We were lucky to catch up with Rosemary Brensen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rosemary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

Growth is not always the goal. (I realize the irony of that statement as I am a Business Growth Strategist), but growth is not for everyone!

Growth should feel like a choice and not a burden.

There is a sweet spot for every business, a revenue size that is profitable, that maximizes capacity, square footage, current staff, etc. And in between these sweet spots are so-called “valleys of death” where it is very capital intensive to get to the other side. I always want my clients to know what challenges lay ahead as well as what is the life on the other side going to look like.

A life/work balance is always the goal for me. What do we have to do to build your business to a place where you are free to live your life as you please and your business thrives and comes along for the ride? THAT’S the dream. Not a business that keeps getting bigger and bigger and more out of hand just for the sake of growth.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Department of Community is a business growth safe space to be vulnerable and whole as you go through the challenges of Entrepreneurship. From celebrating your high-highs and supporting you in the low-lows, I am here for it all. As a former business owner of Portland Garment Factory, I grew my business 23x in just 8 years, so I understand the full range of emotions that happen as a leader of a growing company.

My services range from a one-time Vision Call where you can tap into your most abundant future vision for yourself (most people cry happy tears at the end of this!) to a 3 month long mentorship program where you leave with an empowered strategy for building the business and financial wealth of your dreams!

I am so honored to usher people into their most badass and easeful versions of their businesses and lives. When clients come to me they feel overwhelmed, burned out and unsure if their business will ever let them live the life they want, and they leave having the best sales months ever, feeling completely confident about their growth strategy and excited!

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

Yes! My former business is Portland Garment Factory, a soft-goods design and manufacturing company. After 8 years of hockey-stick growth, we had 15 employees, our own womenswear line, and the best clientele in the country. And I woke up one day with an existential crisis and an epiphany that a lot of things had to change. It was like I finally saw clearly what was happening. It was a huge shock to everyone involved. This was also during my Saturn-returns, which I learned later, but felt very right on. It was if nothing made sense anymore and I didn’t even recognize the person I had been. I had tons of physical manifestations of stress on my body, my personal life was stunted, and I wasn’t being true to myself.

I wanted to get pregnant and couldn’t picture my life as a mom overlapping with that life at all. I remember telling my midwife, “I took 10 days off for my honeymoon, so I could probably take 1 month off for maternity leave?” The look on her face still sticks with me today.

After that, the dissonance just grew and grew. I had this vision for my life as a mom being barefoot in the grass, not reading emails the second I open my eyes, working late or constant stress.

I ended up selling my part of the business to my partner. What I thought was my entire life fell away and made way for my actual life to flourish. I now have 2 sweet sons, and a business that fits into that life perfectly, with a new found respect for SEEING the life you want and then unabashedly working towards that and only that future.

And I am honored to have ushered many other Entrepreneurs into motherhood, making way for the lives of their dreams to work alongside their businesses. And I have helped others close their doors, realizing that the life and business they currently have doesn’t align with their vision for the future. It’s intense and beautiful and poignant and scary and empowering and exciting!

Any advice for managing a team?

You have to walk the walk!! If you boast about unlimited PTO and great work hours, but send late night emails or never take a day off- that sucks.

If you want everyone to feel free to make mistakes, but you are super hard on yourself or are a perfectionist, there’s a dissonance there.

So you have to be YOUR OWN great boss. Inspire yourself. Treat yourself. Motivate yourself. Go easy on yourself. Take vacations. Show appreciation for yourself. Treat yourself how you are going to treat your employees. Its great practice and it makes you a better boss.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.departmentofcommunity.com
• Instagram: @department_of_community
• Linkedin: Rosemary Brensen