Where I’ve Been and the Truth About Team Bonnie

On May 27th, 2022 I had my last day of work for Team Bonnie Christine! It’s the end of an era. A defining moment, a new milestone, the start of something new (cue high school musical! ) It always feels weird to close one chapter and open up another. I’ve had a roller coaster of emotions but mostly I’m feeling excited at the possibilities of what’s coming next. 

I never planned to work for someone else. I’m an entrepreneur through and through, but when I had the opportunity to work for Bonnie, I decided it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Carpe diem! 

So I put my own business on the back-burner and I’ve been working on growing Bonnie’s business for the last 2 ½ years. I’ve learned more than I could have imagined and it was an education that I truly believe I couldn’t have received in any other way. 

If you want to hear all the juicy details and the story behind why I started working for Bonnie, you can watch the video below. It was my final goodbye to Bonnie’s Flourish community and it was an emotion-filled day. 

So what have I learned over the past 2 ½ years working for Bonnie? Here are my biggest takeaways… the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Best Parts About Working on Team Bonnie

• The Friendships – Bonnie and I have grown incredibly close over the past two years. I saw her behind the scenes, during the hard times, the happy times, and everything in between. As each new member joined the team, I LOVED building friendships and working towards a common goal. We truly became close friends.

• Serving the community. What a joy it has been supporting people on their creative journey! I had the honor of being in the inbox and receiving countless emails from students sharing their hearts and souls. Sometimes they were words of thanks and gratitude for rediscovering their creativity and sometimes they were personal struggles or deep sadness. Either way, I felt it was a sacred privilege to be able to get an inside glimpse into so many people’s lives and support them with love. 
• The perks! Our team retreat to Scottsdale Arizona was a magical memory I’ll never forget. For a virtual team to finally meet in person felt like Christmas morning. These women are my dearest friends and it was a joy being with them. Also, Bonnie loves to give gifts and spoil her team, so in between the work, we had fabulous meals, massages, and the sweetest gift baskets.

The Hardest Parts About Working on Team Bonnie

1. The inbox during launches. Remember what an honor it was to be inside Bonnie’s inbox? Well, at times it could also be absolutely INSANE! During launches we would receive hundreds of emails every day.  Even though we tried to anticipate these busy times, there were a few weeks out of the year where I was answering emails for 8-9 hours a day! Yep… that got a little exhausting. 
2. Learning how to handle mistakes with grace. As hard as we try to do everything to the best of our ability, we would inevitably make mistakes.. We are human after all, but it’s never fun to make mistakes in front of a large community of people. Luckily, we’ve had lots of practice at making mistakes, and Bonnie has been a great example of how to handle them with integrity and grace. 
3. Putting my own business on hold. Although I was very intentional about putting my business on the back burner, it was still hard to be patient. My heart longed to work on my business full time, but I KNEW I needed to wait and continue to learn.

3 LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM TEAM BONNIE 

1. Put your head down and do the work! It’s been incredible to see the way Bonnie works. She balances motherhood, friendships, and personal life beautifully, but her work ethic is fierce. Working side by side with Bonnie has taught me how to fully immerse myself in what I’m doing. Sit down and DO THE WORK. Take action. Be consistent and focus on serving. 
2. Remember to take breaks and rejuvenate. I honestly loved working for Team Bonnie and because they were my true friends, I had the urge to constantly check in on work. After doing this month after month, I found that thinking about the team 24/7, would result in a lack of energy and creativity. Just because you love the work you do, you still need to take breaks! It’s beneficial to turn things off for a bit, rejuvenate, take a break and come back to things with fresh eyes. There’s more creativity, more insight and better ideas after taking a break. 
3. The simplest solution is often the best. Bonnie’s business has been around for quite a while and has grown a lot over the years. We found ourselves doing things because it’s something we’ve always done and not necessarily because it was the smartest way of working. Over the past year, our team has worked on streamlining and removing anything that wasn’t necessary. Clarity and growth came each time we simplified. It seems counterintuitive, but oftentimes the best solution is the simplest one. 

What Now?

With the close of a chapter, I’m thrilled to be going full force into Tessie Fay Design! I’ll be fixing up my home, and helping YOU create spaces you love! I’m honestly giddy about this next chapter and I can’t wait to share with you all that I have planned.

But first, I’m going to enjoy the summer and soak up every second of friends and family coming to visit us. We live on a gorgeous lake in Minnesota, and after such a long winter I’m going to bask in the sunshine and immerse myself in various house projects.

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