, , ,

Keep on keeping on

“I can, therefore I am.” Simone Weil

keep on keeping onAre you seeing all your hard work and efforts starting to pay off this year? I am. Both personally, for my family and my business.

None more so than for my eldest son this weekend. It was his national championships for his sport. He’s 16 years old and after some wobbles at the end of last year when he was working out if he even liked the sport any more, (as he’s been doing it for about 8 years now), he’s been focused on doing as well as he could in these championships.

He’s worked hard, and has stuck to his goal, through injury and recovery. Through his school work, which he put time and effort into as well. And he’s always listened to the advice his coaches have given him. He’s learnt, he’s tweaked, he’s put time in to his personal and physical development. The mantra “Keep on keeping on” has been very much in my mind watching and supporting him this year, with all the ups and downs.

His performance this weekend is what some may talk about as “solid”. There was nothing spectacular. Yes, he got some personal bests in a few of his 10 events (he does Decathlon), and he was close to his others. He had his highlights and some disappointments over the weekend. But he kept going. He focused on his own game rather than that of those he was competing against. We didn’t know it, but at the end of the 9th event he’d jumped from 7th to 4th, heading into the final 1500m. He didn’t know it either. That was interesting to me. He was so focused on his own personal performance that he didn’t need to know where he was or what others were doing around him. He concentrated on running his own race (the best he’s ever run it, not in time, just in technique), and finished the end of the weekend 4th in the UK. Wow. Just saying that makes me have goose bumps! Yes, I’m blown away by his talent.

But more importantly, what it showed was that his steady weekly tasks and progress all add up to something very special in the end. Yes, the other 19 boys who completed the event are all amazing. They have to learn and commit to practising 10 different events, whilst they do their school work, and have friends and other interests. But they focus on the end goal. And stick to it. They don’t let a little wobble in one event affect them overall (OK, some do, but that’s where those who get to the top manage this much better).

Just like our businesses are made up of many different moving parts, so a decathlete needs to manage their training, nutrition, rest, recovery, mental strength to get the result they want. If one part isn’t quite right it affects the rest of our business. If you’re not happy, or committed to what you’re doing it affects the whole thing!

Keep on keeping on – what does that mean for you?

Do you have one part of your business which isn’t working for you right now? Something which doesn’t feel quite right? What is it? Just be honest and say, “OK, this isn’t working right now, what are my options?” Do you feel that you’ve been keeping on yet nothing is working for you? Are you being consistent with your work, or are you jumping around all over the place trying different things out, and you’re not ready to keep on keeping on just yet?

If you’d like help exploring your options, feel free to book a 20 minute free Explore Call, or join the Business Cheerleading Club and get the help of other business owners to explore with you.

I’d love to hear how you Keep on Keeping on and what results you’ve seen personally, or professionally. Leave a comment below.

If you’d like Monday Thoughts, and our weekly business tips delivered direct to your inbox, you can sign up here:

 

/0 Comments/by
,

Change is good for business

I’ve had a few conversations these past two weeks with business owners who are struggling to grow their business. When they talked about where they felt stuck and confused in their business, we identified that it was caused by an unwillingness to change something in their business which was holding them back.

With one business owner, the business structure had changed, and she was wanting to move the business in a new direction. Yet she was still holding onto the past and the “old way”. Literally with stock she was holding, which wasn’t selling, yet she couldn’t buy the new stock she wanted, without getting the cash in for this.

For another, they needed more time in their business to grow it, and had found a way of creating this by shifting their schedule around. Yet they were still stuck no change.

Why?

Change is good for you

change is good for you and your businessWe all know that if we change our state we can shift ourselves out of a state of mind, or re-energise ourselves. Simply going to get a glass of water changes our state and helps us clear our heads. We know change is good for us, yet we often sit at our desks for hours on end with no break, getting more and more worked up. Most people like wearing new clothes and new shoes.

Why?

I’m no pyschotherapist, but I know that my monkey mind has a lot to do with it for me! The monkeys say, “just get this done, then you’ll be happy”. Oh how I wish they’d keep quiet. When I talk back to them and say, “no, I’m taking a break as I’ll do this better & be even happier when I come back to it”, life is great. Are you the same?

