Takeaways

• Nearly 80% of Minnesota small businesses survive their first two years, and understanding what makes or breaks that milestone can help you build a more resilient business from day one.
• Losing clients, taking income hits, and pivoting fast are not signs of failure. They're exactly what self-employment looks like in real life.
• Building a business around the things you actually love doing is not a pipe dream. It's a strategy.

Summary of the Episode

In this special milestone episode, Abbey Graves celebrates two full years of running Abbey Graves Productions as her primary source of income. Rather than a polished retrospective, Abbey gets real about what this journey has actually looked like: the client losses, the long days, the pivots, and the deeply unglamorous moments alongside the wins.