It’s been a rough patch for me lately – while the client side of my business has been wonderful, I’ve been a little bit uninspired for what other products or services I wanted to bring to the table. I started the year off with a flood of ideas but after a lackluster launch, a trap of the comparison game, and a slight over-scheduling problem… nothing really inspired me that much.
For some personal reasons (which I’m going to be talking about a little bit on Periscope, as it relates to business, this week) I had the “ah-ha!” moment where I was reminded that I am, to be honest, a terrible employee. Just awful. I get grumpy knowing that I have to work around someone else’s schedule and that I can’t, on a whim, head out for a long lunch or take a long walk on a beautiful day. So my “ah-ha!” moment was more of a “oh hell no” moment when I had to lock it up and re-establish my focus on making TheCrownFox a successful and sustainable business.
If you’re going through a slump or an uninspired spell here are some things I’ve been doing to re-motivate, re-excite, and re-ignite myself.
MAKE A LIST OF PROS
I started here. I reminded myself of the pros of running my own business. I reminded myself that the number one thing I value in my life is flexibility/adaptability and that creating my own schedule means EVERYTHING to me. My quality of life since moving to Charleston and doing TheCrownFox has been at a steady 1,000 on the 1-100 scale and I blame a large portion of that on the flexibility I have. I recently forgot how valuable that was to me and tried to start a part time job (out of fear over my uninspired-ness) and immediately realized I can’t work on other people’s schedules (hit me up on Periscope @TheCrownFox to hear more about this).
Other pros that I needed to be reminded of: I get to work with AMAZING clients. Feeling so uninspired definitely showed in some of my client work, making me slower to make decisions and designs than I’ve ever been. I second-guessed myself and felt nervous about showing work to clients. Through some positive reinforcement and amazing reviews I quickly wiped away that self doubt and re-doubled my efforts to provide great work and quickly, too.
What are some pros that you have in your business? The ability to take a long lunch if you need a break? The opportunity to go for a walk on a beautiful day? The option to head to the doctor when you don’t feel well versus waiting 8 hours until your shift is over (this was the icing on the cake for me with my attempt at a part time job)? List those out when you’re in your slump and remember all the good that can come of taking time to make your business successful.
WRITE DOWN YOUR SKILLS THAT NEED TO BE VALUED/SHOWCASED
Next I wrote down skills that I have that are showcased through my work with TheCrownFox (and not recognized elsewhere). I thought back to tweet-compliments and nice emails I’ve gotten from people and clients to get me started.
I think a lot of slump periods or lack of motivation comes from a root of fear. I was fearful that my business had just been a lucky streak so far. I even described it to people in a way that was self-deprecating, “well it’s worked out so far so… I’m just hoping it keeps going” versus saying, “I work damn hard and put myself out there everyday trying to improve and grow and it’s working.” So to get this fear out my head and subconscious I wrote down a list of all the things I’ve been pleasantly surprised to be good at (like writing blog posts for example – that was a surprise) and things that I know I’m good at. I wrote down specific tweets and comments I’ve gotten from people, too.
I know that might feel a little bit cocky or overzealous, but the fear monster is a big one and you need to bring out the big guns to battle it. So if it takes you putting on Beyonce and telling yourself that you’re amazing ten times, then do it. You are amazing. You have something unique that is valuable.
MAKE A PLAN OF ATTACK
Lastly, once I was feeling pumped up about myself and my business again, I made a plan of attack for how I was going to come back better and stronger than ever. It started with telling myself I was going to write this blog post and be vulnerable, and even more, commit to Periscopes and be really open (hence why I keep mentioning it, because now I have to actually do it!).
But business-wise I also wanted a plan. My most popular opt-in has been around for a while now, so I decided I needed to upgrade that and re-release it soon. I outlined the next Branding 101 e-book (coming out in June, a second part of Building Your Base)..
I wrote out a plan for the next few months and I let myself get creative, excited, and ambitious again. I stopped being worried about failing and started getting excited about doing.
So what about you? Do you get in slumps like this? How do you recover? I want to hear from you so either let me know in the comments or come hangout in Periscope with me this week. If you’re currently feeling ambivalent about your business – stop. Repeat after me: you can do this. Make your lists, get excited, and get going.
Hi! I’m Kaitlyn!
I believe that you can create a life and business you love by listening to your own inner guidance system. I think there's plenty of strategies + hacks to learn and a ton of “how to” content you can consume but ultimately you are your best guide, the best guru, the best compass, and the best source of inspiration! I’m here to help you learn to trust that voice inside, step into your incredible power, and create YOUR dream business + life.
Let’s work together!