In the aftermath of the pandemic, we as entrepreneurs have found ourselves grappling with unprecedented economic, marketing , personnel and tech changes. Staying on top of it all is a constant challenge. Even as a seasoned business owner and founder of a company with several decades of business success, consistent results and best practices, I, too, felt the impacts and noticed the toll it took on my energy and focus.
I made the pivot, and feel more optimistic and energized than ever about the future 2024. So I wanted to share some nuggets from my personal journey and specific steps you can take in the planning of your next year in life and in business.
Outline
The Shift in Success
Let’s have an earnest conversation about life after the pandemic, especially for those of us who’ve been steering entrepreneurial ships. Here’s the bottom line. Success isn’t a fixed point anymore. Picture it more like maneuvering through a winding road, filled with unexpected turns. The secret is learning the art of rolling with the punches, and cultivating the kind of adaptability you need when life throws you curveballs.
Ever felt the need to hit pause and recalibrate everything? I sure did! Emotionally, I was glad when our communities opened back up, but the getting back to “normal” continued to out of reach.
Truth be told, I could have used a little more “forced vacation” to finish up some projects I was in the middle of.
So instead, I spent most of 2021 trying to just pick up where I left off, recapture what “was,” running all over the place and by end of the 2022 found myself feeling uninspired, a little lost and just plain exhausted.
Experience has taught me not to just stay in that state so this year, I did something about it, something pretty drastic actually.
Embracing Change
What did change look like for me? I stopped everything. Resigned from some unfruitful endeavors, not joining any new ones, focused only on the necessities and client service, while I dug in deep, retooled and upgraded my skills.
It also meant less tv and making more time for creative imagining about the future that I wanted, and a whole lot of quiet reflective time to hear from the inside what to do each day, i.e. what “felt” right.
It’s akin to renovating an old house—sometimes, you’ve got to tear down to rebuild. Finally, at the end of 1st quarter, I made a significant investment and hired a business coach to help me pull it all together.
That was the game changer.
Lessons Learned
Changing your mindset? Well, that’s like the cornerstone of this journey. Stepping back, taking stock—it takes some seasoned courage.
1. Be open to the “new normal,” and what success looks like for you TODAY. What worked in the past may not work today – or it may need enhancements to make it relevant for the current market and trends. Don’t get left behind. Make the shift.
2. Be willing to invest all your resources – time, focus, and money to move your business forward. For me ,that meant getting proactive with social media and giving voice to my online brand. I had to find the information I needed, and then carve out time and money to access and implement for the results.
Practical Next Steps You Can Take
Time to shift the focus to you. We have to do this because with too much on our plate, we just can’t see the forest for the trees.
It’s ok to take a step back, it may even be a necessity to do so. In other words, take care of you.
Look at ALL of the activities you’re engaged in.
1. What are you NOT seeing benefit from but spending time on? Use the 80/20 rule to streamline.
2. What are you LOVING about your business and want to continue or do more of in 2024?
3. What do you want that’s out of reach right now, due to money, skills, access, etc. These should go on the “wish list” so write them down anyway because that’s the first step creating intention.
Unearth those passion projects, and craft that wish list, for dreams have no expiration date, my friend.
CPR For Your Biz - FREE Training
If you’re following me on social media, you’ve probably seen my posts about CPR for Your Biz. It’s my personal formula for how I grew my business from just a side hustle to full time and over 50 clients in a few months using ALL FREE APPS.
The C- is for Calendars and the first part of CPR is all about creating the time for our goals and wishlists so we’re not just dreaming but DOING – especially those things we don’t feel so sure about.
You can access the first step and worksheets for the C-Calendars now and 100% free and get notified about a LIVE vision board soirée we’ll have on Zoom in late December. Join us—it’s poised to be an enriching experience. Looking forward to seeing you there!