The saying, “A change is as good as a break” is so common, that we probably don’t hear it any more. But when we do get 5 minutes fresh air, even hanging the washing out if you’re working from home, we feel more energised when we come back to that thing we were struggling with previously.

It follows that change is good for your business too

Agree?

If you’ve got some stock that isn’t selling, and you need the cash to buy new stock which your customers want, what’s the sensible thing to do?

If you’ve got a burning desire to focus on a new customer type, as you know you’ll love working with them, why aren’t you doing what you love?

If you’ve found something you don’t like doing in your business, that’s stopping you from doing something you love, why can’t you hand that over to someone else to do?

What’s stopping you changing something in your business?

That question can be a hard one to answer if we’re not aware that we want to change something in the first place. For the business owners I’ve worked with these past few weeks, it’s been fear of letting go. You could say they were in their comfort zone. Yet, it wasn’t feeling comfortable any more because they knew they needed to change something. They just sometimes couldn’t see what it was clearly enough to do something about it.

When you spend time reviewing your business you’ll see what needs changing (and I’m talking tweaking really here mainly, rather than wholesale business structure or totally new products!). That means you need time in your business schedule to be doing something different from working IN your business. I often have my review time in a totally different place from where I usually work. Sometimes I’ll have a long walk first (I love walking and being outdoors), to change my state and be in a relaxed mood before I look at my business with, hopefully, clear eyes.

Do you need help with committing to change in your business?

Sometimes we need others to help us commit to change. You may have a great support team around you who will keep you on track for the changes you want to make. Fantastic. Use them. They want you to succeed, and if you need to make tweaks and changes, be confident to do what’s needed.

If you’re not sure, let us help. For the business owners I’ve mentioned here, all it took was 20 minutes to review, look at options and commit to action. Have you got 20 minutes to explore and review your business?

Book a free explore session (limited availability), and let’s help you make the changes you need to move your business forward.

 

 

 

/0 Comments/by
, , , , ,

Can your children teach you to believe in yourself

I believe children can teach you to believe in yourself. Here’s why:

Today my eldest son, age 16, started his GCSE exams. He walked out of the door having had a good night’s sleep, a good breakfast inside him, and having done his paper round and had some exercise and fresh air. He was calm, relaxed and confident, having packed his bag yesterday.

He totally believes in himself and his ability to do the best he can in his exams, which stretch over the next 5 weeks (one week off for holiday/revision in the middle). Yes, he could have done more revision, but as he reminded me, he made choices about how to manage this time.

It’s not just about  mindset. It reminded me that so often as a business owner you don’t always believe in yourself. But you should.

Just like my son, you’re ready for the next step:

  • you’ve done your preparation work & researched your market with the products and services you’re selling
  • you’ve got your systems and structures in place to take payment, and your ready to supply the customer with what they want
  • you’re fit and healthy, and making time for you within your weekly schedule to maintain your mental and physical health
  • you’ve got your daily routine to ensure that nothing is missed in your business
  • you’ve got your business and life goals in focus, and you’re working towards achieving them

3 tips to ensure you believe in yourself

  1. Ensure your personal core values are also within your business values. If they aren’t you’ll feel that your business isn’t totally a part of you. Yet it is. You are your business, so you must ensure your values are incorporated into your business. If you don’t believe in yourself how can you expect your customers to?
  2. Keep track of your business numbers and don’t let anyone distract you from your business. You know you and your business best. If you can’t afford something this month that you think will help your business in the long run simply be honest with yourself and put a bit of money aside towards it next month. Don’t be distracted by special offers, or experts saying you “have” to do something. You know what’s right for your business. Don’t jump in. Take time to think about it before making a decision
  3. Have the right support team cheering you on. Whether this is your understanding family, a group of friends or a focused business support group, or more likely a combination of support, when you’re struggling to believe in yourself, they’ll remind you how special and talented and focused you are. It’s easy to forget why you’ve set your business up, but your business cheerleading team will keep you on track, and boost you when you need it.

What else can our children teach us as business owners?

children help you believe in yourselfAs parents we teach our children lots of things, and we hope to inspire them with confidence, so they grow up to be sure of themselves, and believe in their abilities. So isn’t it fascinating that when they turn round to us and say, “you’re great at that Mum/Dad”, that it inspires us and confirms what we know deep inside? That we’re doing a good job as a parent, and a great job as a business owner. Those simple words remind you to believe in yourself.

