Realign Yourself With your Business in 7 Easy Steps
For the past three months, I’ve been feeling unaligned in my business. I’ve kept myself so busy that at first, I didn’t even realise how unhappy I was with what I was doing. I pride myself on enjoying my work, I mean, that’s why I started my own business. But I took on some work that wasn’t what I thought it would be. It took so much of my time and I didn’t have time to contemplate what I was doing. It took me a while to actually realise how unhappy I was.
When you feel unaligned, it’s not always easy to work out what’s causing it. I felt stressed-out and exhausted. I knew something wasn’t quite right, but I wasn’t sure what or why.
Suddenly it hit me…
I had a meeting with my business coach and I told her how I felt. She reminded me of my mission and purpose in business. When I heard it, I almost cried…
I felt so far away from where I WANTED and NEEDED to be.
Why was I doing this to myself?
I started my business so that things were on MY terms, and yet I was unhappy. I knew I had to take immediate action.
I made a list of all the contracts that I had and I compared them to my mission statement. A few were taking up a lot of my time but not paying in line with this. One in particular treated me as an employee and expected me to be available at all times to them. This was not part of the agreement, I mean, I started in business so that things were on my terms but these things most certainly weren’t!
After some reflection, I decided that for my own good, I needed to ditch some of my contracts. I did and I was very honest – I told them the truth. I was a little nervous as I’d grown close to these clients and we had a good working relationship. It was scary…
I typed out a personal email to each client, explaining that the contracts I had with them were not what I wanted for my business and I hit send.
I’d like to say I felt brave, but when I noticed that they had responded, I felt sick. I was actually overwhelmed when I read their responses because they were not what I expected.
They congratulated me!
Every single client said they hope to work with me in the future and said they’d pass my name onto any relevant clients that came their way who may require my services. They even wished me luck in the future!
I’ve always known that people respect honesty, but I underestimated how much. I was surprised at their response and yet I shouldn’t have been – they are amazing people. I’m responsible for underestimating them – they were nothing but supportive and I appreciate that!
What about the MONEY I was Losing?
I must admit, I didn’t want to lose the money I was earning and I think that’s why I continued to do the work for so long, even though I was unhappy. I couldn’t see a way out and I didn’t have time to look for another way. But in hindsight, the hours I was wasting actually meant I was working for less. It really wasn’t worth it as I was about to reach burnout.
So…
If you’re feeling unaligned in your business here’s what I want you to do:
- Talk it out with someone – a friend, a partner, another entrepreneur, or a coach if you have one.
- Make a list of all the jobs you do and how they make you feel.
- Compare the list to your purpose, messaging and ICA in your business – how do they compare?
- Sort out the list – which contracts do you WANT to keep (because they align with your business) and which ones don’t align?
- Look at the contracts that don’t align and write out the cost of contract – how much does it make you approximately, per month?
- Add up your costs from your list of contracts that you want to ditch.
- Think of ways forward – how else can you make that money?
At this point, you have the basis for a plan and you must act. Take a chance on yourself because it’s not worth being unhappy. The reason I’m good at what I do, is because I enjoy it. There’s really nothing better than being happy in your work – it makes it so easy!
After the year we’ve had in 2020, it’s time to kick @$$ in 2021. Online businesses are booming more than ever and this opens your business up to the world. As we’ve changed and adapted in 2020, let’s take those skills with us in 2021.
For me, writing IS my business and I’m ready to help more people than ever. Whether they want to learn some writing, editing and publishings skills, whether they need some consultations when it comes to planning or publishing their writing, if they aren’t confident in their own skills and abilities, or don’t have a ‘writer’s mindset’, I’m here to help them succeed and make it happen!
Much love
