Latest / The Matriarchy Would Never | A Promote Yourself to CEO Podcast Series / Designing Your Life-First (And Life-Proof) Business in 2025

Transcript

Designing Your Life-First (And Life-Proof) Business in 2025 · The Matriarchy Would Never | A Promote Yourself to CEO Podcast Series

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: When I talk to women entrepreneurs, I find that so many of us are fighting burnout.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: We find ourselves spending every waking moment working.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: And when we're not working, we're thinking about our businesses.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: We all seem to have this low level of anxiety that is constantly humming in the background.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that keeps us from fully enjoying and being present during our life.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm here to tell you that all work and no play makes Jane a dull girl.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: It is time for us to reclaim our life and build a life first business.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: But that means we first got to start by creating a life-proof business and make sure that our business is actually designed to fully support our current life and what our life actually looks like.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to pause, take some time to get intentional today, because we are continuing the plan your best year ever by designing your life for 2025.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Are you ready to grow from solopreneur to CEO?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: You're in the right place.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Rachel Cook, founder of the CEO Collective, and I've spent the last 15 years helping women entrepreneurs to sustainably scale life-first businesses.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you're serious about building a life-first business that actually allows you to prioritize sustainable business growth while at the same time having the freedom and flexibility to fully love every aspect of your life, to have the time and energy to put back into your family, your health, the people who matter most to you, then it's time to put the strategy systems and support in place to make it happen.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Join me each week for candid conversations about stepping into your role as CEO, the hard lessons learned along the way, and practical, profitable strategies to grow a more sustainable business without the hustle and burnout.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hey CEO.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now before we get into today's challenge, I want you to go download the workbook and actually set aside 20 or 30 minutes to actually create your plan for 2025.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And to make it as easy as possible, you can go to theceo collective.com slash B Y E to sign up for the full challenge and get yourself a copy of all of the workbooks.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I know how easy it is to listen to a podcast like this and think to yourself, oh, I like that idea.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: I should go back and relisten.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: I should go actually do this.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then time gets away from you and you realize that you haven't prioritized implementing what you have learned.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: You have edutained yourself.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Too many entrepreneurs are on the fast track to burnout because they don't take the time to implement the things that I am talking about right now.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And today we want to make sure that you are burnout proofing your business.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: You are life proofing your business by getting clear about what you want to be doing, having, feeling, experiencing, and living in 2025.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you head over to theceve.com slash BYE, download the workbook, take a photo of you doing the work, and send it to me on Instagram.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Tag me at rachel.cook to let me know your biggest aha's and insights as you complete today's challenge.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: All right, now it's time to dive in and design your year.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there, CEO.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the Plan Your Best Year Ever Challenge.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Rachel Cook, founder of the CEO Collective and host of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you are joining me for day two, then by now you should have completed the year in review exercise from day one.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't seen that video or you haven't taken some time to dig in and complete the exercises from that video, I want to encourage you to press pause right now and start with the year in review.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: The year in review is so illuminating and will give you a lot of clarity on what is and isn't working in your business.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: And this is an essential step because business is changing very, very quickly and things that were working are no longer working.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to be on top of what's actually getting us the results that we're looking for.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have completed your 2024 year in review and you've learned the lessons that this year has had to share with you, then today we are going to shift gears.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is where it gets a little bit fun.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to dream about the future, where you're doing your business 100% your way on your terms and aligned with your definition of success.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Specifically, we are going to time travel into the future.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to get into our imaginary DeLorean.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to set the dial to a year from today and imagine that we are following our future self around.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you've probably done some version of a future self exercise, but this particular version is based off of the painted picture exercise that Cameron Harold talks about in his book Double Double, which is one of my favorite books of all time.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's about how you can double your business over the next three years.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And he realized in running many, many successful businesses as the COO, the chief operating officer, he realized that having this level of clarity about what you are growing into is truly the key to getting everyone on the same page, to making sure the business is all going in one clear direction.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Your team is clear about where you're headed, and you now have something that you can use to help you make major decisions about your business.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when Cameron Harold wrote this originally, he called it the painted picture.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's called the vivid vision.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: But he does this exercise where you are thinking about what you want your life and business to look like three years from today.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I believe three years is powerful.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: I love digging into three years for today, but for a lot of us, that might be too far in the future for it to feel real and concrete for us to actually be able to reverse engineer it.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I want us to just think about a year from today, 12 months from now.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: That is a little more achievable.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: It feels a little bit more real.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: And when you can wrap your head around it a little bit more, it's gonna make it easier once we get to the planning.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna pretend that the DeLorean has taken us into the future and now we are following our future self around.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: What does our life look like on just a normal, regular day?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: What does it look like from the moment that you wake up until your head hits your pillow again in the evening?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: What does your day today look like?
