I share my stories and insights so that I may inspire you as an entrepreneur and a woman, and guide you into alignment.
I am quickly learning that the biggest barrier to entry into podcasting is not something new to me or my fellow entrepreneurs… fear.
There are so many stories that we tell ourselves that are just not true.
Often we have experiences where, especially in business, we trust our intuition, take that leap, and fall flat on our faces. And as quickly as we leaned into trust, just because we did not accomplish the results we thought we should, we banish our intuition. But the thing is, getting to your highest good, getting to happiness, is often messy and filled with healing.
Learning to ride the waves of creativity has been another way that lessons on surrender and flow have come up in my life. And as a creative professional whose income relies on my ability to create for others, surrendering to creativity extremely hard for me.
It has really come to my attention recently, that during the holidays we become very focused on giving, but no one ever talks about the flip side.
Have you pressed pause on your hustle recently, to really ask why you are doing things in your biz the way you are? Is it for the best intentions for yourself and your audience? Is it because you’ve been taught things need to be done in a certain way? Is it out of fear that you must play by certain rules in order to be heard?
I’ve been caught up in a community passion project, and found that although I started it for all the right reasons, I still needed to remind myself to take a breather. Passion is an amazing thing, but it is also very consuming. Passion also tends to bring out my perfectionist tendencies and drains me if I stay too focused for too long without coming out for rest.
I make no secret that I am in recovery from destructive perfectionism, productive and control. Learning and practising how to just surrender has been essential in not only my personal growth, but how I approach business and tune into my intuition.
Nothing can tank your entrepreneural dreams quicker than doubt- in yourself, in your ideas, in your abilities… Sound familiar? If you are nodding your head ‘yes’ that is because you are not alone in your worries. I have never met an entrepreneur who hasn’t had thoughts of doubt no matter what stage of the game they are at. Me included.
As you work on the offers you want to put out into the world, consider these questions: What do you want? What do others want? Is the timing right in your life, in others or in the world? I find that the sweet spot for the most impactful business offers are when I am able to combine all three- an offer that is in service to both myself and others, and lands at the right time.
It’s small business week, and I want to introduce you to your entrepreneurial superpower… your intuition!
I am grateful to have chatted with money guru, Debbie Adams, all about intuition on Facebook LIVE in honour of Nova Scotia Small Business week.
Fear is messy and complicated, and our personal fears easily get thrown into the mix when we are talking about entrepreneurship and how you show up in your business. It is really hard to let the authentic, real you show up when fear is calling the shots. ⠀
Masculine and feminine energies of the entrepreneur space are horribly out of balance. It is causing constant self judgment and criticism, harmful comparison and competition, and the incessant need for self improvement because we feel never good enough, smart enough or worthy enough.
Masculine and feminine energies are not something that are either good or bad. Everyone has both within themselves, and it is the balance of the two that bring harmony. Especially in entrepreneurship!
How do you measure fulfillment? If you stop and go inwards, is it really your own measure or someone else’s?
I truly believe that you can learn all the business tips and tricks and blueprints, but if you are not ready to fully embrace the next step, you will end up feeling frustrated and stuck in the gunk.
When I slow down, I realize that it is in the NOT doing that I discover more about myself. All the little things I am drawn towards are like bursts of confirmation that my intuition is guiding me in the right direction. Including what I am reading.
For so long I pushed my femininity aside. The rules of my corporate past were simple, and masculine, and there was no place for intuition in the world of business. I relished in productivity. My worth became centred around my perfectionism and efficiency. The rules made me feel safe and in control.
Before you start writing your story, you need to cast your main character- the hero. You might be thinking that as a solopreneur, the story automatically defaults to you. Not always! Since the story will be told from the main character’s point of view, it is important that you choose the person that will connect the strongest with your audience.⠀
Mindset is more important than you might think. Fear effects how you show up in your business, which effects the content you create, which effects how your audience connects with you, which effects the trust they have to invest in you. It is a domino effect.
Like the voice you use to verbally communicate, your written voice is unique to you, and your audience can sense if it is authentically your own or trying to mimic others.
Were you the kid who asked ‘why’ countless times in the run of a day? No, it wasn’t a tactic to drive your parents crazy (although it can be effective for this purpose too), but a tool used to understand yourself and the world around you. And it is something that entrepreneurs need to embrace to find their purpose.
Think about the heroes and heroines in the stories that capture us. Are we magnetized to someone who has the perfect body, the perfect childhood, the perfect day in their perfect life? Or are we drawn towards the underdog, the one who faces obstacles, the one who has the most to lose?⠀
Storytelling is not only for written words. The images, colours and fonts that you choose to put up on your grid all tell a story about your personal brand. Just think- before your audience even reads your caption, they see your visuals.