Donna: Before we kick off into today's podcast, I want to share with you some special news. I am pretty excited that I have been nominated and selected as a finalist in some of Australia's top business awards for female entrepreneurs and for some of those awards, there is a people's choice category, which is an online voting system.
Now, if you find that there's a lot of value in what I share in the programs that I offer and all the free resources that I put out into the world, then it would be amazing if you could please hit pause right now and head over to donnahann.com/vote. There you will find a list of all of the awards and categories, and you can place your vote.
I would be so grateful if you could spend the time, just a couple of moments to do that and then of course, I want you to come back and hit play and listen to the podcast.
I grew up watching my parents start their business at grassroots level, they had immigrated from the UK. They'd moved to a regional town South of Perth in Western Australia. They didn't know anyone. They were on a shoestring budget and they were building what ended up being a really successful business and really well known locally in their area.
So, I always say that entrepreneurship really is in my blood. Now, I've lived in a little seaside town on the Queensland coast, 600 Ks north of Brisbane for 11 years now.
So, I've always grown up in a regional town South of Perth and now live regionally again and there's been times when we've lived in some really remote areas within Australia and I've started grown and sold three successful businesses. One pre-kids, the latter with kids in tow and each of those businesses have been very different.
I started as a children's party entertainer back in uni days. I've experimented in the space of eCommerce and retail having a successful business there, which I later sold. I took a stint in corporate, uh, for a while in, uh, leadership and coaching role and then the Uber successful dance studio, which I sold in 2021.
So, it's been a 20 year journey. No doubt it will continue to be a journey and today I want to talk about making the most of the rest of the year, the next 152 days in fact. The reason I'm talking about this is because yes, I've achieved a lot in the time that I've been in business, but sometimes there are moments when it feels like time is just slipping away.
And if you've got some really important things on your action list for 2022, but it does feel like time is slipping away for you, then let me help you with that today. I'm going to talk about the things that have helped me to get stuff done and reach my goals.
So, my most successful business thus far was a dance studio and from the day that the doors opened, it literally exploded. Within a few years, we had 300 students, we had two locations running at the same time. We were turning six figures every year in profit and I had an amazing team and it was really great, like in a small regional town, we had quickly become the go-to studio in our area.
We were winning national awards for customer service, for our in-house programs but if I rewind back a little bit in 2019, I could feel that I was burning out. It was tapping me on the shoulder and I was getting pretty sick of lying awake at night, thinking about all the things that I didn't get done, the things that I'd half got done, you know, the guilt about not being present with my kids, which at the time when I started that dance studio, I had a three year old and a six month old.
So, you know, there were moments when it was pretty stressful and I would often think to myself, I don't know if I was made for this. How do other moms do this? And I'm sharing this with you now, because I don't know if you've had those moments, but for me at that time, sometimes it was a daily struggle.
So, I had to make a decision at that point where I was reaching burnout. I had to either make the decision to quit my business or reshape my business with the intention to eventually sell it. Because I knew that that particular business model for me, wasn't going to work long term. Working after school hours when I have children who need me after school was not going to work.
So, fast forward to now, I've sold that business for an excellent profit. I'm now working as a business coach for women, primarily moms who want to build a successful business around the needs of their family without burning out. So, now I'm in this amazing position where I get to empower women to go from feeling exhausted and on that road to burnout, to feeling energized and inspired and becoming a thriving business owner.
As a mom in business it can really feel like time is against us. You know, there's so much to do there's so little time, but I have, when I look back over my business journey, I've achieved a lot as a business owner, juggling a family and doing all the things and you can do that too and so, this episode is intended to really spark your drive and your ambition and to adopt that can do attitude.
And that's really what inspired me to hit record on this topic today. As I'm recording it, it's the 1st of August, so, we are definitely into the second part of the year and what I want you to do is cast your mind back to the start of the year and remember, what were your goals? What was on your hit list, your personal goals, your business goals, your family goals, what were on your hit list for the year?
