039: Building a Business for the Person You've Become

As entrepreneurs, we often assume we're supposed to keep building the same business year after year. But life changes. We change. And sometimes the business that fits one season no longer fits the next. 

In this episode, Laurie interviews Becky about the different seasons of her entrepreneurial journey. What she's learned about growth, reinvention, and building a business that fits the life you're actually living.

Inside this episode:

• Why businesses naturally evolve over time
• How life changes what we need from work
• The pressure entrepreneurs feel to stay consistent
• What happens when success stops looking the way it used to
• How to build a business that fits the season you're in

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• The Smart Soulful Business Facebook Community: smartbusiness.thrivecart.com/soulful-strategy-community

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MORE FROM BECKY & LAURIE

Website: smartsoulfulbusiness.com
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Smart Soulful Business Facebook Community: smartbusiness.thrivecart.com/soulful-strategy-community

Transcript

039: Building a Business for the Person You’ve Become


Laurie: Hey, hey, welcome back to the Smart Soulful Business podcast. And kicking off this summer, or I guess in the middle of this summer, we’re doing things a little bit differently. Normally we have spent our episodes teaching specific business concepts and most recently even a series, and teaching people how to start a podcast or teaching you how to, you know, up your email game.

But for the next couple episodes, Becky and I have been talking this summer, if you’ve been listening for a while, you know we’re friends. We talk all the time, she’s been a big support for me for many years, and she would say the same for [00:01:00] me. But as our conversations this summer have been changing, we’re like, “You know what? We’re pulling back a little this summer. Why don’t we allow everyone else the same thing, or lead that way on our podcast episodes?” So we wanna give you a little permission in the next couple weeks or even couple months to do a little reevaluating, pulling back, a little bit of downtime of thinking. And so we wanted to pull the curtain back a little bit for you and have a few more personal conversations, with you in our audience.

Like, how do we say that? Like, it’s almost like having a conversation and inviting people to kind of eavesdrop or listen in. Is that how you feel sometimes, Becky?

Becky: I mean, it’s the reason we started this whole business is we were talking and we’re like, “Man, this would be really valuable for a lot of people.” So we’re just doing it again.

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: We noticed our conversation shifting and we’re like, “Gosh, this feels important enough to share other people, like to share with other people.

Laurie: Yeah. Yeah, and I’m not positive about Becky, but I think she probably would feel the same. We’re coming into this recording session feeling a little bit [00:02:00] vulnerable. Like, we’re asking some questions, we’re interviewing each other, and it’s a little less planned, I would say, and it’s gonna be a little more off the cuff.

Becky: Yeah, yeah.

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: It’ll be great.

Laurie: So we’re gonna… Yeah, we’re gonna be talking about our lives a little and our stories. And, and I just wanna say, not because we think our stories are particularly fascinating or even all that important, but we have both learned that businesses don’t exist in a vacuum. Our lives change. The people around us change.

We change. And oftentimes, I was gonna say sometimes, but I will say that oftentimes, businesses that fit one season of our lives, or at least the way we’ve structured them, don’t always fit again. And I think of you parenting, Becky, ’cause I’ve said this all along the way. You know, every time Becky comes to me frustrated, my kids are in their 20s, and hers are littles.

And she’ll say things, and I’ll be like, “Oh, just give it six months.” It all changes, right?

Becky: It does.

Laurie: I mean.

Becky: It does.

Laurie: It’s kinda comforting to know [00:03:00] that the issues we have now, you know, if you have kids in your season or whatever, in six months it’s so different. A one-year-old is different than an 18-month-old, is very different than a two-plus-year-old, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And the reality is, is that’s the same in our lives. Like, we change. I was talking to my therapist the other day, and she said, “But the thing is, as a marriage is that…” ‘Cause we were talking about, like, midlife crisis stuff, or I was starting that conversation. She said, you know, she had just been recently learning more and more about marriage in the therapy sessions that she does. And she said, like, statistically, they say that every five years, you’re actually married to a different person.

Becky: Crazy.

Laurie: Is that not crazy? Like we change so much. And if every five years you’re married to a different person, then every five years they’re married to a different person. And Becky and I started talking about business and how true that is in business, that, you know, the person we were three years ago or two years ago or five, we’re actually different.

