Business Self-care

Jan 1

I graduated from a college in Bowling Green, Kentucky and a few streets down from me there was a store called “Quality Awnings”. My (now) husband and I had a running joke about it because it, of course, had an awning in the front and that thing looked TERRIBLE. A hurricane has never touched land-locked Bowling Green but you could’ve convinced me that this awning had survived at least 3.

I’ve been thinking about this little store a lot lately, as I’ve been working on my own branding that was a total disconnected mess, that I see how a Quality Awnings company would end up being their own last priority. And this is not to shame my former self or the likely capable people at Quality Awnings but I’ve seen so many businesses put themselves last over the years.

Have you ever felt like you’re neglecting your own business?

I get busy with clients and when I have free time, I’d rather spend it with my family or outdoors or eating or really doing anything else. But I believe in my own business, just like I believe in my clients’ businesses.

So my New Year’s Resolution is to treat myself a little kinder. Like some business self-care. Here’s how I’m doing it:

I’m setting small, weekly deadlines for myself with things I want to accomplish so they don’t fall to the wayside.
Note: I use the Things App and it is wonderful for a straight-to-the-point, organization-hater like myself.
Scheduling social media: I’m blocking out one day a month to schedule enough posts on Instagram to hold me over for the coming month.
I’m going to build in time for the unexpected. I’m a big yes person. A big: I will drop everything I’m doing and do that other more exciting thing right now. I love doing that! It reminds me every time that I love what I do. So I’m building in the time to pick up those last-minute projects, assuming they will come, instead of running myself ragged.
I’m going to show myself a little more in this business. I’m uncomfortable in front of the camera and with my own voice. But it’s important so here goes.
I’m taking Fridays afternoons off. Like, totally off. A little gift to myself! We’ll see how it goes.
I’m going to strategize how to work with the people I really want to work with. Here’s what’s hard for me: some of them have big budgets. But a lot of them just don’t. It’s not that they don’t want to invest or that it’s not worth it to them. I don’t buy into that. I think individuals doing fantastic things in small corners of the world deserve fantastic branding too. I’m not sure how it’s going to work yet but I know I’ll figure it out.