#105 - Behaving Like a Boss

Behaving like a boss even when you don't feel like a boss is one of the most important things creative entrepreneurs can do to continue doing the work that builds a successful business. So today we're talking about what goes into those behaviors.

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Transcript

Kathleen Shannon: 0:46

Hello, and welcome to being boss,

Emily Thompson: 0:49

a podcast for creative entrepreneurs. I'm Emily Thompson.

Unknown: 0:53

And I'm Kathleen Shannon.

Emily Thompson: 1:01

Today we're talking about behaving like a boss. As always, you can find all the tools, books and links that we reference on the show notes at WWW dot being boss club.

Unknown: 1:14

Hey guys,

Kathleen Shannon: 1:14

I want to take a second and talk a little bit about getting on track with your finances and your business. So there are a few ways you can stay organized, but I'm going to propose fresh books cloud accounting, is the best way to send out invoices so that you can get paid faster. You can track your income and expenses and quickly pull reports to see exactly where you're at with your finances and your business. You can organize and keep track of your clients, you can even track your time right in

Unknown: 1:47

freshbooks

Kathleen Shannon: 1:48

so try it for free today. Go to

Unknown: 1:51

freshbooks comm slash being boss and enter being boss in the How did you hear about us section?

Kathleen Shannon: 1:58

You know, it's time to give it a try. So today we are together at Palm Springs for designer vaycay.

Emily Thompson: 2:15

Yes, it's like summer, but cold.

Kathleen Shannon: 2:19

And we thought today that we really want to talk about behaving like a boss, even when you aren't feeling entirely motivated or inspired to do the work. I think we're both ready to go lay out by the pool. But we got to do the work. So at being boss, we're always touching on boss mindsets, habits, routines, boundaries, tools, and actionable tactics for being boss. Together, we've interviewed and worked with hundreds of successful creatives. And the one thing that we've noticed that they all have in common is they really behave like bosses, even when they aren't feeling like bosses. So today, Emily, and I want to talk to you about some of those behaviors. So let's start with mindset. Emily, what do you think about getting into the boss mindset? And why is that so important for being boss?

Emily Thompson: 3:08

Sure, I think that everything starts with your mindset, it is the foundation of how you are boss, or how you're being boss in any moment. And specifically, I think it's a lot around cultivating confidence, or at least around what it is that you and I are creating. It's all about confidence, confidence to trust yourself and to be self reliant, and that you will figure it out. So mindset ensures that you are being boss. If you behave as if you're confident, you will feel more confident. So doing things like making eye contact. We're just doing the work when you don't feel like it confidence will follow. So specifically, Kathleen, how do you be boss?

Kathleen Shannon: 3:52

Well, I mean, the mindset for being boss, like you said, his confidence. And I was just thinking earlier, as we were putting together our agenda for this show that confidence is really kind of like the equivalent of being enthusiastic about the things that you love. But if you're not feeling enthusiastic, and I certainly have not been feeling entirely enthusiastic over maybe the past week or two, I still know that I have to do the work and I have to be boss. And so for me, I love taking a look at my calendar. And this is what I love about working in advance and being organized is that it doesn't matter if I'm feeling boss or not, I still have deadlines that I have to meet. So for me, really, I just take a look at my project management software, I take a look at my Google Calendar, and I see what has to get done for the day. And I'm still writing down my to do list, I'm still checking off the tasks. But I find that as I get into the workflow, as I start working as I start getting stuff done, my mindset kind of takes a cue from my behavior. So I behave as if I am confidently doing the work, I behave as if it doesn't matter whether or not I'm inspired. And soon enough, I will find myself getting more and more enthusiastic about the work that I'm doing. So that's a big one. Another thing is whenever it comes to behaving like a boss and getting in the mindset of behaving like a boss, I find that it's not enough to just Daydream and leave those dreams in my head. I need to write down my goals and I need to talk them out loud either with a business bestie or with my sister or my husband. If I can bring the ideas and dreams that are in my head out of my fingertips out of my mouth, and putting pen to paper or even blogging or podcasting about it, I feel like it's a way of really drawing down those dreams. And bringing is like the first step of bringing it into reality is to write it down. So for me writing lists is entirely magical for behaving like a boss, and lists from writing down my goals and dreams to my to do list. And then talking out loud, I guess it's kind of a way to hold myself accountable to getting the things I want to happen out there in the world. And then once I've written that list down, I can always refer back to it or kind of send it off into the world do its thing, and I'm still able to work toward those goals, even on the days whenever I'm not feeling super inspired to do it.

