In 2019 I was quite sick with endometriosis and spent much of the year in a lot of pain, in the hospital, and having surgery. I still had the best income year in 13 years of business. Once I was well again I thought, "that’s it! I will take on 2020! If I did as well as I did while I was sick, imagine how much I can make if I really put all my energy into it!"
I slipped into hustle mode. I was looking for flow, and I tried to force it. But when I force things, they don’t work. In fact, when I try to hustle, I break things!
I got on a call with a coach (because no matter how much you know, it is really hard to recognize your own stuff!!) to try to figure out why I was spinning out so much and it quickly became clear that it was time to surrender.
Surrender the need to know the how of everything.
Surrender the control.
Surrender the tendency to slip back in to hustle.
Surrender to flow.
So, I picked surrender as my 2021 word and tried to just let things happen a little bit more.
What happened - my income increased again (not quite to 2019 levels, but close) and even more importantly, I worked less. I spent more time with my family. I stressed less about what I should be doing. I did more of the kind of work that I loved. I ENJOYED the work I was doing more. It was a gift.
I like to pick a word for my year every year - I find that it helps remind me of what is really important to me. It helps guide my decisions and my direction. But honestly, by the end of the year I often barely remember what word I picked, and as I dig back to figure it out, I realize that it often just happened once I set the intention.
Last week I ran my Biz Accelerator members through a workshop on setting intentions for 2022 and I settled on my word for this coming year: Impact.
When I spent time thinking about what is important, how I want my business to grow, what feels meaningful and what I feel ready for - impact was clear. I want to share messages that help business owners see their potential and believe in themselves. I want to share messages that help people see how we’ve been set up to think we’re failing when we’re not. I want to help women who run businesses enjoy the success of their businesses. The beauty of the word impact is that I can do that through my work and beyond - and that it pushes me out of a whole lot of comfort zones when it comes to imposter syndrome and visibility.
If you’ve already picked YOUR word, I’d love to hear it. Hit reply and let me know.
If you haven’t and are looking for some tips on how to pick, here are some thoughts.
1 - I have a year in review workbook that will give you a lot of insight into what you want to focus on going into 2022. That exercise can really help.
2 - Spend some time on the following questions:
What have you found to be a regular roadblock in the last year? Are there things that get in the way from external sources, things you are frustrated that you don’t get done, things that you avoid, things that you wish were different? Look for themes of frustration.
Are there big themes in your business goals and the actions you want to take this year? Do you want to see yourself doing more of a certain kind of work? Now let's look for takeaways. Does anything need to change/ is there a clear desire that came up to focus on?
3. Make a list of words that you like - you can Google “word of the year” and there are all kinds of posts with 100s of suggestions. Try to come up with at least 10 that you like, then narrow it down to three, and then see if one can really encompass them all.
Setting intentions and gaining clarity on what you're building and growing can help take so much of the stress and overwhelm out of your business. I hope this exercise helped and that you've found a word that brings you joy. I can’t wait to hear all your words and I look forward to connecting with and supporting you in 2022!
5 things that were key to hitting my sales goals in 2021
I’ve been reflecting on the key things that helped me reach my business goals and what helped me the most this year and I think it comes down to 5 things (that you can build into your business too!).
1) Networking
I have never been particularly comfortable with networking. I’m introverted/shy and kind of awkward when it comes to putting myself out there so I often stay in my comfortable communities talking to the same people over and over again.
However, when I commit to networking more, it almost always directly translates into opportunities and new clients.
This year I committed to saying yes to networking opportunities that I saw come up and engaging within the group programs that I was a part of. Not only did that translate into growing my network, but I also ended up on several podcasts, and had people sign up for some of my offerings.
Are you taking advantage of opportunities to grow your network?
2) Accountability
Without accountability, I tend to put things off – especially if they’re new and have no real deadline. Based on my 6 years working as a business coach, I know that to be true for most business owners so if you find yourself doing the same, you aren’t alone.
Real accountability is key for me. Putting things in the calendar (and letting other people know about them), asking my assistant to remind me of things, signing up for coaching and programs that push me to get things done, even if it's only because I invested in something and I want to make sure it’s worth it.
I also host at least 2 accountability sessions a month (sometimes up to 4) as part of my Biz Accelerator program and these not only help members get their stuff done, I get MY stuff done at the same time. Actively committing to doing something within a certain time frame with an audience to witness whether or not I follow-through is kind of magical.
