At the beginning of December I emailed my list to encourage them to reflect on the year that’s been…
to think about what they can take from 2021 into 2022…
what they’ve learned…
and what they want to change or what they want to ditch all together
I posed a few questions to help my readers to help them get started and promised that I would also take the time to answer the same questions…so here are the questions and my responses:
What’s gone well? (aka my wins)
It’s been a year of evolution for me and my business with a number of new offers being launched and some of my offers being ditched.
In March the wonderful Tamsin Williamson (aka The Parenthood Coach) hosted our Spring Into Spring Retreat. We welcomed over 50 mums into our virtual retreat, raising over £1,000 for CoppaFeel and supporting those mums in making time for themselves after what was a pretty challenging first few months of the year (remember home learning?).
Tamsin and I enjoyed working together on this so much that later this year we joined forces again and launched our Instagram live video series “LAYERS” where we hope to help you peel back the layers of motherhood and find yourself again. We are 4 episodes in so far and absolutely loving our fortnightly live chats.
I also launched 2 brand new services – my 2 week habit kick-starter package and my Fired-Up Business Leader programme.
But the biggest win for me was truly connecting with what I want to do and who I want to help. I realised that what I do is so much more powerful than helping women lose weight or exercise from home…it goes much deeper and is far more transformational. You can read more about this here.
On a personal level there was another huge win for me – taking most of the summer off! Last year I almost ran myself into the ground by not taking sufficient time to rest and rejuvenate, so this year I made damn sure that didn’t happen.
What didn’t go as planned (and what can I learn from that)?
Pausing the launch of Fired-Up Business Leader
Back in April I made the decision to pause the launch of my new Fired-Up Business Leader programme. The timing wasn’t right for many of the women I spoke to about this and in truth I was feeling pretty exhausted after the months of juggling home learning and self-employed life. I concluded that neither they nor I were in a good place to make this as awesome as I wanted it to be (for them or for me!).
I actually feel really proud of making this decision. Deciding to change plans can be daunting and can feel like you’ve failed but for me this actually helped me feel stronger about my business…and I knew that when I did launch it (which happened in October) it would be even more transformational because I would have the time and energy to really support my clients on the programme.
I always want to give my clients the best of me and pausing this programme was definitely the right decision…and I can honestly say that the group that have just been through Fired-Up Business Leader are getting that!
My learning? Don’t be scared to wait – the timings need to be right for everyone (me included)
Spreading myself too thin
With the launch of 2 week habit kick-starter and Fired-Up Business Leader I had 4 different offerings in 2021!
I had alllll the balls in the air and this left very little time for me and very little energy in the tank for my kids and my husband…not a great place to be when your work is supporting other self-employed mums steer clear of burnout! (although having that experience has definitely added to my coaching work – I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk)
Not only that but the transformation for each of those 4 offerings was different which made my marketing really challenging. I was confusing my audience and potential clients were struggling to understand what it is I do!
Streamlining what I do, and really focusing on who I want to support and the transformation I offer, has massively lightened my load and enables me to really give everything I have to the clients I work with…as well as ensuring my kids and my husband get a calmer, kinder, less-stressed Sue too!
My learning? Having too many offers is not good for me or my clients
Solo Parenting Challenges
As the world started to wake up and businesses started to feel confident about the economy again my husband’s work went a bit mental and as a result he has spent many weeks working away from home in the final few months of this year. Meaning I have been left holding the fort back at home with 2 school age children and a dog.
My working hours got massively squeezed and I needed to focus my energies on home life. This impacted on the growth of my business BUT I also recognised that there were huge benefits of me being self-employed in this situation – I had the flexibility and freedom to work around James being away so much.
James’ first trip away left me feeling shattered and stressed – I had tried to carry on doing everything as if he were still here. The next time he went away I actively chose to manage my diary to ensure I had some time to just chill – and, wow, what a difference!
My learning? I can’t do everything! (and neither can you)
My word for 2021
And reflecting on whether I lived by that word
My word for 2021 was “abundance” and when I decided on that word I was very much associating it with financial abundance (making more money from my business). But with all the challenges that we’ve all faced over the past year and the changes I’ve made to my life and my business the word “abundance” now means so much more to me.
For me it now means being happy, fulfilled, and living life on my terms.
It means feeling content.
It means getting out in the wonder that is nature.
And it means building strong relationships with the people who matter to me most.
So, yes, based on this NEW meaning I feel that I have lived my life with the word “abundance” in mind.
Would I have liked to bring in more money? Well, yes
But would I have lived my life any other way? Absolutely not…as you can see from above it’s not been unicorns and rainbows all year but, on balance, and given the work I have been doing more recently to protect my own energy, I’m pretty happy with how the year has panned out
So what does 2022 hold in store?
I will be focusing on my main mission:
- To help my clients find more balance in their lives (aka more time for themselves)
- To help my clients put their own needs back at the top of their priority list so that they can show up for their clients, their kids, their partners, their friends and themselves feeling energised, vibrant and full of life
- To help my clients feel calmer and more in control
- To help my clients reduce the stress, overwhelm and noise in their heads that can so often come with being a self-employed mum
- To help my clients go from frazzled to fired-up!
My current plan (because who knows what might evolve over the course of the next 12 months!) is to only offer 2 packages – my 2 week habit kick-starter and the Fired-Up Business Leader programme.
And on a personal level I will be making sure that I practice what I preach – I will be actively making more time for myself so that I too can show up for my clients, my kids, my husband and myself feeling F’in awesome!
And my word for 2022? Balance!
Ready to learn some more super easy tips to power up your energy?
Then click the button below…and get ready to feel fired-up and fabulous!
p.s. are you in my FREE Facebook group yet? Inside the group I share simple strategies and tips to help YOU go from frazzled to fired-up…so that you can live a bl**dy awesome life!