This summer marks my 10 Year Anniversary in this business and what a wild adventure it’s been!
My relationship with my business and the work itself has evolved as much as I have over the last decade.
I’m not a different person now than I was when I started however, I’ve cultivated the ability to show up, navigate and experience my world in a different way which has given me more freedom on the inside and out.
In my experience people don’t change.
Transformation happens when you shift your stories, learn new skills, have better tools and amazing support to navigate your world. That’s when the magic happens.
And contrary to all the quick fix BS out there it doesn’t start out as a four hour work week or happen over night with one slick marketing funnel.
It takes tremendous courage, the willingness to work hard, embrace your strengths and your weaknesses and learn to do things differently. One decision, one action at a time. Sometimes they are big leaps but mostly they are the tiny steps.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to summarize a decade of work, lessons learned, connections made, 180 degree turns, rabbit holes and choosing to rise time and again. And I’ve realized that it’s not possible to do in one note but it is in fact what I do each and every day.
Show up and do my best to work and live in alignment with what I know to be true and share it with you.
So with this in mind, here are seven key things I know for sure are essential to creating a thriving business:
(1) You are not your business. Your business is the way you serve in this world. And once you shift your relationship and create a defined degree of separation between you and that business of yours, it will put you in the driver’s seat like never before!
(2) You’ve got to define success on your terms. Get crystal clear about how you want to feel and what success looks like for YOU! Then TAKE ACTION AS IF your business is already as you want it to be and you are living a thriving life. Be who you want to be. Do what needs to be done. And you will have what you most desire. It’s hands down the fastest way to close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. (Rinse and repeat over and over again!)
(3) Get your money stuff figured out now. Unless you have mistakenly called your hobby a business then it’s time to create sustainability. Educate yourself, shift your stories and sort out your numbers! Pay yourself first and stop working so hard to spend money on things that don’t truly bring value to your business and your life!
(4) Don’t try to be all things to all people. The faster you get super clear and embrace wholeheartedly who you are, what you (and your business) are brilliant at and identify your best dance partners, the easier it will be for you to market your magic and attract your ideal customers and clients.
(5) Get those systems in place. Whether it’s planning and time management, money, production, client on-boarding or marketing – your systems are the key to your freedom. Build them to scale and support where you are going!
(6) Build your rock star team! You are not meant to do this alone! Surround yourself with smart people with aligned values (and a great sense of humour) who are experts in their field and those who are highly invested in your success so that you are supported to stay focused on your sweet spot. Rise together.
(7) Understand that your stories are the number one thing getting in the way of whatever it is you so deeply desire. You are the only one who has the power to change them! Make the decision to do the work. Find the support, read the books and learn the tools you need to clear your path! So you can get down to business and do a whole lot more living
*Okay there’s 8… Your health must come first. Otherwise all of the above is irrelevant.
As the years unfold, the more acutely aware I become of just how fortunate I am to live and work in the way that I do.
I am beyond grateful for those who I have danced with! Some of our time together is captured here in the album “10 YEARS IN PHOTOS”.
As I turn this corner, the vision for the next 10 years is coming into focus (more on this soon) and with a few more tools in my toolkit, I’m looking forward to the twists and turns that I expect to be along the way.
At the end of the day, I would not have this honour to do what I do, without YOU.
THANK YOU!
Here’s to an adventurous and productive fall and another incredible decade on the dance floor.