3) Coaching
I believe coaches need coaches, and other than a short time during the pandemic, I have consistently been in a program with a coach for the last 7 years. Working with a coach means that I have someone in my corner to call me out on my bullshit, to help me work through the muddle that shows up in my brain, and again, helps me stay accountable to taking action on my goals.
I truly believe there are some things that we simply can’t solve within our own heads no matter how much we know, and having people that we feel safe and comfortable with, sharing our vulnerabilities to, and asking for help from can make all the difference in the world. I love that I get to be that person for others, but also that I know I can’t be that person for myself.
4) Confidence
Confidence in yourself is probably the most important of all of the things that you need as a business owner to find success.
Confidence that you’re creating value.
Confidence that people want a solution to the problem you solve.
Confidence that you have the ability to run a business.
Confidence that you have the ability to make sales.
Confidence that people want to buy what you have to sell.
Regularly spending time reflecting on my worth and reminding myself that I DO have confidence in all of those things means that I can ask for sales without sounding nervous or like I feel bad about the price of what I’m selling. I have the confidence to tell people what I believe they will get out of working with me. I have the confidence to allow myself to create a successful business without it having to hurt.
And the more confidence I have in myself, the more that confidence is contagious.
What practices do you put into place to reinforce your belief in yourself?
5) A clear idea of what I was selling
No matter how confident you are, if you aren’t clear on how you’re going to reach your financial goals when taking into account your capacity and time and the price of what you sell, you can end up in a situation where the numbers simply don’t add up.
Ask yourself what goals you’re looking to reach and what you will sell to get there. If the numbers don’t line up, it might be time to make some changes in your offerings, your pricing, or your target audience.
Can you build all of these into your business for 2022?
Keeping these in mind, spend time thinking about what actions you can take moving into 2022.
How to plan for business success
What do you need to plan for business success? Is it with a notebook and pen? An online course? A business coach? Recently, while getting ready for one of my workshops, I started thinking about everything needed to plan for business success. Here is what I came up with:
Know where you want to go
Without a bit of a roadmap it can be easy to get distracted, start a million different things, and consequently not follow through and finish any of them. Instead, you will feel frustrated that things aren't moving forward. A plan really helps, and trust me, as a person who isn't big on planning, it took me a lot to come around to that.Stop thinking you need to know it all
You want to have a plan, but you don't have to plan everything forever. You can start with the next month if that's easiest! You can plan to keep things flexible enough to keep them interesting. You can make money without doing ALL THE THINGS you've heard will make more money. This is especially important for you over-planners out there. Some people keep jumping in with no idea what they're doing and others never jump in because they still aren't "ready." You don't need to have everything figured out to start moving forward.Know how much money you want to make
You may not be able to make it from the start but you need to know what kind of money is going to make sure you feel good about running this business. And also understand that running a business means YOU have to save for taxes and you have expenses that people who work for others don't. If you want to make $5000 you need to earn more than $5000 so make sure you know your numbers.
Knowing these numbers will help you figure out what you're going to sell and how you're going to sell it too. They all tie together!Do more of the things that feel good and that work well
So many of us fight the stuff that's easy. So many of us feel guilty making money doing things that we enjoy, because "work is supposed to be hard." That is not true and I'll keep reminding you of that until I'm blue in the face.
You're going to do the stuff you love with more heart. You're not going to procrastinate as much if you're selling things you love to do instead of things you know you can do but really wish you didn't have to do. Look for the things that light you up and look for the things that flow to you with ease and do more of those.
Take some time and think about how all of these play into your business. If you want ideas on how I can support you with any of them, let’s chat! I have a bunch of things coming up this summer that might be JUST the right fit.
What self-care looks like for me
This past weekend I ran away from home.
After months of pushing really hard in my business and personal life, I was hitting a massive wall.
It was hard to admit at first, after all - I just home from a week in Punta Cana with my family, and the weekend before that trip I was at an art retreat.
But as most parents know, a vacation with three children is not "relaxing."
I put a lot of pressure on that trip to help me unwind and relax. I should have known better, I've been on trips like that before. While the kids are now old enough to not require me to be ON the entire time, we still had to coordinate a lot of people to do a lot of things, and they're still kids with a lot of energy and a lot of feelings.
I was so tired on that trip that between activities I didn't even have the energy to read a book, and I came home even more tired than when I left.
Meeting these pirates was a super fun highlight of our trip to the Dominican Republic!
As an introvert, transitioning to homeschooling my son has meant that I don't have much alone time - and I had been alone for most of the week for the previous six years so this has been a big shift and change for me.
