Sep 21, 2017

Six Years of PowerSheets

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Six years ago, feeling totally overwhelmed by the large list of things I wasn’t taking good care of (but really wanted to!), I decided to do something different. I was tired of living in regret: forgetting my priorities, neglecting things and people that needed nurturing, and feeling like my time was totally out of my control.

So, I made a list.

I wrote out all the areas of my life, projects, and people that needed my care. I wrote out the things I wanted to tend to. If I could just remember to care for them little by little over time, I believed that tending would add up. Much like when you tend to a plant, watering it over time, it grows and flourishes.

I called this list of priorities my “Tending List.”

Tending:
– to give one’s attention to
– to lead or be directed in a particular direction

Yes. I needed to do those things.

I was living by accident instead of on purpose. I wasn’t giving my attention to the things that mattered most to me, but rather just trying to keep up. Have you felt that before?

I took the principles and prompts from my goal-setting series and the Making Things Happen Conference, and turned them into interactive worksheets that included the Tending List. I created these powerful (as opposed to lacking purpose and energy–which is what I didn’t want to feel anymore) worksheets to help me and my team set meaningful goals.

I named them exactly what they were: PowerSheets.

And then I started thinking crazy thoughts: What if I shared these with other people? Would they like them? Would this process work for them? And how in the world do I make my own product?? (Zero people were doing this at the time except for larger companies and retailers and my friend Emily, who was a huge help to us as we got started).

We found a local printer, printed the first sets of PowerSheets that we hand-collated ourselves, and started the Lara Casey Shop in 2013. I was so nervous! I wrote a hand-written note to our first customer, telling her how grateful I was and hoping she loved everything.

And you guys.

The stuff we experienced as we tried to figure out how to run an online shop back then (things are so much more turn-key for new shop owners now!):

Days of our lives (literally) spent trying to figure out the Dymo printer to make shipping labels.

Countless phone calls with USPS to figure out box sizes and shipping rates and weights.

Lots of trial and error (a lot of error) learning how to do customer service (which we now call customer delight!).

Lots of laughs as Gracie stickered several dozen orders with farm animal stickers one year.

Many trips to the post office to hand-deliver orders.

The happiest day ever when we realized we could have USPS pick up boxes at my house!

And shipping orders from our little home office here in North Carolina. We were grateful!

The first PowerSheets above, and our first shop manager and dear friend, Emily.

People indeed loved the PowerSheets. Moms, business owners, students, women in corporate roles, teachers, and women in varied seasons of life loved them, and there was a unifying factor that holds true today: a desire to live intentionally. To not forget our priorities. To uncover good goals and do something about them.

That makes me especially grateful.

I have close friends at church who are several decades older than me who tell me about their PowerSheets journeys, as well as high school students that write me letters to tell me of their adventures too. I am grateful to walk this journey alongside so many different women in so many walks of life and seasons!

Our 2014 PowerSheets above with lots of vintage products above. I still have a “Let’s Do This” card on my desk.

The 2015 PowerSheets were changed dramatically in process and I released my first book that year.

And then I got a little messy with paint ; ) And we took a big leap of faith and made a spiral-bound one-year workbook in 2016.

We did all the shipping ourselves. Are you ready for these next photos??

Here’s how it went: a semi would pull up into our quiet residential neighborhood. Nope, no one was moving in, friends. But, LOTS OF BOXES were!

Most businesses have loading docks with several trained loading/unloading professionals (who have forklifts!); we had strength and determination!

We pushed several tons of product into my garage and hoped the neighbors didn’t think we were nuts.

Move over, Charlie’s Angels — meet the Pallet Posse! Ha!

And then, the shipping parties began and we called all of our friends to help (we love you so much, friends!).

One of those friends on the far left below had no idea she would one day work for us. We love you, Jess!

It has been an unexpected and wonderful journey of change:

We did this shipping-out-of-my-house madness until one Thanksgiving when my family sat on shipping boxes for dinner because our dining room was full of PowerSheets orders. That was it.

We moved all the boxes out of my house and garage (we can park a car in there now which is rather miraculous!) and we found a local fulfillment warehouse close to us here in Chapel Hill.

Gracie helping to load our sweet mail carrier, Walter’s, truck.

We changed our name last year from the Lara Casey Shop to our heartbeat: Cultivate What Matters. Read that story here,

But what has changed the most over the years is the PowerSheets process. The PowerSheets have changed and grown aesthetically (from loose binder sheets to bound workbooks, the addition of stickers and color, new features, etc.)…

… but most of all the process has been deeply refined every time we release a new edition.

My September 2017 Goals above.

As women all over the world use them, including us, we listen. And we change and innovate. Our office mottos are:

If you’re not excited about it, no one will be. Which means we make products we love and use ourselves.

and

Make it better. Which means we are always taking things to the next level to help people cultivate what matters.

2019 PowerSheets are here! We had a great time celebrating with all of you as we launched this new 2019 Collection (we even broke Instagram!)

Shop the entire collection— including a brand new product—now through Monday for our best sale of the year!

I hope you enjoyed this look back at how PowerSheets and our shop have changed over the years. THANK YOU SO MUCH to so many who have supported us and cheered us on over the years. I’d love to know: when did you first begin using PowerSheets for your goals? We are so thankful for our long-time family and new friends too!

