Episode 49: How to Succeed in Your Business When Life Gets Hard

Navigating Life's Challenges in Business: 3 Essential Strategies for Resilience and Success

Life throws all sorts of curveballs at us and when you are a small business owner, you often have to keep it moving.

When life gets hard, one of the best things you can do for yourself and your business is to ask for help.

Listen in as I share three strategies for your business when life is hard.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Collab with Kiva.

See you next time!

Are you ready to take massive action in your business and harness the power of data in your decision-making? Let’s chat 👇🏽

Podcast Transcript:

Kiva Slade: [00:00:01]

Hello, and Welcome To Collab With Kiva. I'm your host, Kiva Slade. From the marbled halls of the US Congress to my racing-themed office chair, I've learned that there is no perfect path to the life of your dreams. My journey over the past 20 years has included being a legislative director for a member of Congress, policy director for a nonprofit, stay-at-home mom, homeschooling mom, jewelry business owner, and now the owner of a service-based business. Whether your journey has been a straight line or full of zigs and zags, join me and my guest as we share insights, hope, and lessons learned from our female entrepreneurship journeys. May the collaborative sharing of our stories be the tide that lifts your boat. Let's dive in.

[00:00:56]

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Collab With Kiva. I am your host, Kiva Slate. Sometimes life gets hard. Sometimes there are life challenges that impact us, and as a result of that impact, oftentimes our businesses are impacted. Let's face it, sometimes life is hard. I would say life isn't fair but I can recall my sixth-grade class with Mr. Corbo, and if you ever said that, he would send you to the back closet to read an entire poem about how life isn't fair. And yes, it only took about one of those for everybody to like, "Yeah, let's get over it because we don't want to hear this." So, life does, though present us with challenges. Some of those challenges are designed to stretch us. Some of those challenges might feel like they're designed to break us.

[00:02:01]

And in some instances, maybe they are. Maybe there's something inside of us that needs to be deconstructed in order to be reconstructed. And the reality is as we head into these last three months of the year, this could have been a really great year for you or this could have been a not-so-great year for you. Wherever you may find yourself on that spectrum, you may be finding yourself dealing with a challenge right now. Whether it's a challenge with your children, your spouse, your partner, your parents, or whatever it may be. And so, today I'm just popping in with three tips to help you if you find yourself being challenged right now and knowing that that is impacting your business.

[00:03:02]

Because as much as we might want to keep the two things separate, I really do believe that what happens to us, whether it's in our personal or our professional, both of them are impacted by the other one. It's kind of a yin and yang relationship, and you want that harmonious balance. And sometimes though, it is out of balance. So, the first thing I want to share is don't try to go it alone. Let your team know. If necessary, let your clients know things are happening, deadlines might need to be extended, or something of that sort. Proactive communication is always better than radio silence, especially when people can see that Rome is burning.

[00:04:03]

So if you're missing deadlines, things aren't getting done or things are getting done, but they're not at the normal caliber that your clients have begun to expect from you, they know, they wonder, Hey, what's going on? Maybe your energy level is different in your client interactions. Maybe your focus is off. Maybe these things that are happening are serving to distract you. Whatever that may be, again, proactively communicating always beats pretending to "Hey, I got it all together. It's all manageable." It's normally not, and you shouldn't try to go that alone. So, if you have team, let your team know. In many cases, they want what's best for you. They're willing to step up to the plate to take on a few other things, to move things along when they seem to be stuck.

[00:05:08]

And sometimes that little bit is the margin that you need in order to keep going. So, the second thing I'm going to share is don't be afraid to talk to a therapist. After COVID, many insurance plans and things of that sort really stepped up what it looks like to be active partners in mental health. And so, your insurance company might have in-network therapists that you can speak to for a relatively small co-pay. There may also be additional opportunities that are out there for sliding scale therapy, which is where you're going to pay based on how much you're bringing in.

[00:06:03]

And for some that are business owners, if you don't have insurance, that sliding scale may work in your favor, especially if you're following profit first, because then you're only taking 30 to 50% of what's coming in as your actual profit, and that's what you would base that income number off of. And as I've shared, whether it's personal or business, there's an interconnectedness and they're going to impact one another. You are going to be impacted if either is out of whack. So, do not be afraid to speak with a therapist and see someone or speak to someone who can help you sort through what is happening, and what you're feeling. And again, that level of sorting through is something that will help you, give you that margin that you need, again, to keep going.

