mean, there was a reason it just wasn't apparent. I was grieving the loss of an old way of life while fighting to stay positive. I'm sure so many can relate.


Fast forward to August. It's been a long, but fruitful few months. I've poured into my family like never before. Our business has not only survived but thrived in the chaos. We've literally been carried through this pandemic. We made lots of business "pivots." LOL I know so many of you are tired of hearing that word, so I'll switch it up if I can.


We went digital with our marketing bar. We changed the way we deliver services. We refined our on-boarding process for clients. We took a look at systems. We hired a new team member. So. Many. Changes. but there was still another change that needed to happen. The time had come to close our doors at our marketing bar inside The ABQ Collective.





I fought it. Because I felt like I had failed. It hadn't been given the proper chance and we didn't do our new space justice, but we couldn't afford it anymore. We still weren't allowed to meet in person and the interest in our a la carte services had declined. I held on for fear that if we let go, it would mean that we were quitters and if you know me, I hate the "q" word. But I prayed. And I felt peace about the decision; like it's what we needed to do.


So we did and I'm so grateful for delightful humans like Katherine and Bob (owners of The ABQ Collective) that gave us their blessing. They understood our conundrum and wanted us to do what was best. I thank God for genuine people like them.


It makes me sad that we aren't there anymore and that I don't have access to Rust is Gold's deliciously caffeinated beverages at every moment, but knowing it's what we had to do makes me proud that I am getting better at making hard business decisions.


As we do with every decision for our company, we pray about it. We pray for opportunities. We pray for wisdom to lead properly. We pray that the right doors would open and guess what? They always do. We walk by faith and not by sight, and boy the places it leads us...


So when God passes by and says, "Okay girlfriend, I got something new for you. Hop in." It is without hesitation that I open the door to shotgun, jump right in, throw my bare feet on the dash, grab my bag of sunflower seeds, a spitter, and enjoy the ride.


So this is me enjoying the ride. We invite you to come along, too.


Love,

Laurene

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