Emily Thompson: 6:37

Yes, I think for us that we've definitely decided that lists like keep us on track. We use Asana for project management, we have our list of goals that we keep like personally in our notebooks. And I think that whenever you can get your things out of your head like that, it certainly puts you into action. Even sometimes without even thinking about it, you're just doing the work. And doing the work is behaving like a boss. For me, I like to look at my track record. So if I'm having a day where my mindset is not where it needs to be, and I know that I need to be getting things done and behaving like a boss, I can look back at all the things that I've accomplished big or small, because I know I can do hard things. Because there are tons of things in my past that I have completely accomplished from putting one step in front of the other and getting things done. So whenever I can look at my track record and see that there is proof that I can do whatever it is that's ahead of me, my mindset begins to shifts or begins to shift, I see that I can do what I want, if I just take the steps to do it. And again, like once you start doing it, mindset follows, you are more confident whenever you are doing work, and seeing results.

Kathleen Shannon: 7:54

So I'm actually curious to hear a little bit more about looking at your track record, because I think it's really a good way to boost your confidence to look at the evidence that you can do hard things. So I'm curious to hear from you. Are you literally writing it down? Or are you like, Okay, last week, I did this really hard project management strategy, I test all this out, I can do it again this week, or what does that actually look like for you?

Emily Thompson: 8:20

For me, it is a little bit more in my head. Like I just think I just think about all the hard things that I've accomplished. And whether it be something that I did last week, or if it was a project that was similar to what it is that I'm tackling now. Or if it's worth maybe it's doing something I've never done before, I'll think about the first time I did hard things and was able to accomplish it. But I do like the idea of making a list around this too. We were in the clubhouse recently for an online retreat, and one of the girls in there was talking about how she has a list of all of the courses that she's done. And all of the like her degree and all of the like all of the proof she has in terms of what she's learned that makes her an expert at what she does, and that helps her build her confidence. So even keeping a list like that can certainly be a helpful tool for you to bring out occasionally and to look at oversee that you've done the work that you have accomplished things that you are an expert in, you have reasons to feel confident. Using a list like that can certainly help get you along

Kathleen Shannon: 9:21

the way that I love. In general, just the idea of adopting the mantra, I can do hard things, even whenever they are teeny tiny. Like getting on the phone or checking my voicemail, I need the mantra, I can do hard things I can make this phone call, I can accomplish this to do list that might not be entirely inspiring. It feels really hard, but I can clearly do hard things. Okay, habits and routines, habits and routines are really what allow us to replicate actions that we know will lead to success. So this is about systemising and processing, whether it's how we get up in the morning, how we structure our work day. habits and routines are the things that keep us from floundering and uncertainty.

Emily Thompson: 10:16

So my favorite thing about habits and routines is that it really puts you on autopilot so that you're not making constant decisions all day around, you know what it is that you're doing in the morning or what the first thing is that you do whenever you go into work in the morning, or whatever it may be. I think that habits and routines allow you to just do the work without thinking about the work and that way you're getting things done without stressing out about it. And you're able to tackle some of those higher level things with more energy because all of the smaller things in your life have been completely systemized out until like clear habits and routines. So you're not wasting your energy on those simple things, and instead reserving it for the harder things.

Kathleen Shannon: 11:00

Yeah, I mean, like it or not, I think that the most successful bosses we've talked to are eliminating as much need to make decisions in their day as possible. So they're eating the same thing for breakfast every morning, they maybe have a capsule wardrobe, or are wearing the same thing every day. And they have a bunch of habits and routines that they just do not veer from very often. And I know that that sounds really unsexy or unglamorous, but it's definitely a common link, I've noticed in the bosses who are getting the work done, they're able to go into autopilot. They're trusting the systems that they've put in place, and they're doing the work. So I think that that is really an important point that you made, they're on going into autopilot. But I'm curious to hear what are some other ways, Emily, that you behave like a boss whenever it comes to your own habits and routines.

