Believe it or not, as an entrepreneur, I took a break from content churning, social media posting, and audience building for almost 6 months. While I was away, I was at energy level zero, I was busy and distracted with moving, I was noticing less and less boss babes on my feed, I was adjusting to pregnancy – oh yea I’m about 6 months pregnant now.
In reality, I was actually uninspired to grow my audience. Let me be honest, I was tired!
I wasn’t creating new podcast episodes though I did get on as a podcast guest on Create Your Destiny podcast with Kristin Richards.
I wasn’t sending out new emails to my email list. And, I wasn’t growing my social media audience or presence. So no, I wasn’t doing a ton of dancing reels while I was feeling physically crappy from my pregnancy.
I didn’t do all those things because to simply put it, I’m human. I didn’t have the energy.
And I know this happens to all of us entrepreneurs who are trying to build our business. It’s either something big, something small or we just need a break.
But what I was actively doing was exactly what I created my business for: I was serving my clients.
I want to note, this value right here of always serving first is one of the fundamentals of building a successful business and it’s how I coach my clients. Let me dig into why so you can see how you can come through low and uninspired entrepreneur seasons on top just like I have.
I intentionally built my business in a way where it can continue to grow the actual business and bank account even if I’m not keeping up with social media trends or actively growing my audience. Well, the lowest of all seasons came for me and I was able to put my business and myself to the test.
I’m pulling back the entrepreneur curtain for you here, this is what I had in place.
1. I had clients I was still serving and I never wavered on my dedication to showing up and serving them. Even if I had to save all of my energy for that one hour with them, I would do it because service is and always will be my first priority.
2. I have multiple streams of income in my business. That means, even though you hear me most often talk about and campaigning for Brand Boss Business School on social media, that is not my only stream of income. I have other offers and levels of coaching.
3. I sell behind the scenes. That means that I am not only selling when I do a big advertised campaign where it’s all you see on my social media or my other media channels. I do outreach to my warm market and keep cold market channels open. The work that I’ve already put into growing my channels actually allowed for people to reach me directly on my website without me doing any active marketing.
4. I still have desires and goals on how I want my business to grow. I talk about these dreams out loud and do not ignore them. This is part of my manifesting process, allowing me to continue to attract even outside of social media. I write down goals and ideate on ways I can make it happen then decide what actions I have the energy to take. I was able to get guest speaking gigs, my videos were still getting traffic from YouTube search, I actively answer inquiries I get from my channels, but I always gave myself permission to only do what felt good in the present because the truth is that some days I would have a spark of energy but it was never consistent.
So the set-up was there. I was just as “boss” behind the scenes in this low entrepreneur season as I used to be when I would be all over my media platforms. But here’s my dirty little secret: my low season also meant that I was uninspired to attract an audience.
And let me tell you, as I’m starting to come back, I am feeling the impact of that low season really hard. The feelings are so similar to when I first started (I’ll have to do a whole other episode on that one day)
At first, my excuse was that I just needed a little time off. The truth behind that excuse was that I was feeling low energy and the only thing I could attribute it to was my environment changing because my family and I were temporarily living at my cousin’s house.
Then, it became about me not having nice photos anymore. I didn’t have a good place to do videos or nice backgrounds to shoot with. That was a total lie to myself because I used to pride myself in being able to turn any place into being instagrammable.
I remember one other excuse I had was that reels are the new thing now so just posting a photo was a waste of time anyway. And, now that I reflect back on it, that should have been my first sign that I really wasn’t myself because I, of all people, know better.
You see, I was pregnant and I had no idea yet. I was feeling doubtful of myself but unable to admit it or even see it. And I can say that it was hormonal changes and I wasn’t doing any self-care to notice. I wasn’t meditating, I wasn’t speaking to anyone who would have the right mind to tell me otherwise, I was keeping everything in.
And as soon as I found out I was pregnant, that’s when the physical problems started to happen. I was becoming like a zombie and would waste an entire day watching Netflix and not even noticing that I didn’t move all day. Or, I would be so nauseous that I couldn’t leave my room or even change out of pajamas.
But as soon as the first trimester was over, I was stuck. I became so used to being unmotivated and uninspired to do more than client calls.
This is what happens when we, as entrepreneurs, become uninspired, we let growth take a back seat. And allow small things to get in the way. We mask them as big things like life changes and lack of time. But let me ask you this: when you’re feeling so freakin’ inspired and fired up, why then does it feel like you could take anything on and you’d be ready for it?
This is why it’s important to talk about this now as I’m emerging from the fog.
Yes, it’s okay to take breaks, to heal, to rest, and tend to more things than your business.
Yes, it’s okay to not always be in boss mode.
Yes, it’s normal to have low seasons and off-seasons.
Again I say, yes it’s normal to take breaks.
And I am also here to remind you that there was one day where you decided to go for it and take a chance on yourself, on your dreams and start a business. So even when you take a break, there are 2 things that are imperative—necessary—demanded of you as an entrepreneur with your eye on success:
1. That you set yourself up for wins towards your mission even in your low season and
2. That you come back refreshed, renewed, and ready to grow again both as an entrepreneur and as a brand.
I mean, it’s important to get inspired again. When you come back, I don’t just mean pick up your phone and start making TikTok videos, startup your podcast again or sell. I mean, dive in deep with your mission and your goals. Decide for yourself what sort of impact you want to make as you come back into your high season. Then the path to all the actions you need to take will reveal itself. It will also help you set healthy boundaries.
Imagine if you were still able to see the impact you have on other people even if you’re sitting on your couch most days or too busy with your family to even pick up your phone or answer emails or if everything else in your life was crumbling around you. This would mean that you could still go to bed feeling good about all the work you’ve done thus far. This could mean money still coming into your bank account, like a paid vacation. This would mean, you’re still in business without the hustle.
Imagine if you could come back with new ideas and a fresh take on what you’ve built so far. It would mean coming this far with the ability to go even further as an entrepreneur. It would mean there is still so much more for you that the universe has to give. And yes, you’re still entitled to it even if you took a break. It would mean all the work you’ve done so far hasn’t gone to waste because the truth is that you haven’t seen the full potential of all the work you’ve already done.
Now, how can you get inspired and reenergized as you get yourself ready to come out of the fog?
1. Surround yourself with the level you aspire for again. So that means listening to mentors and thought leaders on podcasts like this. Emerge yourself in that book you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t. Reconnect with people who used to fuel you. Stop skipping their posts and engage with them.
2. Listen inward and ask yourself every day: what do I desire today. Answer with care for your innermost thoughts and be honest with yourself. One day you might surprise yourself.
3. Join a boot camp, challenges, a masterclass, or enroll in a course for what aligns with the business plans you once had so you can see if it’s still sparking desire within you.
4. Tell someone about your journey and voice what you’re looking forward to.
5. Get back on your channels. Even if you don’t know what to post or share or record, just hit the go button and get back into the groove of consistency. Because in the end, consistency is the key.
6. Ask questions: You can do a research interview with your target once again. You can post polls or questions on social media. You can grab a cup of coffee with someone who you want to serve again. The idea is to ask them questions about themselves that are relevant to your business.
So those are my 6 tips for you! Because you didn’t come this far, just to come this far. Let’s get you unstuck and on your way to big things!!
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