Stop doing the things that make you cringe.

22 Mar

Description:

In this week’s episode, it’s just me, and I’m talking about that big hairy elephant in the room. You know the one who helps us to put pressure on ourselves to show up in ways that don’t feel right, and force ourselves to do ‘the things’ just because they are expected of us.

I want to give you permission to sense-check everything you do and bring the joy back into your business, because by being true to yourself and your values is the best way to attract your people and tell your story.

I talk to you about:

Why we force ourselves to show up in ways that don't feel right.
Why it’s important to give yourself permission to not do the things that you don’t want to do.
How to tap into what makes you feel good, and communicate and market your business in ways that you enjoy.
By showing up in a way that feels more relevant and real to you, means you’re going to be more authentic and more engaging.
Taking a different perspective on things and sense check what you’re doing.
Find out what your audience really wants from you, what they need and how you can add most value.
Think intentionally about the content or the communications and the things that we are doing.
Building trust, building engagement, and helping people to get to know you and get a feel for you enough so that they want to buy from you.

And I genuinely want to urge you to find the things that make you smile, that you feel comfortable with and fall in love with your small business again.

Hello and welcome to the Future-Proof Your Business podcast with me Lucy Rennie.
I’m a massive champion for small business and I’m on a mission to help you to love what you do and to build and grow your business in a way that works for you and feels good.
I’m convinced that the best way to create a successful and sustainable business is to do it from the inside out, which means that it has to start with you, the business owner.
In fact, I believe that business really is all about people, and if you want to future-proof your business and make an impact then you need to get really clear on why you do what you do, create the best experience and then build relationships and trust.
In this podcast, I want to share with you as much of my knowledge, expertise and experience with you, as I can, as well as some behind the scenes stories and strategies from my business, and I’ll be having conversations with and learning from some amazing business owners and experts so I can give you everything you need to stay focused, on track and feel more in control on this rollercoaster ride that is building a sustainable business.
Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of The Future-Proof Your Business Podcast . I'm Lucy Rennie. And this week, I would like to have a chat with you about a topic again, that's been coming up quite a lot in conversations with my mastermind group also in The Future-Proof Club . And it's something genuinely that I'm really passionate about and talk about in my book as well, which is about the fact that I believe that when we create a business when we are a business owner, that the best way of building something that's really sustainable, that works really well. And ultimately, that feels good is to do things in a way that feel good.
So it sounds a bit silly. But what I mean by that is I want us to stop forcing ourselves to do things, maybe that don't feel right, that we don't want to do, that just don't sit well with us. Or that maybe we find really difficult. And instead, I want to encourage you to really tap into the things that feel good, that work for you, that come easily or that maybe it's quite hard to do. But actually you enjoy the challenge. And actually you can see the benefit of it.
And so today's just a shorter episode. And it's really just to give you a little bit of food for thought, to give you some questions to ask yourselves. And in a way, I almost want to be able to give you permission to stop doing the things that you don't want to do.
And just a quick disclaimer on this, before I do get into the nitty gritty of what I want to talk to you about. Of course, when running a business, there are always going to be certain things that you need to do, whether they are certain legal requirements, tax requirements, things that you need to send off to HMRC or that you need to record or keep hold off or, administrative tasks, those kinds of things. So I'm not saying that you can't get rid of everything, although there are ways around that you can delegate we can find other people to help us with certain things. What this episode is about is more about tapping into and finding the things that you really enjoy that you're good at or that come easily that maybe are in your zone of genius. And thinking about how to work around the things that maybe you don't want to do.
And I think this stems as well from the fact that I think as for business owners, there's so much out there. So, many kinds of expectations, I suppose from society, from other people from our customers, or sometimes just from ourselves and stories that we make up in our heads or that we've got in our heads and assumptions that we're making that we know, we need to be doing certain things or we need to be showing up in a certain way, or we need to be present on a certain platform, or we need to be kind of creating content every day on social media or doing the certain things. And I think in this episode, really what I want to do is just call that out and say you know what, actually, we don't have to do those things. And I would much rather encourage you to do the things that you really enjoy. Because I promise you that if you can tap into that joy factor and do the things that work for you. And then ultimately, it's going to turn out better, it's going to be more natural, it's going to be more effective. And if you're showing up in a way that feels more relevant and more real to you, then ultimately you're going to be more authentic and more genuine and therefore we're able to attract more of the right kind of people to you and your business.
