When Life Has Other Plans- Life as a Small Business Owner

When Elijah was around 18 months old, he spiked a temperature so high it didn’t even register on the thermometer. His cheeks were flushed, his little body burning, and within minutes we were rushing into the hospital.

Because he was still a baby, I stayed right beside him. Elijah was the snuggliest little human, he always slept curled into me and I remember the nurses laughing about how he barely left my arms. The hours were endless. But life outside the hospital… didn’t stop.

When Your Business Depends on You — But Your Child Needs You More.

The Hidden Reality of Life as a Small Business Owner

At the time, Etsy wasn’t just a shop. It was our entire household income.

Somewhere between nurses checking vitals and Elijah drifting in and out of sleep, I opened my laptop on the hospital Wi-Fi just to check messages.

The internet was painfully slow. Every page took minutes to load. My heart raced with the pressure of falling behind.

Right there, in that uncomfortable hospital chair, I realized:

I had to let go. Customers would wait. Messages would pile up. And I braced myself for the fallout.

The Message That Changed Everything

When we finally returned home and Elijah was tucked into his cot again, the weight of it all landed. I opened Etsy. And yes - the inbox was full.

Dozens of messages. Most of them short. Most of them frustrated.

Most of them just said:

“Hello???”

I answered every one. I apologized. I explained. I worked as fast as my tired brain and body could manage. But in my chest, I carried the fear that this might be the moment my business broke. That I wouldn’t recover from being “unavailable” for two days. And then, in the middle of a long list of angry bubbles, one message stopped me completely. It said:

“I understand. Family comes first. Anyone who doesn’t get that isn’t worth stressing over.”

I still feel that moment in my bones.

We Expect Damage — But Sometimes We Receive Grace

The Hidden Reality of Life as a Small Business Owner, we become primed for crisis management. We anticipate complaints, worries, and worst-case scenarios.

But we forget that people can be kind. We forget that the right customers understand. And in that moment, I realized something I hadn’t let myself believe:

Business isn’t about perfection.

You will make mistakes. You will miss messages. You will be unavailable.

Life will drag you away at the least convenient times.

And that doesn’t mean your business is over.

It just means you’re human.

Everyone Has a Moment Like This

For me, it was a baby in hospital. For you, it might be:

• a sick parent

• a partner who needs you

• your own mental or physical health

• burnout

• grief

• or a season of life that demands more than you can give

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Life doesn’t check your calendar. It doesn’t ask whether you’ve cleared your inbox.

And it will always- at some point -pull you away from your business.

The Heart of It: You Care Because You Love What You Do

When you build something you love, you don’t just love the work, you love the people who choose you. That’s why the fear hits so hard.

Your business becomes woven into who you are.

But here’s the truth I learned:

✨ Your customers will forgive you when you’re honest and doing your best.✨ Most things feel bigger to us than they really are.✨ Compassion exists- sometimes exactly when you need it most.

The most important thing?

Pick yourself up. Brush off the dust. And just take the very next step.

You don’t need to rebuild everything at once.

You only need to keep moving.

Talk soon & big love,

Jessa