Reflecting back on last year, I find that so many answers to our future are actually hidden in our past experiences. For better or for worse, there are valuable insights that can help us keep doing what was working, or change up something that wasn’t bad.
But the thing is that acknowledging and embracing the things that were “bad”, is actually a great thing! These “mistakes” that we’ve made along the way actually help us to grow if we look at them honestly and with an open mind … to change our mistakes into milestones!
So as I “unpack” my last year and look back at how my business grew… and where it hit a speed bump… I can say with certainty that these 5 things are my personal mistakes that I’m turning into milestones. Maybe they are something you have dealt with in the past, or are currently right in the thick of- but no matter what, they are definitely lessons to learn from!
- Letting Fear Guide My Business Decisions
Let’s be honest, I am still checking in on this. Fear is a tricky little thing because you don’t even realize it’s happening… when it’s happening. You don’t consciously make decisions based on fear, but without you knowing, there it is, making a mess.
The biggest thing I have realized is that fear doesn’t show up as fear… ever. It shows up in doubts and creative distractions. It pulls us in another direction when all we should be doing is focusing on our main goal. I mean, #human ladies… this is going to happen. But we need to be able to recognize it, step back from our day-to-day operation and make strategic business decisions instead.
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Not Building A Business Based On My Strengths
If you read my word of the year from last year, you would know that it was IMPACT. I REALLY wanted to make an impact on my business, my clients, my home and my family. I thought I was doing that. I thought I was running my business exactly how I thought I SHOULD BE running it.
But then I realized I was waaayyy off base. My vision for running a business wasn’t to grow a HUGE group of 1,000+ ladies and be stuck behind a computer. I thrive on face-to-face, 1:1 human connection; it’s what energizes me… and makes me good at what I do!
Realizing this need to be more personal with my clients helped me to rebuild that into my business plan and grow something from my strengths. And trust me… at first this can feel selfish… as if you are building something just to work around you.
But nothing could be farther from the truth.
But building your business from your strengths allows you to SHOW UP AS YOUR BEST… and when you do that, your clients get the best. It’s a win-win!
And talk about building a biz on your strengths, Joy Martinez: Incubabe and powerhouse strength finder, is a go-to expert for this! For $15 you can take the Strengths Finder test and help get a view of YOU, from the inside out!
But this isn’t something that you check in on once and have forever. I am definitely learning that as we grow, and our businesses grow, we have to keep checking in with ourselves in this way!
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Pushing Through
So, let’s just say that I come from a long line of hard working people who pride themselves on “pushing through”. And to say that this was a real eye opener for me, would possibly be the understatement of the year!
I thought that pushing through was a GREAT THING! Heck yes: hard work, determination, never stopping, yada yada… it sounds like a great work ethic to me.
Until you realize that you didn’t start your business just to always be “pushing through”, did you? When you don’t take a moment to let yourself breathe, refocus or enjoy the actual business, you will definitely lose the WHY of what you do… and no one wants that.
I was on bed rest, still doing work up until I was uploading training modules on the way to the freaking hospital to DELIVER MY BABY. I got so caught up in the rat race, that I forgot about working smarter not harder…. And I definitely wasn’t giving myself any self-care.
Bottom line is, I felt unfulfilled.
Hindsight being 20/20, I am happy to say that this mistake definitely won’t be a repeat this year!
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Being a Perfectionist.
This is straight up an #EveryDayStruggle mamas. This is a constant struggle for me; and something that I have been, continue to and will probably be working on for a long time.
But the difference is that I am acknowledging, for once, that it is not a strength. Being a perfectionist gets in the way of my business in more ways than I ever thought. From getting an email out to my Incubabes to jumping on a FB LIVE, I have delayed things because I want.them.to.be.perfect.
Nothing is perfect! There will be bumps and hiccups along the way, so I am learning to embrace the crazy/ beautiful and grow from it!
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Not Letting It Be Easy
Lisa Carpenter, a life coach and dear friend of mine, has a mantra that says: “Let it be easy.” That’s it. It’s not long, it’s not philosophical… it’s simply, well easy.
OHH, why couldn’t I have just let it be easy?
Well, because I don’t naturally gravitate towards ease… now do I?
As a perfect example, back in April when I closed the doors to the Incubator, I never took the 20-30 minutes to make a waitlist. I thought that a waitlist was too easy and that I needed a whole, big launch to reopen the doors.
Why not let it be easy?
If I had had the waitlist in place, then I could have easily sent out an email to reopen the doors to the Incubator. It doesn’t have to be huge… there isn’t a need for bells and whistles EVERY TIME.
But for me, it felt like it did. And now I’m kicking myself.
Except that it’s a new year, and my mistakes are only mistakes if I don’t turn them into milestones, #AmIRight?
Which is exactly what I’m doing! I’m learning, I’m growing and I’m making smarter decisions from my “milestones” of 2016… and I’m opening the doors to the Incubator to MY WAITING LIST ONLY.
You read that right! I want to lead by example, not say one thing and do another. So despite how much the perfectionist inside of me wants a shiny and big launch, I am LETTING IT BE EASY!
Soon… very soon, in fact… I will go against my norm and simply push send on an email, instead of opt-ins and challenges and bells and whistles. Hopefully whoever wants to be on the waitlist is (hint hint) and that will be that.
Easy.
Beautiful.
Realistic.
You know, this whole mistakes are milestones is really starting to warm up with me. Can’t wait to see what milestones you all learn from too!
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