If You've Been Thinking About Giving Up...Read This First
Honestly… sometimes you’re not ready to quit. You’re just tired.
There's a specific kind of tired that makers know. The tired that creeps in after months of pouring yourself into something... the late nights, the batches that didn't turn out right, the launches that didn't go over quite like you'd hoped... the tired that starts whispering that maybe this was never going to work anyway.
And when you're that tired, quitting starts to feel less like giving up and more like finally being honest with yourself.
I want to gently push back on that.
Because exhaustion is one of the most convincing liars I know. It takes real progress and makes it feel invisible. It takes genuine momentum and makes it feel like spinning wheels. It doesn't give you an accurate picture of where you are...it gives you the worst possible version of it, at the worst possible moment, and calls it clarity.
It's not clarity, it's depletion.
There's a season almost every maker goes through where you're doing the work, you're showing up, you're putting real care into what you make... and it still doesn't feel like it's clicking.
The numbers aren't where you want them. The audience isn't growing the way you imagined. You start to wonder if the people who are making it have access to something you don't.
That season has a name. It's called the messy middle, and it's not a sign that something is wrong with you or your business. It's actually one of the most reliable signs that you're close to something...that you've built enough to be in the game, but haven't yet hit the inflection point where everything you've been quietly stacking starts to compound.
The heartbreaking thing is that's exactly where most people leave. Not because they failed. Because they got tired before they got to see what all that effort was actually building toward.
I'll be honest with you - I think you deserve that more than you deserve a pep talk.
I've been in one of those seasons myself recently. The kind where the thing you built starts to feel heavy instead of exciting and you catch yourself doing the math on whether it's all worth it at 11pm on a Tuesday when you probably should have been in bed an hour ago.
I didn't quit. But I also didn't just push harder...because I've learned that pushing harder when you're running on empty doesn't produce better work, it just produces more of the same exhaustion with a side of resentment.
What I did instead was stop and ask myself a different set of questions.
Not should I keep going...but what would make this feel worth it again?
Not am I doing enough...but what would this look like if it actually fit my life right now?
Not why is this so hard...but what could I make easier without making it smaller?
Those are different questions. And they tend to lead somewhere more useful than the ones we ask when we're running on fumes.
So before you make any decisions about your business...before you close the Shopify tab or archive the Instagram or tell yourself you'll "revisit it later" in a way you both know means never...I want to ask you to do one thing first.
Rest. Not as a reward, but as a first step.
Give yourself enough space to actually think clearly again, because you cannot accurately evaluate something you've built while you're too depleted to see it straight. The work deserves a fair witness, and right now, you might not be able to be one.
Come back to it when you've had some distance. You might find it looks a lot different than it did at 11pm on Tuesday.
And if you're still feeling stuck when you come back...creatively flat, overwhelmed, not sure where to pick back up...I made something for that.
How To Build A Maker Business That Lasts
It's a simple reset for when you need to find your way back to the part of this that felt good, without having to think too hard about where to start.
You built something real. That's worth more than one hard season.
More helpful resources for you to explore:
Looking for a community of makers just like you? Join our MWFC maker community group where real makers are supporting each other every single day.
Transcript
[00:00:00]
Kenna: Happy 2026. I can't even believe that I'm saying that it feels unreal. Welcome to the Midwest Makers Podcast. Another thing I truly cannot even believe that I'm saying this has been a dream of mine for so long. It's been something I wanted to do for years. It's been on my vision board. It's been on my some day list.
It's just been living in the back of my mind for so long, and instead of overthinking it any longer, I just decided I wanted to go for it and see what happens. I've always been the voice note queen. I've been recording myself over the last few years talking through lessons. I've been learning ideas I have and for a really long time I thought maybe this could help someone else too.
So this is my little test episode, my episode zero. I'm just kind of putting it out there. I wanna see if anyone wants to listen in. I'm, I'm just letting myself try something new without needing it to be perfect and without needing a plan. I don't know if you can relate, but that's something I need in my life.
If you're new here or maybe you don't know me yet. Hi, I'm Kenna. I'm the co-founder of Midwest Fragrance Company and alongside my [00:01:00] business bestie and my husband Doug. I've spent the last six years building maker businesses, starting with our own candle company, which we grew from a hobby into a six figure business.
And that journey is actually what inspired us to start Midwest Fragrance Company to begin with.
One thing about me is that I genuinely love building businesses. I love the mindset side of things. I love the strategy. I love growing pains. Sometimes I don't love it, but deep down, I really do. I love figuring it out as I go. I just love all of it. I am obsessed, and I'm not even a little bit ashamed about it.
And over the years, I've just learned way too much not to share. And so that's really what this vision for this little podcast is for me. I want you to think about me as your business bestie in your pocket. I want this to be a place where I can share the lessons I've learned, things I wish someone would've told me earlier, thoughts that I have that maybe it will just help you feel even just a little bit less alone while you're building something of your own.
My hope is that by just sharing the realness [00:02:00] without pretending to have it all figured out, because I certainly don't. I hope that maybe you'll pick up something that might help you grow too.