And sometimes that business that [00:04:00] fit one season doesn’t fit the next. And so that’s what we’re talking about today. I’m gonna be actually interviewing Becky about some of the different seasons that she has experienced as an entrepreneur, and there’s been a lot, and how her business has evolved alongside them, and maybe even, Becky, maybe even how you’ve fought it at different times, like trying to hang on to a business when you’ve done some changes.

Because I know that a lot of us, as we’ve had conversations with many of you who listen and who are part of our Soulful Strategy group, we start wondering like, “Why doesn’t business feel the same anymore? Why don’t I want what I used to want? Why is it that this used to work for me and isn’t now?” And that’s what we’re talking about today.
So okay, Becky, for fun, we’re gonna start with this one. When you look back over your entrepreneurial journey, which started what, what… How old were you when you really started this?

Becky: Oh gosh, how old? I don’t know. Not that far like early in my working life. I’d graduated college a couple year.

Laurie: Okay.

Becky: Well, I started my blog in college.

Laurie: Yeah, that’s what I thought. Okay. But it’s [00:05:00] still, you know, it’s there. So how old were you when you started your blog?

Becky: Mm, like 19.

Laurie: 19, and can I ask how old you are now? Are you public about your age?

Becky: I’m 39 right now.

Laurie: Oh my gosh. Okay, so 19 to 39. So you’re talking, 20 years here. When you look back over your entrepreneurial journey, how many different versions of Becky have owned a business? Like, how many different versions of you do you think there really have been?

Becky: I know you said once every five years, but when I think of entrepreneur Becky, there are so many of them. Way more, way more than one every five years. I mean,

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: I feel like I drastically changed every three to six months. Like,

Laurie: Wow.

Becky: There’s a lot of me.

Laurie: A lot of versions. Okay, which one, which version of you should we start with?

Becky: Oh gosh. Well, I feel like the beginning is an important one.

Laurie: Okay, great.

Becky: Because I feel like it’s important for you guys listening, if you’re anything like me, I make a lot of assumptions about other people. My brain fills in a lot of gaps about people, [00:06:00] and I tend to believe, oh, they were just so naturally good at that. This just fell into their lap. This was the obvious path that they chose, that they planned, that they had set out for. And I guess I just wanna make it clear sharing that part, that version of Becky, that that was not, that was not my path.

Laurie: Okay. How would you describe the version of Becky that started her blog in college?

Becky: Yeah. So I was definitely an accidental entrepreneur. So back in college, Becky started a blog for fun. Didn’t even know about monetizing back then. Didn’t understand ad companies. I was on Facebook, but for pleasure, for connecting with friends, not for business at all. I didn’t even know it was used for business back then. And, I think it’s important in my story to know that I do not come from a family of entrepreneurs. So my idea of a career was formed as you go to college, you major in the thing, you graduate with the thing, and that’s what you do until you retire. Like,

Laurie: Mm-hmm. [00:07:00] Yeah

Becky: That was the thing kind of seared in my head. Nobody in my family started businesses, ran their own businesses,
own their own businesses. My dad was a doctor. Yeah, that just wasn’t a thing anywhere in my family. And so, that is the version of Becky, completely innocent, naive, clueless about the world that she accidentally fell into.

Laurie: Okay, so we’re not gonna go piece by piece through every version, but when did that version become an entrepreneur? Like, “Oh, I could make money.” Like, what did that person look like when that happened?

Becky: Yeah. So again, I accidentally went viral on Pinterest. One of my posts, my, my quinoa bites went viral on Pinterest. This was before I had ads on my site. So I would say the moment that my blog shifted from fun hobby to business was when, my quinoa bites went viral on Pinterest, and people, I don’t even remember who, if it was one, if it was five people, started saying, “Well, why, why don’t you have ads on your site again?”And they started giving me names of companies, and it was when I connected with Mediavine [00:08:00] that shifted. And I ended up going to a Mediavine conference, which was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I haven’t been to one since. But I sat down with a Mediavine representative, and she gave me very specific small things of, like, ” this is how you run a business versus a hobby thing.” It was so helpful to me. It was so helpful.