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: How are you starting your day?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: How are you ending your day?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: How are you filling your days?
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Pay attention to what this dream version of you is doing one year in the future.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: One thing that really helps me when I'm thinking through this is to start thinking about what I want to be different next year, right?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And these don't have to be massive shifts, they could be small shifts.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: But what is it that I want that is going to help me be closer to my dream life?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: What is it that I wish I had more time for?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: What is it that I really want to be doing day to day?
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then you're gonna zoom out even further and look over the course of a week, what types of things are taking up your time, energy, and attention?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: What are you prioritizing?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you investing your time, energy, and attention in your life and also in your business?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you will start to see that there are a lot of areas of opportunity here.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing that I like to think about as I am creating my painted picture for myself is to think about the areas that I want to upgrade.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: What upgrades do you want in your life?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: This could be in just your general lifestyle.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to improve your home in some way.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: You want to build out your home office or you want to do a renovation, or you simply want to buy some new art.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to change up your schedule and have a schedule that you really, really love.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: What do you want to upgrade in your relationships?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: What relationships are important to you?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: These could be your significant other, these could be your family, your kids, this could be your extended family or your parents or your brothers and sisters.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: This could be friendships.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: What upgrades do you want in those areas?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: And where do you want to see things change?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: For example, my kids are now in high school.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: So one big goal for me, one upgrade I would like next year, is to have mom and me weekend trips where I can take the kids now that they're in high school on a trip that's just the two of us to enjoy some time and make some memories together before they're officially out of the nest.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: What upgrades do you want to make in your hobbies?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Hobbies are so important.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: They're an amazing stress relief, they're an amazing creative outlet, but they give us something to do that's not just about making money or taking care of other people.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that you're doing just for the joy of doing it for yourself.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: So, what hobbies do you want to spend some time with or do you want to actually create and cultivate for yourself?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: What about your overall health and well-being?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: In your health and well-being, I talk all the time about how we make sure we are burnout-proofing our business.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of that is making sure that we are prioritizing our health and not just putting off the important things that we need to take care of, going to get our annual physicals, making sure that we are seeing our doctors.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always amazed at how much women put themselves very last when it comes to just basic, you know, maintenance for taking care of ourselves, but also how are we managing our emotional health, our physical health, all of the things that truly help us have the energy that we want in order to have the life that we want.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: So think about what do you want to see change?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: What do you want to upgrade?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then ask yourself, what will it take to have those upgrades?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the upgrades you might be thinking of in these different areas of your life might just require a little bit of time and planning and intentionality.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Some might require you to invest more into that area of your life.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: But taking a little bit of time now to get intentional will help you move closer to what it is you want to be experiencing day to day next year.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Then we want to look at what upgrades do you want in your business?
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: So as you had gone through the future you exercise and thought about what you want your day to look like and what you want your week to look like, what upgrades do you want in your business?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: What changes do you want to see in your business?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: What will help you in your business next year?
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Does that mean that you want to actually start hiring more people on your team?
