How to Get From Surviving to Thriving

In 2021, ERG is thriving. We’ve survived a pandemic and are gaining energy from the variety of opportunities to support teachers and students as they navigate this brand-new world of education. We are here for it.

But we haven’t always been this way.

ERG had to survive before it could thrive. In our early days, Hope and Alice were the only two people in the organization. This meant we were the ones creating the services, researching and developing the content, managing the projects, actually providing the services, and also figuring out accounting, sales, marketing, communications, operations, all while not forgetting to take out the trash.

We would not be here if we had not been THERE. 

Those early days forced us to keep our hands dirty inside the work. By working in all aspects of the company, we were able to learn the details and processes that worked and didn’t work. We wore many hats during those days, and as hard as it was, it was very important to the evolution of ERG.

At one point early on, a team of students from Wake Forest University pointed out we had created jobs for ourselves, but to be a thriving company, we needed to think bigger. ERG was a project they were studying in their business class and through conversations with them – yes, just conversations – we were able to reflect, gain new information, and consider how we could grow into a “real” company.

In order to make the transition from working in the work to working on the work (and our company), we had to think about adding other people. One thing we’ve learned as we have built ERG is that in order to grow, you have to let go. We had to let go of doing each and everything ourselves.

We carefully added consultants and let them take over projects. Turns out, those same consultants were actually brilliant, so they started to develop and create more content. With more consultants and more content, we could offer more services, and the cycle continued to grow.

After considering a variety of options and some part time options, we officially added Kaitlyn full time into our office structure. Turns out, she is amazing with details, manages all the tiny things, and is excellent at freeing up time for Hope and Alice to work on the big pieces of ERG. 

You may just be surviving right now. And that’s ok. It may feel counterintuitive, but in order to grow you must let go. Thriving will follow… just trust the process.

For Reflection:

• Can you remember a time of struggle and what it ultimately taught you?
• If you were to be thriving, what would that look and sound like?
• What could you let go of in the short term? In the long term?