Laurie: Wow.

Becky: Shifted a lot of things.

Laurie: From hobby to business. Okay.

Becky: Mm-hmm.

Laurie: Just overall scope, what major life chapters have happened along the way between then and now?

Becky: Oh my goodness. Yeah, lots of moves. So when I, well, when I first started my blog, I was in college in Colorado, and then I graduated and moved to Tucson. Got married the first time. Was in a really hard marriage, lots of shifting hard seasons there. Started working as an interpreter. I was building my online presence while I was working full-time as an interpreter in the schools. And, gosh, what, then, then I ended up getting divorced, and then I ended up moving [00:09:00] back to Colorado. And then I got remarried and had kids and had this crazy six-and-a-half years debilitating insomnia journey while having a baby and then another baby. And now I am, moved again and again. Like, what, I don’t even know how to sum it all up. So many life changes. So many life changes.

Laurie: Yeah. You know, hearing you, I have just recently been revisiting that stress scale. You know that universal scale that you can take the stress thing and, and, you know, you go through it and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I’m at close to a burnout life crisis because I have so much stress.” And as you talked about, you know, marriage, divorce, even the moves, the relocation, the babies, the health crisis, all of that, like the amount of stress that is with all these life chapters is just huge.
So if you think of all the different versions of you, what version of Becky feels the most different from who you are today? Is it like that initial naive one, or was there a version along the way that really is in contrast to how you [00:10:00] live now?

Becky: I would say the initial naive one because I had no idea that any of this was possible. I have so much, a broader hope, idea of possibilities now.

Laurie: Mm.

Becky: Than I could have even… Like, I didn’t know to picture anything different back then. So I would say definitely beginner Becky who had no idea the possibilities of the world out there. Now you could throw anything my way and I would be like, “Yeah, I could learn that. I might not enjoy that, but I could learn how to do that.”

Laurie: Oh, that’s so fun.

Becky: And I just feel so much more confident and capable these days.

Laurie: Oh, that’s awesome. So if you think about what season was the hardest, I actually want you to talk about what season
was the hardest, but I also want you to, like, is it also correlated to your business? Like, when your life season was the hardest, was your business the hardest? Does that always correlate?

Becky: You know, you and I mentioned this on our phone call this morning when we were just touching on what we might wanna talk about today, and, one of the things we talked about is that it’s hard to, to peel apart the layers because they’re all together in one life, in [00:11:00] one experience of life.

Laurie: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Becky: So, I was like, well, during that season, my insomnia was terribly hard. Was it because I wasn’t sleeping, or was it because there was this aspect of my business that wasn’t right,

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: That made it feel so hard? Was it, parenting in that season that made it so hard? It’s hard to identify it all, but I feel like you and I have gotten better at peeling apart the layers. So.

Laurie: Uh-huh.

Becky: I’m not sure. I think I would’ve said, if I look back on it right now, I think I would’ve said yes, they tend to correlate. When life felt hard, my business felt hard.

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: I think I can say that pretty confidently.

Laurie: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. So what season would you name as your hardest?

Becky: For sure the insomnia season. Oh, without a doubt. Insomnia season with colicky baby, for sure the hardest season I’ve ever lived through in life. And, for sure the hardest season of my business because I think… Well, I think that the reason why that season was the hardest was because I was completely unintentionally expecting myself to function as a normal working [00:12:00] mom without a colicky baby and without insomnia. I was just expecting myself to just do what you do, and, like, not consider all of these heavy impacts that were going on in my life. And I think, because of that expectation, I did a lot of powering through, a lot of powering through, and beating myself up for not be able to, having the capacity that I wanted to have in that season.

Laurie: I’m not sure if we’ll talk about this more throughout the podcast, but when you said powering through, the season of powering through, I just went through my mind how often we do that and how chronically, like long we do it for long seasons, and how we even recommend to people to power through so often. Like, our advice to our friends, “Oh, just get it done. You can do it.” Or, you know, whether it’s in any context, church, family, whatever, and that’s a whole other life lesson of the damage that can come from powering through. And, you know, we need to do it less than we do. But anyway, that’s another one. So any seasons particularly surprise [00:13:00] you along the way?

