It’s Brooke here! The founding mother of Behere, back at it.
I haven't felt in touch with my writing voice for a bit. My left brain, get-it-done girl has taken over in an effort to keep Behere humming on Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving little energy to write. But if feels good to peck away at this keyboard once again, a form a therapy for me as I process the heavy ebbs and flows of being a founder.
Today, a flurry of feelings and insights came flooding in triggered by a key event. I found out I was blocked on instagram by a business that offers a similar service to ours, out of fear I would steal ideas, or possibly from the point-of-view that I already had.
As a very original thinker, this discovery stung. It made me sad. As an “over-reflection-er” (it’s a term now), I had to dig into why this bothered me so much.
I am an entrepreneur who cannot do anything from a template. Our marriage mantra for the first 7 years prior to kids was, “Don’t accept the default.” We used this quote to challenge ourselves to live with intention, and ask “Why?” before just checking off mainstream culture boxes (kids, cars, homes).
I am a writer and start from blank pages all the time. I rarely cook from a recipe, we live in a custom designed tiny house, we homeschool our kids and are building a one-of-a-kind business. I’m always rethinking and reinventing how things could be. It’s exhausting and sometimes I wish I did “accept the default.”
We’re modern day pioneers who aren’t looking over our shoulders to emulate any one else’s business or life.
But now I just sound defensive.
Then it struck me, a humbling realization. Is there ever really an original thought? Have I ever had one? Has anyone? What ideas am I “borrowing” that I am unconscious of?
A writing professor of mine in college challenged us with the idea that no thought is truly original. Everyone is an imitator. Picasso and Steve Jobs said it too. I think the best creatives are just taking inspiration from all over, recognizing the best ideas and repackaging up something new and original. We’re all just programmed humans running on a limited amount of variations…the most talented and “original thinkers” are more accurately the best curators and mash-up composers. After all, there are really only 6 plots to every film, book or tv show ever written.
Behere isn’t about an “outdoor school” with slack lines, teepees, or hammocks. Those are just “decorations,” that can be found and copied from a million Pinterest boards. Behere is about supporting families looking for new ways to work and learn. We want to empower alternative educators everywhere to succeed and bring families together more. I spend countless hours thinking and talking with parents, our Guides, my husband, on how to nail this and do something of value that fills gaps for our parents.
Today’s manifestation of Behere is a drop-off class that feels a little Waldorf meets Forest school. But that vision will expand to include more whole-child learning variations, a space for the parents, and nutrition and wellness offerings.
The true brilliance of Behere isn’t hanging from a tree or crafts sitting in a basket, but rather the intellectual property (IP) the Guides bring into every interaction, activity, rhyme, or story we design for this unique group of children.
I had a conversation with my mom the other day, a former educator and extremely creative woman. She shared with me how many of her ideas were stolen by other teachers back when she taught school. She was that teacher who worked late ideating custom lesson plans, doing prep work on the couch until bedtime, giving it her all, while other teaching colleagues were content just showing up minutes before and asking (or not asking) to borrow her work.
This idea came up again when parents asked to come tour a class. For many reasons, mainly the safety of the children, we cannot permit in-session tours. And one of my teachers brought up the idea that every lesson she plans is 100% custom and from her brain, so to have purveyors who could potentially “borrow her work,” isn’t ideal. She’s not using an existing curriculum, she’s writing her own Grimm’s-fairy tale inspired stories, rhymes and verses. It’s beautiful to watch her work and I feel honored that she custom tailors every lesson with this class in mind.
I like to believe we have no competitors in business or life. As a recovering corporate advertising professional, I am still deprogramming myself from this idea of having competitors, as I work to embrace a blue ocean strategy mindset.
The root word in competitors is comp = to compare. And as the old adage says “comparison is the thief of joy.”
As a business owner, I can testify to this, but even more so as a homeschooling mother who often falls trap to comparing my child’s academic “level” to his peers. I blame myself for not doing enough, and then I remember, he’s brilliant right where he is, and we don’t have to follow the templated timelines society gave us.
We don’t have to accept the default. There’s room for us all to grow in our unique gifts in our own timing. My greatness doesn’t steal from yours. And this is true in business and in life.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading/listening. I feel better already.
Love,
Brooke
Co-founder of Behere
www.behere.re