Latest / Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs / 89: The power of slowing down for business progress

Transcript

89: The power of slowing down for business progress · Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Digitly She Does It Show.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 89, and in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about why we need to slow down if we want to speed up our progress in business.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump right in and let's get started.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you are an ambitious creative ready to build a business on your own terms and without compromise, then this podcast is perfect for you.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: With my award-winning approach to marketing and expert knowledge in creating online courses, this show will leave you feeling inspired, energized, and ready to bring those big dreams to life.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Join me each week for a dose of motivation and marketing know-how, along with actionable step-by-step strategies to help you accelerate your businesses' growth.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in and don't forget to subscribe to all my upcoming episodes, which drop every Wednesday.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host Karen and I really do appreciate you hitting that all-important play button to listen to today's episode.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Today I am talking about making progress, but how we need to slow down before we can speed up.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: But before I do, I want to talk about the Digital Creators Hub.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is your one-stop shop to get started online.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: This hub has so many resources, it's got planning tools, templates.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've even got an area in there where I've shared my recommended tools and I've put some really valuable training in as well because I want to help you to get started online.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Being online means you get to create a business that actually gives you the time and the freedom that you actually desire.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So get on over there, it's completely free and sign up for the hub.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Visit www.pink-lemondigital.com forward slash hub.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's no better time to get started with your digital business than today.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: And this hub has been designed to help you along the way.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: So back to today's episode, and today I am talking about the crucial balance between speed and effectiveness in business and why sometimes simply by slowing down it actually helps with progress.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because when it comes to running a business, there's so many things to be doing all of the time, and it's very easy to get caught up in the doing and being in that state of busyness, but we're not actually making progress because all we're doing is being busy, and I think sometimes we have to kind of take a step back in order to be able to look in at our businesses and and really keep connected as to where they're going so that we can keep it on track.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: As a business owner, there's this need to constantly be moving forward at a fast pace because there's that sort of sense of wanting to gain that success, but to get there as quickly as possible.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: But actually, I think really by slowing down, greater progress can actually be created because it means that you can be more productive, and that productivity is actually more enhanced because you can then focus on the things that are actually going to move the needle.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's always so many things to be to be doing all of the time, and I think sometimes we can sort of end up going down rabbit holes where we're focusing in on areas that yeah, we could be working on, but actually that's not going to make progress, it's just the thing that maybe keeps us safe.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing this for a while now.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'm coming up to sort of my seventh year, and the more I become immersed in this fast-paced world of business, the more I realize that it's not necessarily about being caught up in the doing.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes taking a step back, just slowing down, can actually be more effective because that's when you get the time to really think about things and to reflect and to be more strategic so that when you do come back and you do start putting in work, you're actually working in the areas that's going to make the difference.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: So, over the past probably six months, I would say, I have been working on sort of a new area of my business.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: I decided that I wanted to launch a membership, and the reason for this is because over the past four or five years, I've been helping clients with creating online courses, and I've been teaching, and I have absolutely loved it.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: But when you are creating something that's actually going to make a significant di difference to your business, and there's a lot of obstacles in the way, i.e., like the tech and creating the content and all the things that go into creating an online course, there are many rabbit holes that you can obviously end up going down, and that can become overwhelming, and then progress then stops.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so, what I decided was that I want to create a membership where I can serve people at a deeper level, I can provide that support and that help that can really get people moving forward, that can get them over the hurdles that they're experiencing and actually get them across the finish line.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because I I genuinely 100% believe that as service-based providers, creating products that you can sell on repeat is the way that you're not only going to diversify your income, but you're going to create that freedom in your business because you can't create freedom when your business is on your shoulders, and so we have to get to the point where we are removing us in the daily selling of everything so that we can actually create something that sort of brings in the money when we're not at our desk.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And my business, my life has changed dramatically since I've been creating digital products and online courses and things like that.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I know the absolute benefit, but I also understand that there are a lot of obstacles that can kind of get in the way of somebody actually achieving this for themselves, and so what I want my membership to be is an environment where people can come in, feel supported, feel guided, get everything that they need the tools, the templates, the resources, the guidance, the training, the community, so that they they can actually enjoy the the journey because it's a fun journey to be on.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: You are giving birth to something, you're creating something, a seed of an idea, you're bringing that to life.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: It is incredible when you have something that you thought about and you have it and you're making money from it, and I want to get people to that place where they're bringing in that revenue that's going to make a difference.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: So the membership is sort of like my the idea I've been working on, and I've been at it, I've been sort of working away, I have done a lot of work around it, and I've been building up a wait list and I've been doing all the things.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: But if I'm honest, I'm tired, I'm a little bit burnt out because where I feel so deeply about the thing that I'm creating, I want to work on it, and I want to keep showing up and I want to keep doing the things that I need to do to get it off the ground.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: But of course, when you're pounding away and it's relentless, you can end up feeling very burnt out, very tired, very exhausted.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's how I've been feeling, and actually, what I've tried to do is now take a step back because I recognise how I'm feeling.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't the first time that I've got to a place where I've been feeling tired and I've been feeling burnt out by my business.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm an all-or-nothing person, if I'm really connected to the thing that I'm working on, I'm all in.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: I will work, I will bring that thing to life, I will do what I need to do.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a great thing to have this focus, determination, motivation, but it can also be a hindrance as well.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Because what it means is that I don't take necessarily the time that I need to take in order to really regenerate myself, and I'm really bad at going and getting exercise.