Raise your hand if you're feeling burnt out 👋 Lots of people are. Up or down, good or bad, growth or not—plenty of people are hitting a wall right now. On top of all of the unexpected stressors that we've experienced this year, many of us have just not gotten to do...
It's pumpkin spice season. It's apple cider donut season. It's even getting to be jacket season. And, soon... ...it will be small business planning season. You know, the time of year when everyone (including me) encourages you to take a step back, think...
Planning, productivity, and getting through the never-ending to-do list are some of the biggest concerns of the small business owners we work with. They certainly were some of my biggest concerns for years. I'd come up with a "great" plan at the beginning of every...
Last year, I took a part-time job as the head setter at my climbing gym. (That’s the person in charge of bolting the plastic rocks to the wall and overseeing the creative process of coming up with new things to climb.) I had a bunch of misgivings about taking the...
Every small business owner goes through a phase (or many) where they're just trying to keep up. In the beginning, you might be trying to keep up with the vague idea of all of the things you're supposed to be doing to get your business off the ground and functional....
This month, we’re tackling that feeling of loneliness and the different kinds of support we can lean on to feel grounded and whole.
Today, we’re kicking things off with Chris Brogan, an author, speaker, and consultant who has been incredibly forthcoming about his own experience with depression and anxiety. Chris helps business owners feel less lonely by vulnerably sharing what he’s going through on a regular basis and by regularly offering his support to those who are in the throws of mental health challenges.
Post by post, conversation by conversation, Chris is doing his part of reduce the stigma of depression, anxiety, and even failure.
You might know Chris from his New York Times bestselling book, Trust Agents, or maybe you’ve heard him speak on a stage or podcast. He’s an incredibly prolific content creator as well as leader, connector, and all-around friendly guy.
Chris and I talk about how depression and anxiety impact his life and work, how he’s structured his business to work with his mental health challenges, and how he knows what work to push through on and what can be dropped. We also talk about why he’s made such an effort be visible and helpful as he goes through the ups and downs he experiences on a regular basis.
"I'm so far behind!" Get a few small business owners together and it's only a matter time until you hear that line. Our brains are always a few steps ahead and our execution always feels like it's lagging behind. It might seem absurd to even imagine feeling caught up...
Most small business owners I know have an “it’s complicated” type of relationship to setting goals. They know they’re supposed to set goals for their life and business. They know they’re supposed to make plans to meet those goals. Some do, some don’t. Some set goals...
I broke last night. I left my office at 4:48pm, walked down the hall to Sean's office, sat down across from his desk, and felt so very heavy. I picked a fight about dinner. I got grumpy on our evening walk despite it being the most beautiful evening of the year so...
Today’s guest mentioned early on in our conversation that she found herself taking the work that came to her, growing her capacity to be able to bring in *more* work, and never really stopping to ask herself how she was designing her business.
Her name is Hailey Thomas and she’s the founder of BrainSpace Optimized, where she helps entrepreneurs plan, execute, and complete projects in 90 days or less.
Unfortunately, Hailey suffered a big, personal loss that made her rethink the way she’d been doing business to that point.
We talk about how her tunnel vision led her to skipping her initial grief, why she let go of her clients and contractors, and how she started to process what she truly needed from her life and business.
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