So that's where I'm going with this. And it stems from a few conversations that I've had with some of my clients who've been saying to me things like ‘’you know what Lucy I just Hate social media, I just find it really icky, I find it really tricky. I don't know whether I never know what to write, or I never know what to say, or the idea of going on video makes me you know, cringe and makes me want to curl up in a ball’’ or they say things like, ‘’maybe, I should be on there’’ and no should be showing up every day, I know it should be doing a reel and, and I should be selling my services, but I don't want to be that person that's always shouting and selling on social media or talking about the products or showing off and telling everybody what they've been up to and how good they are.
So that's a lot of the things that I hear very, very frequently. Or secondly, things like, Oh, I've got this newsletter that been sending out every month, and just keep putting it off, or I've got this sick feeling because I've not done it yet. Or I know it's gonna take me hours. And it's just, and it's when I hear it, it's almost like it's becoming this burden, this thing that's turned into this big elephant in the room that is so big, that becomes, this beast that we don't want to tackle, and that we kind of start to resent. And for me, when we start doing things, or when something becomes what's the word, I'm trying to think of it, it's not the opposite of enjoyable, but when we don't like doing something, or when something becomes a bind, or when something becomes uncomfortable, or when something becomes, an obstacle or a pain, that we don't want to have to do, then we need to ask ourselves why?
You know, why is it that it's becoming like that? Or why do I feel like this? And do I have to do that thing? You know, do I have to continue in that way? What Who is it? Or what is it that's telling me that I need to show up in this way and do this thing every week or every month or every quarter? Whatever it might be? And I think really I'm just encouraging you to sense, check with yourself and just check whether actually, you do need to be doing the thing? Or do you have to be doing it in that way, and actually remind yourself of why you started doing the thing in the first place and what the actual business goal was, why you decided that's what you needed to do.
So an example of this is, and I'm sure she won't mind me sharing this, but one of my lovely clients, who is a wonderful, wonderful lady was sharing with me how she started to resent creating this newsletter and the fact that exactly what I've just described, it become this big task, and that instead of finding the joy in sharing with her clients, with her audience, what she's been up to, and adding value and, sharing insights and great content, became this big thing that she dreaded having to do. She was almost hating it, but still felt this need, this requirement, this expectation that she had to do it in this way.
And so we had a bit of a chat about it. And I sort of asked her what was it that she actually wants to do with this? What is it that she wants to provide for her clients, and her response was, she just wants to be able to add value, or to get people to think a little bit differently. So reminding yourself of why she was doing the thing, or what it was that she was trying to achieve was a great way to stop and to think okay, so if that's what I'm trying to achieve, actually, is this big, enormous task that's just becoming this big, resentful monster. Is this actually, you know, worthwhile? Is it worth me doing this spending all this time over it? And starting to have that sicky feeling about my stomach because of it? And the answer was no. And so we explored in and around this. And it's a question that I ask all the time of my clients. And if there's one thing really that I want people to take away when they've worked with me, it's about getting really intentional about why they're doing something. And you know, what's the purpose of it?
So particularly, we're thinking in terms of marketing and content or communications, we can get very carried away with the fact that we think we have to be creating all this content and posting every day and showing up and doing this and newsletters and blogs and all these things. And actually, if we just stop for a second, rewind, and think, Okay, so where am I in business? What are my goals? What am I trying to achieve? And what do I need to do in order to get there, then that helps us to take a different perspective on things and to have a bit of a reality check, and to also to think intentionally about the content or the communications and the things that we are doing.
And so, in that sense, it's really important to us to take some time out and to think about it. And again, also to recognise that, first of all, there are lots of assumptions and things that we can create in our head to think, oh, we need to be doing that thing. So first of all, ask yourself Is that an assumption? Is it a fact? Secondly, check in as to why you're doing the thing. And is it still relevant, because that's the other side of things is that actually things can change. You know, we're living in a dynamic world where we're changing, our business is changing, our customers are changing, their needs are changing, the whole environment is changing. So we need to be constantly checking in and making sure that what we are doing is still relevant and timely, and all those things. And then thirdly, it's about really tapping into what your audience or your customers are looking for from you. And then comparing that matching that with your expectations or your assumptions, and what it is that you're actually creating or doing and the time that you're spending doing that and just matching it and seeing whether actually it it is a fit. Is it still a fit? Or actually, can we or do we need to adapt and change? Or can we actually allow ourselves to take the foot off, stop doing that certain thing, and maybe put the emphasis on the places where we can get a bigger impact, or we can find more joy.
