There’s this funny idea going around that in order to succeed in business, we need to hustle. Hustle implies lots and lots and lots of work. Work that never ends. Never knows down-time. Never takes a breath.
And it used to be me.
During the first 5 years of my business, my husband worked away a lot and so I spent most evenings once the kids were in bed working on my business, but 10 pm would tick over and I just kept going. Midnight, 1 am, 2 am… and then I’d pay for it the next day.
Once we moved to a different town, my husband’s work kept him home more and it was a steep learning curve for me to create better boundaries around my business.
Part of the privilege of running your own business is that you get to set the pace and choose what you do and don’t do. Yes, it’s important to earn an income from your business (otherwise it’s a hobby, right?), but you don’t have to build it in the same way that everyone else is building theirs.
🌱 You can choose to pay yourself rather than pay for (more) advertising.
🌱 You can choose to optimise your current website rather than overextend on a fancy new one.
🌱 You can choose to cut lines that don’t sell well in order to introduce something new, or to simply sit in the calm that comes with running a smaller range.
🌱 You can choose to ignore the infamous algorithm and just do what works for you and your biz.
🌱 You can choose to say no to that new social platform if you’re already happy with the others (remember Periscope?!).
🌱 You don’t have to grow if you’re happy where you’re at. It’s ok to be earning an income that you’re happy with and simply not desire more. It’s also ok to want more and to be willing to put the work in to achieve that… but you should never have to hustle so hard that the boundaries blur.
Choose what you’re going to be amazing at. Choose how and when and why you’ll show up in your business. Set goals and create the framework to achieve them.
And don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.