Emily Thompson: 11:56

So my thing about habits and routines is you make them but then you also have to follow them. I think we talk a lot about, you know, doing things and like the idea of it's good, like we understand the theory of like, for example, whenever people think that the chalkboard method is cool, but it's not working for them. And you ask them if they've actually done it, and they're like, no, like, you have to make your habits and routines. And then you actually have to follow through with your habits or routines or like practice the things that it is that you want to cultivate. So you build a schedule, maybe it's your like, ideal morning routine, or how it is that you want your workday or your work week to go. But then you actually have to do it. And I think that that's a lot of times the piece that people forget, they make the plan. And they know what they want their morning to look like or they know what they want their workday to look like. But then they don't actually do it. So for me, if you're going to behave like a boss, when it comes to habits and routines, you actually get them started and you practice them. These are practices you have to define what you want, say your morning routine to look like and then you have to start putting it into place and practice it until it becomes a habit that you don't have to think about, you can't just go into autopilot. First thing the first time you try a new routine, you have to cultivate that like almost muscle memory of what it is that you do one thing after the other for it to become an actual habit. So for me, it is actually following the rules that you place for yourself in terms of what you want your habits and routines to be. But also giving yourself permission to change it, you're free to change it like habits and routines can sound very unsexy. But what I've actually found is I can be sexier. Like live a more sexy life. Once my habits are once my root daily routines are done, like I can autopilot through my morning through my work day, and then be really present for the evening instead of overworked. And like not having enough brain space to continue my day. So what I've actually found is habits and routines, give me more time and energy to really live the parts of my day that I can hold as just spontaneous parts of my life, which I think is pretty awesome.

Kathleen Shannon: 14:13

Yeah, I love that idea that the more habits and routines you can put in place, kind of the more structure you give yourself to be spontaneous. And then maybe like the big spontaneous things like taking a spontaneous trip with a girlfriend, or going camping for the weekend, or maybe writing and launching an entire new project in one week. And it's something that can really come out of having those habits and routines really anchoring and rooting you down into your work day. Okay, so I've noticed, Well, again, whether you like it or not that the most successful bosses I've spoken with and interviewed and worked with. They all work out in the morning. So I remember talking to remate Satie of I will teach you to be rich. And whenever we interviewed him, he noticed the same thing that all the successful CEOs he was reading about all work out first thing in the morning, that he was completely glazing over that part because he wanted the formula for success. Not thinking that maybe working out was a part of that formula. So he started working out every morning and saw a significant change in his work and in his life. And so this is something I do as well. I work out every single morning and it's not enough to know the science behind working out. It's not enough to know about good nutrition. Like you said, Emily, you really have to practice it. But working out the first time you go it's not going to be easy, your muscles are going to hurt your you might be a little bit tired, you might be a little bit sore. But soon it becomes a routine. And now I feel like I can't really get my day started without working out. So that's definitely a habit and routine I've been able to maintain and hang on to, even whenever everything else in my life is disrupted by you know, a toddler or by unforeseen circumstances. I do feel like that is a very grounding and energizing habit and routine I've been able to put in place and one that I've noticed, really successful bosses put in place for themselves as well. And it doesn't have to be going to the boxing gym, or lifting heavy weights, I used to even do a morning walk to work, even though I work from home, I would get out and walk every morning. And that was super meditative. For me it got my blood flowing, it got the ideas going, it was a really great way to start the day. So that's a very specific one for me. All right, let's talk about boundaries.

Emily Thompson: 17:00

Boundaries are really hard for me, or they were really hard for me whenever I started. But and mostly mostly because I don't like being told what to do even by myself in terms of like boxing myself in. So for me, this was a huge practice to get into place and boundaries are part of like the boss mindset for us. Because they give us guidelines for how we make decisions, how it is that we maintain balance in our work in life, how it is that we have relationships and keep them balanced as well, whether it's with our family and friends or with our team, or even our clients. And also my favorite is what it is that we say yes and no to. So even though I've had to hardcore practice putting some boundaries in my place, or in place, I have absolutely seen how beneficial they are for helping you. Helping you streamline your way towards whatever your goals are. Whenever you can create boundaries for yourself, you are able to be more spontaneous within those boundaries. But also just have some hardcore guidelines as to how it is that you work or present yourself or what you put your energy into. And I think that's really important, especially for creatives who have all the awesome opportunities and ideas. Whenever you can have boundaries, you can stay focused on what it is that you're doing. So how do you Kathleen, use boundaries to help you behave like a boss?

