There’s No “I” in Bow and Bestow.

I’ve always enjoyed being part of a team. My first time having official teammates was in the third grade when I joined my local recreational soccer team: The Asheville Hawks. We were a force to be reckoned with. I developed a love for soccer and was a member of several different teams up until my “Grand Finale” team while playing collegiately at Marquette University. Those formative years taught me so much about the benefits of being on a team: playing to one another’s strengths, the power of team camaraderie and collaboration, group problem solving, and the concept that strong teamwork triumphs over solo contributions on the field.

My first team: That’s me on the bottom row - second from the left.

After my soccer career was over, my professional teams were significantly less athletic, but just as influential in their ability to working with others. I was a member of a small boutique advertising agency team in Milwaukee, an iconic and powerful advertising agency team in Chicago, and most recently, a medical care team ensuring the health and developmental well-being of pediatric patients at UC San Francisco’s Benioff Children’s Hospital. Working in the pediatric hospital setting was equal parts rewarding and emotionally taxing for me. I could not have managed my career at UCSF without the support of my co-workers and teammates working in the Emergency Department. In a profession permeated with emotional challenges and devastating losses, my co-workers - my teammates - were an invaluable source of support.

Fast forward through the arrival of my two sons and a yearning for a professional shift. I am overjoyed to find myself at this chapter in life when I am launching my very own small business. I am grateful for the opportunities that Bow and Bestow affords me as a sole proprietorship: full creative license, schedule flexibility, and serving as my own Boss (just to name a few.) But leading up to this decision, one of the main deterrents for me was that I would essentially be working alone, without a team. How could I be successful in this new endeavor without the support of teammates that had become part of the fabric of my professional life?

That uncertainty quickly dissolved once I really started digging into the process of establishing a small business. It became glaringly obvious that it would be impossible for anyone to build or grow a business (even a small one) independent of collaboration and an unofficial team of supporters. In an effort to incorporate this teamwork mentality into Bow and Bestow, and to remind myself that I am never truly in this alone, I have embraced an Advisory Team made up of folks that are essential to my individual success, and to the future growth of Bow and Bestow. This team is a true cast of characters, and some of them may not even realize what a strong role they have played in the birth of Bow and Bestow.

For starters, my husband was the person that gave me the gentle nudge I needed to really get the wheels in motion for this idea of mine. He believed I could do it even before I did. I have friends and family scattered around the country, cheering me on and ready to offer their two-cents when I ask for it (and sometimes when I don’t ask for it). There’s my small business banker, who shared my genuine excitement the day I opened up my Bow and Bestow account, my enthusiastic accountant, and my patient and steady bookkeeper. There’s my rockstar aunt in Seattle who just so happens to be a brilliant designer and made my logo dreams come true. There’s my friend and professional photographer, Jamie, oozing with talent. There’s our long-time family friend and lawyer who knows the answer to all of my random legal questions. There’s the team down at my local printing company that cheered “Hooray!” when I collected my first stack of Bow and Bestow business cards. There’s my Dad, who serves as my “Director of Facilities” when he visits from the east coast and does odd jobs to make my home office really feel like a highly functioning business headquarters. There’s my SCORE volunteer mentor, urging me forward and reminding me that, where there’s a will, there’s a way. There’s a strong collection of local Marin “Mom-trepreneurs” that encourage me and have my back. There’s my local friend and fellow small-business owner who is a constant source of support and comic relief (he claims to be in the process of launching Bow and Bestow’s main competitor: “Bro and Bestow”). And thank goodness my older sister is a proofreading and editing genius. The list goes on and on.

My Dad does some prep work prior to making my wrapping paper wall dream come true.

It’s because of this team of support that I confidently state “There’s no ‘I’ in Bow and Bestow.” I’ll gladly give myself a pat on the back for the work that I do, but it wouldn’t feel completely genuine to claim any future success that Bow and Bestow has as strictly my own. Bow and Bestow feels like a “We” to me. And because of this, I often use “we” or “us” throughout my website, collateral or instagram posts. This business is truly something that could never exist if I was operating in a vacuum. I’m so grateful for everyone who has played a role in this experience so far, and I am so excited to see the teammates that I add to this roster along the way. There’s no “I” in Bow and Bestow, but there is a “w-o-w.” Good things are coming.