So in the case of this client that we were talking about her newsletter, we'd sort of did a bit of a sense check, we sense checked everything, and we sort of looked towards her clients and her audience and what they were expecting from her and how much time they had. And, you know, what it was that why they were in her community. And for my client, she was very much about coming from a place of substance and of adding real value and of quality. So for her, if she was going to write a newsletter, if she was going to write an article, she didn't want to just scratch the surface, she wants to be able to do something that shows that it is well thought through that it's been well researched, that she's offering, real value to her audience. Which means, that's not something that she can just cook up in a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon, it takes a good while for her to think of that to do the research and to come up with it, to get it to a place where she's then happy for it to go to her audience. And after sort of chatting it through, we realised that actually maybe her customers or her audience or clients they weren't necessarily expecting that kind of substance that kind of input that kind of content from her maybe every month or every week, or whatever the frequency was. But actually, maybe it went back to what she was wanting to achieve in the first place, which is just having that snippet of value and having that food for thought or being encouraged to think differently about something or being given something that's going to allow them to ponder over it or think about something or reflect on something.
And so when we brought together the needs or the wants of her customers, then actually the kind of the trap that she'd fallen into in terms of this big machine of a newsletter, we realised that there was a disjoint and that they weren't necessarily matching in the same way. And that actually, we could completely adapt it to help my client find the joy again, to make it lighter to take off that pressure, but at the same time still adding value to her audience and her clients. So we changed the way that she approaches this newsletter, we decided to really come from that place of actually adding value and creating that food for thought. And that might be just showing up with a question, a simple question. Or it might be sharing a different article from somebody else with it with an insight or it might be a well thought, through and prepared, blog or article.
But we didn't have to do that every week or every month that the goal was actually to add value, but also to be at the forefront of their minds to be present to show, to be there and to remind them that they were there and to create this sense of community and engagement.
That's my long winded example of kind of how I want to encourage you to not fall into a trap of doing the things because you think you have to do the things but actually lifting your head up and asking yourself do I need to be doing it in this way? How can I check that maybe ask questions from your clients from your audience? What do they want? What do they need? What are their challenges? And then sense check in what you're up to. And that goes in exactly the same way if you feel this dread at the bottom of your stomach when you have to go and do a Tik Tok video every week or if you're thinking about your content planning on social media actually sense check yourself, is that the best place you can be adding value do you really need to be doing it or actually is your energy better spent doing something that you enjoy where you can actually be yourself you can have your eyes light up and you can really share value and your input with your audience, and your clients?
Okay, so a couple of questions for you to take away and think about over the next few days about what you're doing and how you're showing up. Quick reminder to go back to your zone of genius. So to think about, what is it that you're really good at? What is it that comes easily to you? What is it that you enjoy doing? What is it that comes the most naturally, where you can be really yourself, and you can show up in that in the best way for you and your audience?
And then secondly, think about your customers, your audience? And what is it that they are looking for from you? What do they need? What do they want? And then how can we find that perfect match in the middle? And I said, Perfect Match, but it can be an imperfect match, but how can we find the best way of delivering and providing amazing value, but in the easiest and the most enjoyable way for all parts, all people? So first of all, stop beating yourself up about the thing? Or is there something that you really don't want to be doing, but you find yourself doing it over and over again, each week each month? Because you feel that you ought to be? So just check in with that. And then ask yourself, do you have to do that thing? So whatever it is that you're beating yourself up about, that you really don't want to be doing? Is it essential for your business? Or is there another way of doing it? Or achieving the same objective? Isn't that one? And then ask yourself, What are the facts or what are the assumptions that you're making. And if there's anything that you're doing, because you feel you ought to or you should be doing it, then unpick it and see what you notice.