Becky: Well, you know, you and I were talking about this a couple days ago. I think the things that surprised me most about online entrepreneurship is when you’re working a typical nine -to five, you know your income, and you know it’s gonna correlate.

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: I work these many hours, and I get this much income, or I’m gonna get raises at the end of each year. And online entrepreneurship, every time my income has skyrocketed, I have been shocked because I didn’t change anything. I was doing what I was always doing.

Laurie: Oh.

Becky: And something went viral, and I was like, “Oh, great, now I’m a really successful entrepreneur even though I’m functioning doing the exact same things as I was three weeks ago when I wouldn’t have categorized myself like that.”

Laurie: Oh, that’s really interesting. So when your business hit peaks and was soaring, it wasn’t correlated to how much work, effort, or time you were pouring into it?

Becky: Yes.

Laurie: Like it was just the same. I think that’s a huge mistake we make sometimes. We think we have to work harder to make this or work more hours or, and not that we don’t believe in strategy, ’cause Becky and I [00:14:00] highly believe in strategy, but that income doesn’t always correlate with it or success, right?

Becky: Yeah, absolutely.

Laurie: Yeah. Okay, so let’s talk about, we’re talking about seasons, lots of changes. Let’s talk about your business. As
seasons change,

Becky: Mm-hmm.

Laurie: You could take any direction you would like, how did your business need to change as your life changed? And I’m
gonna give this a little context. I’m in a season right now, and I know a lot of people are, where I can’t keep doing business the way I’ve been doing it, and it makes me feel guilty or bad. Like,

Becky: Mm-hmm.

Laurie: This is what worked, this is what should work, this is what has worked. I need to continue working my business even though my entire life is changing.

Becky: Yeah. Yes.

Laurie: Right. Like, so how does business need to change or how have you experienced that as your life changed?

Becky: I would say the biggest example that comes to my mind as you’re saying that is how live videos affected me along this, this path of all of my life changes. So, when I first, along the way, I started [00:15:00] running a second business on top of my main website, and that second business was a weight loss membership, a Christian weight loss membership, and we had weekly live videos that required me to be on screen and at a specific time every single week. That was no big deal when I was single. That was no big deal after I got married.

Laurie: Mm-hmm

Becky: That was a huge deal when I had a colicky baby. Huge deal. Like, it was so stressful to try to coordinate nap times. Both my mom and my sister tried to come over and help. This was during COVID. I mean, like, it was rough and stressful, and it became the hardest part of my business. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy live video. It’s not that I didn’t like, appreciate the value. But being able to show up that way when my life season changed added exponentially more stress than it did before that.

Laurie: Oh.

Becky: Yeah.

Laurie: So interesting.

Becky: Still, I can feel my body tightening up as I’m even describing that to you.

Laurie: Uh-huh.

Becky: And even now, like, I have become more relaxed and chill about it now in different, a whole different life season. [00:16:00] But live videos with, being a mom with two little kids at home,

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: That is really hard for me to show up at a specific time without distraction,

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: With my little kids at home. It’s hard.

Laurie: Yeah. Well, and I love that you said really hard for me, because what we experience is not what everyone else experiences. Different personalities, different upbringings, different backgrounds, different baggage, different everything. Like, who God created us to be, the stress that we carry into different things are different. So what about, like, this might be my struggle more than yours, but I’m just curious if your business changed with this as well. What about the amount of structure or pressure or, you know, when you think about schedules and batching, and you and I will talk about the difference between, you know, planning and going with our, I don’t know what we call it, like, Holy Spirit nudges or inspiration.Like, have you seen that affected? Like, your business changing, not just showing up on video, but, like, the way you structure it or the way that you think about it through your life changes?

Becky: Yes.

Laurie: Does that question make sense?

Becky: I think so.

Laurie: Okay.

Becky: [00:17:00] It’s definitely changed. So this, I’ll just share my personal baggage with you all right now. It, like I said, my experience of doing live videos got exponentially harder. The structure and the demands of my business had to change a lot for me when I had kids and had the insomnia. But the stressful part for me was believing that I was constantly letting my business partner down.

Laurie: Hmm.

Becky: That was a pressure… It was, it was me.

Laurie: Hmm.

