#144 Hitting the Pause Button and Planning for Growth

For the first time in BHooked Podcast history, I’m hitting the pause button and planning for growth.

But this is not goodbye! The BHooked Podcast will return with episode 145 as soon as I can make it happen. I explain all of this in the details in episode, including why I’m hitting the pause button and what you can expect in the coming months from B.Hooked as well as what to expect from the show when it returns. If you want to get your crochet podcast fix in the meantime, browse through the archives of this podcast including more than 143 hours of podcast inspiration, motivation and tips.

See you soon, friend.


About The BHooked Podcast
Brittany's primary goal is to inspire you and help you grow in your craft with The BHooked Podcast. Through her own stories and the stories of each special guest, you'll discover tips and tricks to improve your crochet and knitting skills and find inspiration to achieve your hobby goals. When you want to kick back and learn from yarn industry experts, grab some yarn and turn on The BHooked Podcast. There's never a shortage of all things crochet, knitting or yarn.

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Episode Transcript

Brittany (00:00):
You're listening to the B Hooked Podcast, episode
144, with Brittany.
Well, hello there, friend.

(00:32):
Welcome to episode 144 of theBe Hooked podcast.
And by now you've read thetitle, so the cat is officially
out of the bag.
But don't worry, I'm not goinganywhere.
I'll still be here helping youget better at your craft in
other ways.
Honestly, I'm hitting the pausebutton on this show, as I

(00:53):
alluded to in the last episodewith Brittany from Ideal Me.
You heard me mention in thatdiscussion that she said some
things that I really needed tohear, and that's because I've
been battling with this decisionfor a while.
Truth is, I've battled andfought with this decision harder
than any other decision I'vemade this year ever.

(01:16):
maybe any decision that I'vemade so far.
And that's because you know howmuch I love the podcast, how
valuable it is for me to be ableto connect with other makers
and other crocheters andknitters and be able to share
that conversation with you isjust so incredibly amazing.
So I wanna start things off bysaying this show is absolutely

(01:40):
coming back.
It's not going anywherepermanently.
This is not goodbye.
I could never just not do apodcast.
It's become such a big part ofmy life and something that I
really look forward to.
And I know it's something thatyou look forward to as well.
And I just couldn't let youdown in that way.
To me, a weekly show isn't justa commitment that I've made to

(02:03):
myself, but it's also acommitment that I've made to
you.
And that is something I don'ttake lightly.
However, I have finallyrealized through valuable
conversations andheart-to-hearts that in order
for me to keep my commitment toyou, to be the person here
motivating you and helping youget better at your craft, I need

(02:25):
to shift my focus briefly tomaking the BeHooked community
the place that has everythingyou need.
First and foremost, I want toassure you again, this podcast
will continue with episode 145.
However, for the first time inthe BeHooked podcast history,
I'm hitting the pause button fora few months.

(02:46):
There's honestly three reasonsbehind this, and that's what I
want to share with you today, aswell as what to expect when the
show returns.
If you've been listening for awhile, I'm sure you've picked up
on the fact that I'm a littlenutty when it comes to planning,
time management, andproductivity.
So you know, if there was a wayto continue this weekly show

(03:09):
while also building theseexciting new resources, I'd be
the one to figure out how to doit.
And trust me, I have tried tofigure out how to do that the
past couple of months, and Ijust realized that The honest
truth.
For me, multitasking isn'tsomething I strive to be great

(03:29):
at.
In my experience, for mepersonally, multitasking means
that I'm doing several thingskind of lousy.
And that's not the experience Iwant for you when you visit
BeHooked.com and when youinteract with me on social
media.
I want to be fully present foryou and be the best version of
myself, provide the bestresources that you can possibly

(03:51):
find on the internet.
I want you to have that bestexperience, one that you're
confident to recommend to afriend.
I know, I know, this is alittle cryptic.
You can see that things aregoing to happen, but you're
like, come on, Brittany, tell mewhat's up.
Well, here's as muchinformation as I can offer you

(04:12):
right now.
A couple months ago, I hoppedon a Whip Wednesday live show
with Leigh from Coco CrochetLeigh.
She does those on InstagramLive.
Well, on that call, for thefirst time, I said out loud that
bhooks.com is getting a newlook.
If you've been to the websiterecently, you may have seen a
survey at the top of the page.