I’m sure there’s lots of other things our children can teach us. I’m often blown away by what my boys teach me. It’s a collaboration isn’t it? Learning together so we benefit from each other. That’s why I love the Business Cheerleading Club so much I think – a collaboration of business owners, learning together, just like my family 🙂

I’d love to hear what your children are teaching you and how you’re using that within your business. Let me know by leaving a comment:

/0 Comments/by
, , ,

How do I get the right business mindset

“Mindset is the key to everything” Lottie Moore,

I’ve learnt a lot about mindset over my time in business. I think we can all learn from watching children as they learn how a business mindset can develop to support our business growth.

business mindsetChildren as they learn are honest with themselves and others. If they’re trying to do something they won’t stop until they do it. Think of them learning to walk. How many times will they fall over before they find their balance?

So why do business owners think that running a business is easy and they won’t fall over at the first hurdle?

I can’t answer that question, but I can help you create the right business mindset to make your business journey as smooth a ride as possible.

How do I create the right business mindset for me?

We are all different, so what works for me won’t necessarily work for you. However, from my experience, and that shared by Mindset expert Lottie Moore during an interview, there are things you can do to help yourself create the right business mindset for you.

I am assuming you’re in the right business & you have a passion for what you do. That’s the starting point!

  1. Have your plan and EXPECT it to work
  2. Be prepared to knock on doors & go out and do it. TAKE ACTION.
  3. “DO OR NOT DO. There is no try” maybe a mantra from Star Wars character Yoda, but it’s true.
  4. Choose to STAY POSITIVE in your business even if you get a little knock back, or things don’t go quite to plan
  5. Surround yourself with people who will AFFIRM you for who you are and your brilliant skills & SUPPORT you in the right way
  6. Celebrate every little success with your cheerleading team

If you’re having a bad day

And you will. It’s perfectly normal in business, as in life, to have bad days. Lottie suggested these tips to get your business mindset back to where you want it to be:

“Expect the best, prepare for the worst” Firewalker mantra

  1. Ask yourself, “have I got a reason, or have I got an excuse?”
  2. Adopt an entrepreneurial spirit – Don’t linger on the things that don’t work. Learn and move on
  3. Step up and go for it
  4. Replace “try”, with “I AM GOING TO”
  5. Replace “if”, with “WHEN”
  6. Put on some great music
  7. Take responsibility for your successes & when things go well
  8. Write down what you’re grateful for. Have a gratitude jar to remind yourself of a great day
  9. Be proactive in creating your own mood for the moment, the day, and your business
  10. What are you good & passionate about? That’s what you need to focus on & get support on the other parts.
  11. Invest in the best you can afford. Low cost monthly clubs, like the Business Cheerleading Club are great & you meet wonderful people.
  12. Mix with people who will support you and encourage you to grow your business
  13. Learn from the questions others ask in your support group. You learn what you didn’t know you did’t know!
  14. Think about the language you use. Change a word and see if it’s more positive for you
  15. It’s OK to say, “I haven’t got the money for that this month”, or “things aren’t great at the moment”, or “this is hard”
  16. Give yourself a break, you’re doing a great job 🙂

Celebrate what you want to replicate. Lottie Moore

lottie moore talks about business mindsetCreating your business mindset is one thing, and maintaining it can be something else. You’ll probably learn something else from the conversation I had with Lottie. It’s only half an hour long, so you can listen whilst you’re washing up!

What do you do to create the right business mindset for yourself? Let me know in the comments below.

 

If you’re a coach and want extra support, Lottie’s Coaching Success Academy we talk about is another option for your own support and business development.

/1 Comment/by
, , , ,

Do you have problems staying focused?

It’s interesting that on the day I’ve been talking about staying focused, I’ve had distractions which have taken me away from what I’d wanted to achieve! 😉

We all have distractions. We’re busy people. We have lives which are full of things we enjoy doing. We have friends and family we want to spend time with. We need to eat and exercise and sleep (not that these should ever be distractions!).