Becky: Nobody was shaming me or, like, talking to me about it. It was me. But it was so hard feeling like because all this is going on, and this, I, like, I have to pour every ounce of my energy into getting through the day over here with this baby. I didn’t have a lot left, and I, and I was trying my best, but it just felt like constantly not enough. And so, when it’s just me planning my business for So Very Blessed, I feel that sometimes, but I just feel like it’s so much more flexible and fluid. But if I’m letting somebody else down, that is really tough for me.

Laurie: Okay. Okay. We [00:18:00] titled this podcast episode, unless we change it before it goes live, y’all, ’cause we do that sometimes. So right now it’s titled ‘Building the Business for the Person That You’ve Become’.

Becky: Mm-hmm.

Laurie: Did you ever find that you were building a business for a person you were before? And like, you’re like, “Oh my gosh, how do I… wait a minute, this is off.” Can you talk about like when you felt off-kilter, or what was the realization that, “Oh my gosh, I’m building a business that doesn’t fit who I am now anymore”?

Becky: Yeah, I think it’s happened several times. It’s happened in, in the way that I promote products.

Laurie: Hmm.

Becky: It’s one thing to learn about marketing from, you know, the, the typical rules, the recommendations of the experts out there, and it’s another thing to feel how you feel about it and what feels right to you, and we talk about that a lot, what resonates with you.
Well, I didn’t know how to read what resonated with me when I was a beginner in marketing. I was like,

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: “They told me I have to do it this way, so I think I have to do it this way.” So I would say that has changed a lot in a really good way. I feel so much better about the way I sell things these days, than the [00:19:00] way I sold things five years ago.

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: I feel more authentic,

Laurie: Nice.

Becky: And more helpful, and more relational and all of those things.

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: So that is one way that I’ve, I feel like I’ve drastically gotten better, improved.

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: Hmm, what else? What else falls into that category? Yeah, I mean, I’ve totally changed my schedule over the years and my boundaries on social media, those have drastically changed over the years.
I’ve pulled back a lot, and

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: and,

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: Yeah, yeah.

Laurie: Yeah, and I think we have to allow the change. You know, when we talk about, like, we’re still building a business based on our old version. You know, and I’m not really into the whole, you know, pop culture, “This is me, version 2.0.” Like, that’s really not what we’re talking about. But we are talking about growth and change, you know? And if we hang onto a system or a structure or the language or, you know, the way we used to do something and we’re very different, it starts to rub against our in- our authenticity meter, right? Like, this doesn’t feel like me anymore. Okay, let’s talk about success. I think our definition of success changes [00:20:00] drastically in different seasons and with our growth.
And what does success mean to you today that it did not mean 10 years ago?

Becky: I’m about to sound kind of cheesy, I think, with my answer.

Laurie: Do it!

Becky: The word that came to mind when you just asked that question was my alignment has changed. My alignment with God, and my alignment with people, and my alignment with myself, and my beliefs, and my values, and my strengths even.

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: Like, when I’m in alignment, that is what success means to me today.

Laurie: Hmm.

Becky: Whereas I think that if I had answered that question, five years ago, ten years ago, I think I would have said, well, obviously success in online business means, yes, that you’re doing something purposeful and meaningful, that helps people, but mostly, like, do you have the dollar signs to back it up?

Laurie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay, so, so you’re talking about being in alignment. You said it might sound cheesy. Can you just make that a little more practical or put some meat on the bones of it? When you are in [00:21:00] alignment, what emotions come up for you? How do you feel when you’re in alignment?

Becky: I feel passionate about my business. I feel helpful and supportive of the women that I serve. I feel attuned to God and my audience. I feel relatable, relational, authentic, and calm. I feel calm and confident, and, my business feels like a joy, like it’s purposeful,

Laurie: Hmm.

Becky: And yeah, all of that, all of that is success.

Laurie: So this is success to you. I love it.

Becky: Mm-hmm.

Laurie: And I love that you rattled off all these emotions like it’s so normal for you to rattle these off because you’ve been practicing this. But you have been. Over the years, you’ve been practicing, like, you know, being able to identify your emotions. Becky and I both believe that, that our emotions are important and that they’re invitations from God, and that they give us information,

Becky: Yes.