(04:33):
So that's really no secret, butit is something that's been
going on for several months.
Actually, in April of this yearis when that undertaking
started.
To be honest, a lot of thingsprompted this, but the big
reason is that currently thereare over 500 posts and pages on

(04:54):
BeHooked.com, ranging from freepatterns to podcast episodes and
pretty much everything crochetand knit related in between.
Well, every single one of thoseposts has hours of work
invested into it, and it hassomething valuable that I
believe will help you accomplishyour goals to get better at
your craft.

(05:14):
However, I've never quite beensatisfied with how those posts,
how those resources are arrangedand how easily you can find
them on the website.
So that's the first big thingchanging during this pause.
Behooks.com is getting a newlook that'll make it easier for
you to get exactly what you needfrom me.

(05:34):
So that's the first reason thatprompted this break.
Now, although I've been workingon the new design since April,
So much of what I'll work onduring this break is very much
in its infancy, so I'm kind ofhesitant to share too much
details for fear that thingsmight change a little bit
between now and when the podcastcomes back.

(05:55):
I certainly wouldn't want toget your hopes up or set a
certain expectation just yetbecause I'm not 100% on some of
these details.
But here's the second reasonfor the pause.
Again, a little cryptic, butthat's only because I want to be
a woman of my word, and rightnow I don't have all the

(06:15):
answers.
But when the show returns, Ipromise you'll hear all about it
in full detail.
So the second reason what I'mable to share with you is to
finally build something mycommunity has basically been
begging me for for a long time.
Two things, actually.
A better way to learn from me,in an environment where access

(06:38):
to me is possible and access toad-free resources.
So here's the deal with theads.
I've never been too shy to tellyou that this is what I do for
my full-time job.
If you are new to the show, theCliff Notes version of that is
that I worked a regular nine tofive, it was actually 8.30 to
4.30, from college to 2017.

(07:00):
While working on BeHooked in myspare time, just sort of for
fun in the background.
But when passion and profitsurpassed my day job, it made
sense for me to do this fulltime.
So I made the leap, leavingthat comfy job and going full
time with everything I do here.
That means I depend on incomefrom BeHooked to support my

(07:25):
family, myself, and my husband.
That's where the ads come in.
They bring in income so all theresources you find on the
website and the YouTube channelare free for you to watch and
consume and use.
However, I understand that somewould rather have a different
experience, one that's ad-free,more convenient, and more perks

(07:48):
like having access to me to askyour questions and learn from me
in a more hands-on approach.
So that's the second reason forthe pause.
So I can finally put 100% of myfocus into building the things
I know my community needs andwants for me.
Now that being said, it isextremely important for me to

(08:10):
continue providing freeresources for anyone to use.
So that will continue.
Free patterns are still athing.
Free tutorials, that's still athing.
Those aren't going anywhere.
They will continue from nowuntil forever.
But I do want to offersomething in addition to those

(08:30):
free resources for the peoplewho are looking for a more
hands-on, ad-free approach.
So not only will theseresources help serve a direct
purpose and a need in theBeHooked community, but I
believe they will also serve anintegral role in BeHooked in the

(08:50):
sense of potentially building asmall and mighty team.
I've always been open with youin saying that I'm a one-woman
show.
I wear all the hats here atBeHooked, and to be honest, I
love every single moment of it.
But something I have alwaysknown but tried to ignore is you

(09:11):
can't do it all.
You can't do everything well.
However, I also understand thatit's a pretty big
responsibility and undertakingto bring on a part-time or maybe
even a full-time employee,that's a decision I don't take
lightly and that is why ithasn't happened as of now.

(09:32):
However, I do know that withthis addition, this is possible.
It is definitely possible tobring on somebody to help me
make all of these crazy dreamsthat I have a reality and
resources for you to use to helpyou get better at your craft,
to help motivate you andaccomplish your crafting goals.