P.S. We gave two men a box of 2019 PowerSheets Collection items. This is what happened. 

keep reading

29 Comments

  1. Renee on September 21, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    Love this post!! So fun to see the scrapbook of memories and your #powersheets story unfolding and team growing over the years. Can’t wait to see what is coming in 2018!!!

    • Lara on September 21, 2017 at 12:37 pm

      So grateful for you!

  2. Rhiannon on September 21, 2017 at 1:09 pm

    I love you, Lara!

    • Lara on September 21, 2017 at 3:05 pm

      I love you, too : )

  3. Amy on September 21, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    So fun! I’m using powersheets for my second year and they are such a gift! I love focusing and re-focusing on what matters, preparing well to be faithful to the season I’m in, and so much more. They are so beautiful and inspire creativity and joy 💕

    • Lara on September 21, 2017 at 3:05 pm

      I’m so grateful the PowerSheets have helped you!

  4. Sunee on September 21, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    So excited for you!!!! And for myself HA! My life this year has been turned right-side up because of the time invested each month to pause and think through my powersheets! I’ve chosen to receive grace over guilt (the LORD is faithful!) and given myself freedom to scribble, cross out, and re-start…thank you guys for creating this space for me to build a meaningful and beautiful life! Looking forward to an amazing 2018!!!!

    • Lara on September 21, 2017 at 3:05 pm

      You have blessed me beyond measure this year, my friend!

  5. Rachel Nordgren on September 21, 2017 at 2:23 pm

    I will admit that I really miss the unbound black/tan/grey versions. Probably because I have fond memories of them being my first set of Powersheets!

    • Lara on September 21, 2017 at 3:04 pm

      I am so grateful for your support from the start, my friend!

  6. Emily DeArdo on September 21, 2017 at 2:26 pm

    I cannot WAIT! Two of my favorite days every year are the days the new PowerSheets release and when I can order my new Emily Ley planner!!! I am so excited!

  7. Amanda on September 21, 2017 at 4:29 pm

    This was such a fun look back! I’m very excited to see the new additions to the 2018 powersheets. And after a rough week or so, it is such a comforting act of faith to start thinking about the new year and to keep reaching forward.

  8. Emily on September 21, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    Love this post! I got my first set in 2013, and yes, they’re life changing!!

  9. Jennifer on September 21, 2017 at 5:54 pm

    I am so excited to purchase the PowerSheets for 2018. This will be my first set, and I am chomping at the bit to get my hands on them!! I have already started working on my goals, thinking through my fears, and most importantly, reprioritized the MOST important things. Thank you for helping me focus on the enormous blessings the Lord has given me, and for the encouragement I didn’t even know I needed. 🙂

    • Lara on September 21, 2017 at 6:03 pm

      I’m excited for you, Jennifer!

  10. Kyla Shattuck on September 21, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    I LOVED reading this post, Lara. I remember opening my very first set of PowerSheets on Christmas night in 2013 and my heart just swelling up with joyful anticipation of how God wanted to use them in my life. Thank you for tending to this precious product year after year! Xo

    • Lara on September 22, 2017 at 8:45 am

      I am grateful for you my friend!

  11. Elisabeth on September 22, 2017 at 1:03 am

    This is the first time I’ve used PowerSheets Lara (the 1 year 2017 workbook) and they have been AMAZING!! They’ve helped me navigate a purposeful life, despite the challenges for me in balancing work and family, and my emotional struggles.
    Beyond excited for October 2018 to get my next set!! I am a PowerSheets user for life!! So fun to see the old versions and fun progression! 🙂

  12. Risa on September 22, 2017 at 4:12 am

    Why don’t you have an e-version of Powersheets? I would love to use it but live in South Africa, so it’s a bit of a problem to get it shipped here. Blessings to you and keep up the good work.

  13. Erin McLean on September 22, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    I cannot live without my power sheets! I get so excited to order! This past year they were the best yet!!!

    • Lara on September 25, 2017 at 4:28 pm

      I’m so grateful to hear that! We love you!

  14. Lisa on September 22, 2017 at 2:37 pm

    Gotta love those vintage photos! 😉 It’s so beautiful to see how far PowerSheets and the shop have come!!

    • Lara on September 25, 2017 at 4:28 pm

      Yes! We love you and miss you!

  15. Jessica Herberger on September 23, 2017 at 10:11 pm

    I have used powersheets for four years and they have been immeasurably helpful to me! I have learned how to make changes in my life that stick; how to be intentional about the direction of my home, marriage, my kids, my relationship with God, my business; how to be consistent with little steps to get big results! I cant wait to see the 2018 powersheets and will likely be using 2 sets for the new year (1 for business,1 for personal.)
    I have become a better user of them over the years and would encourage any new powersheets user to stick with it!

    • Lara on September 25, 2017 at 4:28 pm

      That is so encouraging to hear, Jessica! I’m so grateful!

  16. Jenna on September 26, 2017 at 10:39 pm

    Aw! I love this post!! I have been using PowerSheets for two years now, and am so sad that I didn’t know about them sooner! But timing always happens for a reason 🙂 So, it’s nice to get to see the progression, even if I didn’t get to see it first hand until 2016!

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