Laurie: And they’re really helpful. Like, so often we shut our emotions down. Doesn’t matter if we feel passionate, we should just keep going. Doesn’t [00:22:00] matter if we feel this or feel joy, you know, we’re just gonna be obedient. And I think what you just said is these are your clues.

Becky: Mm-hmm.

Laurie: So if you don’t feel joyful or passionate or relatable or relational, something’s out of alignment.

Becky: Yes, I would completely agree with that assessment. Well done.

Laurie: Hmm. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Okay, how about this question: What business advice do you no longer believe today?

Becky: Oh my goodness. I don’t even know where to begin on that one. I feel like I have had to unlearn so many things.

Laurie: Hmm.

Becky: I’m gonna go on the marketing because I brought that up already.

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: I really thought for so many years that there was a rigid system of this is how you have to sell something. It has to include countdown timers, and tripwire products, and, like, if you don’t have every single element in there with the wording, with these templates from the experts out there, if you’re not saying this here and that there, and giving them here, and leading them down this particular path with a free challenge, with a whatever, [00:23:00] if you don’t do it this way, you will never succeed in online business. That is a lie I believed for a long time, or, like,

Laurie: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Becky: We’ve talked about this on other episodes.

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: I am not a hard seller. I’m not an in your face seller. I am an inviting seller of, “I have this thing over here, and I have found it really valuable, and I’ve seen other people find it really valuable. You are so welcome to see if you can find that same value here.”

Laurie: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah.

Becky: That feels a lot better to me.

Laurie: Well, and I think that’s the pushback, that there’s one way to be successful.

Becky: Yeah, totally.

Laurie: Like,

Becky: Across the board I felt that.

Laurie: Yeah,

Becky: In so many different ways.

Laurie: Yeah, in marketing, in, you know, online conferences, in email sequences, in, you know. And I love that you and I don’t teach that. We don’t teach that there’s one way, there’s so many ways to be successful. Like, so many.

Becky: But I think the important part is that I had to do it their way,

Laurie: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Becky: Before I could feel like, “Oh, that does not feel good to me.”

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: And if I haven’t have done that, I wouldn’t have learned that information.

Laurie: Yeah.

Becky: And so, it’s kinda like we’re giving you permission to do it wrong so you can figure [00:24:00] out what’s right for you.

Laurie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And learning from the experts. Like Becky and I always learn from experts. We love it.

Becky: Yep.

Laurie: So all right, let’s keep going. What’s the biggest thing you have learned about building a business through real life? So what real life things, like we talk about learning from business coaches, right?
Learning how to do business from people who’ve been successful. What are some life lessons, like lessons you’ve learned through real life that actually taught you how to build a business?

Becky: Hmm. Okay. I am gonna go with my one small change. , My one small change is one of my key things that I’ve talked about for years in the realm of Christian weight loss, but I am just a one small change person. When I one small changed my own weight loss journey, when like as in I don’t do drastic overnight changes. I don’t say, “I’m gonna start a $10 million business tomorrow, and let me invest all this money.” That is not me at all. I’ll invest $15 in that thing, and let’s see if it makes money.” I am a one small change person. I don’t go, I don’t jump all in. I [00:25:00] dip a toe in and say, “Oh, that feels good. Let’s do a little bit more of that.” And I think that is, I think that applies to my business. I think that’s, yeah, I think it has grown in my consistency in, showing up well for my business, in planning ahead for my business. Like, I think all of my… Across the board, one small change. It helps me with meal plans and weight loss and walking every morning, and mental health and emotional health and physical health, and my business has been one small change every step of the way.

Laurie: Okay, so as we talk about building a business that fits our real life, like fits us now, fits the person we have become, the person we’re becoming, you know, not hanging on to a business structure or type or thought or even our purpose that no longer fits us. Like, we are changing, we are growing, we’re a different person now than we were five years ago, let alone even six months ago. Do you know what I mean? What would you tell someone if listening to this episode, they’re thinking, “Yeah, my business really doesn’t fit my life”? Or maybe when you talked about how you felt when you’re aligned, [00:26:00] this, this woman is listening thinking, “Oh my gosh, I am not aligned at all to what I’m doing,” or, “I’ve hung on to a business that doesn’t fit my season.” What would you tell them?

