Blog: Detour From Hell; The Mind of a Hot Mess

The Seemingly Obvious Idea That Hadn’t Even Crossed My Mind

*higher fund booth example *Lower Fund Booth Example

Sometimes the biggest shift in a business plan comes from realizing there was an entire option you hadn’t even considered.
That happened to me recently.

I have spent months building Serene Efficiency—developing the workshops, creating materials, figuring out pricing, reaching out to organizations, applying for grants, and trying to determine the best way to actually get this business in front of the people who could benefit from it.

And my original plan was pretty simple: Start going business to business. Email companies. Call them. Walk into businesses. Introduce myself. Explain what Serene Efficiency does. Leave information. Follow up. Then move on to the next one.

I was getting very close to actually starting that process. I have the materials. I have a plan. I have somewhat of a pitch. Etc.

But if I’m being completely honest, I had also started feeling stagnant.

I have put an enormous amount of work into creating Serene Efficiency, but I wasn’t feeling confident that going one business at a time—one email, one phone call, one introduction, one follow-up—was going to create the momentum I needed.

I knew it could work. I just kept thinking about how long it might take. How long it would take to be an actual self-sustaining business.

Then I found a conference.
Then another one.
Then another.
All in my area…..

And they were all insanely closely aligned with what I am trying to build.

HR conferences.
Leadership conferences.
Mental health events.
Business expos.
And mental health in the workplace seem to be a popular subject at these conferences. I have already been told that Serene Efficiency is the perfect type of organization to attend these opportunities.

Rooms filled with HR professionals, supervisors, executives, business owners, community leaders, and other decision-makers. Basically, the exact people I was preparing to spend months—or probably years—trying to find one business at a time.

And somehow, the idea of exhibiting the business at conferences and expos had never really crossed my mind.
It seems almost embarrassingly obvious now. 😂

Why spend all of my time trying to knock on 500 individual doors when there may be an opportunity to walk into one room where hundreds of those doors are already gathered?

That realization has completely changed the way I am looking at the next stage of Serene Efficiency. And honestly, it has given me a whole nother “second wind” of excitement I guess you could say.

But Then I Almost Made Another Mistake

My first reaction was basically: Okay. Which conferences can I get into and how quickly?!?
Because my brain believes every new idea needs to happen immediately (AND WILL!). 😂

I started looking at events in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas City, and other areas. And there are some incredible opportunities.
But the more I researched them, the more I realized something else: Trying to force this into the remaining months of 2026 doesn’t make sense.

Even if the funding suddenly appeared tomorrow, there is a lot more involved than paying for a booth.
I want the Serene Efficiency booth to look professional.
I want the printed materials to be right.
I want the website further developed.

I want the presentation, sponsorship materials, educational resources, giveaways, signage, and everything else representing this company to feel intentional—not thrown together because I discovered an opportunity six weeks before it happened.

And if I’m asking another business to invest in Serene Efficiency, I don’t want to approach them saying:
“Hey, there’s an expo coming up really soon. Want to give me money?” 😂

I want businesses to have time to actually learn what Serene Efficiency is.
I want them to understand the mission.
I want them to see what we’re trying to accomplish.
I want them to have time to decide whether this is something that aligns with their company, their employees, or their community.

And businesses have budgets too.
Giving companies months to consider a 2027 sponsorship makes a whole lot more sense than asking them to unexpectedly squeeze something into the end of 2026.

So the plan changed…. again.

2027

Instead of scrambling to get Serene Efficiency into every conference I can find over the next few months, I’m using the rest of 2026 to prepare for 2027 expos and conferences.

That gives me time to identify the events that actually make the most sense.
To research the audiences.
To prioritize the best opportunities.
To figure out realistic budgets.
To build a professional booth.
To prepare the right materials.
And, importantly, to start approaching potential sponsors well before the money is actually needed.

There are opportunities across several different regions.

There are HR and leadership events in Arkansas.
There are workforce, HR, construction, and business opportunities throughout Kansas and the Kansas City area.
There are events in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

And rather than looking at all of them as one giant, terrifying number, I’m starting to think about sponsorship differently.

