After a six-month, self care break, the Self Love Pinky Ring is back. And so am I. I’m here to share the backstory, and also to share why this time is different.
Six months ago, I had one of the best sales months in Fred and Far’s history. You might ask yourself, “Who would walk away from that? Who would say no to people who want to buy something from you?” That would be me, Melody Godfred, your founder.
Even though the business was flourishing, I was breaking. I had recently had my third child, dealt with another health scare, undergone a series of staffing changes and an office move, and more. I felt like I was being everything to everyone, except for myself. This felt eerily similar. In fact, it’s exactly how I felt when I first came up with the idea for the Self Love Pinky Ring in an effort to reclaim myself.
So, I stopped. And instead of setting a firm timeline for coming back, I left it open. I exercised. I visited doctors I had been putting off. I changed my diet to accommodate my new body - which now apparently doesn’t like gluten, sugar, or carbs, but lives for wine (see, I’m a silver lining thinker here). I wrote poetry - every single day. I made my son laugh. I helped my daughters grow. I surrendered to the open space. To the unknown. To the uncertainty that previously would have swallowed me whole. And now after honoring our shared mission of choosing, caring for and loving ourselves, I am ready to bring it back. I hope you are ready, too.
Why will it be different this time? Two big reasons.
One, I asked for help, and received it. My manufacturer will be taking a bigger role in the operations side of the business so it doesn’t all depend solely on me (ps: I’m officially a one woman show right now, we’ll see how it goes!). That means I can focus on the parts I love best: writing creative content and engaging with my community (you).
Two, I will no longer be running this company as an e-commerce business. For the longest time, I struggled with trying to inspire a sale in any way. I’ve always believed that this is a mission and movement that happens to sell a product, rather than a product-oriented company that happens to have a mission. But any time I held a sale or sent a sales-oriented newsletter, I felt like a fraud. My job is not to market you into buying this ring. It is here for you when and if you need and want it. So as we relaunch, this is my commitment to you: everything we sell will always be sold at the lowest possible price, right off the bat (as it always has been). The difference is that this time, there will be no sales. No, “Join the newsletter for 10% off!” or Black Friday sale. You may see a free gift or discounted add-on item from time-to-time to keep it exciting, but the Self Love Pinky Ring will not go on sale or be eligible for a promo code. If the time comes that we grow enough for me to offer it for less, I will - across the board - no promo code or sale needed.
For now, my goal is to create value for you, my self love sisterhood, while making enough to keep things running from an operations standpoint, take care of myself and my family, and pay my manufacturer and other vendors fairly.
Just as I did when I went on my self care break, I have no expectations that the future will turn out a specific way. All I know is that as long as this movement offers value to the women who are part of it, I will continue to do my best to embody it and grow it through authenticity, transparency, commitment, creativity, and of course, self love. And through it all, #myringismyreminder.
More to come. New stories, new stones, meetups, the works!
With all my love and gratitude-
Melody Godfred
