Walking away from this business - trademarking disputes, gut instincts and final goodbyes

I'm not sure where to start with this one but last fortnight, I received a cease and desist letter from a Dutch company (that sounds a whole lot like can.did.) ordering me to close down within 8 days or they’d take me to court. After seeking legal advice, I responded with my thoughts and an offer to co-exist and last Tuesday morning, I returned from the Bank Holiday to an email in which they rejected my offer.

In short, they threatened to proceed with legal action if can.did. continued and without the funds to fight it, I’ve decided that it’s time to walk away.

Now before we get any further, it’s worth noting that this isn’t a ‘woe is me’ post.

I’ve had my little cry. I’ve let all our members and the brands that have supported me know. I’ve done all the formal stuff to prepare for the company’s closure and feel very much at peace with the fact that this chapter of my life, after four years, is coming to an end.

Having always been a big believer in the whole, ‘when there’s a will, there’s a way’ malarkey though (and know full well that if I truly wanted this business to continue, I would simply revert back to She can. She did. - which is trademarked - and pick up where I left off) I wanted to check in and fill you in on why I’ve decided that it’s time to bring this business to an end now…

For those of you that are interested that is!

Now I know what some of you might be thinking. ‘But you could just rename the business Fi… just go back to She can. She did… crowdfund the legal fees’ etc… I could go on. 

Like I said, when there’s a will one and all, there’s always a way.

And had this happened 18 months ago, I would have stuck my heels in and found a way to fight this in court. (Because I won’t lie, there was a time when I saw myself running this business for the long haul and I bloody love our new name because it summarises everything we stand for to a T!)

But if I’m being truly honest, for the past 10-12 months, I’ve known deep down in my gut that running this business isn’t making me happy anymore and like the ugly sisters trying to cram on the glass slipper in Cinderella so that they could marry the Prince, aside from the new name, recent pivots have felt forced and anything but a seamless fit…

And I don’t know about you but I don’t want to feel like the ugly sister in my own life!

Now before I go any further, I want to make it clear that the values can.did. stands for have always felt right deep down. candid conversation. meaningful connection. tangible security. a ‘we’ not ‘me’ mindset. long-term thinking. ongoing development… I’ll stand by the fact that female business owners deserve access to those six principles, until my dying day, I’m sure!

I also want to make it clear that I have loved getting to know can.did.’s incredible members over the past few months and all annual members have been offered refunds for the remainder of their subscription so that no-one’s left short.

But having spent the bulk majority of summer sitting with this feeling of discomfort - not fighting the heaviness but simply acknowledging its presence and trying to figure out next steps - I wanted to give a brief overview of why I’ve come to this decision now (aside from the whole being forced to by the trademarking dispute..!) in case there’s a lesson in there somewhere for you, as well. 

(You know me, I’ll put pen to paper and summarise the main lessons I’ve learnt over the past four years at some point too but right now, I’m up against the clock to wrap this business up so this brief overview will have to suffice for now!)

In short, it boils down to the following…

Unlike every Founder that I’ve interviewed over the past four years (who launched their business with a product and/or service that they were passionate about in mind) I didn’t start She can. She did. can.did. dreaming about running a networking platform and benefits programme for female business owners…

Nor was I someone that wanted to run a business for the sake of running a business…

I started because, at 25, I knew that I was in a job that I was no longer passionate about and I’d started to become concerned about the rise of the #girlboss movement online (however inspiring it might have seemed at face value). In my opinion, having grown up with two parents who walked away from traditional careers to launch their own businesses (so had grown up witnessing first-hand the perks and sacrifice that come with the job), it was painting a false impression of the landscape that awaits female business owners so I made it my mission to highlight the sheer grit, sacrifice and resilience that goes on behind the scenes. 

With a passion for research not to mention good old heart-to-hearts with people that inspire me (!) I trusted myself that if I could get women to share their stories with me in full, I’d help to bust the ‘overnight success’ myth (which would help current business owners to persevere too) and if I was consistent, I’d lay some kind of groundwork and figure the rest out as I go…

260+ in-depth weekly interviews with female business owners later; 150,000+ podcast downloads (across 106 episodes) through word of mouth alone; 20 Midweek Mingles in 7 cities around the UK - all of which were centred around debunking the ‘overnight success’ myth - when I go back to my original ‘why’ four years on, I feel like I’ve ticked that goal off and know I’ve done 25-year-old me proud.

I just got caught up in trying to turn it into a ‘proper business’ thereafter (without the sufficient funds to do so I must add!) and know deep down that my own definition of ‘success’ evolved en route, along with my interests and personal goals for my career, too.

In the case of the can.did. online network that was launched in May (a service that I’d always avoided offering because enough decent ones exist already/ I knew deep down in my gut that it wasn’t the kind of business model that I’d find fulfilling), for the first time since 2017, I failed to ask myself whether I actually want to launch what I was launching or if I’m doing it for the sake of what others want and/or money… 

As a result, if I’m being honest, the past 9-12 months have felt like hard work that has drained me, instead of the kind of hard work that I love - that brings satisfaction and pride.

(For further context to explain the latter point in full, when the launch of the She can. She did. Benefits Programme didn’t go as planned last September, it’s no secret that my confidence took a pretty hefty hit. I was more broke than ever. Completely burnt out. And so when I went back to the drawing board and asked my target customers what they wanted to see, I let ‘what will bring money in quickly’ guide my decision making. I launched the online network they’d asked for a few months later - ignoring my gut instinct in the process - and haven’t felt aligned with the business ever since…)

There’s also a few contributing factors that have compounded how I’ve felt over the past year which need a decent chunk of time, if I’m to articulate how I feel about them properly. (Namely, some thoughts on the direct correlation between the support you receive and your willingness to share details about your private life in the women-to-women space / needing to rely heavily on Mark Zuckerberg’s creations when you can’t afford to outsource marketing to a team / losing our free Vala Health cover in recent weeks because they lost access to their funding and some thoughts on the impact of funding on start-ups in general / the impact of the pandemic on my own dreams and goals, to name but a few..!)

To that end, given that I’d been exploring options for the future of this business all summer and for the first time in four years, talking to those closest to me about walking away, if this trademark dispute hadn’t come to the fore when it did, I’m certain something else would have so trust deep down that it’s the right time to move on.

(In many ways, I find it all rather amusing that this has come to an end over a trademark dispute. I mean, you’re speaking to the woman that switched from being a sole trader to a Limited Company in 2018 and used her personal account as a business account for the first few months because she knew no better. There have been so many things that I’ve winged on this journey… it was bound to catch up with me at some point!)

With that said, I want to say a huge thank you to every single one of you that have played a part in the She can. She did. and later can.did. (aka. business that can’t be named!) story since 2017. However tough it’s been financially, I am so proud of the stories that have come out of this chapter of my life. The connections, the collaborations, the most incredible opportunities and experiences that have come my way.

This business has forced me out of my comfort zone on so many occasions. It has taught me that I’m braver and more capable than I once knew. It has allowed me to develop an array of skills that you simply don’t get access to in a traditional job. It has helped me overcome fears that once-upon-a-time felt entrenched. And it has introduced me to some of the most inspiring people the UK has to offer. 

Some of whom I now class as bloody good friends!

To say that sharing your stories has been one of the biggest honours of my life would be an understatement.

It’s time for a completely new chapter though. 

I’m excited. I’m intrigued. And I’m a little bit nervous… which, if you ask me, is the perfect recipe for some of the best days ahead. 

Fi x