Maybe Sponsorship Can Be Local

A Kansas business doesn’t necessarily need to help Serene Efficiency attend an Arkansas conference. They won’t get realistic customers if I advertise for them if they sponsor a booth. And maybe they want to help get Serene Efficiency in front of Kansas employers.

An Arkansas company might want to support an event where we’ll be talking with Arkansas HR professionals and business leaders.

A Kansas City company might want to help us attend an HR, construction, workforce, or leadership event in Kansas City.

And so on….

And sponsorship doesn’t necessarily mean one company has to fund an entire event.
One company might help with part of an exhibitor fee.
Another could help with printing.
Another could sponsor travel or lodging.
Several businesses could come together to make one opportunity possible.

There are also larger opportunities where one company may decide it wants to sponsor the entire event. For months, I was looking at businesses primarily as potential clients. Now I’m realizing some of them may become partners.

And That’s What I’m Working on Now

I’m putting together sponsorship information that explains what Serene Efficiency does, why these conferences matter, the audiences we could reach, the events I’m targeting for 2027, what each opportunity is expected to cost, how businesses can partner with Serene Efficiency, and exactly what sponsorship dollars would help pay for.

I’ll be sharing more of that publicly as it comes together—including opportunities organized by area so businesses can see what Serene Efficiency hopes to attend in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Kansas City, Oklahoma, Colorado, and beyond.

I’ll also be sharing the public portion of the sponsorship information itself, because I want people to be able to see exactly what I’m asking businesses to support. I want businesses know exactly what their money is being spent on.

The Goal Is Still Bigger Than a Booth

The goal isn’t simply to have a nice display at a conference.

The goal getting Serene Efficiency into the right rooms with the right people.

• One HR professional could bring this training into an organization with hundreds of employees.
• One supervisor could hear something that completely changes the way they respond the next time an employee tells them they’re struggling.
• One business owner could decide their leadership team needs better tools for dealing with mental health, addiction, domestic violence, burnout, trauma, communication, or psychological safety in the workplace.
• And then one conversation could lead to another…. and another….. and another.

And as Serene Efficiency grows, my long-term goal is still to eventually make some of this education available in places where the need may be enormous but the budget isn’t—rehabilitation centers, schools, community organizations, and other programs that may not have the resources to pay normal professional training rates.

So I went from: “I guess it’s time to start going business to business. I will try to google the contact information for each to see the best way to contact each, individually.”

To: “Wait… why am I trying to find everyone individually when there are entire conferences filled with the people I’m trying to reach…. who are already interested in the subject I am trying to relay!?”

Apparently going rouge and becoming an entrepreneur is just repeatedly discovering things that seem incredibly obvious approximately five minutes after you finally think of them.

But this one feels different. For the first time in a while, I don’t feel nearly as stagnant. I feel like I have a direction. And instead of rushing it, I’m going to give myself the time to do it right. And in turn, I truly believe Serene Efficiency will become a much sought out business!

And If You Know a Business…

If you own a business, work for one, or know someone who does, I’d love for you to keep Serene Efficiency in mind as I begin looking for 2027 conference and expo sponsors. Obviously, there are big benefits for you as well!

However, you don’t have to personally be in a position to sponsor anything. Sometimes the biggest help is simply saying:

“Hey, I know a company that might really connect with this.”
Pass it along.
Make an introduction.
Share the sponsorship information when I release it.
Or send it to that business owner, HR professional, community-relations person, or company leader you think I should know.

Because apparently this entire detour started with realizing I was trying to knock on every door myself and maybe customers can knock on mine.❤️

Finally, if you would like to support the business at all, even if its $5, I have a go fund me page created. Now, when I created it, it was setup as a crowdfunding type of page. However, I believe they are owned by the same company now, and since its a “community” topic, it automatically turned it into a Go Fund Me. So, if you would like to help fund the mission, please go to:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-serene-efficiency-workshops

Thanks for reading. Until next week, keep healing, keep growing, and keep telling your truth!

Here are a couple views of the booth idea, it woud all depend ont he funds we have to spend. But either way, I love the look of it, and think it will definetly attract people!