But the one thing that I hear from the business owners, in all sorts of different ways, is they struggle staying focused, and it worries them. Does it worry you too?

Staying focused

cathy presland - staying focusedI had a wonderful conversation with Cathy Presland today, (click the link or image to watch the 20 minute conversation), who in her own inimitable way, suggested that focus in itself can be a distraction to what we’re wanting to create and achieve. So anyone who came to the conversation live would probably have been disappointed not to have learnt any #tipsforbusiness about staying focused.

OK, so if staying focused is a distraction, and our to do list is a distraction, what can we do? Are we in one big vicious circle of getting nothing done?

No of course not!

Staying focused on the current activity will bring that to an end quicker. That’s an obvious statement I know, but one we often forget to carry out.

What about, as I talked about in our conversation, when you’re trying to get something done, and the children need feeding, and you remember you should be somewhere else. What then? How do you stay focused then?

Cathy suggested that you know the answer. I agree. Even though you want a checklist to work through each time this happens, a question to ask about “what is my focus?”, and that will tick all the boxes and get you back in focus, will that solve the issue?

The children will still need feeding at the same time as you should be somewhere else, whilst you’re trying to finish a piece of work. That hasn’t changed. So where should your focus be? Only you can know the answer to that. Are the children starving? How important is that other thing you should be doing?

How are you staying focused?

The scenarios we talked about may not be the focus issues you’re having. You may feel that by asking the question, “What do I know to do in this moment?” we’re not helping you get the focus you want.

What if you try it? What if you asked yourself, “What do I know to do?” and see what the answer is. Those to do lists and things you think you “should” do may take on a different perspective.

It’s interesting. A lot of the conversations we’re having in the Business Cheerleading Club are about these types of issues. If you want more help with focusing on your business, or an aspect in your business, get in touch.

Share your thoughts on staying focused in the comments below & let’s see what we come up with together.

 

/0 Comments/by
, , , ,

What happens to your business when you’re not in the mood?

We all have days, and weeks, when we’re “not in the mood” to work, to talk, to play, to network, to do business, to serve customers. Really, it’s true. Don’t hide.

There’s many reasons for this not being “in the mood”, some of which are:

  • hormones (males and females are both affected)
  • moon cycles (whether you like it or not, moon cycles exist and affect our daily lives)
  • energy (or lack of it, which in turn can be caused by a number of factors)
  • holiday (just back from one, or about to go on one)
  • emotional challenges (children, parents, partner, friends)
  • unwell

is your business always in the moodSo, what happens in your business when you’re not in the mood?

I’m asking rhetorically really. You don’t have to confess, unless that will be helpful for you. I guess I’m asking you to reflect and review your business, and all aspects of it, so that when you are having an “off day”, your customers won’t notice, and your systems will pick up the slack.

Tips to ensure your business is always in the mood

  1. Support team. Having a support team around you is crucial. Whether it’s family, friends, or staff (on-site or remote), people who can pick up the slack, or the important tasks when you’re not around will help keep customers happy and the business running smoothly.
  2. Email auto-responder. Setting this up, as soon as you know you’re not “in the mood”, will ensure that you can get on with getting yourself back on track, and customers can be still be served efficiently. Do you have another team member you can encourage emailers to contact, using a click through link ideally – a general office email that you know will be checked?
  3. Answer machine message on your phone. This should be fairly easy for you to set up, and amend as your circumstances change. Again, referring callers to another number which will be answered, or giving a clear idea when you’ll get back to them, will help keep everyone informed and happy.
  4. Ordering supplies automatically. Whilst you want to control costs, there’s nothing worse than running out of milk, or toilet rolls is there? So, having some stock items for staff, or for your customers, on regular order that you check every couple of months in your stock review, will ensure nothing is missing, even if you are.
  5. Directory of contacts and contractors. When you’re not in the office, can your team contact your IT support, or plumber, or suppliers, to ensure that the business can function. Having a list of contacts and approved contractors, (even if they are your friends who help out), will ensure that if your partner has to take control whilst you’re unwell for a short time, they can do what they need to keep things running smoothly. Your contacts and contractors will also be more sympathetic as you’ll have built a relationship with them which always make things run more easily.
  6. Be honest….as honest as you can be. With yourself as well as those around you in your family and support team. If ‘life stuff’ is happening sometimes we don’t know what’s going on, so regular reviews of how best to run your business with the facts you have about your situation will serve you, your customers and your business in the best light. If you need to cut your hours, be honest. Cut them. You can only do your best, and be your best if you have the right energy and support to carry out your business tasks.

