You're Worth The Investment

In November, I was just back from a great vacation to Europe with my family, and as I sat in the audience at a women’s conference where I was speaking, I felt something well up inside me…

Discontent.

I had been looking at my business for a while, feeling simultaneously overwhelmed and underwhelmed, burned out and frustrated, and worst of all… guilty. Guilty because I had built this business this way on purpose, and I wasn’t happy with it.  

And yet, as I stared at the path before me, I couldn’t summon the motivation to keep things as they were. After lot of sleepless nights, I gave myself permission to embark on a deep process of soul-searching, to close the biggest revenue generating pieces of my business, and dig in. 

Over the course of about three months, I completely revamped my business, and have built - and still am, in truth - something I absolutely love: a business that helps female founders built robust business strategies that leverage their voice, their big ideas, and the impact they want to create as the fuel for growth, thought leadership, and differentiation. It’s been amazing!

But that didn’t come from sticking with the status quo and continuing to live in discontent.

It came from investing in myself.

In my years of being an entrepreneur (over a decade now), I’ve come to the crystal clear realization that it’s really important to invest in yourself. In my early years, I danced around this, using all sorts of excuses for why I didn’t want to spend money or time on myself, despite knowing how important it was, but in the last five years, that has shifted dramatically. 

Investing in yourself and your business can look however you want and need it to look. We get to decide what we need - personally and professionally - to thrive. For me, this looks like regular sound healing sessions, daily walks, surrounding myself with a carefully curated personal board of directors, hiring coaches and mentors who really get me and what I’m trying to create, and putting my family - my husband and two teenagers - first. My decision to be “selfish” has allowed me to grow and thrive in a way I wouldn’t - and couldn’t - have otherwise. 

So, how are you investing in yourself? 

When was the last time you took a real inventory and spent some money and time on yourself? 

Here’s my challenge for you this week:

Take the time to evaluate the weak points in your business.
Where are your gaps? Are you making money? Do you have a steady pipeline of clients? How are you with follow-through and accountability? Do you have a strategy? Do you feel like you’re chasing shiny objects with no clear focus and no plan for how to proceed? What about your mindset? Are you making the impact you really want in the world? What do you need in order to be successful?

Take time to evaluate the weak points in your personal life.

What’s working? What’s not? Where do you want to make improvements? Is it your health? Fitness and weight? Your closet? Building a self-care routine? Finding time for yourself? Reading more books or taking a course on something you’ve always wanted to learn but haven’t given yourself the permission to do? Hiring support for you and your family?

Make a plan to close those gaps.

Really think about what you need and want to do to close the gaps. Get really practical here. Maybe it’s hiring an image consultant and having her work through your closet and taking you shopping for a new look. Maybe it’s hiring a business strategist to tackle your biggest business challenges with you. Maybe it’s joining a strong networking group to help you find connection and accountability. You get to decide. And there’s so much power in that!

Surround yourself with people who support you!

I have built a tight-knit, careful curated inner circle, and it has been critically important to my success. Surround yourself with people who get what you’re trying to do, want to be a part of your journey, and support the person and the business you’re trying to build. When you surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, running their businesses the way you want to run and grow your business, and living a life they’ve designed and are excited about, you can’t help but rise together. 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that money can be a factor here. That’s why I encourage you to make a plan. It may not be feasible or prudent to drop loads of cash on your life and your business right this very moment. It’s taken me a couple of years to feel good about making investments like this, and that came after I had fully vetted every person I let into my circle. 

It also required some work on my own money hang-ups. Yep, we all have them, and it’s worth digging in and really understanding why you think and feel about money the way you do… and how it’s impacting your decision-making. This may be a tough subject for you, and I honor that. I’m happy to chat and share my own journey, if that helps, but please, don’t let money be the excuse for why you can’t and won’t invest in yourself. I promise you, YOU are worth every penny. 

Okay, you’ve got some work to do! Where do you need to focus your time and attention in order to grow? I’d love to know. 

Here’s to making an impact!