I felt tired ALL the time. I didn't feel like I was thinking clearly any more. I was not working well as a mom or as a business owner.
I was nearing burnout - but it was really hard to admit that when I felt like so many things were going so right. Can you burnout doing things you love? Have you heard people say, “do what you love and it never feels like work.” It’s not true. You can love what you do and still get really tired and burn out from it if you’re not careful.
So, I left Friday afternoon and headed up to the family cottage (which I'm grateful to have access to when needed, but happily would have rented one or an Airbnb for the weekend) and just stopped.
What self-care looks like for me
I took a three-hour nap that went right through dinner time.
I read a book.
I watched Netflix.
I slept whenever I felt tired.
I had meals whenever I felt like it - 11 am, 3 pm, 9 pm.
I ate what I felt like eating whenever I felt like it.
I painted.
I stared out the window at the trees and the water.
I didn't intend to work but I didn't intend to NOT work.
The more I sank into nothing, the more my brain woke up. New ideas popped into my head. I felt excited about things I haven't felt excited about in a while. I had the bandwidth to contemplate next steps instead of feeling required to do it.
What does self-care look like for you?
We don't all need the same things to take care of ourselves, but we all need to make sure that we stop and think about what works and what doesn't, and we need to make sure we’re not getting too caught up in how we think we SHOULD be feeling and operating.
I work better and smarter when I have more time by myself doing nothing. It's not being lazy or self-indulgent, it's being productive and poised to take on the world.
Moving forward I will guard time for myself even more. I blocked off time in my calendar years ago for quiet and down time but over the last couple of years I filled ALL of that time with parenting stuff and/or appointments for myself to work on my health. Important, but not actually the down and quiet rest time I need. So I'm re-jigging my schedule again, this time to accommodate for parenting time, health time, and ME time.
If I want to be productive and effective in my work, this is mandatory; even though it feels counterintuitive to work less to make more money. We've been taught that the only way to make more money and achieve more success is to work HARDER. As someone who has never worked effectively on a traditional timeline, I need to keep reminding myself that doesn’t work for me.
When's the last time you did something to help yourself this way?
The power of believing in YOUR way
What makes one person feel safe, secure, comfortable and confident can be vastly different from what makes another person feel that way. Recently, I was thinking about one way I do things differently than most people I know: when I go on road trips, I hate to pre-book my hotels.
This makes many of my friends and family SO uncomfortable!
“Doesn’t it stress you out to not know where you’re going and what the plan is to get there?”
Nope! I get stressed out feeling locked into things! How am I going to know when I want to stop? My friends get personally stressed out for me when I tell them I don’t book a hotel, unable to separate how they would feel in my situation.
“What if you can’t find a hotel?”
I always find a hotel, maybe not at the first place I stop, but it always works out (and I always feel confident it will while we’re figuring it out). And my measure for “works out” is probably quite different than it is for other people because the thing I’m LOOKING for is not “safety” or “security” or “comfort in knowing” it’s “freedom to change my mind and be spontaneous.”
You may not like to road trip my way, but that doesn’t mean my way isn’t great because I’m getting what I’m looking to get out of the experience! I always believe it is going to work out and it always does. 🙂
This same idea applies to the different ways people run their businesses.
Some people like everything very structured and planned out and some like to fly by the seat of their pants (I fall into the second category).
There is great merit in having a well-structured and predictable business model (and the need for this gets more and more important the bigger you grow) but there is also great merit in having a business that is built to suit the things that are important to you (I need to have room in my business to create new things regularly. If I booked up all my time on the same things in a repeated manner for a year in advance, I would feel claustrophobic in my business).
Now, I’m not saying it’s a good idea to never have a plan, but it’s okay if you’re someone who likes to keep things feeling fresh and different on a regular basis.
You can run your business that way too, you just need to to know where and how to keep the freedom, spontaneity and creativity alive for yourself, while keeping the infrastructure of your business sound (you don’t need to book the hotel but you DO need to know you have money to pay for a hotel and a well-maintained vehicle to get you there).
We all get to prioritize what works for us and what we value and want to create. You can find the perfect balance for you by acknowledging what’s important to you, what motivates you, and what will keep you primed for success in your business. It’s the power of believing what you love and desire WILL work for you and lead you to success.
If you want to figure out how to find that balance for YOU and how you can use that to create success in your business, let’s chat. I’d love to learn more about what is important and motivates you as a business owner and how I could support you in achieving that!