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In Part II of this extended conversation with Lori Saitz, the CEO and founder of Zen Rabbit recounts her decision to define success on her terms. Preferring to prioritize her mental health and emotional investment over financial gain, she closed the doors to her thriving commercial kitchen business at the height of its popularity. In the compelling conclusion to this three-part interview, Saitz opens up about the process of seeing a business through the end of its life cycle. As part of the process, she also acknowledges the difficulty of forgiving herself for not living up to the expectations of others.
00:07 On Her Own Terms To understand what gives Saitz the confidence to claim victory in her commercial kitchen endeavour, we first must appreciate the nature of external pressure. External pressure can cause us to make choices we would never otherwise make, to endure conditions that no longer serve us. Instead, she was able to rationally devise an independent cost-benefit evaluation. By setting defined benchmarks and evaluating each parameter over a defined period, she could weigh the success garnered against the sacrifices made. After extensive meditation, she was able to arrive at peace with a final decision.
4:34 Grand Closure Once she decided to leave the business behind, she considered selling the company as well as ending production. In deciding to cut her losses, Saitz notes that the deciding factor in shutting down the kitchen for good was a required investment of her own personal funds. One of the most unexpectedly difficult aspects of saying goodbye to the clients who had fallen in love with her cookies. She also mentions taking time to pay her final month of sales and settle with her suppliers. The cookie chapter of her life at a close, Saitz took a sabbatical to evaluate her emotions and reset her ambitions.
4:51 Education is Not Failure Although she had no reason to be ashamed for following her desires, she admits struggling with feelings of failure in the wake of the closing. She eventually was able to get enough distance from the immediate outcome to understand that she had learned and grown as a result of the experience. There was no failure in having tried an experience to find that it does not fit. With this perspective behind her, she made the bittersweet experience of closing her commercial cookie kitchen much more palatable.
8:57 New Beginnings in Endings When she had settled into the finality of ending her involvement in the bakery marketplace, she found that the most onerous aspect of moving on was the reaction. Instead of providing her with the support she needed for a successful transition, too often the conversation turned to “what’s next?” With this in mind, she quickly found work in the niche she helped create. In her new role, she is able to reach many more potential clients than she ever could from the kitchen. Her new career path in consulting is informed by the life lessons she learned along the way, and it took a dose of “failure” to find the path. 
Connect with Lori Saitz: Website- https://zenrabbit.com/ LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorisaitz Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/LoriSaitz Connect with MindTeam Solutions: Website: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/mindteamsolutions Email: Info@MindTeamSolutions.com LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/mindteamsolutions