Have you ever wanted to throw your hands up and say “I’m done!”?
I know I have.
You work so hard to get your business or blog off of the ground by chipping away at your content plan, gaining a few more Twitter followers, getting a couple more likes on Instagram and then you do it all again in hopes that you will reach some sort of break that will launch you to the next level.
If you are like me, you just hope you aren’t wasting your time.
That’s why I started documenting my professional journey as it pertains to my professional. I felt it was worth it to chart the journey of my business as it related to my life and family in hopes that it would encourage others.
Here is what I have learned to love so far.
Love the Process
Apparently endings are not a priority anymore.
What do I mean?
When was the last time you actually enjoyed the ending of a movie…not the movie itself, but the way it ended?
I remember being in middle school (junior high for some) and reading The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney.
I loved the book while I was reading it. It was the first time a book engaged me that way, but the ending was a cliffhanger.
Angry, I went to my mom and told her it was the stupidest book that I ever read.
She laughed at me and said, “How was the book stupid, if you couldn’t stop talking about how much you loved it?”
I realized I loved the story…the journey to the end. (I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the cliffhanger)
You don’t know what life has in store. Major life events occur and mess with the balance of your life and your work.
The time you have to devote to certain things could change or the capital you have to make things happen professionally can decrease. Because you don’t know…you have to learn to love the process. Learn to appreciate your place in the present while setting up your place in the future.
Appreciate your place in the present while setting up your place in the future. Love Your Process! Click To TweetLove Moderation
I think the person who coined the phrase “jump in with both feet” was definitely talking about a swimming pool.
I say test the water with your big toe.
Learning what to moderate within your business and your choices is an art and it usually stems from jumping in with both feet only to find that the water is freezing cold and there is a big fan waiting for you as soon as you step out.
When I first started in graphic design, pricing my services was difficult and when someone called me for a favor, I couldn’t deny it.
I had to get my work out there!
I had to prove that I was actually decent at what I was pursuing and plus my cousin/friend/person I see every once in a while was asking, right?
I found myself so bogged down by free or greatly reduced projects that fully funded projects would suffer.
You could totally be rolling your eyes thinking to yourself that you would never compromise your money the way I did at first.
Maybe not, but what have you compromised?
What were you not able to moderate in your business that costs you time, money or both?
What were you not able to moderate in your business that costs you time, money or both? Click To TweetLove Learning
Anything that stays the same with no growth or movement does what? Gets gross. This may sound weird, but your business can get gross too. Maybe not rotten and slimy, but irrelevant and dated. The type of growth and movement you can control in your business is your knowledge and application.
Gets gross.
This may sound weird, but your business can get gross too. Maybe not rotten and slimy, but irrelevant and dated. The type of growth and movement you can control in your business is your knowledge and application.
Maybe not rotten and slimy, but irrelevant and dated. The type of growth and movement you can control in your business is your knowledge and application.
The type of growth and movement you can control in your business is your knowledge and application.
Stay fresh! Not continuing your education within your field leads to an irrelevant and dated brand. Click To TweetNever stop learning. Maybe understanding business finances will keep things fresh for you or
Maybe understanding business finances will keep things fresh for you or learning to code. Perhaps training to coach others in your field will motivate you. Just keep learning.
If you need a place to start, check out my courses! I have design courses especially for infopreneurs.
Love Delegation
Consider the various parts of running your business and decide what you do well and what you don’t.
Oh, and cut yourself some slack.
What could you hand off to someone else?
- social media updates
- blogging
- accounting
- client concerns and emails
- website updates
- image design (blog posts, ads, social media design)
- updating your online store
- taking pictures of your products
- brand identity design
I urge you to understand your priorities so you can have the proper balance between your lifestyle and your business. If I encourage you to operate outside of your strengths then I’m contradicting my message.
Want an example? Someone once told me that by creating tutorials and courses that helped people design their own graphics and workbooks, I was steering clients away from my services.
But if I’m urging people to do something that would bring them stress because it didn’t flow naturally with their strengths and interests, then it will be detrimental to them.
Love People
Or, really, love the art of treating people properly.
Mutual respect can do a lot for the people that trust and follow your brand and can, in turn, motivate you.
Remember when we talked about word-of-mouth marketing being the most effective type of promotion that exists? Well, when you treat people right, they say good things and good things are motivating.
Getting that mention on Twitter or that new email subscriber can really put a fire under your butt to do what you have to do.
If you are an “Infopreneur,” then creating great content in a blog post, eBook, packet or physical publication is your way of loving people.
And I’m sure other infopreneurs will attest that every time they get feedback from those they have helped, it motivates them to keep going.
Love your Brand
It’s hard to be motivated when you aren’t happy with your brand identity.
You should also be happy with your overall brand, and by that I mean your look, the way you do business, the services you offer, and the way you represent yourself overall.
Your brand is all-encompassing.
When you look at your identity and promotional materials, you should feel proud.
When you put out new products, you should love them.
When you take your customer through whatever consulting process you have set up or whatever you do, be proud!
Allow the excellence of your brand to motivate you. (And by the way…if you can’t find that motivation, maybe it’s time to rebrand. Just sayin’.)
Love every success
Finally, you have to love each and every success you experience.
The thing that is unfortunate, however, is that we tend to allow one mishap or lazy moment flow into all areas. So, we have to define success and that is done best by goal setting.
Each time you meet your goal, celebrate it!
In fact, I’m going to help you recognize how awesome you are.
Download a Goal Celebration Sheet and try loving your successes.
Love these reminders. I am just getting started and working hard at moderating wanting to get stuff down and not spending time with family and friends.
I hear you Caroline! But of course you find yourself super burned out when you don’t take that time for family and friends. It’s all about finding what works for you. Thanks for reading!