Every business is different, and each of us as business owners will react in a different way to the situations we face day to day. Whilst we are our businesses, our business can often function without us being involved 24 hours a day, or 7 days a week.

I often say to clients, “what happens when you go on holiday?”. If we can sort out the right support and structure for our business to run whilst we’re away on holiday, we can put systems and support in place for those times when we’re not in the mood, due to life’s little challenges.

Whilst being “in the mood” for business may sound flippant, we’re being honest. We’re just trying to get you to think about the wonderful customers you’ve got and how they’re going to be supported if you’re not around. The Business Cheerleading Club could be part of your support structure. A safe place for your support, and also ideas as to how you can get the right support whilst you’re away, or not on top form. You never know, you may even meet your ideal assistant, or collaboration partner there! That’s certainly been our experience so far.

What tips would you add to our list? What do you do to ensure your business is always in the mood?

 

/1 Comment/by
, , ,

What is business support

What is business support in your business? Is it the support you get as a business owner, or is it the functions within your business to support the whole business to run efficiently?

I think business support is both these descriptions, but it will also be different for each business.

As a small business, you are naturally doing all things in your business – from product management, to customer service, to bookkeeping and marketing.

As your business grows, you may not actually do all these functions yourself, but you’ll have support for aspects of your business.

Business Support Services

what is business supportThis term is generally used for business admin, finance and legal functions. In more recent years, this term has been used when you outsource any aspect of your business to someone else who will take that task on for your business. Marketing, PR, IT support, social media, book keeping and general email administration are all services offered, and used by businesses.

As your business grows, you may find that you create business support services within your staff team, (or remote support staff). Think about it. You need each area of your business to run efficiently, and sometimes you need people to support all aspects of the business. For example, cleaners in your office or shop are supporting the business. They are part of your support team.

What is Business Support

For me, business support is your support structure for you to grow your business. This may well be the staff, (and contract) team around you.

  • It’s also your training, learning, development, and keeping pace with new technology and software.
  • It’s your business coach who helps you work out your next steps, and encourages you to put in place the actions you need to do to take those steps.
  • It’s your networking group, (online or offline), who will be your cheerleading team, and tell others what you do
  • It’s your family and friends who will be there for you as your business grows

Where, what and how do you get your business support?

Is it from one place – a support company who provide you with the business support you need? Or is it from a variety, a mix of all the above? Have you thought about your business support team recently? What’s working? What maybe needs reviewing?

It’s interesting that since I started Action Learning Sets, and the Business Cheerleading Club, I’ve been more conscious of my own business support structure. My family and friends and what I need from them. My coaches and mentors. My networks.

I’m really enjoying the journey, it’s fab – Karen, Karen Peddie Holistics

It’s beneficial to air a problem, and put it out there. It makes you think more deeply about it rather than it rolling around in your head. It’s lovely to have other people’s ideas & then work out what’s right for me. I recommend being part of an Action Learning Set, whatever stage of business you’re at.”, Jane, Created4U

I started Manage Those Things to help business owners, like you, manage those things you can’t, won’t or don’t want to do. That’s classic business support. But the business club and more focused coaching & action learning are directly supporting you as a business owner to give you what YOU need to support your business growth.

Let’s talk through YOUR business support and check it’s the right mix for the next year of your business development. NOTE: Business Cheerleading Club members get one to one support £20 a month cheaper than booking one off sessions.

What is business support to you?

 

 

/0 Comments/by
, , , ,

How to create flexible working business case

This week I’ve had the honour of accompanying two business owners to celebrate their flexible working businesses at the Mum and Working Awards. Both started, and run their businesses, around their young families. They both created a flexible working business case for them to work through with their husbands before taking the step of setting up by themselves.

