1. Where Did The Time Go?

It's late March and Claire was at the hairdresser this morning. Neither of them could work out where January and February had gone. This episode is that conversation - honest, no grand answers, just a reminder that you're not behind and the year isn't over yet. 

Transcript

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Welcome to the Girls Mean Business Podcast, where we share business and marketing tips, advice and trade secrets to help you raise your game and build your brilliant business. Get more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Here to show you how.

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Your host, Claire Mitchell. Hello, it's Claire from the Girls Me Business. A few years ago, you might remember I had a daily podcast with a really catchy theme tune. It was 10 minutes every weekday on business and marketing and money and confidence and all the things that come with running a small business. And then life got busy and we moved house and I just couldn't do it anymore. But I miss it. So it's back. So I'm Claire Mitchell. I've been a marketing and business coach for over 25 years. And before that, I worked in corporate marketing. So I've been doing this for a long time in one form or another. I've built businesses of my own, I've helped thousands of women build theirs, and I've made pretty much every mistake going along the way, which is honestly where the best stories come from. So this podcast is going to be 10 minutes Monday to Friday, business, marketing, social media, confidence, money, productivity, mindset, and just the everyday stuff of running a business in real life. Stories from me, things I've noticed, things that might make you think, nothing serious, just a chat over a cup of tea. I'm really glad you're here. So let's go. Episode one. I was at the hairdressers this morning and I said to her, Gosh, where is this year gone? And she laughed and said, I know, isn't it flying? And we had this whole conversation about how we couldn't believe it was nearly April. And I thought, do you know what? I'm going to record a podcast about this. Not because I've got a brilliant answer because I haven't, but I just want to have a conversation about it because I think sometimes that helps too. So where did January go? For a lot of us, January starts with this lovely energy, plans and intentions, and things we're going to do differently this year, usually a new notebook, and a real sense of right, this is it, this is my year. But then January is also, if we're honest, really hard going sometimes. It's cold and dark and expensive, and everybody's broke from Christmas and tired from Christmas, and January seems to last for years, and it's just a bit of a slog. And then February flies past in about four days. I don't know how that happens, but it always does. And then suddenly it's late March, and you're sitting wondering where the first quarter went, and whether any of those January intentions have actually come to anything. And some of them probably have, some have probably fizzled, and some of them might be sitting in a notebook that you haven't opened since the 3rd of January, and that's fine too. But the thing that I want to say really, and it's the only bit of anything that resembles advice today, is just watch out for the story that you tell yourself about it. Because there's a version of this where you look at January to March and you tell yourself, Oh, I've done it again, I can't believe it. I only lasted a couple of weeks, and then I've not even opened the notebook, and I've gone back to my old ways, and I haven't done half the things I was supposed to do by now. And you use it as evidence that you're wrong or you're behind or you're not good enough. I didn't do the thing I said I was going to do, therefore I'm really bad at this, and I can't trust myself, therefore nothing's going to change. And it's a big story to tell yourself, and it's not true. It's just that life is lifing, and you had really good intentions, but it's been tough. So don't beat yourself up about it. Every day is a chance to start again, and you can just get stuck in. The year isn't over, it's only March at the time of recording. The weather's getting better, the days are getting longer, and often April, May, and June are really good months for small businesses. As soon as the weather starts getting better, people seem to feel happier about spending. And here's another thing that you need to watch out for. Don't let the news tell you that nobody has any money. Yes, there's always some kind of economic doom and gloom out there, otherwise, there wouldn't be any news. But there are still people out there who are prepared to find money or spend their hard-earned cash on what you sell. People still need to look after themselves and their family and their pets. They still need to buy presents. The world doesn't stop just because the economy's a bit tough. There are still people out there with money who are really happy and willing to buy what you sell. So if the first three months feel like they've just vanished into thin air, don't beat yourself up. You're not behind, you're just human, you're just doing the best that you can. So here's how I'm gonna tackle this. And maybe you want to do it too. Pick three things, not 20, just three, a short list of three things that you actually want to happen before the summer. And then write them somewhere that you'll see them. And make your decisions on how you spend your time and energy based on those three things. That's what I'm doing, and that's genuinely all I've got. I don't know if it'll help or not, but honestly, don't feel as if you've lost something or gone wrong or whatever your mind monkeys are telling you. We are where we are. We can start from now, from right now, to get stuck back into our plans and make them happen.

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That's it from the Girls Mean Business Podcast. Join us for even more fab tips, advice, interviews, and trade secrets to help you get more confidence, more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Connect with us on Facebook and Facebook.com forward slash the girls mean business and check out our website at www.thegirlsmeanbusiness.com. See you next time.