4 Ways I’ve Changed as a Business Owner in the Last 4 Years

As an entrepreneur, I find myself constantly shifting between reflection, analysis, planning, and execution. Through this journey, I've identified four key ways in which I've grown as a business owner, ultimately shaping me into the fulfilled and successful individual I am today.

These four elements have significantly enhanced my time management, focus, and goal attainment, accelerating my progress. Looking back, I wish I could impart these lessons to my younger self. Learn from mistakes and embrace growth!

How do you make the right decisions, if you don’t know where you are going? Work with me, and I will get your on the right path.
https://jadawillis.com/work-with-me/

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome back B2Bers, that's back to business podcast. You know, we're here to talk about reclaiming your time, recharging your team and refocusing your business. That's everything that we talk about in this podcast series. So today I want to bring you four ways that I know I've changed as a business owner in the last four years. I will tell you that as you reflect on your business ownership journey, your entrepreneurial journey, you're gonna realize that just like the ebbs and flows of life, you're gonna continue to grow, you're going to continue to evolve as a person, and I really feel like that's expedited when you're a business owner. We used to have a joke in retail. I was a HR with Target, and I had a joke that every year is like five years, so it's kind of like dog years. And it's because we run really fast, we operate at the speed of life, there's constantly the highs and lows, sometimes in one day, sometimes in one hour, and a lot of learning and growing that's happening at a rapid pace. And so maybe you've been a business owner for one to two years, but it could feel like five years plus. And so with that, it's really important to take stock and to think about how you are continuing to, again, evolve, grow as a business owner, because that's only going to enhance and impact your actual business. And I really want you to get over that hurdle of getting to seven figures, and I hope that you're blowing that out of the water. But as you continue to do that, you learn a lot about yourself, and it impacts the rest of the people in your life, your friends, your family, your spouse, and everyone else that you continue to serve and you choose to work with, they are going to get the you, right, that you're showing up as and here's the thing, that person is changing and that changes with being a business owner. So I want to give you just the highlights. So this is four ways that I've changed as a business owner in the last four years. All right, the first thing that popped up for me is the fact that I understand my personality type so well that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt what I'm really good at, what I'm so-so at, and also what I just absolutely suck at. I know what I should be working on and spending my time and where my value is placed and how I even 10x my business because I'm spending time in my zone of genius, and that's a shout out to the book, The Big Leap, and that will teach you about your zone of genius, zone of excellence, and so on. But it's not just about knowing what your zone of genius is and your strengths are. It's also about leveraging your weaknesses that you think are your nemesis. Like you can go through this cycle of just hating the fact that you're just not good with numbers or you're not all that organized. Well, here's the deal. You're not gonna be everything. You're not gonna be the super-powered business owner. There are going to be areas where you don't know everything and you don't even know enough to be dangerous. That means that you have to find, you have to surround yourself with people that know their stuff. So again, if numbers are not your jam, that means that you're gonna have a really strong either financial coach or accountant, bookkeeper, financial planner, and it doesn't mean you need all those things all at once, you take baby steps, but it does mean that you will have to get outside help to assist you with the numbers, with the financials. And you need to know enough to be dangerous. And what that means is you need to know the key numbers of your business. So profit and loss statements, income statement, understanding those things so that you can even hire and outsource the best But it all starts with understanding yourself, understanding your personality type and getting okay with it and not making excuses or thinking that you can just do everything yourself and you just have to muscle through and learn how to do it. Hey, listen, there's some things in a business that you're gonna learn how to do because you don't have the money to hire someone else. But listen, as soon as you can afford to hire to your absolute weakness, you need to do that. So if that's a virtual assistant, if that's a accountant and bookkeeper, then listen, that's what you need to plan for. That's a goal that you need to set if you're not already there. But what I learned was really about truly understanding my personality style and my type, and then I understood how to leverage my strengths so that I can multiply my efforts and Also feel energized and jazzed by the work I'm doing which by the way if you feel that way then you're going to be able to do more and Want to do more of the things you love and people are going to pay you to do the things that you love but then also understanding who Yeah, who those people are they're willing to help you but I also have trusted partners. Now, they could be competitors turned collaborators, they just could be other business owners that we've formed tribes, and I really encourage you finding a space. So, shout out to the Grow Forward community. You can visit growforwardcommunity.com if you are looking for other entrepreneurs