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: You want to be able to delegate more and have more people supporting you so that you can show up and do the work that only you can do?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do you need to do a major upgrade in your technology behind the scenes?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Do you need an upgrade in your infrastructure?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Do you need an upgrade in your operations?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to upgrade an area of your marketing?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe your branding needs to be elevated or you need to upgrade your website.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: What upgrades will help you get the most out of your business and enjoy your business even more?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Once you've thought through some of these upgrades, then we want to start connecting the dots here because your business should be funding your dream lifestyle.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: It truly should be.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Your business should be paying for you to support your family, to take care of yourself, and to invest into your future.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I know that numbers can feel a little scary, and I'm not trying to scare you at all.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to scare you off, but I want to make this incredibly practical for you.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And nothing can bring sharp focus to the situation more than sitting down and crunching the numbers, getting real about what your business really needs to pay you, not just now, but as you are growing into that future version of yourself.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Often a lot of entrepreneurs, they really only pay themselves whatever happens to be left over at the end of the month, right?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So they're kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel after they've paid all their expenses, they've paid all their team, they've paid their taxes, then they'll accept whatever is left over.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want your business to be profitable long term and you want your business to be sustainable long term, then you need to be considering your business needs to pay you a steady paycheck, right?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: You need to be able to essentially put yourself on salary and know that every single month, your business is gonna cut you a paycheck that will fund your dream lifestyle, that will take care of you and your family.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: As the sole breadwinner for my family, I can tell you it makes a massive difference knowing that my business has supported my family for over a decade, as my husband has become a stay-at-home dad.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a huge amount of, you know, peace of mind knowing that we our needs are taken care of.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: So in this exercise, I'm giving you access to the get paid calculator.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And there's two parts you will want to look at starting today.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: By the time we get through the whole challenge, you will have played with this calculator a little bit, but I want you to go ahead and start with the personal salary calculator.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is also in the workbook, but what I love about the calculator is it adds it all up for you and makes it really, really easy to see how the numbers all work.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: So the first part of the personal salary calculator is looking at your current cost of living.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is what you actually need to support your lifestyle right now.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't make any changes, this is what you need to bring home to pay for your life today.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then you're going to compare that to your future self.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: So you're going to look through your painted picture, you're going to look through the areas you wanted to upgrade and plug those numbers into your future column here of your personal salary calculator.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: This will help you get really, really clear on how much you need to pay yourself in the future, what kind of raise you basically need to create for yourself.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite part about the get paid calculator is once you complete today's section, the personal salary calculator, and you know what you want to be paying yourself in the future, it's going to pull it into the next section of the calculator.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to dive into this a little bit more tomorrow, but this will give you such clarity on the actual revenue your business needs to generate in order to fully support the salary that you want to be paying yourself.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is my favorite part about this calculator.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: It just eliminates so much like questioning about how much does my business really need to make in order to pay me and support the lifestyle that I really want.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope you enjoy playing around with this.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Keep in mind you can play with it as much as you want and see how the numbers all interact with each other and how it all shakes out.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you have downloaded today's workbook and plugged in the numbers into the get paid calculator.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: All of it is available when you are fully signed up for this challenge at the CEO Collective.com slash BYE.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, each day is building on the next.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow we are going to dig into your business even more and make sure that it is aligned with your definition of success.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you then.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, CEO.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you loved today's installment of the Plan Your Best Year Ever challenge.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: We are only in day two out of three.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: So there is a lot more goodness ahead as you work through this free planning challenge together.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to make sure though that you have carved out a little bit of time.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead and plug it into your calendar that you are going to circle back.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to go to the CEO Collective.com slash BYE, sign up for the challenge, download the workbooks, and actually do the work.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I have clients who year after year return to this challenge.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: They can actually share with me the printouts from challenges they did in 2018 or 2021, and they tell me again and again how much this free challenge has helped them to really stay focused in their business.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And in times like these, where there is so much uncertainty going on in the world and so much is changing so fast, having a clear, documented, check-offable, follow-throughable plan that actually makes sense for your life and your business is a non negotiable.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I can't wait to hear how you are doing as you are working through the plan, your best year ever challenge.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you are connecting with me over on Instagram, tag me at rachel.cook, and I will see you in the next challenge.