Making good biz decisions (that are good for you, too).
When we embark on business ownership, something sometimes happens- we forget that the business should be good for us, too.
We get caught up in the hustle and the intense learning and struggle and then we wake up a year or 6 later and we’re wondering why we’re unhappy.
When we begin our own businesses, we’re new at so many things. We live in a whole lot of (good for us) discomfort much of the time but learning how to decipher between discomfort and suffering can be a difficult task.
For instance, it’s possible you might have to miss out on some sleep from time to time, or put yourself out there in a way you’re not used to or create products that aren’t as good as you want them to be leaving you to feel a little vulnerable.
This is all ok and fine and it’s part of learning.
BUT then, as your business grows so will the amount of decisions you need to make.
It all depends on how fast you grow, how much you grow and change, how big the goals are that you set for yourself and your business.
But I find that having a little method for making decisions is crucial for self-preservation and self-care within business.
Here’s what I do.
First, we need to understand your brain + emotions.
You have a human brain made up of 2 parts- the prefontal cortex (makes plans, connects to your heart’s desires) and a primal brain (super obsessed with keeping you comfortable and safe).
And now you have a Business Brain, too.
What does that mean? It means that you’re the steward, the guardian, the parent of this new entity. It’s survival is likely tied to you and your decision-making abilities, skills, health and wellness, ability to make shit happen, etc.
But let me tell you, being new at something can sometimes throw the entire relationship out of whack.
Super-upset customers, late payments, failures and flops, financial losses could happen at any time. And they often pop up at really inconvenient times. We can get into a decision-making rut of over-focusing on preventing the bad stuff instead of making the good stuff happen (or taking a break, having a nap, eating lunch, making sure there’s time for play in our lives, etc.).
The Business Brain + the Primal Brain hijack the Prefrontal Cortex and then you (as the human business owner) end up coming last in the equation.
There’s a lot you can be worried about in business and it can seem logical that you should make decisions ONLY to support avoiding all that stuff.
But the real work is done in prioritizing yourself AND your business equally (maybe it’s not 50/50 every moment) averaged over time.
The Method
Ask yourself- “Is it good for ME and my business?” If you find yourself in a really lopsided situation over a month, a year, or more then you need to find a way to change it.
One of you will take priority and that WILL result in ‘negative’ consequences for the other but that’s ok.
Here are a few examples:
Creating Boundaries around your time WILL annoy customers. That’s ok.
Learning a skill you need to run your business WILL make you super uncomfortable. That’s ok.
Saying NO to clients or customers WILL result in a loss of money. That’s ok.
Taking a creative chance that your heart is begging you to take MIGHT result in a failure. That’s ok.
Taking a vacation for you might result in missing deadlines and ‘disappointing’ a lot of people. That’s ok.
Hiring the first group of people to help you WILL make life difficult for a while. That’s ok.
Ask yourself this question over and over and over. It will help you learn how to prioritize both yourself and your business, if not always equally, at least more evenly over time.