that are in the same place as you, going through the similar struggles, and just are wanting to rise, wanting to reach for more, because you know better is possible. That is one example of a space, but you can also find one locally in your backyard. There's so many entrepreneurial organizations to choose from but meet your people that you vibe with, that you respect, and that you can learn from, and don't be afraid to not know everything. All right, number two for me is that, whew, and this is getting into it. This was a pivot from the first one, but the right people are crucial. That means inside your business, inside your world, surrounding yourself with the right people. Because guess what? If you are over the age of 18, you get to choose who you spend time with. I can't speak for the children, I can't speak for your parents still running your lives, but I can speak to you. If you are an adult, if you're an adult, you get to choose how you spend your time and who you spend your time with. And you may even say, Jada, it's not that easy. I will say this, I think that you should get really, really excited about setting boundaries and really understanding who lifts you up, who brings you energy and joy, and who does not, and who drains, and how do you feel after those encounters, right? And it's not just a one-off, because people aren't perfect, but there needs to be a pattern of this behavior so that you're learning about yourself and you're learning about who's right, and not everybody is meant to stay in your life for your entire lifetime. Everybody is in your life for, what, a season, a reason, so on, right? So it could be a week, it could be a month, and it could be years upon years. But take the value and the impact of whatever they're providing, but be really particular about the people in your life and in your business. Not everyone needs to know everything about what you're doing. And I definitely learned that throughout my business career is that I really wanted to, and I think it comes from a place of getting excited and wanting to share all the things that I'm excited about, but there's a lot wrong with that. And sometimes you just, you need to understand when is the time to communicate what you're working on and the projects and your excitement and even accomplishments. How are you sharing it? Is it on social media platforms? Is it in a group that's going to be supportive of you. I don't want you to not be authentic to yourself and to what you have going on and your wins, but at the same point in time just know your audience, right? And know the right time. And then what about if you're just working, you're just starting on this project and you're not ready to launch and it will be more impactful if you launch this service at a later time whenever you have at least done some data collection or you've actually done some experiments with it and you've rolled it out to a small select group, so you have your beta group, and you've gotten feedback. It doesn't mean everything has to go to market right away. So it's knowing that you need the right people and I'll tell you what, the right people, so I could be that person for you. And if you don't have the support, guess what? We are here to support you, to give you the resources, the guidance, and the business advice, no fluff. And maybe it's not a two-way, because we're not right now. I don't hear your feedback, and I don't hear you talking to me. But I'll tell you what, it is this a free opportunity to get business advice from someone that has successfully built and sold a business. And that, I'm telling you, it's invaluable, it's priceless. But get to know people, ask for mentorship, be bold enough, be bold enough to show up and ask for the things that you want. All right, here's number three. Maybe they all go hand in hand together because they definitely are, in my mind, clicking. But number three, as I was thinking about it, oh, I learned, I learned the hard way to stop saying yes. Stop saying yes to everything, because it's the people-pleaser in you, and if you have that servant mindset, you have, you're a servant leader, you want to do all the things, and you want to help all the people, and no, guess what? You know what's worse? It's saying yes, and then not showing up, or being late, making excuses, or putting that person off again and again, so it leads to an awkward conversation, and then guess what? It impacts your reputation. And then what are you known for? You are known for being that person that maybe agrees to it, but is not dependable, doesn't have integrity. You need to really get a handle on your schedule, on your time, and then also on your yeses. Stop saying yes to the things that you don't wanna do or not in line with your vision or not in line with your business. It doesn't make any sense. And I know that it feels mean. So I'm coming from South Carolina and I know that we have listeners all around the US, all around the world. And well, in the South, it's a little bit harder because you want to have that politeness and you don't want people to feel like you know you're you're being rude or you're not you know you're not interested in ever meeting with them and all that good stuff. So there are ways that you can say no, right? And you can always say, hey I got some major priorities right now that I'm focused on, we can circle back in six months, in a year. I know that whenever I've had folks reach out to me and maybe like usually it's financial advisors, it's benefit partners and if I'm already happy with my existing relationship, I don't mind meeting new people in this space but that shouldn't take up an hour of my time right now. I'll tell you when it will and so sometimes I'll schedule out six months later or nine months later. It just depends on what I have going on right now but you have to be bold enough to say, I have some big goals right now I need to focus my time on, but I, you know, we may