Welcome And Heart-Led Business

Good morning. Welcome back to the Born to Be Her podcast. I'm your host, Fanilla Wiley, and it is so great to be back here and with you today. The next few episodes that we're going to be diving into are going to be all around building a heart-led business. So if you are someone who is in the wellness space or you are someone who has a deep desire to start your own business, live life on your own terms, have freedom inside of what you do, and also to be deeply embedded inside of your own gifts and the work that you have a sense that you are here to do in the world, then this podcast is going to be for you. So something that you may or may not know about me is that I work as a life and business coach. So over the past seven years, I have supported incredible women who are stepping into the wellness space to build sustainable businesses that are deeply in alignment with their gifts. I support them with their space holding. I support them to run retreats and to really allow themselves to be visible inside of the work that they're here to do in the world. So that goes all the way from the inner work that we have to do to the outer work, the marketing, the sales, the strategy, all of the pieces that allow us to, yeah, build a life of freedom, build a life that is deeply in alignment with who we are here to be in the world, with that calling of our dharma. And so this particular podcast is really going to be to support you if you are in the beginning stages of building that business. Perhaps right now you are at the start, or you are in that place where you know that you want to build a business, where you know that there is a calling inside of you to shift career, to start to do something you love. You might even be in the space right now where you are telling yourself that you're not entirely clear about what that is. And I just want to let you know for a second that that's where most people start, where they know that there's something they want to do, but they don't have the 10-year vision of where it's going to take them. And I share that because this is a spot where I often see people get really, really stuck, where they think that they need to know exactly what it is that they're going to build before they start to build it. And so herein lies the first tip that I have for you if you are at those beginning stages right now, which is to go and allow yourself to play. Go and allow yourself to do things that you enjoy, that you have some spark around, something we've spoken about previously on this podcast is the language of desire. So perhaps you have a niggle, perhaps you have a feeling in your body that there is something that you are interested in, something that you feel like you'd love to explore, and allow yourself to go and explore all of those things. You will begin to come into a season of refinement around what you do as you allow yourself to play, to trial, to get things wrong, to do things and figure out, you know what, actually that wasn't for me. So that you can get to a stage where then, yeah, in a few years' time, you'll know, okay, I think this is exactly where I want to place my focus. And this was definitely true for me. You know, whenever I began my business, I really thought that I wanted to work with teens. And so I did quite a lot of work working with teens, doing yoga and creating programs to support teens with their mental health. And whilst I had a lot of fulfillment out of that, once I began to teach adults and do work with adults, I realized that that was a thing that I was actually really good at. And so you get to play, you get to explore, you don't have to have it all figured out within the first five minutes. And alongside that, in your first couple of years of business, it's really great to just say yes to everything, say yes to the opportunities, unless it feels like an absolute no in your body, to allow yourself to say yes so that you can have the experience of doing different things, of having the experience of playing with what you enjoy and allowing yourself to build as many connections as you possibly can within those first couple of years. Once you say yes to many opportunities, you'll build so many relationships and connections that will support you in every season of your business. And this has been something that has been absolutely true for me. You know, I have said yes to mentorships that were calling me, I've said yes to being part of communities, I've said yes to work opportunities, I've said yes to things like working in studios for money that wasn't really that great in the beginning. And even though, you know, the the remuneration for some of those things didn't pay off immediately, even taking that example of a studio, I used to work cover shifts. I used to work in places where I would have to drive, and it probably cost me more in petrols than it did to actually pay me for the class. But two years later, someone that I connected with inside of those classes became someone who came on my retreat and paid me two and a half grand to go on retreat with me. So even though that that opportunity or that thing that I said yes to perhaps didn't make sense on paper at the time, it absolutely paid off. And I think that something that is really helpful in the beginning is being that person who goes above and beyond because you have the capacity to be able to do that. Go above and beyond inside of your classes or your offerings, go above and beyond in your connections with your community, go above and beyond in your ability to show up and be visible as much as your system will allow you to do that. Of course, we don't want to aim for burnout in any way, but sometimes I think that we can get a little bit, I'm gonna say precious, about managing our energy when we are in this industry. We think that it has to look like we are perfectly looking after ourselves to the extent where that can be the thing that holds us back from doing the thing that we really want to do. So that is the first thing that I'd love to share with you. Where can you say yes more often? Where can you create opportunities? Where can you cultivate connections that are going to support you inside of your work and inside of your business? And how can you allow that to be the thing that drives you, not needing to have the perfect vision of where that yes is going to take you to, not needing to know exactly what it's going to look like in the future, but just allowing yourself to play and explore for those first couple of years. And the second thing that I would love to speak to in terms of this stage of business, and this is actually applicable to all stages of business, is carving out communities and spaces where you feel supported in your vision. Because something that can come up for every single one of us is that desire to have a sense of belonging. And this is true for all of us because it's an innate desire, uh physiological desire that we have to feel a sense of safety inside of our systems. And so as we begin to step beyond what we have already known, as we begin to step into our passions that we may have a sense that the people currently around us don't understand. Perhaps we are stepping into something that doesn't feel like it fits the norm or the conditioning that we have received around what work should look like, then it's