[00:07:09]

And the last thing I'm going to share is priorities; prioritizing your work and being mindful of your energy. When you're going through something, you are not going to have the same energy reservoir that you may have had prior to this event. You're also maybe not able to get your energy back up because you might be dealing with different things. So, being mindful of your energy. Are you seeing that you have more energy in the morning than you do mid-afternoon? Then the morning is where those tasks that require more of your attention, that's where those tasks need to go.

[00:08:02]

If you find that, Hey, mid-afternoon, I'm able to go take a quick walk around the block and that pumps me back up and helps me refocus, then mid-afternoon might be when you decide those tasks need to be done that require more focus. And unless you're debilitated through the experience that's happening ... For many of us, we have to work. We have to work to pay the bills as my kids used to say. But even though we have to work, we can choose to work smart. And working smart might look different and will look different, actually, for each of us. But working smart will allow us to give ourselves the grace that we need through the situation and also be able to show up as the best version of ourselves in light of where we find ourselves.

[00:09:11]

Some tips that I've used in the past is a timer. You can set it up via A-L-E-X-A. I'm spelling her because if I say her, she'll start to talk. Or you can also set it up ... There are tons of apps. There's Pomodoro apps. If you have a Mac, they have a do not disturb functionality. So, there are definitely different things that you can utilize in order to maximize the amount of energy you have and focus on those tasks that need to be a priority. In many of our cases, we have long to-do lists. There are those to-do lists that things that may have been on the list for months now because they just don't rise up to that priority level. And that's okay.

[00:10:09]

When you're going through some things in life, it's okay that those things continue to languish in the not get done pile. Don't kick yourself for that. Don't beat yourself up over that. That's not a priority for you right now. Now, don't get me wrong, it may feel like a priority because it's low-hanging fruit and "Oh, I can finally feel like I'm getting something done or I'm accomplishing something", but it's not the things that you really need to do and or accomplish in order to move the needle of your business. So, don't get distracted by those things that feel like easy check-offs. Focus your attention on the things that pay you. So, if you do client work, your attention needs to be on making sure your clients are getting what they are paying for.

[00:11:03]

If you do speaking, then your attention is on creating the opportunities, fulfilling the opportunities that yield your speaking engagements. If you are a salesperson, then your goal priority is to make sales. So, the low-hanging fruit is tempting but try your best not to get pulled into it, because again, it's not the thing that is paying you. You deciding right now to reorganize your Google drive might feel so satisfying, however, is it paying you? So, again, don't try to go it alone when you're going through something. Don't be afraid to speak to a therapist.

[00:12:03]

And in many cases, I always joke people want a coach. If you find the right therapist, you might get lucky and get a two-for-one special there. A therapist can get you right personally. And in many cases that helps clarify and clear up for you your focus professionally. So, lastly, prioritize your work and be mindful of your energy levels. Again. Life is hard. There will sometimes be circumstances that we have to go through. Some of them are circumstances that might have been of our own doing. Some are things that we have to go through because maybe of someone else's doing. Whatever that situation is, you do have a choice while in the circumstance, how you function, how you show up, how you serve, and how you manage yourself.

[00:13:08]

And I want you to exercise that privilege of being able to choose for yourself that you won't go it alone, to choose for yourself that you will speak to a therapist, to choose for yourself that you will prioritize your work and you will be mindful of your energy levels. So, as you move forward in a difficult trying situation, your business doesn't need to collapse, it doesn't need to fold. In many instances, it just means that you have to work differently. And you can work differently. I believe in you, and you need to believe in you as well. So, I hope that this was helpful and I will see you next time on Collab With Kiva. Thank you.

[00:14:07]

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Collab with Kiva. Each of us has a different path. And I hope that this episode gave you some takeaway that has left you inspired and motivated to keep pressing forward on your unique path. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And of course, your reviews on Apple are greatly appreciated. If you're a small business owner ready to start making data-driven decisions in your business, and you know that without the data, you're really just guessing, make sure to visit my website the516collaborative.com, and let's schedule a time to talk to make sure that you can harness the power of data in your business. I'll see you next time. Bye.

Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.

Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.