Trudy Chapman is a life coach that helps people with their personal development, in particular with transitions. Having moved over twenty times in her life, Trudy is very familiar with transitions and life changes, and brings this experience with her in her day-to-day work with clients.
Trudy joins me on The Biz Podcast to talk about the life part of being a business owner. She believes business owners need to keep their personal life in mind when it comes to running a business because people bring the same person to every part of their life, whether that is at an event for a child, a business meeting or coffee with a friend.
The importance of a life plan
When an entrepreneur comes to Trudy with a business plan, she asks them what their life plan is. She does this to make the entrepreneur question if they have enough space in their personal life for their business. Once an entrepreneur sets out their life plan, they often realize that some business goals may need to be set over a longer period of time, as time and business expands.
She asks entrepreneurs to think of their business and life plans as a pie. She asks: What does your life and business pie look like? How big is the spousal piece, parent piece, business piece, etc.?
Values
Trudy also looks at values. She asks: What do you value? How do you value it? If you value it, are you actually living it? Answering these questions brings clarity to a business owner’s life and tells them how things are at the present moment, before they set goals for the future.
Once a business owner determines their values, they can then set mindful decisions surrounding their business. Entrepreneurs need to make decisions based on the right reasons. A common struggle is figuring out what is important versus what someone else thinks you should do or based on what society thinks you should do.
Ask yourself: What do you like to do and how can you make that into something people will buy?
Each day you get up and are putting time into your business, so why shouldn’t you love it? Think of it like a pair of shoes – if they pinch your feet take a look at those pinch points and find a more comfortable pair of shoes that don’t pinch.
Mindfulness
Trudy’s values and her life and business balance came out of providing for her children. She wanted to be there for her children as well as run her business. She committed to managing her work the best way possible so that the impact on her children was as minimal as possible. She recognized what she was good at and understood what she wanted and did not want from her business. She understood her values and was able to set mindful decisions surrounding her business.
Trudy leaves a situation better after she has been there than what it was before she got there. It’s how she lives her values and lives a mindful life.
How to get past the "shoulds"
To get beyond the “shoulds” business owners need to think with their head, heart and body. When your gut is telling you something doesn’t feel right, but your head is telling you it logically makes sense, the wrong decision can easily be made. So many times we listen to our head and then find ourselves in unhappy situations as opposed to listening to our guts. Tapping into your feelings gives you the power to get in touch with the values that are driving you. So many people don’t know how to take the time to do this and then know what to do with these feelings – this is what a coach can help you with.
Intentional Choices
Sometimes business owners make decisions that may not be what they really want, but are done because they feel they should do them. The ability to make intentional choices is completely dependent on mindfulness. Be aware of any consequences that may come from the choices you make. What are the trade offs? I.e., what won’t you be able to do if you decided to do XYZ?
It is very common for business owners to want to feel more fulfilled, and many are not sure how to do this. This is what a life coach can help people figure out. A coach can help you get comfortable with the uncomfortable. A coach can show you how things look now, how it serves you, how it doesn’t fit quite right and how to change it so it can fit right. Shifts should be regenerative through time and a coach can teach you to address any issues that may come up in the future – giving you a sense of durability and mindfulness.
Equipped with the right tools a business owner can live a fulfilling life and run a successful business.
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