OK, this is a much longer post than I usually do. But I think it will be worth it.
You see I recently read a book by Judith Morgan; a book about doing business in a way that suits you. I knew this was my kind of book. So I bought it. Read it and then read it again. Here's why.
Judith was one of many coaches I had worked with. However, she was the last coach I ever worked with. Why? Because as her book title says, she helped me do business “my way”. She helped me listen to my instincts, buck the trends and find my bliss in business.
You see I had no online business experience when I started my jewellery business. In fact my previous business was overseas with my Husband and it grew very rapidly without any marketing, advertising etc. We were very lucky. So I “thought” the same would happen with my “new baby” when I started my boutique in 2015. How wrong was I!
Here’s the thing. I am a former Criminal Psychologist. I don’t come from a family of entrepreneurs. However, I am very left-brain and love anything related to quantum mechanics, neuroscience and a little “woo-woo”. Judith has 40 years business experience, is quite left brain I would think as a very successful Accountant and also loves the woo-woo. We were a match. More importantly she “got me”. She got how my brain races far quicker than my mouth. She got that I do have slight ADD so could be all over the place even during our sessions. She never tried to box me in.
When I worked with other coaches they would come with their cookie cutter programmes and I just never fit into any one of them. Many of them left me feeling I was odd. Many of these “gurus” were telling me how they made 6 figures in 6 days whilst they were talking to me from their parent’s spare bedroom, with their “My Little Pony” curtains still hanging up. However, I still listened and believed I couldn’t make this work if I didn’t do things THEIR way.
* now I only do what I feel “aligned” to do on any specific day without following rigid timetables. So if I want to read a book all afternoon or go for a long walk, I just go and do it. At first I felt really guilty about “playing hooky” in the middle of the day. But I soon learnt that when I did such things I would return to work full of inspiration.
* I started to learn that the “hustle” was not for me. I am not saying the likes of Gary Vaynerchuck or Tony Robbins are wrong (I am a big fan of both). But their “joy” comes from the hustle. My joy no longer came from hustling. So I stopped.
* I am a night owl. I do my best work when the house is silent and in darkness (I am actually writing this at 1.55am. Don’t ask!) So I have accepted I don’t have to be a member of the “5am club” to be successful.
* I hate business networking. I just find the whole experience very false and transparent. So I don’t network for the sake of networking (that’s not to say I am not sociable). I don’t belong to a Mastermind and I rarely attend business seminars. So I literally go against everything the “biz gurus” tell you to do.
* I have started to work more with my intuition, that “gut feeling” we all get. Since doing so I have made some of the best decisions for my business.
* I really follow what gives me joy on a day to day basis. There are some things in business like my accounts that will just never bring me joy. So now instead of fretting over my Accounts, I contract that work out to an Accountant.
* I was told (by many business coaches I must write only about jewellery on my blog as that is what I sell. I personally couldn’t think of anything more boring to write about (or read about) every week. So now I just write about what I feel like. It might be something personal. Something lifestyle. Who knows? I don’t have an editorial calendar so it really is pot-luck. But ever since making that decision I find writing for my blog easier (it’s usually not something I enjoy). Consequently, the traffic to my blog has grown exponentially and in turn, a lot of my website traffic now comes from my blog. Many PR requests have also come from my most personal blog posts and not posts about my products.
*I love the woo-woo. I meditate, visualise, use crystals, do energy work, use angel cards, follow the moon cycles.......I love it all. It's part of my business now. I can't separate spirituality and business anymore. It's who I am. It's how I handle my perceived problems, how I dust myself down after I face plant into the ground. It's how I handle my business when I am blocked creatively. It's how I handle criticism. It's what makes me jump out of bed most mornings excited to get working. All of these aspects of my business are assisted by my spiritual side.
*These are just some of the ways I was given the courage by Judith to do biz my way and since doing so I have turned my business around 180º.
Let me tell you I have never written for a blog fest before (because I don’t really enjoy writing. It doesn’t come naturally for me). But I couldn’t let this one pass me by.
There are 52 short chapters (based on questions her mentees and Facebook groups wanted to answers to) so you can open the book at any page and learn so much. This is not some big tome that you will abandon after 200 pages. No this little gem can be read over a weekend. Or you can just dip in and out whenever you start doubting yourself which is how I use mine. So before you waste any more money on courses you are never going to do or coaching with “gurus” who still have nappy/diaper rash, just buy the book. You will thank me for it (just saying ;-)
p.s Do pop over to the blogfest where you will read other inspiring stories from women doing business their way. If you wanted this year to different, then head over there, get inspired and buy the book.
