I honestly feel like April got away from me. It started off with a holiday, a Sunday away from work, and I think that shaking my routine up on the 1st of the month just threw me way off. I’ve definitely been looking forward to a new month, and I really plan to find balance this month. If you saw my May Plan with Me post then you know I mean business this month!
Before the whole move-the-restaurant-to-a-new-location craziness I had a wonderful amount of balance in my life. After working for years to create a workflow and an efficient system at our old location I was able to change my schedule from working 6 days a week at Ninong’s to 4 days a week. Because of this I was able to focus 2 days on my other businesses and have 1 day off. It was working really well – 40 hour work weeks, my house was clean, I had time for myself, it was great! Then the move was a reality. And life hasn’t been quite the same since.
This month “simple” is my key word. Keeping things simple is such an important part of keeping productive. Letting go of unnecessary things in my life is going to be key here. If I let go of negativity and the unnecessary then I can make room for the important stuff like self care, time with family, and intentional/meaningful work. Honestly, I have to think it through a little more to make sure I take this plan into action this month but I know for sure a few things need to happen.
Create and document a new work flow for Ninong’s.
Train managers and employees on new systems.
Block out my time each day and focus on 1 business during that block of time.
Block out time at the end of every day to plan for the next.
Do something that will bring me happiness once a day.
Another goal I want to continue is my 30 Day Blogging Challenge. I can’t believe it’s almost over. It’s challenging me to create a story from the every day and I’ve really enjoyed making it a part of my daily routine.
May will hopefully shape up to be an amazing month! How do you plan to crush it this month?
Ok, maybe I’m being a bit over dramatic. Technically you can’t lose something that wasn’t yours in the first place.
I didn’t lose an existing client, I lost a potential client. But oh man, this one hurt. It hurt my ego and it hurt financially. But alas, there’s a silver lining to this story if you just keep reading lol 😝
So what happened was one of my mom’s clients from 20 years ago contacted me because they are planning to sell their home. The same home my mom sold them 20 years ago. This couple had never met me (I was 13 when my mom sold them their house) until our meeting a couple weeks ago. My mom was really good at keeping in touch with her clients, she was a real people person. After years of my mom visiting them every year with cookies and calendars during the holidays, it stopped. The last time they saw her she brought them some cookies and told them about her breast cancer diagnosis. A few years after that my calendars started arriving at their door. Naturally, they called me.
I was so excited! So far real estate has been slow for me this year so I was really looking forward to get the ball rolling again. TBH, it was actually good timing because I had to focus on building out the new restaurant.
When they called me I immediately prepared my listing presentation and doing my research. I met with them, they asked questions about my mom, her story, we reminisced, told me how they met her, they asked about my story, and I asked about their beautiful home. Everything was going great. I told them about my background, my journey as an entrepreneur, and how I’m following in my mom’s footsteps.
Then the other day I got a call, and they seemed to be concerned about the fact that I didn’t do real estate full time. I explained to them that I had a great team of people that help me with not just my other businesses but my real estate business specifically. I have a great broker and mentor as well as a great team at our office. They informed me that they were thinking of interviewing other agents and immediately my heart dropped.
I told them that while I do hope that they choose to work with me I understand their concern. I could lie to them and tell them that I do real estate full time but I wanted to be open and honest with them. I wanted my experience, knowledge, and dedication to be the reason they would entrust me with selling their home. I wanted to be truthful not only to them, but to myself. No, I don’t do real estate full time but I give everything I do 100%. I make time for important things. I put in the hours. I put in the work.
Well, a few days after that I got a message from them saying that while they really liked me and thought I was knowledgeable they decided to go with a full time real estate agent. At first I was really, really discouraged. I felt like a failure. I got really stressed about money. Instantly, all these negative feelings started to take over. But after I allowed myself to feel my disappointment for a moment I started to look at the bright side of this. I was actually really proud of how I handled it.
The truth is I’m a serial entrepreneur which means I own a number of businesses. I used to be ashamed of this, like it was a bad thing. But then I realized what that meant. It meant I was ashamed of my life, my reality, and who I am. The last year has taught me to be proud of myself, my journey, and what I’ve been able to accomplish so far in my life. The people that I want to attract are the ones that have faith in me and believe that I have something of value to offer.
I’m starting to remember that I should stay true to the mission that God has placed in my heart. It isn’t to please people or change who I am to meet their expectations. It’s to serve Him by bringing value to others through grace. and to share my stories to lift people up and give them hope. I’m not upset at my situation or getting turned down by potential clients. Don’t get me wrong, I was. In a way I’m grateful. I’m proud of who I am. It has helped me to realize that I’ve come a long way.
I know the title isn’t necessarily true. We live in a world of choices. If you actually wanted to stop or quit doing something you can. It’s not the end of the world. But in the world of entrepreneurship there’s no such thing.
I say this a lot but quite honestly it takes a certain type of person to be an entrepreneur. It’s either in you or it isn’t. Simple as that. You are either willing to do what you have to do as an entrepreneur or you’re not.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and discussing the concept of entrepreneurship with a lot of people. One thing I’ve observed is that people seem to think of their business – the business they started – as their “side hustle.” And then they say, “Well, if this doesn’t work out then…” But this is completely reversed. Entrepreneurs need to see their business as their main hustle. What they do. Their other jobs are their side hustle. There needs to be a shift in the way we talk about our businesses.
I’ve started a number of my businesses while I’m working full time or part time jobs at the same time. I’ve also started businesses while I own other businesses. There’s no shame in working while you have a business. You do what you gotta do to survive! But the part that hurts my heart is when I ask someone about what they do. They down play their passions. They talk about their business like it’s a side thing “on their spare time.” They don’t take their businesses seriously. 😔
I remember when I started my first few businesses. I try to dumb-down my passion for what I was doing and making myself sound less excited or proud about what I was pursuing. I would say things like, “Oh you know, we’re just starting out so we’ll see.” Or, “Well I’m an office manager but I have this small thing I do on the side.” Or, “We’re just a small operation that is run by my family.” If I don’t treat my business like a viable business then why would I expect others to?!
When I changed my mindset and took my business more seriously – that was when I started to see more steady and exponential growth. Even when my business was just run by me and/or family members, I treated them like employees in the workplace and I fully expected them to treat me like an employee as well. Separating business and personal is super important.
I also stopped “winging it” and “waiting to see what happens.” Instead I created measurable milestones, goals, and action steps. I created a budget, sales goals, and strategies to hit those goals. Sure, most of the time it didn’t work out the way I wanted and some things took longer than I had hoped. But my attitude toward my business was the key. My attitude, my drive, and my strategy changed it all. Taking myself and my business more seriously changed everything.
You know what got me to change that mindset? I told myself that there’s no way I’m allowed to give this up. There’s no way I want to give this up. If I really want this like I say I do, then this has to work. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. As business owners we need to see our businesses as the end-all-be-all. Yes, sacrifices have to be made. No, it’s not going to be easy. Yes, maybe in time. It might even take longer than I thought. But trust me, you’ll fail before you begin if you have an exit strategy if it “doesn’t work out.” It will work out. You have to believe it, know it, and live it. Give it time. You’ve just got to hustle until it does.