really important for us to create spaces inside of our lives where we can be held in that vision, where we can feel a sense of safety and belonging inside of that vision, where we can have spaces where we know we can step into and be entirely ourselves inside of the work that we're here to do. And even being able to be expanded into being able to see what is actually possible for us because we are around people who have gone before us or who have walked this path already, or even people who have versions of success that we really desire to have. And being around people who are doing the thing, who are making the moves that you want to make inside of your own business and inside of your own path, this can be hugely supportive, not only for your mind, but also for your nervous system in cultivating that internal capacity to be able to make the moves that you want to make. And so looking at spaces where you can allow yourself to create that, to be part of that, whether it's finding communities of people who are in a mastermind and doing similar things to you, or inside of a mentorship where you work with someone who has walked that path already, or who is doing things in their life that you feel really inspired by, because they're going to be able to hold you in the vision of what it is that you want and continue to help you to step forwards and into whatever that thing is. This can be really helpful when you have that story of what will people think if I do this thing that I really want to do, to just find places where you know that you're going to be deeply understood inside of what it is that you're stepping into. And another thing that I would love to share around your ability to step into the work that you want to do, to build the business that you want to do, is to stay committed to doing the inner work, to stay committed to noticing the patterns that come up as you build out your legacy, to become really attuned to the stories that you hold, to the ways that your system tries to call you back into what it is that you've already known, and to diligently work through those things. I'm gonna say every single day to have a practice where you sit with what is coming up for you and you move through it. Something that is so interesting about our brain is we have this 5% of our brain that is working towards the desires that we have, that is working towards the vision that we have, that is that part of us that says, I want to do that thing and this is the thing that I desire and this is what I'm working towards. And then we have the 95% of our brain, which is our subconscious, which is always aiming and trying to keep us safe, which is always aiming to hold us in a place of safety, which has its own parameters around what it will allow us to do in terms of being seen, being visible, um, being witnessed inside of our gifts, being able to truly step into that vision. And so we want to work with that part of our subconscious. And so that means creating and carving out time to notice what those stories are that hold us back, the things that our nervous system does when we are about to do something that potentially feels new, whether it's that we suddenly feel like we're no longer interested in what that thing was, or we start to get very tired, or we feel like we can't actually formulate the thoughts or the things that we want to show up and say online. Noticing and becoming familiar with what those things are so that we can work through them and ultimately begin to move beyond them so that we can, yeah, do the thing that we want to do in the world. And this is something that happens for every single business owner that I have ever worked with, and also, of course, for me. And when we are walking this journey alone, we can feel like there is something wrong with us, or that there is something that is innately telling us that this is actually not the path for us because we're experiencing self-doubt or fear or our inner critic becoming a little bit louder than usual. And this can be the thing that kind of holds us back or makes us procrastinate or makes us think that we have to be in that ideation phase for way longer than we actually are meant to be. And so this is why it is so important that we bring this work to the forefront of what we do. I will die on the hill that says that having your own business that is related to you and your gifts is the biggest personal development journey you will ever go on. It will call you up and into looking at every single part of yourself. And this is one of the wonderful gifts of having a business. This is one of the greatest things that having a business can allow you to do because it's going to invite you to continue to grow and to continue to expand and to continue to move beyond what you once thought possible for yourself. And so, what a gift to have something in your life that invites you to continue to do that. I don't know about you, but I hope that I'm still learning and growing and evolving for the rest of all of my days. But it can be really tricky and it can be something that can feel super challenging. And so allow yourself to be supported inside of that work too. You do not have to do it alone. And sometimes having support inside of that work can be the thing that really allows you to have a mirror to what is happening internally for you, to question whether that is your truth and to really see it for what it is instead of being stuck there. And the last thing that I would love to share around this season of business, this season of beginning, this season of starting out, this season of stepping into your gifts, is to just choose little small things that you can do every single day to work towards whatever that vision is. That you are doing something to move the needle forwards every day. Whether that is a post or working on your website or working on your offering in some way or building a connection or a relationship, that there is something that you do every single day that is moving you closer to where it is that you wish to be. It is not that you have to do everything today or have everything done by this time next week. But if you keep doing little things to step forwards into where it is that you wish to be, that is what is going to allow you to back yourself, to give yourself evidence that you are stepping towards what it is that you truly want, and that you are someone who can trust themselves. And so you can think about the little things that you can be doing to move closer and closer towards whatever that vision is for you. I hope this podcast has given you some little nuggets of wisdom to start your week with some momentum, with some fresh energy towards your dharma, your desires, your vision for the business that you want to create inside of your legacy. And I hope that it has given you some fuel to move beyond any of the things that have been stopping you from taking action, from allowing yourself to follow the path that is calling you right now. If this podcast has supported you in some way, I would absolutely love to hear from you. Please come and send me a little message in my DMs on Instagram. I'll pop my Instagram in the show not show notes show notes below if you haven't connected with me on Instagram before. And I hope you have the most incredible week and I will be back with you in here really, really soon.