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THE MINDFUL BUSINESS SERIES
Do you have a dream of creating your own business? Or are you already an entreneur? Are you ready to create a kinder, more mindful business? Mindful business can change your perspective, change your life, and make the world a better place. I call it doing "business from the heart".
After years of working for other people, I finally transformed my life to become a solo entrepreneur. I’ve learned a lot along the way. And the most important thing I’ve learned is that doing “business from the heart” can change your entire perspective, bring you much more joy, satisfaction and success in your business.
For a long time I dreamed of creating my own business. I’ve had lots of ideas over the years and some of them I developed further than the idea in my head. But for various reasons the time was never right. And the idea moved on to someone else. Then finally, the time and the lifestyle was just right for me to bring my vision to life. And I finally did it. I created HUM.
During the process, I learned what it means to go from corporate life to solo entrepreneur life. It’s hugely challenging and highly rewarding. Becoming a solo entrepreneur means you can finally do exactly what you want, there is nobody’s agenda but your own. You get to call all the shots. You really CAN create your dream if you work hard at it. You can create the life you want.
It also means that you are entirely responsible for everything, from the financing to the creation of the products and content, to the management of your website, the preparation of orders and the customer service. And this is just a tiny sampling of what you'll be responsible for.
I worked for 15 years for a multi-national beauty corporation, doing big business with big budgets, big teams, and lots of structure. Interestingly, it’s a company that fosters a spirit of entrepreneurship for each one in his own role. A spirit that suited me perfectly.
All that experience serves me well as I create and develop HUM, as all your experience will serve you in your own business adventure. I’ve also discovered that there were things I needed to let go of, a whole new set of skills that I needed to develop and new a mind set I needed to cultivate in order to become a solo entrepreneur.
Exactly 1 year ago today on June 17th, 2019, after a gratitude meditation to the light of the full, abundant moon, I clicked a button and, just like that, HUM was out there in the world. It was a milestone, after 4 years of working on it. I felt suddenly lighter, proud that I’d done what I had set out to do. I also felt nervous. Even though it was just up for testing and I few people would know about it, I was putting my creation, my soul and myself out there for all to see. I usually prefer to stay behind the scenes. So stepping out of the shadows and into the light was a strange sensation.
To mark this one-year button-clicking milestone, I wanted to share some ideas to inspire you to get started creating your own heart-centred business or to inspire you to evolve your existing business and transform it into a mindful business. So that you can get more joy and a greater sense of fulfilment from it every single day. It's a 3-part mindful business blog series.
The place to start is with the attitude you have and the energy you put into your business. This is the one thing that makes all the difference to how you will experience a solo entrepreneur journey. I call it “doing business from the heart”.
Recently, I realized that I was doing business very differently than I ever had in the past. My husband commented on my positive attitude towards every aspect of my business. He had noticed me do my goofy happy-dance every time I receive an order, watched me happily prepare them, saw my delight at the feedback I get from customers, my dedication to create new content each week. He asked me why, and I told him I get happy from each of these small steps because I’m doing “business from the heart”. With my two hands opened at heart-centre, the words just came out like that. And it's the perfect way to describe the mindful business I have created.
Doing “business from the heart” is a beautiful way to find joy and fulfillment from your business, especially if you are a solo entrepreneur. It’s a way to be fully present to your experience and enjoy it everyday.
I believe the energy you put into your business, the choices you make and the mind-set you adopt will make all the difference in the world to your success, and to how you feel along the way.
6 WAYS TO DO “BUSINESS FROM THE HEART”
1. Have a heart-centred purpose for your business
Your purpose is what sets your business apart from others and why it matters. It's is central to your business, to your relationships with your customers, suppliers, your community and your employees if you have any. I invite you to find a deeper purpose besides maximizing profits. Every business needs to make money, of course, but making money doesn’t have to be the central purpose. A heart-centred purpose will give you more satisfaction and a greater sense of fulfilment. A heart-centred purpose is the emotional reason why you’re doing what you do, the value you want to offer others, the impact you want to have on the world. Your purpose could be your passion for your idea, your services, the benefits you want to offer others. It should be based on your ethos, and inspire others. Start with a heart-centred purpose…the money will follow. Here are some examples of from well-know purpose-driven companies.
2. Make thoughtful decisions
Think about the impact your business has on the world. As a solo entrepreneur you get to make the all the decisions and choices for your business. Every caring, conscious choice you make has the power to ensure the well-being of your customers and our planet. Will you choose environmentally friendly materials, locally made products, socially responsible partners? Will you give part of your profits to a worthy cause that is relevant to your values and your business? Will you be sure to treat all employees, partners, suppliers and customers with respect and dignity? How will you make the world a better place for all of us?
3. Send it out there into the world with love and the best of intentions
Whatever it is that you do (products, services or content), do it with the best of intentions for your customers, creating as much value for them as you can, and send it out into the world with love. Send it out as though you are sending a gift to your subscribers/followers/customers and to the world. And let it go, without any expectations.
4. Be surprisingly generous
Surprise people with your generosity - give them more than they expect. That might mean creating the highest quality products you can imagine. It could be creating a wealth of useful content using your expertise to inspire them. It could be including a hand-written note or a little gift in their order or offering the most caring customer service experience they’ve ever had. It could be all of the above, and whatever else you can imagine. If you focus on creating an abundance of value your customers and followers, their lives will be better because of your products or services. And your generosity and caring will come back to you in the form of satisfaction at having done your very best, and in growth for your business because you will have happy customers.
5. Find joy in every step of your business
One of the beauties of life is that we get to choose how we want to feel. I choose to be happy every day, to have fun in every aspect my business, and I have found joy in every step of my journey. Even the challenges are easier to overcome when you look at them with a positive attitude. Just making that choice to find joy and have fun, then declaring it, either to yourself, to another person or to your journal is enough, and will have an immediate emotional and even physical effect. Remind yourself each day, like a mantra, to firmly install that choice in your heart and mind.
6. Celebrate along the way
What does success mean to you? You could look at success as the total sales you make, the number of subscribers and followers you have, the number of likes you receive. It’s a question of perception. Personally, I think that finding joy in what you do every day is the biggest success of them all. And more success will follow when you appreciate the abundance that your business provides to you every day, in so many ways. I believe that, no matter how big your business is, celebrating the successes along the way, the big ones and the small ones, will attract even more success for you. Here are some successes you can celebrate everyday:
What will you celebrate today?
THE MINDFUL BUSINESS SERIES:
The Solo Entrepreneur's Mindful Mindset
6 Ways to do "Business From the Heart"
Inspire Your Solo Creative Process
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