Discover the Practical Steps to Build a Business That Thrives Without You and Creates Space for What Matters Most
I’m currently typing this on my mom’s large kitchen table in the home that I grew up in.
It’s just past 9am but already feels like early afternoon (those of you with littles know exactly what I’m talking about!).
The doors that lead out to the backyard are wide open.
The sun is peeking out behind the clouds, and I’m watching as my kids charge around with limitless energy, playing games, making stories and reaping chaos on my mom’s plants.
Summer time.
We’ve been in London for almost two weeks and it’s been everything we’ve all needed after our whirlwind house move and all of the events and busyness that comes with the close of the school year.
Tons of family time, very little scheduled plans, lots of puttering around, with a birthday party for my eldest thrown in for good measure.
On more than one occasion, I’ve found myself pausing to take in the sight of the people I love and the memories we’re creating in real-time; none of which would be possible if I hadn’t optimized my business not just for revenue, but for time and the ability to run things around the way I want to show up in the other areas of my life.
I’ve shared about this here before, but I definitely pushed myself to the brink of burnout in the fall and winter working on deep projects to get the flywheel in motion so I could be afforded the space to take this time off over the summer.
And while I will definitely be approaching things differently come the end of this year (I’m breaking it all down in an upcoming episode of UNCUT that drops next week), there’s something powerful to be said about operating seasonally in this way and leveraging peak times for output to create space for true rest and for what matters most.
Rest and flexibility aren’t the same thing, but it’s easy to conflate the two.
Having the option to go for a workout in the middle of the day or pick your kid up from school or take the odd Friday off isn’t the same as having periods where you can completely unplug and know that your business can operate without you.
I didn’t have this for years until I went to town building a solid infrastructure to hold my business rather than running it purely on magnetism, energy and vibes, which aren’t reliable.
Running a business that affords you true freedom requires systems.
Your content needs to be distilled and potent enough to create sales at volume, in a way that allows people to discover you and quickly feel safe, confident and compelled to buy what you’re offering.
You don’t need to create lots of content, but rather what you do share must significantly move the needle, because of the intimacy you have with the needs and minds of your ideal customers (which means the same or less effort with marketing, but more sales).
You need to have a sales system in place that adds value, communicates how people get results via your framework and positions your offer seamlessly as the next best step. Sales are then able to come through now without your direct input.
The way you support people can’t be something that exists in your head anymore. It becomes crucial to have a clear framework and methodology for getting people results and a way of delivering it at scale. It’s a system that takes them through a clear process that helps them achieve the result they came for independent of you.
So you can see, it allows you to work smarter, not harder.
And in a more scalable way, where instead of selling your time, you’re selling a process.
Your sales are predictable because they’re built to be.
And by building these structures, there’s space in your life for more.
More time off.
More space on your calendar.
Your entire quality of life changes.
And here’s the thing: You might not be there yet.
This does take a little while to build…
But the beauty is that once it is built, your income gets to compound and grow over time without you having to reinvent the wheel beyond optimizing.
I just recorded a 30 minute life and business update for you inside of UNCUT, if you haven’t checked it out already and have some episodes coming up next week where I break down the practical shifts I’m making to shift to a 3-day work week when I’m back to work in September, how my leadership style has shaped my team and the way we work, plus a BIG Friday episode answering all of the questions I’ve got recently about scheduling and productivity.
Speaking of UNCUT, I recently made the decision to only open it a few times a year, which means the doors will be closing soon.
We’ll be running our annual birthday promo in August where we offer the lowest investment we ever offer to jump in, and then will be closing the doors until sometime next year.
So if you’re not part of the UNCUT community yet and have been wanting to join us, keep your eyes peeled for the details of the birthday promo in the next few weeks.
Here’s some thoughts, reflections and notes from the week:
- This summer I swapped a bucket list of activities with a “to-feel” list. As I’ve shared recently, the last few months have been rough so coming up with a list of places to visit and activities to cross off a list just felt like another big “to-do”. And besides, when we really look beyond the activities themselves, it’s always rooted in how we think those experiences are going to make us feel. So instead, I’ve skipped the list and gone to the root of how I want to feel this summer and used that as my guide. So I want to offer that same prompt to you. Where are you at right now? What do you need? How do you want to feel right now? Sit with it. Reflect on what comes up to you and the invisible thread between it all and allow yourself to get creative about what practices and habits can support you in cultivating that over the coming weeks.
- Speaking of pleasure and feelings, I devoured Glynnis MacNicol’s book, I Mostly Here To Enjoy Myself, and have been buying copies for all of the women in my life. I was telling my students the other day that we can learn so much about conversion copywriting from great memoirists. They’re able to share their personal stories in a way that leaves enough space for you to see yourself in their words. It’s like when you listen to a song and wonder how the writer was able to perfectly articulate exactly how you’ve felt, in a way that you’ve never been able to. That’s what turns books into bestsellers; and it’s also what turns offers from being something that you know is good, but nobody else does, to becoming the kind that people feel compelled by and jump into. This, my friends, is what you need to master to sell at scale and goes to the heart of so much of what we unpack inside the Refine stage of LFB.
- One of my favorite things lately? Leaving the house most days without my phone. I used to never leave without it – under the proviso that an emergency could come up where I’d need to be reachable – but when you really think about it, how many instances come up that are so urgent they can’t wait until we’re back? It feels so good to hear myself think again, to end the days not feeling mentally wiped from using every spare minute consuming podcasts and audiobooks and having something constantly in my ears. It’s definitely something I’m going to keep up when I’m back home. What are some of the things that prevent you from feeling connected with yourself; and conversely, when you are the most tapped in, what are you doing? What makes that possible?
- A quote I came across this week and wrote down as a reminder: “The moment your gut says no, it’s a no. You can unpack the details later.”
- I randomly came across a piece online talking about the misconception that we have to go “all in” on everything as entrepreneurs. The premise being that if you’re not all in, you’re one foot out. “You don’t need to quit something before starting something else,” was the counter-argument being put forward. “Ease in instead. Dabble.” I’m someone who’s always been an “all-in” kind of person. It’s one of my biggest strengths both in life and in business; but it’s also responsible for having me looping on all-or-nothing patterns that don’t actually serve me. So this idea of looking for opportunities to dabble, to test and experiment, but also to just maintain what is without going full force on what’s next, is something I’m really sitting with right now.
- A question I’ve been asking myself lately: “What are you actually feeling and have you given yourself space to feel it? Instead of overintellectualizing things, I’ve started to practice tuning into what my body is saying. This question helps me take stock before jumping into high-functioning mode and allow myself to tune in and allow myself to register what’s coming up for me. Tapping and somatic meditation have been super useful tools for me recently.