And what have you achieved? What have you managed to get done? And what's still on that list. We still have at the time of recording this episode on the 1st of August, 152 days to work on getting those goals done, we all have the same 24 hours, but what I'm challenging you on here today is how are you going to use your 24 hours?
If you have big goals, maybe you've got an idea to start a business. Maybe you've started a business, but perhaps you haven't jumped in with both feet and you can feel that in yourself, maybe your big goal is levering your business towards tipping past the GST or the, the tax threshold of your, uh, country or state, which means yes, you'll be paying goods and service tax, but it also means that you're making money, which is a really great, great thing.
You want to be paying tax because it means your business is doing well. Now, obviously I just want to caveat it here that you need to talk to your accountant about how to best manage your cash flow and your budget so, that you don't end up with a tax bill that you can't afford to pay, but don't be afraid of making money and revenue because you are afraid of paying the tax.
What that indicates is that you need to educate yourself in understanding the way that the tax works and how to manage your money, right? So, if you are afraid of tipping past that GST or that tax threshold within your business, then this is where you need to talk to your accountant and get to understand how everything works so that you can remove that money block and not be afraid of making money and tipping past that point.
Maybe one of your big goals is to hit six figures and to go beyond that within your business, whatever your goals are, you've still got 152 days to achieve them. Achieving goals is part strategy and part mindset and when I work with my clients, we work on both of those things, because you need to have the ambition and drive and determination and self-belief that you can do it, but you also need to have the strategy, a strategy that works for you and is aligned to your values to ensure that your business is strong and that all roads are leading to the success of your business.
If you have big goals and you feel like maybe you're spinning your wheels right now, that maybe you don't have enough time in the day, then what are the activities that you're doing that are not returning any value or benefit to your business? You need to cut those things and stop doing those things.
Now, as I was thinking about this episode, I kind of categorize your business activities into three kind of areas and I just want to draw a little bit of attention to this at the moment, because when you're spinning your wheels, it can be kind of hard to define the things that are working and the things that are not really returning any value or benefit to your business so, that you can cut those.
So, there are some activities within your business that will have a slow return, meaning there's not an immediate result. Now, every business is different so, I'm going to pick an example within my business to illustrate to you an activity that has a slow return and not an immediate result and the best example that I can give you is this podcast.
It takes a lot of time to create and there's no direct financial return. It's not something that people pay for to listen to, but I'm building my business reach. I'm building my personal brand. I'm building relationships, I'm sharing my knowledge and insights that will hopefully help someone and one of my core values is what goes around, comes around.
So, it aligns to my business strategy, which is aligned to my values and I know that all roads are going to lead back into my business with this podcast activity that I do each and every week. So no, it doesn't have a direct financial return to my bottom line of my business, but it does have a direct benefit in the long term, it is a slow return activity.
Another activity that you might like to look at within your business that you should definitely hopefully have is an activity that has a fast return, an immediate result. Direct sales, those kinds of things. So, when I work one on one with a private coaching client, there is an exchange where they tell me where they're stuck.
They share with me what they want to do, what their goals are and I shine light on the strategies, that action steps and the mindset hacks that will help to make that happen. I support them. I check in with them. I keep them accountable and in exchange they pay me. So, that's an activity that has a fast return.
The final activity within your business if we are just categorizing them into three, which serves the purpose of this episode for today, the third part of this is activities that have no return whatsoever and if you're strapped for time, these are the activities that need to go. So, spending time, perhaps on perfecting your website to within an inch of its existence, agonizing over the tiny details on things that only you are going to notice is probably not a wise space to put all of your time and energy.
So, have a think, get really strategic about what are the activities in your business that you need to keep continuing on with those fast return activities and those slow return activities and the ones that are not returning any benefit to your business at all. If you are strapped for time, if you are finding like you are spinning your wheels and there's not enough time in the day to reach those bigger goals, get rid of the stuff that's not serving you or your business.
