A New Ambition
A New Ambition is for independent business owners who want a successful business and a life they actually get to live.
You've worked hard to get here. But somewhere along the way the business started taking more than it gives back. You're stretched thin, running on empty, and tired of putting everything else on hold just to keep things moving.
You've probably told yourself it will get easier. Once you hire the right people. Once you get through this season. Once sales hit that number. But as the business grows, the pressure doesn't go away. It just looks different.
That's what this podcast is about. Not just how to manage your time or reduce your stress, but how to lead yourself and your business in a way that actually works. So the business supports your life instead of consuming it.
I know what it's like when your ambition starts to cost you too much. For years, growing my business was my only goal. Then one day I realized I wanted more. More time for myself, my relationships, and my health. I didn't want to give up being a business owner. I just didn't want my life to revolve around it anymore.
That's when I discovered I hadn't lost my ambition. I just had a new one.
I'm Krista Williamson, seasoned business owner and leadership development coach. Each week I'll help you reclaim your time, lower your stress, and build the kind of leadership that makes a well-lived life possible.
This is A New Ambition. What's your new ambition?
Episodes
41 episodes
40: What is your decided capacity?
Most business owners don't think about their capacity as something they can actually decide on. The demands show up and they absorb them. That's just what running a business feels like. That's just what it takes.And that might be exactly...
39: That decision you keep circling but can't seem to make
You know that decision that's been sitting on your list for days, maybe weeks? You've thought about it, talked about it, and gone back and forth on it more times than you can count. And somehow you still haven't moved on it.It's not that...
38: How to decide what’s most important
Some days you sit down with a list as long as your arm and by the end of the day, half of it is still there, plus a new pile of things you didn’t see coming.Underneath all of that is the pressure that if you choose the wrong thing, you’r...
37: These three thoughts are in your way
Your business starts to change once you hire people, but not in the way you expected. You thought it would give you more time and take some pressure off. Instead, you’re still very involved, things feel slower or harder to move forward, and you...
36: Becoming the leader your independent business needs (part 2)
In this episode, part two of a two part conversation I had with Nicole Keleher on her podcast, The Seasonal Operator, we continue our discussion about what it really looks like to become the leader your small business needs.In this secon...
35: Becoming the leader your independent business needs (part 1)
In this episode, part one of a two part conversation I had with Nicole Keleher on her podcast, The Seasonal Operator, we talk about what it really looks like to become the leader your small business needs.Nicole works with Christmas busi...
34: How to slow down those unhelpful automatic reactions
You know what it’s like when things don’t go as planned or something unexpected happens and it throws you for a loop.It could be someone quitting or dropping the ball, a sale or a new product that doesn’t perform the way you hoped, or an...
33: Why reorganizing your day never seems to help
You reorganize your list. You rework your calendar. You move things around and tell yourself that once it all fits together a little better, you'll feel better too. Less behind. Less rushed. Like you finally have a handle on things.And s...
32: Is what you’re thinking helping you?
Most business owners think their problems and the solutions live outside of them.In their team. In their workload. In the economy.In the way things keep going wrong or taking longer than they should.So when something isn’t wor...
31: Why boundaries aren’t working in your business
Why can’t you say no to that conversation, interruption, taking on work that someone else should be doing, adding more projects this quarter?Why does it feel like it’s the hardest thing to do when your plate is already overflowing and w...
30: How to follow your guardrails (when you keep breaking them)
You told yourself you wouldn't check email first thing in the morning. But there you are, scrolling through your inbox before you've even had coffee. You decided not to work past 6pm this week. But it's 8:30 and you're still at ...
29: How to set guardrails (to protect your time and energy)
You know what's most important in your business and you block the time in your schedule to work on it.But somehow, your day still gets away from you.You keep working past the point where you're effective. New ideas pull you off co...
28: How to get your priority work done (when your days are busy)
You start your day clear on what you want to get done, you even know what your top priorities are, but by the end of the day, they are still sitting there, untouched.Emails pulled you in, questions came up, something felt urgent, and yo...
27: How to figure out what’s most important (when it all feels equally important)
Some days you sit down with a list as long as your arm and by the end of the day, half of it is still there, plus a new pile of things you didn’t see coming.You try to plan, reorganize, color-code, and time-block. You keep trying to “pri...
26: Why prioritizing feels impossible (even when you know what to do)
When your business is full and every task looks important, prioritizing can feel like an impossible puzzle. Not because you don’t know what to do, but because nothing feels optional.Everything looks like it needs your attention ...
25: How to stop avoiding what's hard in your business (with Nicole Keleher)
Today, I’m sharing a conversation I had with Nicole Keleher on her podcast Customer Connect.We dig into something almost every business owner struggles with — avoiding the everyday work that actually keeps the business running, ...
24: Stop making those tough situations even harder
You know those days when someone calls in sick, doesn’t deliver their work, or quits with no notice, and you feel like you might lose it?And sometimes you do? Spilling out anger, frustration, or a complete lack of empathy for a difficul...
23: What you tell yourself when things don’t go the way you planned
You had a plan. Maybe it was a hire, a new direction, or something you've been building toward for a while. And it's not going the way you expected.Before you've even had a chance to look at what's actually happening, your mind is alread...
22: Why it feels like your mind is working against you
You're in the middle of a launch, a campaign, or a new direction, and it's not going the way you hoped. And before you've even had a chance to look at what's actually happening, your mind is already telling you what it means. That you're not go...
21: That decision you made fast and regretted later
This episode wraps up my three-part mini-series on decision-making.You know that feeling when something in your business feels like it needs to be solved right now? The pressure builds, you find what looks like the answer, and you move f...
20: Simplify your decision making process
You make decisions all day long, what to focus on, who to hire, what to say yes or no to. Some come easily. Others… not so much.You review your notes, compare options, maybe even start drafting a plan, only to put it aside again. The mo...
19: When the fear of making a wrong decision keeps you stuck
You know that foggy space between knowing you need to decide — and actually deciding?Where the more you think about it, the heavier it feels.Every option has a trade-off.Every path feels like pressure.This week, we’re talk...
18: Does the way you think about your goals help you?
You set a goal and you're working toward it. But instead of feeling focused and clear, there's this low-grade pressure that follows you around. Into your planning, into your day, into how you feel when you check your numbers.And when you...
17: The moving target (why your results never feel like enough)
You finally hit that coveted revenue number; the launch worked, the sales came in, the client said yes.And instead of the relief you imagined, your brain skips right past it. Straight into, “How can I top this next time?”Tha...
16: The busy trap (working hard without getting the results you want)
You can spend the whole day working non-stop; answering every email, jumping from call to call, and checking things off your list and still not feel any closer to accomplishing your goals.That’s the trap of busy. It looks and feels like...