The awards were and inspiring couple of hours, with many of the judges sharing their own flexible working decisions with us. It wasn’t all about business owners either. Julie Baker, Head of Financial Inclusion and Enterprise at Nat West, shared her story of how she created not only a flexible working business case for herself and family when she wanted to carry on working and developing her career. She also came up with an idea for a friend of hers who was working nights, whilst her husband worked days so they could manage looking after their own child. Julie created the flexible working business case for this lady to become a child minder, look after her own child as well as Julies, and create a more family friendly home life for her family.

We heard from more than one woman who’d been working in businesses which wouldn’t, (or couldn’t?) consider flexible working. So they set up their own businesses, to find the right flexible working environment for themselves and their families. It felt very much, “I can’t get what I’m wanting here, so I’m going to create it myself”.

Inspiring.

As I write this, on International Women’s Day, with the slogan, PRESS FOR PROGRESS, it feels like we shouldn’t have to write a flexible working business case, but it should be a core value in our society. Every business, large and small, should understand that working flexibly ensures skills and talents remain in the business and economy as a whole. Even though some jobs or roles may be difficult to organise flexibly, there’s no reason not to believe that flexible working is important to our economy.

Your business may also need more flexibility to respond to fluctuations in customer demand. So looking at your flexible working plans, and how things can work best for your business, using a flexible work force, should be part of your business review process.

Creating a flexible working business case

Whether it is for yourself, or your business, creating a business case for flexible working will help you see the opportunities and challenges.

Things to consider in the business case:

  • What do you mean by flexible working
  • How many hours are the minimum required for the job to be done well
  • Where does the work need to be done
  • How can each team member remain part of a team whilst working flexibly around each individuals needs
  • What are the core functions and hours of the business and how will they be staffed
  • Can technology help flexible working in the business
  • Is training needed for team around how flexible working will benefit them and work in practice
  • How will communication need to change for flexible working to be effective

It’s not necessarily about reduced hours, or working at different times of the day. It’s an opportunity to look at your business processes and identify what has to happen, and then work out the how & who will make it happen.

For yourself, if you’re creating a business case for your employer, or partner, think about the end result you want. Is it about continuing to do fulfilling work, but reducing your hours. Or is it about putting children, or caring responsibilities first?

Flexible working businessBoth Emma, from bras4mums, and Zoe from Bournemouth Bra Lady created a flexible working business case for themselves, and have created their businesses around their families. They were both finalists of Self Employed Parent of the Year, showing just how much that planning has helped them create the flexible business they want.

If that’s what you want, you can do it to. If you need help seeing all the options, personally, or for your business, book a call with Tracey-Jane & let’s explore together.

/4 Comments/by
, , , , ,

Stress busting techniques from Esther Nagle

stress busting techniques for business owners from esther nagleWe all encounter a little stress in our lives, so it’s important to know some quick tips to reduce and remove our stress. These stress busting techniques were shared with us by Esther Nagle, from Balance and Breathe, in our recent online conversation.

Stress busting techniques

1. SLEEP

Esther’s top stress busting tip is getting your sleep right. Many business owners struggle to sleep well as your brain is buzzing with ideas, or you “just want to get this done”. Instead of getting good sleep, and letting our bodies and brains rest, we often believe that we’ll work through it.

Without sleep, we’ll start to feel more stressed, and out of control. Sleep helps us get a more balanced view of our work, and life.

2. MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF IN THE MORNING

After your great sleep, Esther suggested that you need to make time for yourself in the morning to set up your stress free day. Whatever you do with that dedicated “morning routine”, (and you may need to play a little bit to get it right for you), be it exercise, meditation, planning, or a mixture of different activities, will be important to the day ahead.

3. TAKE REGULAR BREAKS

This is one area we know that business owners struggle to do. And it’s often the ‘regular’ bit of it that’s missing!

Whether you set an alarm to keep your day broken up, or schedule your day with breaks into it, it’s important that you step away from your work, take a break, before returning to it.

Having a drink, (why are brew areas so important in offices? Not just for the social interaction, but the act of moving from your desk to get a drink), going for a short walk, stretching, dancing, singing. Changing your physical and mental state for that whole body and brain change is important.

4. PRACTICE GRATITUDE

This is an interesting one, but one you’ll probably have heard of. It’s interesting that Esther thinks this is important as a stress busting technique.