If you've been listening along to this podcast today and you are really wanting to get shit done, then I've got something that's going to help you to do that. It's my free productivity planner and you can grab it by going to www.donnahann.com/freeplanner. It's my template for you to ultimately get super organized so that you can really work towards those big goals and get shit done.
So, go grab it. donnahann.com/freeplanner. Now, let's get back to the podcast.
All right. So, I want you to really know we're going to talk about mindset. We've spoken about strategy, so getting really strategic about the things that will get you closer to your goals over the next 152 days, do those things with intentionality, be tenacious about it. Being tenacious to me is like never giving up.
It's like working at the level that you would work if you had someone looking over your shoulder all the time, but a lot of the time in a self run business, especially if you're working as a solo printer within your business or a really tiny team. You have to, there's no one looking over your shoulder and, you know, checking in on you and making sure that you're doing the work.
You have to do it like no one's watching. The other thing with tenacity is if a dog wants the bone enough, it will find a way to get it and so when you are thinking about your business and the growth in your business and your goals over the next 152 days, I want you to do that with intentionality and tenacity.
And the other thing is really important here to mention and that is mindset and working on your mindset should never end. Whenever there's a new level in your business, there will be a new devil and that means you need to be continuously working on your mindset for resilience and courage as a business owner, because what got you here, won't get you there.
And another saying that I love since I'm on a roll right now, is when you know better, you do better. So, there's always something to work on when it comes to developing a resilient and courageous business mindset and what it really comes down to is figuring out what works for you.
Maybe something that helps you with your mindset in, you know, being tenacious and being ambitious and keeping you towards, being intentional about what you're doing is maybe getting some quotes that really inspire you, that really help you to remain focused.
That helps you to believe in yourself and print those out and put them in places that you see all the time. My business coach, because, you know, I am authentic in what I do. I love being a business coach to other women to help them grow and level up within their business, but I'm continually working on and leveling up within mind too.
And to be able to do that, I have a business coach and I've had a business coach for years and I will always continue to have one. My business coach when I met her, I think about four years ago now, she said something to me. She wasn't my coach at the time, but she said something to me, a quote that stuck with me and it was... I can, I will, watch me.
And I have used that so many times to prove to myself that I can do big things and another thing that might work for you is maybe listening to an affirmation track every day to remind you that you have the inner strength and the skills to make it happen.
Another thing to do is surround yourself with people who inspire and support you, because you become who you surround yourself with. So, be really intentional about that in choosing the people that you want to surround yourself with. Again, going back to my business coach, Tina Tower, she is amazing and the people that she attracts are also amazing.
So, you know, surrounding yourself with people who are five years ahead of you on your business journey, who have the skills and the mindset and the beautiful big open heart to take you in and support you on your business journey is so, so, so important.
Now, if you have self-doubt that creeps in, start to take notice of when that happens. I know for me, self doubt will creep in when I'm tired, so I need to get good sleep and maybe that's for you as well. I also notice that self doubt creeps in for me when I'm in that emotional time of my cycle. If that is the same for you, then remind yourself that, that's the tendency that seems to happen.
And when the voices in your head are pretty loud, remind yourself that they're not speaking the truth. That it's just the crazy hormones at that point in time and maybe when you hang out with a particular person who maybe has never had a business before yet, seems to think that they can tell you all the things that you're doing wrong within your business.
Don't hang out with them. It's about really protecting your mindset, just like you would protect your babies, right? Protect your mindset like you would protect your babies and work on it all the time. Be reflective. Understand what triggers you in those moments of self doubt, in those moments of feeling like you're an imposter, in those moments where you are like, this is all just getting too hard.
Start to be reflective on when those moments happen for you, because when we can be reflective, when we can really understand how we work, then we can know how to break through those barrier and as time goes on and you build your resilience and you build your courage as a business owner and you build your skillset and you surround yourself with those amazing people who get behind you and help make things happen, your ceiling will become your new floor and you'll just keep growing and growing on a personal level and so to will your business.
