You might be looking at the subject of this email and think that I’ve lost the plot.
But what I mean is business doesn’t have to be an uphill battle.
If you are feeling exhausted, burnt out or stuck, this might feel like a long way off. But trust me there is a way to do business without every single day feeling like a struggle.
I know what you are going through. I experienced this feeling even when I was at the top of my corporate game. The last couple of years of my corporate life were far from the champagne-popping joyous existence it once was. On paper I had it all — responsibility for good brands, a great salary with awesome job perks— but behind this was an environment of bullying, lying, deceit and game-playing, which meant I was always on the lookout for the next grenade being thrown my way.
While your grenades might be client emergencies, team member resignations, or just the stress of trying to do it all on your own, they all impact us the same way.
Exhaustion, fatigue, and a growing resentment that the business we built as our escape from the 9-5 daily grind was becoming 24/7 shackles around our ankles.
So I wanted to give you a few tips for finally getting to the top of the hill and operating your business from a place of authenticity, and strength, rather than questioning whether you should have started your business in the first place.
- Create boundaries. This is incredibly important for becoming the superwoman who does it all. You need to create boundaries that serve you and allow you to create separation in your life between you and your business. Whether this is turning your phone on to ‘do not disturb’ after 7pm so that you can have dinner with your family, or saying NO to a client that is demanding too much of your time, or making you sacrifice your integrity.
- Work with people who WANT to work with you. This week I’ve been talking all about clients and one important thing I want you to take away from this is not every prospect is your ideal client. If you have to convince them to work with you then they probably aren’t ready to work with you. If you have to constantly remind them of the value you provide they are going to start becoming exhausting for you to deal with. While it might feel like you are leaving money on the table, I promise you that walking away from a client who isn’t a good fit frees you up for so many opportunities that will serve you better in the long term.
- Maintain Your Focus. One thing that keeps our business stuck is getting distracted by too many “other” opportunities. Opportunities that don’t align with you end goal. And what happens is you go off and devote your time to these temporary opportunities, and when you return to your business it’s still in the same place you left it. If you want to be able to go after opportunities as they pop up, you need to build a business that is steadfast in its ability to create profit and isn’t reliant on you as the leader to be there everyday to continue to grow.
Which of these tips did you need to hear the most today?
Remember your business should be enjoyable, not exhausting all the time.
Janine x
