A Year of Fabulous F Words: Riding the Business Ownership Roller Coaster

Fabulous F Words of Business Ownership was released a year ago on October 10. And what a year it has been. The book has racked up numerous awards, including a Platinum MarCom Award and a Silver Communicator Award, and was a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards and the Independent Press Awards. And the reviews have been outstanding.

“Written with a great deal of humility; highly reflective, heartfelt guidance for entrepreneurs.” – Kirkus Reviews

“… a must-read for anyone who is looking to start a business or is currently running his or her own business.” – San Francisco Book Review

Yet with all of this success, the past year has been a roller coaster of emotions for author Fabi Preslar, president of SPARK Publications. In December, she found a lump in her breast. A seemingly endless series of doctor appointments followed. She eventually decided to take a six-month health sabbatical, leaving her firm in the hands of her capable SPARKlers as she thrived through breast cancer.

Now, she’s back in the office a few days each week and “slowly” taking more on her plate. (“Slowly” is a relative term when we’re talking about business owners.) But her experience over the past year has fundamentally changed her mindset and how she intends to guide her company into the future.

“In the past, I was mentally involved in every aspect of my business,” Fabi said. “I had to know everything that was going on, or the world would stop—or so I feared.” Of course, it didn’t stop. 

Fabi continued, “It was a mental and ego adjustment to have clients cheerfully say they didn’t miss me because they were so well taken care of by the team I had established. The first time I heard that, it was a weird sting, but it quickly transformed to a deep sense of accomplishment. Holding on too tight to the business didn’t serve anyone and wore me out. Letting go of being involved in every project and every situation had a two-fold impact: it allowed me to step away and focus on my healing and allowed each person on my team to develop better skills and feel more empowered to take care of situations.”

With this deeper level of trust and empowerment, Fabi will now focus her time on consulting, business development, and a few key operational issues. The processes and documentation she’s established and the strong team she’s pulled together will take care of day-to-day client service, creative production, operations, and project management. 

 “From a personal standpoint,” Fabi concluded, “I was blown away by how deeply others were willing to share love and compassion. I have a stack of kind notes and letters from friends and colleagues, many of whom stepped forward to shuttle me to doctor and radiation appointments.”

Fabi will share her deepest lessons and more about her roller-coaster ride at the Fabulous Warrior Party, part of the FiveFecta event on November 12, five concepts in one event to help you and your business grow. Join her to celebrate thriving through all the ups, downs, twists, and turns of business ownership.