And if something doesn't apply, just let it fly. That's what I always say. A huge theme in my life lately has been realizing what I talked about earlier. I don't need to have it all figured out to move forward. It doesn't need to be perfect and I don't need to have a plan. So honestly, starting a podcast out of the blue just for fun felt like the perfect way for me to embody that.
I'm not setting a schedule for this. I have no idea how often episodes will come out. I just want this to be something that really just comes from my heart, something that I do because I'm excited about it, not just something to check off my to-do list. I am just ditching the pressure and I just wanted to say that out loud so that I can give myself full permission. So today for this very first episode, I wanted to talk to you kind of about this whole concept. Of mindset because in my experience, it's where everything starts and it's one of my favorite topics to talk about and learn about.
I think when people think about growing a business, they usually think about things like marketing or products or [00:03:00] systems or social media and all those things are super important, don't get me wrong,
but what I've learned is that mindset is equally important and something that I just don't think is talked about enough.
Most of the time when something feels hard or super heavy, it's not because you don't know enough. Sometimes it is, but a lot of times it's because of what's happening internally. The perfectionism that I spoke about, comparison, waiting to feel ready, telling yourself you're behind. I spent so many years believing that I needed to fully understand something before moving forward, and that belief just slowed me down every single time. And I wanted to share with you what shifted for me recently. I think this past year, I stopped asking myself, do I need this perfect plan? I started asking, can I just take one step and adjust and figure it out as I go? And that's what I really lean into that mindset of, I'll figure it out as I go, and I trust myself to do that. I know it's really scary and crazy, but I think if you just start doing it, if just starts happening for you. It is been incredibly [00:04:00] freeing. I feel like decisions have felt so much lighter. Progress has come so much faster, and I've just realized how much pressure I've been putting on myself for every single move to mean something.
I think one of the biggest mindset shifts for me and little mantras that I've been using over the last several months is it doesn't need to mean so much. And I just say that about everything. I'm just like, oh, the social media post. It doesn't need to mean so much. It's fine if it doesn't look perfect.
Oh, this label's a little crooked. It doesn't need to mean so much. It's fine.
Not every single decision is permanent. Not every move has to be perfect, and not every step is meant to prove something.
Building your business has felt heavier than you expected. I really just want you to hear this. That doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong. I think that for so long, that's how I felt. Truthfully, what it is, is that building something real. Stretches you. It brings up doubt. It brings up fear, it brings up [00:05:00] comparison.
A lot of people, I think they quit not because they failed, but because they internalized that discomfort as a sign that they shouldn't keep going, that it means something's wrong or that something's bad.
I just wanna challenge you in that to say if you're
feeling uncomfortable is often a sign that you're growing. Not that you're failing confidence. It doesn't come before action. It comes after you take it. And that's why I'm sitting here doing this podcast. I'm not confident. I've never done this before. I feel silly. I have imposter syndrome that comes up.
But I'm just gonna take action and do it. Do it scared, and I know that confidence will build as I keep doing it, as I get more reps. That's what happens every single time I try something new.
That whole idea that you need to be ready in order to move forward, it's just a trap. Movement is always what creates more clarity.
Recently, I wrote a blog that talks about building a maker business that's successful, and I talk about these four main areas, mindset, marketing, [00:06:00] product strategy, and systems to make things easier and to save you more time. And this episode, I really just wanted to zoom in on that first one, that mindset piece. I'm gonna link that blog so that if you're listening, you can maybe go check it out, maybe bookmark it for later. I think it's gonna be something that throughout this year I continue to add to and build out for you guys, because we truly want to be your business bestie, and we believe that when you succeed, we succeed. Helping you grow and being a part of your journey is it means everything to us.
as we continue to head into 2026, I hope that you are able to just give yourself some permission to think differently, to build differently. You don't have to overhaul absolutely everything. You don't need to have this crazy, perfect plan.
You don't need to feel confident before you start. You're allowed to be right where you're at. You're allowed to learn as you go and change your mind and figure it out as you go.
If you're here and you're listening to this, I just wanna give you the biggest hug ever, and just tell you that you are just incredible [00:07:00] and I'm so proud of you. You're doing really hard things that most people never even try to do, and I've been there and I just know. I just know exactly where you're at and I just, I just wanna hug you and just, I hope you can feel my hugs through your phone.
Thank you so much for listening. I would love if you could give me some feedback or thoughts or if you have questions or topics that you want me to talk about or would be all ears. Well, there you have it. That's a wrap on our first ever episode of the Midwest Makers Podcast. We are cheering you on every single step of your journey, and we cannot wait to see what you create next.
Okay, love you. Bye.
Hi! I'm Kenna!
Co-founder of Midwest Fragrance Company, business builder since 20, fueled by coffee and grounded by yoga. I’ve learned (mostly the hard way) what it takes to grow a maker business, and I share those lessons here… the real ones, not the highlight reel.
At MWFC, we sell all the supplies you need to create scented products that truly shine ✨
Want to keep following along? Find us on Instagram @midwestfragranceco
Comments
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