Kathleen Shannon: 18:27

Okay, I have a hard time with boundaries. And I think it's as we've grown the podcast, as I've grown my businesses, I have a lot more opportunities to do things. I'm getting invited to speak and travel, I have a variety of people who want to work with me as clients. And that's really super exciting. But before I know it, I'm spread thin. And I'm burnt out because I have so many things that I could say yes to that I rarely say no to. So even like partnerships or collaborations or interviews, or even my own ideas, like I have a lot of ideas, and there are a lot of things I want to make and do. So it's really hard to decide what to say yes to and what to say no to because you never know what if this is the thing that makes me really feel successful. So I recently had the idea of what if I used my own values and intentions as gatekeepers for boundaries and decision making. So I can literally think about the values that I will value. Literally standing in front of a gate and let's say an opportunity walks up to the gate, and it's like, hey, do you want to do this thing? My value says, Does this align with with this core intention? Or this core belief or this core driving factor? If the answer is yes, come on in If the answer is no, go. So an example of this is Emily, you had the word, your word of the year for 2016 was a joy. The question that you ask yourself that worked as a gatekeeper was will this bring me joy? Yes or no. And another value that I use after I so I, maybe in 2015, I started a new business venture that wasn't necessarily aligned with my values. It seemed like a really fun project. It was working with a really cool creative that I admire a lot. But I didn't really check in with my with my boundaries and with my values as my gatekeeper. And so from that point on, I've had to ask myself will this opportunity help may be more of who I am and will help other creative entrepreneurs blend more of who they are into the work that they do. So really, this personal branding is a value in my work and in my life, that helps me make decisions. So I have had speaking opportunities come up since. And I asked myself, will I be able to speak about personal branding and blending who you are into the work that you do? If the answer is no, I'm not taking it? If the answer is yes, I will consider it and then I have another boundary, which is my price, my cost, this is a boundary that so many people overlook, if someone cannot afford to pay you what you are what you charge, that is a boundary. And that is a good reason to say no. So boundaries are the really just the gatekeepers, I would like to think of it that way from now on in order to really keep those clear boundaries.

Emily Thompson: 21:42

I love that. And I totally have seen have seen my intentions come up for me in that way, especially around joy. And my year of joy, like having things come up and me being able to me being able to use that as a boundary for whether or not I say yes or no to someone, or even how it is that I like tackle relationships in my life, whether or not you know, continuing a relationship, that relationship with someone is going to bring me joy or not. I think that I think that using it that way is really important. You can look at it lots of ways like in multiple levels, I think so for example, I recently had someone asked me if I was doing interviews, and as much as I love doing interviews and on the surface, yes, that would have brought me joy. Whenever I look at my calendar, having another meeting on my calendar at this point, is not going to bring me joy whatsoever. So almost bring it through multiple levels of like your own wants and needs, I think can be really powerful for this as well.

Kathleen Shannon: 22:41

I love that. Like how many times have you obligated yourself to something. And in the moment this happens to me for like Friday night parties or weekend, like weekend fun. I will say yes to things. And then whenever it comes around, I feel obligated. And like I really just want to stay home and watch a movie. So I love that you had the foresight of looking at your calendar and saying we'll agreeing to this bring me joy, yes, but then we'll actually doing it bring me joy, maybe not.

Emily Thompson: 23:11

Yeah, and one of the things that I use as sort of a sort of a value or intention that I don't never really thought about thought of it in these terms, but certainly works out is my want to be more proactive and less reactive. And so for me I use that as a boundary for for setting communication standards, whether it be with my clients or even with my team, but also with my family and friends. Like if a family if God bless them, if a family member leaves me a voicemail I'm not going to listen to it. So telling them like Don't ever leave me voicemails just call me and I'll call you back you can

Unknown: 23:53

do our thing. You can listen to your voicemail

Emily Thompson: 23:57

Wasn't it you just the other day that told someone that you're allergic to your voicemail.

Kathleen Shannon: 24:03

Does anyone else have a hard time with voicemail, I feel like even the new iPhone address this or the new update address this where it will like translate your voicemail for you. I think everyone is allergic to voicemail.

