The time has come...

An update for my #SquadBettie Community

Dearest friends,

It’s the end of an era for me and B. I have things I want to say but I’ll get to the point quickly first:

We will not be renewing our studio lease at the end of the year when sabbatical begins.

Buuuuuuuuut, this does not mean we’re done. Both Mod Bettie and Naughty Bettie will come back from sabbatical, just not in the physical space we’ve existed in the last 10 years, and not in the same concept we’ve always operated.

I know what this space has meant to the community over the last decade and trust me when I say I’ve gone back and forth (and to the literal ends of the earth!) on this for MONTHS. I set intentions for clarity while hiking in the Dolomites last fall, reflected options with my closest gal pals through the hills of Tuscany, spent a week solo in Costa Rica to connect deeper with my souls mission, and most recently pushed my body to it’s max in Peru to uncover what I’ve been hiding from myself.

I have the BEST clients that I know truly want what’s best for me and wouldn’t require any explanation, and I’m even willing to bet that many of you have even guessed this change was coming!

All year, I’ve played on loop, in my head, a conversation Mr. Bettie and I had 5 years ago while looking for our current space. Fearful that I’d accidentally built a brand that was dependent on the specific aesthetic of the building I started it in, he looked at me and said, word-for-word:

“Elise, pull up your Instagram right now.”

So, I did. And he said,

“Look at the work in your feed. Your work is YOUR work and nothing about your talent or value is tied to the 4 walls you shoot in. YOU are the magic, with or without that space.”

Mic Drop. (He is so often and annoyingly right with hugs that have regulated my nervous system since 1997 🥰)

So how did I finally come to this decision?

My body told me.

I started paying attention to how it felt in my body when I spoke about the two options:

1. Sign another 5 year lease, manage a smaller team and rent the space out while on sabbatical
2. Let it go, use the time to focus on where I’m going next

On retreat, Kate Block did an exercise from her heart-sessions where she rapid fired questions to me and studied my body language. Everyone in that room saw it happen. When I articulated what option 1 would look like, I got “squidgy,” my shoulders got tight, my voice cracked and my throat felt blocked. When I spoke about option 2, my voice completely changed, it was strong and clear. My shoulders dropped, I sank into my body and felt lighter and brighter.

That was the beautiful gift of clarity I’d been searching for. And in pure Elise fashion, I had to hear it half-a-BAJILLION different times, A MILLION different ways for it to finally land.

So, I’m swapping physical space for mental space, prioritizing my health and family and shifting from the external to the internal.

Our lease being up just weeks before my 40th Birthday and planned sabbatical is the universe serving me a seamless transition into my second act.

I can’t share exactly what the future holds just yet, but I can tell you this, the universe is calling me to something BIG. To taking this mission I’ve SO deeply loved leading, on a trajectory that impacts even more people than I’d ever imagined.

Oh, and travel, SO MUCH MORE travel.

I look forward to spending the rest of the year mentoring my AHHHHHMAZINGLY supportive and talented team in building their brands while continuing to celebrate and revel in 10 beautiful years of Bettie.

I would be honored to host you for a session, one last time, in our beautiful space.

As always, thank you for the years of love and support for this mission and stay tuned for the final recap of Peru, more on why I’m letting the space go, updates on my health journey, an exciting podcast addition to this newsletter and SO. MUCH. MORE!

Cheers to MBV2! 💥

XoXo,

e

And as always (and while you still can),