And then finally, stop creating a big onerous, I'm gonna call them grumpy tasks, things that, really you don't want to be doing, or stop creating, or putting pressure on yourself to do the things that make you feel uncomfortable or icky, because I promise you that the more that you're doing those things, the more that your reader or your audience or clients can feel that too, and then more, it's going to feel uncomfortable, and it won't flow in the right way. So you're not going to be attracting the right kind of people. And so finally, change the way you look at things, so if you're putting big pressure on yourself to do the thing, change the way you look at it, take the pressure off and just see whether it actually there's a minimum that you need to be doing or what is the minimum that you need to be doing just to make sure that you're present if you need to be and take the pressure off yourself.
So for example, with social media, if it's something that you really don't want to be doing, then think of it more as a, just a shop window, in terms of whether people just want to know that you're present, that you're there or that you know that you're still a viable business, that's still alive today. And that might simply be creating one little post that says, this isn't my favourite place to hang out, come and find me over on a different platform, or come and find me on my website, or send me an email here. And I'd love to chat to you or to find out more, you know, visit this place. So there's ways around it.
But what we've just got to think about is just how to make sure that we are managing the expectations of our potential clients or our clients or our audience, and signposting them in the right way, or showing up in a place of value and of joy. So I've rambled on today, but I think what I'm trying to say to you all is, depending on what your business is, remember that when you're communicating when you're marketing your business, when you're telling your story, the ultimate objective that you should be having there at the forefront of your mind. It's about building trust, it's about building engagement, and helping people to get to know you and get a feel for you enough so that they want to buy from you whether that's a product or service. So depending on what your business is, i genuinely want to urge you to find the things that make you smile that you feel comfortable with.
Or if there's certain things that you know, are going to be absolutely imperative for your business, it might be video, it might be Tik Tok, talking about whatever it is, then embrace it. But do it in a way that means that you can be imperfectly perfect about it. And so share the fact that you are testing things that you're trying new things that you'll find in the way that feels right that you're learning as you go, be a bit vulnerable, and I promise it will take the pressure off, it'll change the experience. And at the same time we'll start a conversation with your people and allowing them to see you are showing up or you are trying or that you are wanting some input and in a way, it's going to benefit you even further because it's going to give you an opportunity to have those conversations and get that feedback. So a bit of a long ramble today. It's really about the fact that I've want to really
give you permission to stop doing the things that you hate doing. because if we really want our businesses to work, if we really want to attract the right kind of people, then we need to be able to be ourselves and show up, and add the value that we want to be adding in a way that feels comfortable and natural.
So yeah, let me know what you think about this, whether you're doing something in your business that you hate, then get in touch and let's have a chat about it and see whether actually we can find a different way of doing it or a different opportunity, that would allow you to have each the same goal but in a different way. Or maybe you're doing something that you hated in the beginning. But now you absolutely love it, love it, because you persevered and you kept going. And it got easier like this, you know, this podcast was the same, it was so hard in the beginning to come on and think about what I was going to say. And now I'll just come on and ramble to you every week and share with you what I've been doing and what you know, the insights from inside my business. So it does get easier. I'd love to have a chat with you and see what you're thinking about this.
And I suppose really, I just want you to get you thinking differently about things and not being that stereotypical, I've got to do it this way. Because this is what society says. And this is what I'm expected to do, the more we can embrace being you and doing the things in your way, the better I promise, the better it's going to be for you and your whole community.
So on that note, I'm going to leave you I would love you if you've enjoyed this episode to get in touch and share with me what your thoughts are. But secondly, if you would like to leave me a review or share the podcast with people you think you might benefit from it, that would be so so good of you. I would really appreciate it because every little review counts now in helping me get this podcast out there to reach more small business owners who you know, need that support or help to grow their businesses in ways that feel good and work for them. So I will see you next week for another edition of the future proof your business podcast. In the meantime, check out the show notes and find out and get the links to my website and other free resources that I've gotten there. I'll see you next week.
Thanks for listening to The Future-Proof your Business podcast. I have been your host Lucy Rennie.
I want to help as many business owners build a business that works and feels good, and the best way for me to do that is to get this podcast out to as many people as possible. You can help me do this by sharing it, clicking subscribe and especially leaving a review.

If you want to get more of my insights and resources then head over to my website IamLucyRennie.com, and come and join me and lots of other small business owners like you in my FREE Facebook group, Communicate with Purpose. All the links are in the show notes.

Thanks again and I’ll see you next week for another episode of The Future-Proof Your Business podcast.