Sigmund Freud once said “Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength”.
Okay but…does anyone actually like feeling vulnerable???
I know that since Dr. Brené Brown delivered her 2010 Ted Talk ‘The Power of Vulnerability’ (Catch that here if you haven’t seen it, it’s amazing) we are all supposed to be feeling braver and more able to expose our imperfect selves.
And everyone else seems to be shouting about their success online!
But the truth is, for many of us, it’s really hard to put ourselves out there, to share honestly and to surf the waves of social media with confidence.
The other evening, when I was about to go for a run, I did a Facebook live into my Scale Up group which you can catch here. Scale Up is a core part of how we connect with #WorkSmarterWomen – please do join us if you haven’t already!
I loooove this community of women that surround me online and in real life. Watching it grow is like witnessing my dreams come true!
One of the things that I really value about #WSW is that we only speak #TruthTalk.
And here’s mine – there was a time when I avoided doing lives like the plague! I was not able to be vulnerable in that way. I felt totally overwhelmed and under-confident, plus I just had waaaaaay too much to do in my business.
But things have changed for me. And that change has made me more courageous, and given me the freedom to be more vulnerable. And of course, by doing that, now beautiful new branches are growing out into my world.
And all of that has brought me to a place where, for the first time this summer, I found myself preparing to fly off with my family for a couple of weeks vacation and…
I trusted my team to take care of my business while I’m gone.
This is HUGE for me. It wasn’t always like this.
So, let me share the two things that dawned on me during this process, that I think can help you.
No. 1 – Have the right people on your team.
This is EVERYTHING. Right now, I couldn’t ask for a better team – a collection of #worksmarterwomen, experts in their field who are based all over the world. And I know for sure that have my back. They take care of my clients and projects like they were their own. They give me honest feedback and they have the courage to share the truth with me.
This is the very best thing for me right now, because it frees up my mind to focus on the higher level things. (And I have big plans, just watch)
You know, sometimes things take you by surprise. Life happens. And having the right team to support you can make or break your business.
Let me tell you a story about that. The year that I fell in love is also the year my business fell apart
It was my third year in business and things were going very well, in fact I was on track to multiple six figures in my third year.
Naturally, I wanted to find more time for my precious new relationship. I believed my team was ready to take some tasks off my plate.
The problem was they were not and a series of SERIOUS mistakes meant that I lost one of my biggest contracts and with it, all confidence in my team. Within a matter of months, I lost $20K in business and in addition to losing that revenue, I left money on the table because I had no mental space or capacity to launch new projects.
I was lucky. I had enough experience and savvy, plus a strong reputation that enabled me to save my business from collapse.
But the experience taught me a valuable lesson, that I want to share with you.
When you are building your team, make sure you conduct a careful Interview process and – fundamentally – look for someone who is going to treat your business like their own, who is fully committed and whom you can trust. And when you find that person, make sure you keep them because they are an essential ingredient for your future success.
And as you grow, and new people join make sure to keep your team on track and focused by making sure they know and share your vision, mission and brand values
No.2 is Surround yourself with peers that will lift you up.
This is another powerful way to build that vulnerability muscle that makes you strong.
I recently started a peer mastermind with five other women, to hold each-other accountable to our goals. I did this for a number of reasons:
- To challenge myself and learn from others. Believe me, this is key. You don’t want to be the smartest person in the room!
- I need to have other CEO’s to talk to. Mastermind allows me to connect with relatable people that challenge and inspire me.
- Because, when you are giving so much to your clients you need people who will pour into you and fill you back up as well.
- Our shared goal is ‘Double my Revenue’ and in order to do that, we will get strategic and practical. We will plan out our quarters together, committing to meet online as well as in real life.
It all adds up to growth, development and my Next Level.
Being surrounded by other sisters is going to help me grow.
Having a trustworthy team behind me, allows me to spend time focusing on this growth.
Thats what helps me scale up to the Next Level in my business.
I invite you to take a look at the last 6 months of the year and see when you grew and where you need support to scale up.
Self reflection is a powerful tool.