What If The Business You Built Doesn’t Work For You Anymore?
When you first started your business, you set it up the way you thought would work best. The offers, your schedule, the way you found your clients, the prices you charged. New business owners can be so excited about their new venture, they have no idea that how they start may not be the way things stay. They are faced with a tough question - what if the business you built doesn’t work for you anymore?
This can be true for both new and seasoned business owners. And that’s okay. Let me repeat that - it’s okay if the way you started your business isn’t working for you anymore. You are in charge and can make changes to how you run your business.
The Privilege and Pressure of Business Ownership
As an entrepreneur, you get to make all the decisions. It’s one of the best things about being an entrepreneur. It can also be one of the most challenging. Doing a mid-year check-in with your business is a habit that can help you fine-tune how you want things to go.
Some things to ask yourself:
Are you tired or burnt out?
Do you lack motivation, bored with the way you’re doing things?
Are you happy with the money you’re making, and the time it takes to make it?
Do you want to work less or work at different days or times?
Do you want to change your offers, and tweak what they entail and who they are for?
We think if we give up “a good thing”, that we won’t do as well or better with something else. Wanting something different can make us feel guilty and ungrateful. And we worry that others will see us as failing.
The only way to address these feelings is to step back and ask yourself if the way you’re running your business right now is serving you or stressing you out.
How do you figure out what’s working and what’s not? Here are areas of your business to reflect on:
Your offers
Your income
Your schedule
Your client load
Your energy
Your current season of life
I know what this is like. Telling ourselves that if something is working - and working well - we have to keep doing it. That can cause a lot of mind drama.
I ran a 12-week group program 13 times over four years and was selling out most times. Part of it was the start date "launch" - I realized that I loathed the launch process more than I loved the program. The launching piece was stressful and draining for me. Some of my clients were also looking for change. Many asked for additional 1:1 support. So I switched it up and started to give my clients the type of support they were looking for, and I’ve never looked back.
What to do if this is resonating
It’s time to step back and ask: does this business still fit the life I’m trying to build right now? Maybe it’s time to make some adjustments.
You can do whatever you want. You get to do this your way. If you change your mind, you’re allowed to build your business around that.
Our priorities, energy, interests, lifestyle, goals, and definition of success are constantly shifting. But we get comfortable. When things look fabulous from the outside, we hesitate to make changes even if we are not feeling great about how things are going inside of our businesses.
I recently read an interesting article about how entrepreneurs can reach a point where what once drove them no longer feels aligned - and how recalibration is often more important than reinvention.
Figure out what success looks like for you
One of the top benefits of working for yourself is having the power to make changes that serve your best interests. You don’t have to have the same definition of success that other people do. Here are more questions to consider:
Is feeling energized and finding joy in your week more important than 10K months?
Do you want to work on weekend mornings or weekday nights instead of a typical 9 to 5?
Are you impacting your dream clients - or yourself - with the work that you’re doing?
Success for you can look a lot of different ways - in terms of income, hours, impact, pace, and level of responsibility. It’s ok to change things up. A midyear fit check lets you take the pulse of your business.
Here are a few situations that I’ve worked on with clients
One client with a successful business had a lot of offers. When we started working together, we sorted through those offers. She no longer wanted to work in-person with clients, nor did she want to deal with the scheduling that two of her offers required. So she got rid of those services. Then she increased the structure in her business, decreasing the amount of time she spent winging it. She went from exhausted and overwhelmed to grounded and in charge.
One of my business colleagues took off the whole summer last year. Her priority was spending time with her kids, so she sent an email announcing her time off. She reworked her goals, scheduled her social media, finished any open projects, and rescheduled any calls and appointments. This was an intentional shutdown financially and operationally that gave her the breathing room she needed.
A business bestie who is not ready to fully retire but is ready to slow down. She's changed her schedule and shifted to higher ticket offerings so she doesn't have to work as much. She went from offering mostly 1:1 and individual support to bigger group events. Her new business model supports her lifestyle and energy level.
These can be big decisions to make alone, and opinions from other business owners can be more confusing than helpful. If one part of your business is dragging you down, get some unbiased support from someone who can ask the right questions and make strategic suggestions you wouldn’t think of on your own.
A Laser Consult Session can help you step back, look at what’s working (and what’s not), and make intentional decisions about how you want your business to operate moving forward.