Emily Thompson: 24:14

Not my grandmother, God bless her. So but going back to that proactive versus reactive whenever it comes to communicating with people. And I use this, especially in my business, I am a little more open about how my grandmother gets in touch with me, obviously, but with my clients and with my team, but also with my family while I'm working like there is a hardcore boundary in my household that whenever my studio doors close Lily does not come in, like she knows that is a communication boundary unless you are bleeding, or someone scary is at the door, you are not coming into the studio. And that's a boundary that allows me to be proactive with my relationship with her and whoever it is that I'm talking to or working with. Like as I'm working and less reactive in terms of it's going to break my concentration on the thing that I'm doing so that I can address her like, you know, need for a band aid that's not really a need for a band aid. And I can I can maintain my focus on the thing that I'm focusing on in that moment so that I can focus on her. whenever it's time for me to do that. I do the same thing with my clients. I have very clear boundaries around how and when I will communicate with them. Same thing with my team. I think that whenever you can use us boundaries to make you more effective in the work that you're doing, then that's behaving like a boss.

Kathleen Shannon: 25:40

You know, this is really making me think that boundaries are what you choose. To give your attention to. So I'm gonna say that again, boundaries are what you choose to give your attention to. And whenever I was thinking about boundaries and behaving like a Boston, right comes to boundaries, the first thing that really came up for me was having established work hours. So I really only work from nine to five, I'm not working in the evenings, I'm not taking interviews in the evenings, I'm not interviewing anyone in the evenings, I'm not working on the weekends, anytime I've broken these boundaries, I always end up feeling bad about it. And so simply making the decision to commit my attention to work when I'm working, and to commit my attention to my family, whenever I'm not working, really gives me a solid line. And it, it really eliminates any sort of feelings of guilt, or uncertainty. When it comes to what I'm placing my attention on. It just is what it is.

Emily Thompson: 26:43

past and powerful shit I get. Alright, so let's talk about money then. For me, and I think for us, the ability to make money is the difference between hobbyists and bosses, like the fact that we are entrepreneurs is what makes us entrepreneurs, like, it's our ability to make money, or at least our want to figure out how to make money doing this thing. So I think along those lines, the ability to talk about money, the ability to make money, and super importantly, the ability, the ability to manage money is what makes you behave like a boss. How do you feel about that?

Kathleen Shannon: 27:21

I couldn't agree more. And there are so many funny feelings around money. I think that so many bosses are desperate around the topic of money or apologetic or even angry. So money is like a huge part of being boss. And it's something that comes up for us time and time again. And we can't talk about money pricing, invoicing, and having conversations, even internally with yourself, with your family, with your friends about money is a really great way to go about it. So I'm Emily, like, on a really tactical level, what do you think about money? And how do you behave like a boss, and when it comes to money?

Emily Thompson: 28:06

For me, it's about knowing your numbers, I don't think you can be a successful business owner without knowing how much money you're making, how much money you need to make and how you're going to make it. So I think getting really clear and like super tactical track your income, like make sure you know what money is coming in. Also, bill for things, I am always blown away by entrepreneurs who aren't invoicing, or who aren't billing their clients or, you know, especially makers who don't keep up with their wholesale accounts. Those sorts of things like that stuff blows my mind, you need to stay on top of your money. One of the things that I can't remember where I've read this, but a lot of especially like beginner entrepreneurs can dramatically increase their revenue, just by making sure they are consistently billing, like make it a weekly task that you do. For me, I used to come into the studio every Friday morning. And that was like my Monday morning, I would use it to do my bookkeeping to like track all of my expenses, but also to track all of my income and to send out any invoices, or do any billing that I needed to do to always be collecting, because that is such an important thing. So for me, it's definitely about knowing your numbers. It's about actively looking at your numbers and make a habit and routine around looking at your numbers and knowing what that's like, but also making budgets and goals. So being a little more proactive with what it is that you're doing with your money, and how it is that you want to make your money or how much you want to make. For us in our household and in our business like budgeting as a huge part of that. We do use why NAB David, I think would marry why NAB if he could. But we certainly like every single month we know what we're spending our money on. Like every dollar has a job. And I think that's really powerful for being able to stay on top of your finances so that you're not going out and blowing your budget on a new pair of awesome boots whenever you don't have the money for it. But I also think that making goals one of my very favorite things to do is to sit down and make like annual revenue goals. That is my very favorite thing. I'm looking at sort of the ebbs and flows of my business, knowing what it is that I'm launching, when my heavy client times are or whatever it is, and doing some income projections, knowing knowing what I'm shooting for in terms of monthly revenue, keeps me working hard. And then also having that yearly goal to consistently track towards and so you have this metric that you can measure to see how successful you're being or you know, when To change something and being able to make smart business decisions comes when you know what your numbers are.