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: My husband, he's absolutely brilliant, he will take himself off, he will go to the gym, say four times a week, and he loves it.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And when I'm in the gym and I'm doing the exercise and I'm moving and I'm doing all that stuff, I feel amazing, I love it.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: But to get me through the door, to get me doing the thing and getting out of my head, because the truth is that I would rather be working on my business, so I always tend to choose that over doing something that actually supports sort of my self-care.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: So because I've been feeling tired and I've been feeling sort of a little bit burnt out over the past few weeks, I've been making sure that I have been going to the gym and I've been doing things that's going to support me, and I've taken some time out, and actually, what has then happened is that I've been able to look in at what I've been creating in a more strategic way, and what that meant was that I may have made some changes because I I got so hung up on a platform that I was going to deliver my membership on, and then by taking some time out and really thinking about it, I realized it was completely the wrong platform.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I've now had to do is change my platform, but I think had I not taken time out, I wouldn't have recognised that, I would have gone down the same path.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing, giving myself some space to take to slow down to really think about it through, is how I am launching my membership and what my intention is around my membership, and thinking about the bigger picture and my big why around the membership so I can bring all of those pieces together.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you're sort of working away at something, sometimes you're so in the weeds you don't see what is really important, and so what I've tried to do is really take a step back so that I can really think about this thing that I'm in the process of creating, and I've done so much research, and I have watched so many recordings, and I've done so much training and all of this because I'm new to running a membership, but I have a desire to learn, and so by slowing down and taking a step back and making sure that I'm taking care of my self-care, my head is in a better place, I feel better, and because of that, the decisions that I'm making towards this membership I think are a lot better, and I'm now at a place where I'm I'm feeling really excited because I know that this thing that I'm creating is going to deliver results and it's going to support my people that I want to be able to help because I want to create something that actually does the thing, which is why I love online courses because it's all about taking that person on a journey and making sure that they're getting the results that they need in order to improve whatever part of their life they need to improve, and I think with memberships, I think you get to do that as well, but I think you also get to offer a deeper level of service.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really excited to be moving into this new space.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: My membership launches on the 1st of July.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: I am currently running a wait list, so I'm really excited about that.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I've got quite a few people on the wait list already because I've been having a lot of conversations about the membership because I before I launch it, I need to know that there is a need and a demand for the thing that I'm creating.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's exactly the thing, guys, that I talk to you about about online courses.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Before you create an online course and you spend that time building it out and doing all the things and then putting it out there only for it to flop, what you need to do is make sure that you do your research, you speak to your audience, you get insight, you understand what people actually want, so that the thing that you're creating provides that support, and that's exactly the process that I've been on creating my membership.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really excited.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've had some amazing feedback of all the things that's going to be included in there, and I think it's going to be an exciting journey to be on.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: But the one thing that I have realized is that actually by taking a back step, by slowing down my efforts and not constantly be at my desk working, by taking time out, going for a walk, going down the gym, going swimming, doing the stuff that really kind of helps sort of more on a mental level, that has really helped not only how I feel, but it's also helped my thinking towards the thing that I'm creating.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: But also, I've been able to see things in different ways, and because of that, I've been able to be more strategic.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I know it may feel as though slowing down is counterintuitive, especially if you're like me and you are really connected to the thing that you're doing, and you have this drive and you want to work on it and you want to make things happen, but it really does make a difference, and how I feel right now is entirely different.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't feel mentally drained because I've given myself time, I've taken time out.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: I've also sort of taken sort of the afternoon, if you like, to spend more time with the kids.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: So when the kids come in from school, I've been making sure that I've been available to them, I've been spending time with them.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: We've been doing film afternoons, and I've been giving myself that time just to chill out, and then what that has done as well, it's given me that boost that I need to start again, and what I find is that I'm actually really kind of really wanting to start because I've had that time out, and my energy levels have increased because of that.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it really does pay dividends to just to slow things down and to just give yourself some time, and I don't think it's selfish to do that, I think we actually need it.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I talk about it in other episodes about self-care and why it's important, and I and I absolutely believe that self-care is.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is that we know this stuff, but we don't always apply it to ourselves.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: And when I have projects on and I'm really busy, self-care can sometimes go out the window because between running a family, looking after the kids, looking after the house, looking after the dog, looking after the business, doing all the things, there's no time for self-care.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have time to go to the gym or go swimming or go for a walk or whatever.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: But what I have realized is that absolutely we need to make time because that's the missing ingredient that's going to help us to actually make progress in our business.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes just by taking a step back, we can really look in at what we're doing, we can really think things through, and then we can take the action that makes the difference.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's the point.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about being busy, it's about being smart, and when you have time to think things through, you can approach things in a very intentional and strategic way, and then we can set ourselves up for more sustainable growth and we can achieve our long-term achievements because we can actually be focused enough to get there, but with the energy that we need to make things happen.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I encourage you to take time for yourself to slow things down if you're somebody that does get caught up in things and you're finding that you're chained to your desk, you're not actually having those breaks, and you are busy all of the time.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Take time out because this will be the thing that will accelerate your progress in your business.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because success is not always about how fast we move, but how effectively we navigate the journey.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: I really hope you found this episode of value, and of course, please feel free to share it with anyone who you think will benefit from listening to today's episode.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you are feeling inspired and would like to know more about getting started with an online course or even just getting started online, then go and join the Digital Creators Hub at www.pink-lemondigital.com forward slash hub.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great week.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: So why not rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in today, and I will see you next time.