Do you often feel slightly off? You were headed in a direction, then one thing seemed to upset the momentum and you felt undermined? A bit blurred around the edges?
I know, I felt it recently. I was going strong, had a bunch of new clients show up and was really happy serving them, then, all of a sudden, I’m at a standstill. I had so much happening, then, it seemed like the flow just dried up. I didn’t see it coming and felt a bit dismayed.
Guess what? It happens to all of us, especially when you are first starting out. It could just be that you need to shift something within you, perhaps a judgment of yourself or fear of failure. It’s common that when things get slow, you are in fear and don’t realize it.
Here are my 10 tips to getting through lulls in business.
- Don’t panic…you are probably growing at a very fast rate and you need some down time to integrate all that is happening. Stay out of fear by breathing deeply and release any self-judgment.
- Keep steady, perhaps you need to change something about what you really want to do to bring in more business. One marketing tactic will not suffice…you need an arsenal. Challenge yourself, what are you afraid to do? Now plan to do it.
- Go meet some new people and reach out to one of them from the meeting. Take a risk and connect with a stranger. Just ask to meet for coffee to get to know them. No need to sell them your service, just listen to their situation and focus completely on them.
- Take stock of your feelings. Are you angry, getting short with people or is that critic voice in your head screaming at you lately? When I checked in with myself, I had compromised on an agreement with myself. I noticed it, and then made excuses out of fear. Then everything stopped so I could look at where I had compromised myself. I released the fear and made a decision to stay in integrity with myself.
- Make sure you are taking care of what is most important to you. Maybe you need an energy shift in one area of your business. Take stock, check in with your feelings about what is fun for you, what is challenging, and what could you use help with. Maybe hire an assistant for a task you especially find daunting. For someone else, it could be fun. Let them do it for you.
- Make a list of all the good things that have happened and celebrate this. When you don’t acknowledge a change and growth in business, you are not honoring your work. You are your own boss, so give yourself a break now. Take a walk, take a nap. Put your feet up and feel gratitude for the courage and work it took to get where you are right now.
- Get an accountability buddy. Inner commitment to your goals means knowing that through lulls, you will need a plan to stay committed and accountable. Use a friend who is also growing a new business. Call them every day and check in. Make sure you keep each other in the loop when fears and doubts come up. If you are growing, these fears and doubts are part of the landscape, just accept it, but don’t give into them. You can help each other to find ways to move through them. Encourage each other to keep moving.
- Know you are worth it. Your new business is a passion and requires that you honor it, and stay committed by being true to yourself. Your life’s purpose has meaning, but you have to give it the meaning it has for you. Honor it, and water it like a new budding seed. Every day.
- Forgive yourself for a moment. Maybe you just have to stop long enough to have a breakthrough in consciousness, by forgiving yourself for something not working out the way you planned. For example, I thought people would just renew when their time was up because they had made great progress…but no, they didn’t always. They were happy with the changes and just wanted to coast for a while and get back to me later. This surprised me because I always want more growth and I know that if I commit to 6 months, I will have a much bigger shift than if I just do one month. But not everyone is like me. I don’t take it personally, it’s not about me.
- Set your 90 Day Goals every month. See what goals you reached over the last month, then revisit what is important to you now. It may have changed from when you originally wrote them down. Notice what has happened and how far you have actually come. Celebrate the good things that have happened because you stuck with it.
When you give yourself time to grow, to keep in alignment with your real feelings, and be truly honest with yourself, you will save yourself a lot of time and anguish. Not being honest with yourself can be very debilitating for your business. Don’t deny yourself your feelings. Honor them, trust them, and listen to them. They need your attention.
Learning to love ourselves is a vital part of this new period of empowerment. We all need to encourage each other to take stock, take quiet time, to really listen to our inner voices as we grow into this new era of self-empowered living.
Hope this helps!
Monica Dubay
Founder, Heal Your Mind Heal Your Life Transformation Program
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