Like you, I'm a mom that's made for more and I doubt that, that's ever going to change. My goals will always grow bigger and I'll always be working on growing my skills and my mindset to take those new goals on and to turn them into reality and if you're a regular listener, I reckon you probably have that same tenacious, ambitious attitude too.
And that's, I want to say it's a really good thing and when I look back over my business journey thus far, I know that it has come from having the business strategies and the can do mindset and thinking back to when my business felt really hard, those moments in business where it gets really hard, I had to get real with myself and I had to change the way that I'd been doing things.
I chose to reshape my business. I got really clear about my strategy for success and clear about my purpose. I dug into understanding why I do what I do. I got clear on what my values were, where my passion lay. I unpacked all of that in great detail to then create a strategy on how I was going to deliver on that purpose and that mission, which I felt like I had inside of me.
I got really clear on how I was going to plan for productivity. I do 90 day planning inside of my business every 90 days and I've done that for years. Now, if you are not a planner, if you're like, eh, I just, that just is not going to work for me. I had a conversation with a couple of my ladies in my Ready to Rise group coaching this session last week, actually about it.
In that, that can be this resistance in going, but no, I want to be spontaneous. No, you know, I just like to do the things as they come up and all of that kind of stuff and yes, that's beautiful and as a creative soul myself, a hundred percent being creative in my business is really, really important, but what I have learned is that when you really invest in 90 day planning, it means that it actually helps your brain to compartmentalize what you're doing and when you're doing it.
It means that you can shut down some of those tabs and it means that you can actually be more creative because you've got things mapped out, you know, the direction that you're going and you can get creative intentionally towards your business goals, which is where things really shift.
If you can be intentional and creative around achieving your business goals, that's how you're going to get your business to become a six figure business. That's how you're going to get your business to have the systems to be able to then step back from your business and enjoy the freedoms of being in business and enjoy being in the moment with the people who mean the most to you.
Systemizing your business is everything. If you want freedom, it means that you can delegate to a team member as your business grows. It means you can automate some parts of your business so that you are not the linchpin doing the stuff each and every single day.
The other thing that I did when things felt hard and I needed to reshape my business and really get control of my business was getting clear on my numbers.
Knowing how much revenue I needed to meet my expenses each and every month, understanding my profit and loss statement, not being scared to look at those numbers, not being scared to plan and budget for the tax that I knew I had to pay for the government, which meant that my business was doing really well.
And the reason I'm sharing all of this with you is because of the results. I took control of my business, instead of it controlling me, the purpose brought me clarity. The strategy got me the direction. The plans ensured that my vision became a reality. The systems and building a team meant that I had freedom and flexibility and getting clarity on my numbers meant that I had confidence in my profitability.
And the big result of all of that was that I had confidence in my team. I had confidence in my business and I had confidence in myself and if I can do all of this. If I can do it, you can do it too and what lights me up, what gets me really excited and fills my cup is empowering and teaching other moms in business to do the same, sharing my experiences, sharing my knowledge and my skills so that you can rise up too.
Because at my core, I know that empowered women empower women and so I'm a huge believer in collaboration over competition and I love supporting women to rise up and thrive within their business. Now, you've got 152 days left of this year to make an impact.
So, what's that going to be? What are you going to do in the next 152 days to take your business to the next level, to change the trajectory of the freedom within your business to really make a difference?
I'm serious in what I'm about to say. I want you to hit me up with a DM. I want you to let me know what your goals are. I personally respond to all of my DMS and I'd love to know what you are going to achieve in the next 152 days or whatever is left of the year by the time that you listen to this episode, because I want to support you on that. I want to celebrate with you in that.
I hope this episode has been insightful, impactful and inspiring and I want you to go out there. Go get them.