(09:55):
The last reason is to do alittle restructuring, if you
will, for this show.
To be completely honest, Idon't know exactly what that
looks like right now because Ineed your help with this.
Last year I did a survey whichallowed you to tell me exactly
what you want out of this showand those responses very much
shaped the way the show operatedthis year.

(10:19):
Well, I want to do that againfor when the show returns
because that was really, reallyhelpful information for me and
it allowed me to produce a showthat you actually want to listen
to.
The survey this year, again,will ask a handful of questions
that when answered will give meinsights into your wants and
needs for this podcast.
We continue to be one of thevery few, maybe even the only

(10:43):
crochet podcast out there.
With that comes a pretty bigresponsibility for me to find
the perfect balance between whatyou want as a listener and what
I can provide as a host.
So if you have some timebetween now and the end of the
year, and you want to give meyour feedback, just visit
beehooked.com slash podcastsurvey.

(11:05):
And remember, every detailmatters.
Every answer will be read andused to form the new BeHooked
podcast when it returns.
So that's the last question.
When will it return?
Another question I've beenreally battling to answer.
As much as I hate to leave itunanswered and open-ended like

(11:27):
this, I'm afraid that's the bestthing I can do right now.
The things that I'm buildingduring the break are completely
new territory for me, so Ireally don't have a clear idea
of how long they'll take.
Here's what I do know.
I hope to take some much neededfamily time during the month of
December and hit the groundrunning in the new year with

(11:48):
these new things.
Some of these things areprogressing very nicely and
won't require a lot of time.
Others will require a littlebit more time for me to invest
and develop and build them.
So although I can't promise adate for episode 145, I can
promise you this.

(12:08):
I will work as diligently aspossible so you're not without a
crochet podcast too long.
So here's the best thing foryou to do right now, because the
last thing I want you to do iscompletely forget about this
podcast.
I mean, believe me, that'sactually been my biggest fear
with making this decision, thatyou'll completely forget about

(12:28):
the podcast and there'll becrickets when I come back.
I know that totally won't bethe case.
We often fear the absoluteworst, and what we fear usually
doesn't actually happen.
But the best thing to do so youdon't miss that episode is to
subscribe to this show onwhatever podcast player you're
listening to right now.
Because when you do, thatpodcast player will likely alert

(12:52):
you when new episodes areavailable.
So you'll see episode 145 whenit publishes.
Another thing you can do isfollow me on social media,
wherever you like to hang out.
I'm on Facebook and Twitter atBeHookedCrochet and Instagram at
BeHooked.
And there will most definitelybe an announcement on all of
those platforms when that newepisode is available.

(13:13):
The cool thing is that thispodcast has been running for 143
solid episodes.
That's a little shy of 143hours of crochet inspiration and
knowledge and things that youcan go back and listen to.
So I would encourage you duringthis break, if you're feeling

(13:34):
the need for a crochet podcast,maybe dive back into the
archives, listen to some ofthose earlier episodes that are
still very relevant andapplicable today to find that
inspiration, to find some helpwith the things that you might
be struggling with.
as it relates to crochet andknitting and maybe even starting
a business or that sort ofthing.

(13:55):
Now the big takeaway for thisepisode is this.
It's okay to take a break fromsomething if it means serving
better for you bloggers outthere or if it means refining
your purpose for the thingyou're taking a break from.
I think that's something we allas crocheters and knitters can
relate to.
All right, so please don'tforget to check out

(14:18):
beehooked.com slash podcastsurvey to answer some short
questions about how I can makethis podcast even better for you
when it returns next year.
Subscribe on your podcastplayer so you don't miss that
next episode.
Go back into the archives,listen to some of those amazing
episodes from the past.

(14:38):
Follow me on social so you cansee that announcement when it
comes out.
Now that does it for thispodcast episode.
Thank you so much for tuning inand even more for sticking with
me here to the end of theepisode.
Happy Thanksgiving for myfriends here in the States.
Happy holidays to all whocelebrate and cheers to an epic

(14:59):
new year.
I'll see you soon, friend.