Striking a balance in your business
What lights you up? In business and in life? For a lot of entrepreneurs (myself included), self development seems to be a common theme.
We want to be the best. Create the best. Have the best. And half the fun is the journey itself—the simple (and yet, complex) act of improving.
But at what point should we be content with what we are, have done, and possess? That’s the golden question.
I recently attended a Women Belong “Circle” where we discussed just that. [Shoutout to Audrey of Small Wave Marketing for the intro to this community.] The call kicked off with a quote about satisfaction. And I don’t know about you, but I constantly struggle with finding the balance between when to stay the course and when to iterate, adapt, and evolve.
Ultimately, it comes down to finding the limits of settling, being satisfied, and striving.
Settling
In my opinion, we should rarely (never?) fall in the settling bucket. This means we want something more, but we throw in the towel before getting there. We’re actively dissatisfied then this happens.
Whereas most of us could (should?) spend a lot more time being satisfied. Appreciating the progress we’ve made. Relishing in what we’ve built. Feeling proud of how far we’ve come.
Satisfied
Let’s re-frame satisfaction a bit. Maybe seeking satisfaction looks like acceptance so that you can prioritize what matters. Like acknowledging that despite spending 5 hours a week creating content, $250 a month on a VA to schedule posts and create graphics, and countless moments of dread, stress, and frustration…you’re never gonna “make it big” on Instagram. Maybe being satisfied means that you either scale back on posting and focus on the few people you *actually* have relationships with on the platform, or you reallocate all that energy and those resources elsewhere. So, you’re “giving up” but only because you realize this isn’t something that’s important to you or the growth you want for your business.
Satisfaction is recognizing the “good enough” in your life, rather than chasing after the perfection that doesn’t actually exist. [As a recovering perfectionist, that sentence pains me, but let’s be honest—it’s true!]
Striving
And then there’s striving. Not to be underestimated, my friend. You got to where you are by striving for what you currently have. I’m anti-hustle culture and grinding until you burn out, but I fully believe that opportunities are what you make of them. You have to be willing to seek them out, seize them when they come your way, and integrate them into your vision.
You can rest without sitting back so far that life gets away from you. You can seek improvement without spreading yourself too thin.
This is personally where I struggle. I have ALL the ideas and I want to try them all NOW. So instead of really optimizing selling this offer, or growing this relationship, or building up this thought leadership, my business becomes fragmented.
I know I’m not alone in this because that’s what I sort out with so many of my clients! Cobbler’s shoes, baby—this type of reflective work and self-management is so hard without outside perspective and empathetic accountability.
And that’s where values come into play. Your mission. Your purpose. If you filter all your decisions through these concepts first, you’re less likely to get distracted by the flurry of ideas in your head, what “everyone else” is doing, or any “shortcomings” you have. Defining what you stand for, what you’re working toward, and why makes everything simpler. Those edges between settling, feeling satisfied, and striving become that much clearer.
So, I’d love to know: what you are currently settling with, satisfied about, or striving for in your business? Anywhere you could make some shifts to feel better overall?
Toward purpose and progress,
Ashlee
This is an excerpt from Toward Purpose & Progress, my newsletter where I share business tips, good news, shoutouts to Founder Friends, and other juicy snippets. Subscribe here for more rants, reflections, and resources.