Episode 48: Insufficient Funds

BTW, this Substack is now free.

Crazy. Mad. Joy. will no longer have paywalls for the time being, so if you are a paid subscriber, please feel free to change your subscription level to free if you’d like!

This year has been weird as a small business owners. Almost every day, I hear about a friend, colleague, or brand that I follow on Instagram who is either going out of business (lots of small retail shops I love), pivoting, or asking their audience for help as they try and stay open. While we’re not in a full recession (yet), something is happening, and small businesses are the first to suffer in softer economic times. Is it because of AI? Is it because of Amazon or Temu?

And, honestly, whatever is happening seems to be affecting big retail, too. One of my biggest clients last year filed for Chapter 11. I’ve spent the last year filing claims and getting updates trying to get a hold of a 5-figure invoice that’s now a year overdue only to find out last week that no one they owe money to is getting paid—including me. I guess that’s what happens when you go bankrupt, you have no money left and so everyone else gets screwed who crossed your path.

So, the term “insufficient funds” is feeling super real right now in so many touchpoints of the space that I’m in. I feel it personally. I feel it all around me.

But I am trying, trying so hard to see the light and feel optimistic that this, too, shall pass for all of us who are going through it.

That being said, I have now been here on Substack for a little over a year and created over 50 posts (including a few podcasts!) in that time. This was a new space for me to do something familiar (like the OG blogging days) but to also write about something different than you’re used to seeing from my colorful outfits or snack videos. I have loved talking more about mental health and everyday things that we don’t often share with each other. I have loved hearing from those of you who find meaning in it, too.

However, this model is so different for me as a monetization outlet and the paid subscription option was hard for me to digest a year ago. But I went with just to see. In a perfect world, I could shift more of my time here. But that’s not the reality of it. The pressure of needing to constantly have a new weekly post in order to fulfill what I feel my paid subscribers signed up for is not something I can continue to take on right now. I am focused on maintaining the other work I do have that is actively making income. Meanwhile, my free subscribers have continued to grow at a nice pace here, and I still want the ability to reach you when I have something to say and you want to hear it.

I’m focusing on quality over quantity.

I want to be able write here when it makes sense and not feel the pressure to crank it out to the small, yet loyal, group of you who have been so kind to be paid subscribers over the last year.

So, for now, there will be no paywalls on my new content. I’d like to see how in my second year here, the space changes for me with that change. My decision could change again, but this is what makes sense for me right here and right now. I want to be fully present in the conversation we are having and not have any guilt that those of you who are paying are not getting what you signed up for.

For those of you who have been paid subscribers over the last year—whether to simply support my work as a long-time fan, my personal friend, or because you did want the weekly content that I was able to provide for almost a year, THANK YOU. Truly, thank you. I didn’t expect to really have any paid subscribers, so I am grateful for those of you who have chosen to.

If you are a paid subscriber, please feel free to downgrade to the free subscription if you would like knowing that there will be no paywalls on my new posts. I will not be offended at all and offer this update for you to decide. Any previously paywalled posts, will stay that way.

Thanks for listening and for being here! More to come soon…

-Joy

Thank you so much for being here and subscribing to Crazy. Mad. Joy. All posts going forward will be free.

Mailbox covered in wildflowers and stuffed with money (ha!) created by me with Midjourney AI.