Kathleen Shannon: 30:52

Yeah, I mean, this is definitely a good time to plug at fresh books, cloud accounting, so our sponsor fresh books is I've been using them since day one of freelancing. And I've been tracking my income, I've been tracking my expenses, I don't actually necessarily know where I'm at whenever it comes to my numbers every single day. But with a click of a button, I can pull a report. And in, not intuitively, I can actually see what my numbers are. And it's actually freshbooks, who was tracking the data of their customers and found that people who started using cloud accounting software or using fresh books within the first year, were like making so much more money. I don't want to say a statistic. That's not true. But I want to say double, that might not be true. But if you guys want to try it out, go to freshbooks comm slash being boss and enter being boss in the How did you hear about us section, I think it's the most fantastic way to get started with behaving like a boss whenever it comes to your money. And I think that once you know your numbers, it's really good to talk about money, without any desperation. And without any apology to your friends and to your clients. I don't think nearly enough, especially women are talking about how much money they want to make, how much money they need, how much money they want. And I think once you can start to open dialogue about money, you'll start to take the shame out of it. I don't know what it is about money itself that makes people feel so bad, or achy or funny. But money is a great thing. And we've talked about this so much already, that the more money you make, the more impact you can have for your customers, the more impact you can have in your business, the more help you can hire, the more you can boost the economy by hiring other creative entrepreneurs and build your team. So I think that really just talking about it is a really a great first step to behave like a boss. All right, my favorite thing to talk about whenever it comes to you behaving like a boss is living the boss life. So it's not just about working and making the money, you've got to behave like a boss too, because I think that all of us want the freedom to live what we love, so that we have the flexibility to pursue the things that bring us joy and make us happy. So for me living the boss life looks like investing in travel. And for me, living the boss life looks like investing and travel, connecting with other creatives and making friends in my industry has been my favorite part of my job. And it's really what makes me feel like a boss. So right now we're here in Palm Springs, a designer vaycay, which was started by promise tangent and Alyssa, you hos and I came the first time five years ago, when there were only 20 of us sitting around the pool. I didn't have being Boss, I had just started braid creative. And I really felt like a baby boss at the time. I wasn't really where I'm at now. But what's been so cool about it is really using events like this to see how a rising tide lifts all boats. Everyone that I met five years ago here is doing amazing things. And I don't know if it's because we all support each other or we're all so committed to the life of a creative entrepreneur that whenever like, it's kind of like how people who take vitamins are healthier. And it's maybe not necessarily because they take vitamins but they're intentionally living healthy lives all around. I think the same is true for traveling and connecting with other creative entrepreneurs. And so designer vaycay is really kind of what inspired me to do our boss vacations in New Orleans and Miami, and every year like just making more intentional investments in buying that plane ticket and connecting with other creative entrepreneurs. And I don't really know how to describe how much it has helped my business and really fueled my soul. And being a creative entrepreneur can be a super lonely job. A lot of us are working for ourselves from our homes. We don't get to interact with a lot of people who are in it just like us and we're only seeing the highlight reels of everyone around us on social media. And it's times like this whenever you get together in person that you can see. We're all real people. We all have our struggles and We're all here to support each other.

Unknown: 35:48

Yes, ma'am.

