I'll be honest, Reader, there were about six months where I fully planned on shutting down my business.

Not only was it not working (i.e. not making money anymore), I was miserable.

I felt like I had to keep showing up publicly as having "the best life ever" and "totally transformed" in order to be able to talk to other women about how to build confidence, improve their dating life, make more money and just generally feel more satisfied. But on the inside, I was working through all the normal human cycles - ready for a new stage in my career, feeling more confident than I used to be but still tackling imposter syndrome and self doubt, finally in a relationship but facing the truth that it hadn't magically solved all my problems.

But deep in my gut, I couldn't walk away. Not in the "he says he isn't ready to commit but I really like him, so maybe I should give it more time?" sort of way. More in a "I think I'll always regret it if I don't try everything to see this thing through" type of way.

So earlier this year, I went deep. All the tools I've used on my personal life, I started applying to my business: "What am I scared of?" "Where is this resistance coming from?" "If nobody was watching, what would you be talking about?" And finally, it clicked.

This isn't about me. It's about us.

When I was a baby entrepreneur, deciding on the name for my business, it made sense to base it on my name - I was going to be the face and back then, I was focused on coaching. But in the years that have passed, I stopped coaching and started focusing on sharing resources - articles, digital products and... more (details coming soon 👀).

And I've always known that you don't need another internet guru telling you "this will change your life." As eldest daughters (and eldest daughter types regardless of birth order), we've spent too long putting others on a pedestal and accepting instructions from other people thinking it'll lead us to happiness. That's why I focus so hard on teaching you how to build self-trust, reconnect with your own intuition and figure out what works best for you.

Part of why big sisters are so helpful is because they can say, "I don't have it all figured out but here's what's worked for me." That's where I think I'm able to best serve. I can share the messy stories of my four back-to-back situationships, the time I got laid off after only a month, and this situation right now: how I fixed something about a business I myself had built.

I don't want to be on a pedestal and I have no desire to be a traditional influencer where everybody knows my name. But I do want to be known for the community of women that I serve: badass eldest daughters tired of always putting their needs last. And for what I've built.

Which is why, on Eldest Daughter Day (yes, that's a real day), I'm so excited to introduce you to... Eldest & Co.

The company formerly known as sampills.co has been restructured, redesigned, re-envisioned and revamped to become Eldest & Co. If you'll spare me a few more minutes of your time, I'll walk you through what's changed, why and why I think this will be even better for all of us!

• Why the name? This business isn't about me and my life, it's about us - the eldest daughters and company of women like then (regardless of birth order) who are reclaiming their journey after a lifetime of people pleasing, overachieving and self-doubt. I don't need nor want to be at the center of the business anymore, even though I will continue to be the voice.
• What's up with the new look? With this new ethos, everything deserved to be re-envisioned. Eldest & Co is a welcoming, safe place for us to come to get support, tools and stories that make us feel a little less alone. I like to think of it as a little secret garden we can escape to and feel safe and loved, so the brand now reflects that!
• What's changed about the business? You can still expect to see regular video content, articles and resources helping you with the common issued eldest daughters and company face. We have some digital products available for sale to help you go deeper and more good stuff on the way. In short, in terms of what we help you with, very little has changed!
• Are you going to stop sharing on social? Heck no! Now with this clear differentiation between my business and me, it's actually been way more fun for me to show up and create. That'll look like official Eldest & Co content on Instagram and our NEW TikTok account (give us a follow?). Then on my personal TikTok (recently changed to @samanthapillsbury) I can share more of the BTS of being a founder, my less polished thoughts, and be able to talk about topics that might not be a perfect fit for the E&Co feeds. You'll also see some of that BTS via IG stories on the E&Co Instagram, if you're not on TikTok.

Even though this has been 4+ months in the making for me, I know as a user, a rebrand isn't that big a deal to you. But if you take one thing away from this note, let it be this: you don't have to figure it all out on your own. You're always welcome here.

Love your internet big sister and now founder,

Samantha

P.S. Would love to hear thoughts, feedback or any questions on what you see in all these new places! While I've double and triple checked, there may be some broken links or pages I've missed, so if you spot one, don't hesitate to flag those to me too!