Becky: Yeah. I think my first advice would be, sit down and do a big old brain dump. Get it all out. What are the feelings? What are the things? What makes you feel terrible? What do you love? What do you hate? What makes you feel icky? I think I would do a huge brain dump on your business, and then I think I would look back over everything you wrote and pray through it, and say, “Okay, why do I feel this way? What’s behind this?” And start peeling off the layers that we talked about. Is this because I am functioning over my capacity in every other area of life, and it’s actually not about my business, I’m just stretched too thin? Is it completely about my business, and I’ve been sending these emails that, where I hate the wording, and I just feel gross? Like, yeah, just start peeling back the layers. But I always start with a big old brain dump. It’s kind of what Laurie and I do on our phone calls with each other. We’re like, “Here’s the bleh I’m waking up with today. Help me sort through it.”

Laurie: Yeah. No, no kidding. Yeah. So before I wrap up, Becky, as I often do when I interview people on my [00:27:00] other podcast,

Becky: Hmm.

Laurie: Is there anything that I didn’t ask that you wanna share before we close off or anything that’s bubbling up for you?

Becky: Hmm. I think that, yeah, what you have shared already several times along the way is just that we don’t share about our businesses because we want you to do it exactly our way. We share about our businesses because we want you to know that it’s possible. Because we work.

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: I was an accidental entrepreneur, like, I was not made for this. I’ve figured it out, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I have been misaligned along the way, and I have sold in icky ways along the way. Like, all of those things, I guess I just wanna use as encouragement and permission for you to, for you to not disparage the season you’re in.

Laurie: Oh.

Becky: Just because your business doesn’t fit it right now.

Laurie: Mm-hmm.

Becky: That,, yeah, you have a lot of one small changes that, that might help your business fit your season better without wishing your whole season away.

Laurie: Ooh, that’s really good. That’s really good. [00:28:00] You know, one of the things I love about this conversation is it, it doesn’t just allow us, like remind us that we’re allowed to change, or it’s not just a permission that we’re allowed to change. This is the reality of our lives. We’re supposed to change. Our lives change, our priorities change, our capacity change, our maturity changes, our depth with Jesus hopefully changes. Like God created us to keep growing until our last breath. Like, that’s kind of the point. And our businesses will be changing too.

Becky: Mm-hmm.

Laurie: Not just that they’re allowed to change or they might need to change. They do change. You know? They do change the way that we relate to our businesses, our roles in our businesses, how we feel about our businesses, and it’s not failure, and it doesn’t mean anyone’s doing anything wrong. This literally is the life that God gave us to live.

Becky: Yeah.

Laurie: And to embrace really, and to learn through and to, to grow in community through it, to share it together, to walk together, just to stay connected [00:29:00] in this life that we are journeying on the, the same way, the same path. So, you know, as you head into this week, maybe ask yourself, you know, am I building a life, a business for the life I’m living today?
Like is it fitting? Am I holding onto a business structure or a business in a season that’s, as for a season that’s already over, you know? Like, just ask yourself these questions, kind of sit with them a little bit, and maybe your business feels completely aligned with what you’re doing now. Or maybe you’re hanging onto some goals that don’t fit your business now, and you’re so frustrated ’cause you’re not hitting this goal or getting this weekly thing out that you really wanted, and really it doesn’t fit the season you’re in.

So we would love to hear from you. Like what season are you in right now? Like, seriously, like come find us. Come tell us. Find us on Facebook or Instagram. Share what’s resonating. If you don’t already follow us on our public pages, please do that. Like find us. We wanna know what season you’re in. We wanna know how you’re navigating, you know, your life and business right [00:30:00] now because we grow from hearing from you.

We pray that you grow from hearing from us, because we really are in this together. So thanks for being with us today. We know you have a million other things you could have done with this last half hour. We appreciate it. We value it. We value you. So, wait till next week. Becky’s gonna turn the tables and interview me.

Becky: Whoop, whoop. It’s gonna be good.

Laurie: All right.

Becky: We’ll see you then.

Laurie: All right. Go team.
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