Emily Thompson: 35:50

I think we all do. Like we sit in our little holes I call I call my studio, my corner, my studio, my whole. Um, and whenever you are doing that, so much like, again, even in our clubhouse, like we did a little survey of how many hours people were working. And it was all across the spectrum, like some people were side hustlers doing five to 10 on top of a day job, though, and there were some people who were working 60 plus hour weeks. And I think that like there are times in your business, when you do have to really hustle it out, if you want to get over that initial learning curve and into a place where you are doing a little more coasting than you do in the beginning. But I think that finding that middle ground so that you are able to work and play is really important. Like, I think, and we talk about this a lot, but like knowing your why remembering why it is that you're doing this thing. Very few of us, I would imagine our I would imagine that our Why is not to work all damn day. Like that is not why we're here. So whenever you can have a why that is separate, even from your business, like why it is that you're doing this thing, whether it be location independence, and being able to work anywhere, because you are traveling a lot. Or maybe it's so that you can stay home with your kids. Like, it's hard to stay home with your kids, whenever you are working 60 plus hours a week, like they're not getting any of that additional benefit of you really working from home. In that case, I think you have to find a balance there and being lost, really, as I think about balance, and sometimes that's intentional imbalance, like I think is also really important. But balancing that work in life is is just super imperative for behaving like a boss. So for me, though, travel is certainly part of it. But I can't say the same thing that you did. So I'm going to supplement that with nurturing, nurturing my home and my family. My why really was always so that I can work from home so that I could spend time with my family. And so that I wasn't having to have long commutes, or working the nine to five that left me drained and angry, it was really about having a very happy home life. So for me, I have to revisit that often. And what it actually does is it empowers me or it inspires me to build a business that gives me the freedom to you know, walk out and have an hour and a half lunch on the front porch with my kid and David or it's being able to take off a week for an impromptu vacation, or whatever it may be like going back to my why that is not related to my business at all. But related to why it is that I started my business as a person has really kept me living that boss life. It hasn't always been super boss, for sure. Like I've definitely had periods where I was working far more than I was happy with working. But it led me to a place where I can work the way I want to where I want when I want and keeping that why at the forefront for me and the why not being like these huge income numbers. That's not the core why that is a why but not the core Why? Keeping that real, why at the forefront of the work that I do has led me to intentionally creating not only a business that brings me joy, but a life that I love living to.

Kathleen Shannon: 39:21

Yeah, and it's cool after you know, really looking at the why and how we want to live this boss life, how that really does come back to the habits and routines that we put in place and the mindset that drives what we do and the boundaries that keep us from working those, you know, 6080 120 hour work weeks, really understanding how much money we need to make to support that. Why? How much money do I need to make to support being able to travel and connect with other creatives? How much money do you need to make, to really be able to nurture your home and family and be able to take that hour and a half long lunch or that spontaneous trip to New York. Like we really have to see how all of this holistically works together. And it all comes back to how we're behaving, how we're doing the work step by step to reach our goals.

Emily Thompson: 40:19

So Kathleen, I want to know how it is that you plan on behaving like a boss today.

Kathleen Shannon: 40:25

I plan on behaving like a boss by doing a little bit of work, which is what we're doing right now. And then I'm going to hit stop record. I'm gonna go put on my bikini and lay by the pool.

Emily Thompson: 40:38

right because today is about a little bit of life hustle. And for me that's tanning my legs for sure.

Unknown: 40:48

Alright you guys,

Kathleen Shannon: 40:48

I want you to go back and think about how you are going to behave like a boss whenever it comes to your mindset, your habits and routines, your boundaries, your money, and your boss life. We'll see you next time. All right, you guys, I live and die by my Google Calendar. If an event date or meeting doesn't make it into my calendar, it is definitely not happening. But I noticed over the past year my calendar has been filled to the brim with meetings, there is no space to actually do the work. Even when I would block off time for myself, I would inevitably fill that space with another meeting, I was having a really hard time sticking to my boundaries. And that's when I finally set up acuity scheduling to help me hold myself accountable to my own rules. When someone wants to book a meeting or coffee date with me, I simply send them my availability with a link to my acuity calendar. They book an appointment when I make myself available and that is that acuity helps me keep my own appointments with myself just as important as those with other people. Sign up for a free 60 day trial of scheduling sanity at acuity scheduling calm slash being boss. Thank you for listening to being boss. Find Articles show notes and downloads at WWW dot being boss club.

Emily Thompson: 42:14

If you're a creative entrepreneur, Freelancer or small business owner who is ready to take your goals to the next level, check out the being boss clubhouse, a two day online retreat followed by a year of community support, monthly masterclasses book club secret episodes and optional in person retreats. Find more at www dot being boss dot club slash clubhouse.

Kathleen Shannon: 42:37

Thank you so much to our team and sponsors who make being boss possible our sound engineer and web developer Corey winter. Our editorial director and content manager Caitlin brain, our community manager and social media director Sharon ligi. Our graphic designer Jessica bramblett, and our bean counter David Austin, with support from braid creative and indicia biography.

Emily Thompson: 42:58

Do the work. Be boss and we'll see you next week.