circle back in a later time. Or guess what? I am so happy with my financial advisor. I'm just not interested, but, um, if I do come across anyone that my financial advisor can't help, you could be an option, like it doesn't have to. And you actually don't have to explain the no, you can just say, no thank you, I appreciate it though, and I wish you the best. And that's still kind, because you're also not wasting their time. So stop saying yes to everything, and you will immediately open up probably a few hours in your week that you've been just giving away for free. All right, we got number four. I'm big on this, I talk to my clients about number four a whole lot and it's identifying those non-negotiables for yourself and for your business. So it could be that you stop saying yes and that's a part of your non-negotiable but you decide who do you serve. So recently I've talked to a few business owners who are like, you know what I've decided I've decided to stop working with mean people. Yeah, yeah, don't do that. You have become a business owner because you have freedom, or you want the freedom, from a time and money standpoint, and also to work with people that are nice or that you enjoy working with. That doesn't mean that you have to agree, or you have to enjoy everyone. Sure, you're not gonna enjoy everyone, but at the same point in time, you have to enjoy at least 90% of these folks, right? Why are you doing it? Then go back to your corporate job, or the nine to five, and someone else can dictate your schedule and your life. Listen, you have made the bold, courageous decision to be a business owner. That means that you do not have to work with people that are mean, or that are unprofessional, and that just could be a non-negotiable. And I think that's a fair non-negotiable, right? So you have, I even have this in my agreement that I could actually terminate the agreement if you exhibit unprofessional behavior. And I have implemented, executed that. As of recently, in the last few months, I have terminated the client that exhibited unprofessional behavior. I didn't see it coming. I have a discovery process, all of that, but guess what? It happens, and also people sometimes don't vibe and mix, and that's okay too. You are not everyone's cup of tea, and I am not everyone's cup of tea. And that's okay, because you need to find your teas. You need to find the people that really get the excitement and the value and they see your worth, and they see what you're able to provide. And just because one person can't do that doesn't mean that there aren't a thousand others waiting. And I really want to emphasize that. But other non-negotiables, like for instance, even in my friend group, and this is personally and professionally, I just believe that helping other people is so important. Helping other people is why we're here on this earth. Having that giver's heart, I don't show up and meet people and be like, hey, are you a giver? I don't meet people and say, do you have a generous spirit? Do you love volunteerism? That's not really how it is. I only want people in my life that have certain values that I hold. And one of those is that you're kind and you want to do good things for other people in this world. And that's okay. It's okay to have your non-negotiables. It doesn't mean that anybody else is bad or necessarily wrong, but you have to take control of your time and how you take control of your time and how you also refocus your business and your path forward is being very clear about your boundaries and your non-negotiables. It's also, you stop saying yes, and you become more, you have more self-integrity, and you realize that it's going to be a drain somewhere. There is a slogan from, it's a phrase from my economics class and I think this is the only thing that I remember from economics, by the way, and it's opportunity cost. What you're giving up for what you're getting. So guess what? Every time that you agree to something that doesn't align with your vision or doesn't align with your energy, you are sacrificing something, right? And so any time you accept something that is opposite to your non-negotiables, you are sacrificing yourself and you're sacrificing your energy, your time, and possibly your business. And it's so important to put those kind of boundaries in place, it's so important to deep dive and to know more about yourself and how you show up in this world and how you can add value, but then also not dwelling on your weaknesses and saying and you know, kind of berating yourself. You just find people that have the opposite weakness and you become like a powerhouse. Doesn't mean you sign up for them to be your business partner. I'm not saying go that far. Maybe there's a time and place, and maybe there's a situation. However, what you can do is have friends, advisors, coaches, consultants, contractors, colleagues. There's so many options on how you can fill the weaknesses that are a part of yourself and your professionalism and also your business. Ooh, man, this was an action pack. This could be my favorite podcast so far because I really believe that if you listen to this and you maybe have to listen a couple times, but there are so many nuggets in here that I wish, I wish that a younger me, a less business-tenured me could hear, understand, and accept. So I hope that this podcast finds you right in the best spot of your entrepreneurial journey because it's time. It's time and it's your turn to really make these bold decisions and choices for yourself. And guess what? That's what's going to help you get the life you want, get the business that you want, and that you've been working so hard for. Alright, I'm gonna end this podcast just like I end every other podcast and I want you to know that everything that you want is on the other side of fear. Choose your hard. Choose your hard. Did I mention that everything that you want is on the other side of hard? Choose your hard.