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This weekend I celebrated my company turning the ripe old age of 2 but last year was a very different story.
You’ll all remember that at this time last year we’d all been suffering in lock down for months. Well, for us in Italy we couldn’t even go out of our homes for exercise due to Covid 19. I refused to let the loss of my freedom hold me back. I threw myself into work, I learnt to bake, my fella and I, even brought in the elevenses tradition daily: Tea and cake on weekdays, wine and crisps on weekends! (It kept me sane, between being at the computer every other minute, but Ohhhh the weight gain!).
On the 28th June 2020 the Government lifted the lock down, we had the opportunity to travel in Italy and leave our apartments, finally! That day, I was invited to join friends to their holiday home in Calabria for a week. I got to work clearing the diary immediately. All I could think was LET ME OUT!!!!
I called 16 of my clients and rescheduled our calls for the following week. Every single one was amazing and said go, enjoy! So I did. Little did I know this how much I needed this break. I switched off my business brain so fully. That at the end of my holiday… I realised I’d missed my companies first birthday.
After dealing with the crisis the best I could, little did I know that non of it was doing me any favours. I had built a thriving business in a short space of time but if I’m honest the first year of my business plus a pandemic, meant I was completely overwhelmed.
Looking back now, I realise that every time you mess up and miss an opportunity, instead of berating yourself, (which naturally I did) you can choose to take the time to improve, recover and grow. The simple act of stopping for a minute and asking yourself, how can I do things differently? has the power to change everything. Do this regularly and you will improve your mindset, your productivity, even your sanity, and in the end you will reap the rewards, just like I did.
Here’s more on how to recover and grow:
Make your next missed opportunity, something your future self will thank you for.
For me, my first company birthday was an opportunity to celebrate a milestone, to thank my clients, my support network and all the people who joined me on my journey, and I missed it. That’s when I realised, I hadn’t felt like celebrating. I was worn out. Serving clients all the time, so much so, marketing and sales didn’t even come into it. I had stopped being in the driving seat,something I advocate and help my clients to do daily; so why the hell wasn’t I doing it for myself?
That’s why in August last year, I decided to change the direction of my business by:
- Taking a course to change the way I operate and run my business.
- Investing in support to change the day to day grind.
- Creating space, turning away business that didn’t support my vision.
- Going on a diet!
- Using the powers of visualisation and goal setting to get clarity on what I want
- Choosing to only do the work that sets my heart on fire.
Where am I now?
- I’ve hit my biggest financial months to date.
- I’m living in my dream home
- I’m working with amazing clients.
- I’ve shifted the weight (and I’m keeping it off!)
I’m not sharing all of this to brag, far from it. I’m sharing this to let you know, we can all get caught up in working our asses off, so much so that we sometimes forget to ask the pivotal question ’Is it all worth it? and the my favourite one of all, ‘how can I make this easier?‘
So, I’m going to ask you….
- Are you happy where you’re at right now?
- What is it that you want from this life, from your business?
- What does that look like?
- How can you do things differently to make what you want happen?
Are ready to take back control and become the business owner you dream to be?
Your first step is to stop being busy and decide to make a change – stop letting your business call the shots. Then you’ll be ready to get clear on your vision. When you have that picture so clear in your mind you can almost touch it, you’ll be ready to develop your distinct voice in the market place. One that calls out to your ideal clients and brings them to straight to you. Which means, before you know it, you’ll be highly visible, with opportunities that you truly crave knocking down your door.
I’ve been on this journey, and I’m so damn excited about what I’m crafting now. Something that I know is going to take you and other service led business owners to the next level too. If you’d like to know more sign up for my CK Insider newsletter and be the first to hear my updates.
Can’t wait that long? Get in touch and start building a business you love, today.
Until then, my heartfelt thanks for being here on my journey.
Cheers 🥂
Caroline x