Are You Just Killing Time Running Your Business? Might Be Time for a Refresh

I read this on social media after a particularly long day and thought, “Truer words were never spoken.”

And then that made me a little sad - because life shouldn’t be that way.

We all have adulting tasks that we don’t particularly enjoy, but when it comes to work – something we spend a lot of time doing – we shouldn’t have to just plod along between our morning cup of coffee and our glass of wine at the end of the day.

But we all experience lulls when it comes to work – even when we’re running our own businesses.

Here are a few ways I’ve gotten out of my low points:

Target clients I’m excited to work with.

I embrace the philosophy that marketing should be used as a filter, not a magnet. When I start feeling less energetic about my work, I ask myself who lights me up when I have a meeting scheduled with them and who doesn’t.

I interact very personally with my clients, so it’s important that I always have the right fit. If I have clients who make me dread meetings, that makes me start dreading my business overall.

When I notice my clients going through these lulls, I ask them the same questions I ask myself:

• Who do you really like working with?

• What do we need to do to bring in more of those people?

Who we interact with dictates how much we enjoy our work. This is incredibly important.

Pinpoint the things I really enjoy about my business and expand on those.

After many years in the business, I know what I like and what I don’t like. I know what I’m good at and where my weaknesses are. And I know that businesses evolve and that’s okay.

When I really honed in on what I enjoy and where I feel bliss, that informed my offerings. I love to write. I love to brainstorm with clients. I love to get granular about how someone can build their business. So, I created packages that reflect my strengths and bring me joy. That went a long way in creating a business I like waking up to.

Get rid of the rest.

Years ago, I did a Gallup Strengths Assessment and the results were not startling: great at creativity and empathy, bad at analytics.

What WAS eye-opening was the realization that I didn’t have to push to be good at the things I wasn’t naturally good at. It gave me permission to outsource the stuff I dreaded doing. And that felt like FREEDOM.

Find a new project within my business that allows me to grow personally without starting from scratch.

As I said before, businesses evolve because we evolve. The good news is that we can usually change and tweak without starting over.

For example, I originally started my business with an emphasis on social media and while I still think social media marketing is important, I’ve realized that email marketing is even more important when growing a business. I’ve also realized that I love helping clients create impactful content for their websites and get to the heart of what they offer and the problems they can solve. So, my business has evolved to focus on those areas as well.

Look for networking opportunities, both personally and professionally.

This is where I sometimes fall short. As a person who loves my alone time, I can get in my head a little too much. It’s important to surround yourself with people who energize you both personally and professionally.

If you find yourself trying to just make it through the day from coffee to wine, it might be time to shake things up a little bit.

Life is too short to not enjoy it – even when it comes to work!