Bidding a fond farewell to Fogdog
It is with great gratitude that I share the fondest farewell to Fogdog Coaching & Consulting. In the process of shaping and building The Connected Way, I have been aware that it meant I would be bidding adieu to Fogdog as my professional home. But now that the time has come, I’m feeling all the feelings. It has been cathartic and sentimental to look back on the business I built that has been sustaining my work (and me) for the past 10 years.
In saving screenshots and archives of www.fogdogcoaching.com, I have been reflecting on how much I’ve built, how much went into the business and how much I gained from it. As I migrate 10 years worth of emails, I’ve been marveling at the hundreds of clients I’ve met, supported and grown to love and respect – at the countless career transitions, promotions, personal transitions and relationships I’ve witnessed and accompanied, as well as the many businesses I’ve helped people to step into/launch, and all the people they’ve helped and continue to help as a result. What an honor it has been to hold this space and support all these incredible people.
As an independent business owner, it is not that common to take a step back, to look at the actual work we’ve been doing and to celebrate and honor it. We can be so IN the work. But I see now how important it is to honor and celebrate what we’re doing. And especially as helping professionals and spiritual business owners, we are not only running businesses, we are listening to where we really feel called to be of service, we are doing our own work in the process to stay in alignment and integrity, and we are supporting others. That’s a lot. And so many of my clients also don’t take the step back to really honor and celebrate what they’re doing.
As I let go of the business, I am also letting go of it as the brand I will call my home. The Connected Way™ absolutely feels like home for me, but fogdog has been my home for so long, and it was the perfect home. It also was an amazing conversation starter. Anytime someone would ask what I did or would see an email from me with the website listed on the signature, they would say “fogdog, what’s that?” or “do you coach dogs?” 🤣 It would always allow me to explain: “No, fogdog is a term that means ‘a bright point of clarity in the fog.’ It is in every fog bank and you can follow it to find clear skies. That’s what I do – I help others navigate their way through their fog to find clarity and a clear path ahead.” It’s an amazing brand that I have loved. Yes, because it so accurately depicts what my work as a coach and consultant has been. But also because of how it came about…
When I had finished my coach training and completed my certification and decided to start a business, I knew I didn’t want the business to be branded under my name – that didn’t feel right. So, I had to come up with a name. Having worked (and working at the time) in marketing, strategy and consulting, I had gone through many branding exercises with clients. So, I used the strategies I knew and wrote up a “naming brief.” Basically I wrote up some key characteristics of who I was and what I did for others.
I shared this with some friends/colleagues and happened to mentioned it to my Dad. He unexpectedly got really into it. Later that night, he shared with me that he had gone down to the basement (his fly-tying man cave at the time), and found his father’s (who I never met) dictionary and started looking up words that were related to what I had put in the brief... I had mentioned that I help people get out of a fog, but I didn’t want to name my business a cliché related to a lighthouse. Well, he found the term “fogdog.” When he mentioned it, I scoffed and brushed it off “Fogdog?! Weird. Definitely not.” But he showed me the definition, which did fit. I tried coming up with other names, but kept coming back to Fogdog. And then it just felt right. And so it was. Thanks Dad. 😊
What does it actually mean that I’m bidding farewell to Fogdog? It doesn’t mean a ton for you. The website www.fogdogcoaching.com will go away this weekend and the url will now redirect to www.theconnectedway.com. So, if you refer someone to Fogdog, they will seamlessly end up at The Connected Way™. Similarly, I will now be using the email devin@theconnectedway.com, but devin@fogdogcoaching.com will forward to me, so again you don’t really have to worry too much about that.
In terms of my work, I am absolutely still helping people out of their fog to find and experience clarity and connection at The Connected Way™, but as you know, the work has evolved a bit, and my role, tools and interests have expanded. I will be sharing over the next few weeks some specific thoughts and insights into the work. For today, I am sitting with gratitude and deep fondness for Fogdog, for the last 10 years and for all of you that have supported me along this journey thus far. I am looking forward to much more expansion and connection with The Connected Way™ and all that it encompasses and will encompass.
With so much fondness, reverence and gratitude,
Rev. Devin Green
The Connected Way™