I’ve been thinking lately about what it means to find a sense of balance as a business owner and human in the world just trying to live a simple, intentional, joyful daily life.
Ever since having my son and becoming a working mother my relationship with work and balance has shifted in so many ways big and small.
There have been seasons in my business journey so far where I have felt so grounded in my work/life blend, in such a good groove with my working days and just living my daily life too.
There have also been seasons where things have felt not so balanced, whether it’s because I had overloaded my work commitments or because circumstances in my life were leaving me feeling out of balance instead.
And if I’ve learned anything over the years so far it’s this: balance is a verb, not a destination.
It’s not a permanent state we can find and create for ourselves, instead it’s something we do, something that we experiment with, something that we try to find and create and protect for ourselves along the way.
And balance is something we get to define for ourselves in each season too.
What if marketing could feel simple?
That’s the question I’ve been asking myself in my business for years now, and it’s the question so many of my clients ask me too:
Jen, how can I market my business in a way that doesn’t feel exhausting and overwhelming, or sleazy and manipulative too?
And what I always encourage them to do is see marketing like sowing seeds.
Because our marketing can be slow, human, and rooted in connection over conversion if we want it to be.
Marketing isn't always about creating a direct cause and effect. We don’t always write a blog post or share something on Instagram and that directly leads to a new client or customer.
Instead what we’re doing every time we show up in our business is sowing seeds that can generate client and customer leads in an organic and consistent way.
I talk often about finding a home in our business, about feeling grounded and rooted in our work along the way.
It’s so easy to get lost in this journey, to start to feel like our business is running us instead of us running it, and to be distracted by goals, opinions, and strategies that don’t truly serve us and our work.
But when we find a sense of home in our business we’re able to steer the ship in a way that truly works best for us and feel clarified and focused in whatever steps we take next too.
So how do we find that sense of home in our business? And how do we keep coming back home to it whenever we may steer off course along the way?
This is where your business inner compass comes in.
This week has been my first back at work since having our son, August Henry.
Motherhood has been a beautiful and crazy ride so far. Postpartum recovery has been slower and harder than I was fully prepared for, and the love I feel for my son and my gratitude for his safe arrival into this world is deeper than I can truly put into words.
I am now in awe of every parent I know, of how they are able to balance the responsibilities and joys of parenthood alongside being a fully functioning human too, and I am slowly but surely figuring out this new chapter of my life with as much patience and grace as I can give myself.
I’ve been gently easing back into business this week, diving deep with my wonderful clients and slowly finding my feet as a working parent.
I’ve never been more grateful for having a slow, simple, spacious business, that I can steer this ship by only needing to work 10-15 hours each week.
But returning to work while I’m still very much adjusting to this new chapter is without a doubt a little daunting.
I knew as soon as the second line turned pink that I’d be taking a somewhat short maternity leave, something I’m sure many of us who are self employed choose (or have) to do. As I had a full client schedule carrying over (and as the breadwinner in my marriage too) signing off for months on end just wasn’t an option for me, so being as intentional as I can as I ease back into work has been one of my biggest priorities this week.
Something I’ve been coming back to is what I like to call the slow lane productivity dial.
What exactly is the slow lane, you may be wondering?