Knowing that you have a lot to be grateful for can really help you to focus on what’s fantastic about your work and business, and know that the current frustations (stresses), are only there to make your business better in the future.

Some people write down their #threethings each day in a journal or diary, or even share them on social media (making you accountable for what’s good in your life). Others will have times during the day when they’ll think about what they’re grateful for.

5. GET HELP

I know from personal experience that business owners are often bad at asking for help! We think we have to know it all and do it all. Hmmm. That’s not going help our stress levels is it?

So, what can you ask someone else to do? Is it the family to do more around the house if you need to work in the business more? Can a friend help you out at an event, instead of you trying to do it all yourself & not being pleased that you couldn’t speak to everyone? Would an assistant be helpful to do the things you don’t enjoy/aren’t finding time to do?

6. BREATHE

It’s interesting that Esther chose this one to end our conversation, as when she started talking about it, it felt to me that it was the most important stress busting technique that’s available! [Note – Esther has told me since that she could have talked for days about breathing, so she left it until last to ensure she told us the other top tips first!]

Breathing well, helps keep us grounded. Simply breathing in and out, takes the focus away from our busy mind, and focuses on the breath. There’s different breathing techniques you can learn. For starters, simply breathe in and out deeply three times.

I use this when I start to feel a little anxious and is the perfect way to get yourself back in control when you feel yourself getting a bit ‘off balance’.

More stress busting technique support

I learnt loads from Esther, from Balance and Breathe, in our short time together. Her stress busting techniques are all simple to put into practice and are all free! We just need to do them.

Esther shared an excellent 13 minute relaxation exercise. You can contact Esther directly for more information, or support

If you’d like some support, as a business owner, to reduce your stress, whilst continuing to work in your business, the Business Cheerleading Club has other business owners who know what you’re feeling, and going through, and will support you to put your stress busting techniques in place. It’s a place to ask for help.

What else would you add to these stress busting techniques for business owners?

/0 Comments/by
, , ,

Healthier you means healthier business

Do you believe that if you’re in a fit and healthy state mentally and physically you’ll have a healthier business? What are you doing to ensure you’re fit and healthy?

We do.

From personal experience, we’ve had healthier businesses, and happier customers when we’ve personally been happier and healthier ourselves.

If you’re ill and can’t go into work, open the shop, or create product, or follow up prospects, then your business literally starts to grind to a halt. When you’re on holiday you make plans for cover don’t you? But when you’re poorly there’s not always the same opportunity to get the right cover in place to fulfill the tasks you do. (We’ll talk about crisis management & continuity in your business another time).

Now we all know there’s a fine line between mental health and physical health sometimes, and they’re linked together inextricably. Personally, if I don’t have a walk, or some physical exercise each day, I feel low, and can’t think straight. It took me a long time to acknowledge the link though!

Why does my good health create a healthier business?

healthier you means healthier businessOK, think about it for just a second. If you’re feeling happy, that rubs off on those around you, and you will help them feel happier too, right?

It’s the same for your health. You are your business, or certainly leading it if you have a team who works with you.

If you’re under the weather, you don’t fire on all cylinders do you? You may make decisions differently than when you’re fully well. If you’re suffering from stress, or depression, this will certainly affect your decision making in your business, and your focus is likely to be distracted from your overall business goals.

Do you ever get fed up, close your computer and go for a walk? (or run, or bike ride, or yoga – whatever it is you do for relaxation and exercise) What happens?

It’s more than likely you’ll be more relaxed, and the issue that was frustrating you has either become insignificant, or not important; or, you’ll have worked out the answer to move things forward.

Does that sound familiar?

All that is, is you keeping yourself – brain and body – healthy, so you can make the right choices in your business.

How will you create a healthier business this year?

There’s many factors which go into creating and running a business. With many areas to manage as well. Managing them all well will help you create a healthier business this year, but what about you?

Have you got time off and holidays scheduled in your diary?

Do you take regular breaks during the day?

What’s your daily personal schedule to keep you healthy?

If you need some support to get you and your business more healthy, book a call with Tracey-Jane, or use the Business Cheerleading Club support and coaching to help you improve this aspect of your business.

How do you keep yourself fit and healthy, to ensure you manage your business as well as you can?

 

/1 Comment/by