Choosing What Endures

Today is Epiphany Day here in Italy, a national holiday that traditionally marks the end of the Christmas season, commemorating the arrival of the Three Wise Men and the moment when something long anticipated is finally revealed. It’s a day about recognition and transition, when the celebrations wind down and ordinary life begins again, informed by what’s been seen clearly along the way.

In the United States, today marks a very different kind of reminder. A reminder of how fragile the systems we rely on can be, how quickly certainty can crack, and how values require explicit and persistent action rather than implicit and intermittent trust.

I’ve been sitting with this contrast all morning. Clarity and fragility existing at the same time. And it feels like the right moment to share an honest update about where things stand.

Over the past few years, my work has focused on supporting local governments and small businesses, and navigating the precarious space where those two worlds meet, through NineteenEleven Consulting and The Amalgamation. Both were created in response to real gaps I was seeing, especially how often small businesses and organizations are asked to do more for less, inside systems that can be incredibly brittle.

Like many small business owners right now, I’m making hard decisions in a climate that is becoming increasingly unstable—economically, politically, and emotionally.

And I want to name this upfront. There’s an uncomfortable tension in what I’m about to share. We’re in a moment where small businesses need support more than ever, and I’m choosing to pause a source of that support. I don’t take that lightly.

Here’s the decision, plainly:

Beginning in February, I’m pausing active operations of The Amalgamation.

This isn’t a shutdown or an abandonment of the mission. It’s a strategic pause rooted in a simple reality: support that isn’t sustainable eventually collapses, and collapsed systems don’t help the people they are meant to serve.

For now, The Amalgamation’s support will take a simpler, more durable form.

Our website will house free resources and links to those offered by our preferred partners, often at a discount for those who mention The Amalgamation. We won’t be adding to these resources, pursuing additional partnerships, or participating in public procurement during this pause.

To everyone who supported The Amalgamation by joining, sharing, offering feedback, or simply believing there was room for something different, I want you to know this work mattered. It still does. Your support helped build a foundation that’s intact enough to rest rather than collapse. It pushed back on the idea that small businesses should only expect the crumbs in government contracting. This pause is an act of stewardship for what you helped create, not a retreat from it. Above all, THANK YOU and please don’t stop believing.

At the same time, I’m consolidating my energy around NineteenEleven Consulting, the part of my work that can be sustained and, importantly, can continue generating the resources that make everything else possible. I’ll continue consulting with small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies, and I’ll also be expanding my focus on webinars, courses, and other resources to equip people with the data they need to make confident, community-informed decisions.

This isn’t a departure from the fight, though it certainly feels like it sometimes. Truly, it’s a shift in how I show up. The commitment remains the same: to help people make better decisions inside imperfect systems, using tools that hold up under pressure and (often) undeserved scrutiny.

I’m sharing all of this with transparency because I know many of you are navigating similar choices right now. Scaling back. Refocusing. Pivoting. Protecting. There’s nothing noble about pretending resilience doesn’t have a cost. And I’ve never been one for pretending anyway.

Epiphany isn’t about sudden miracles. It’s about clarity as you navigate your way through the journey.

Thank you for being here. Let’s do what we need to do to survive, so that one day we can thrive. Together.