40. BTS - Pausing my business

Behind the Scenes of Pausing and Pivoting Your Business with Intention 

Join me, your passionate business coach, as I take you behind the scenes of my business journey in this episode of Soulpreneur Scaling Stories. 

Discover the keys to intentional scaling, hear about my transition from one-on-one retainer work to coaching, and learn why I decided to hit pause on a promising business endeavor. 

I share invaluable insights on balancing multiple ventures, trusting your intuition, and prioritizing mental health to avoid burnout. 

If you're a virtual assistant or an online service provider looking to make intentional pivots in your business, you won't want to miss this episode! 

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Transcript

 Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for Soulful Service Providers and Coaches. Welcome to another episode of Soulpreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

Well, you are in for a treat because that's exactly what we are doing here.  In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth behind the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sole preneurs to scale their businesses intentionally.  I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow and create? Create a business that fully supports your dream life. Well, let's dive in before we begin.

Make sure to hit that subscribe buttons. You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights. 

  Hello my friends. So today we're going to talk a little bit about a behind the scenes of my own business. I know that a lot of times on here I do a lot of interviewing and get the behind the scenes scoops on other people's business. Today, we were talking about the BPTs of pausing a business. So what's funny about this topic is that. When I was originally thinking of it, thinking of it, it was going to be. A podcast episode about balancing businesses. And now it has shifted. So let's get into a little background and I'm going to tell you how I came to this decision. 

So what I do, what do I do in my business? Currently, I am an intentional growth coach for soulful service providers. So I have coaching on one side of my business. I also have a couple of online business manager clients. So for the past few years, I have been working one-on-one with retainer OBM clients as my. Main business. And, um, I, you know, have been shifting away from that. 

So I only have a couple of those clients and they're just there. We do the work. And last year. That last year. So in 2023, In the spring of 2023. I was wanting to, as I was wanting to shift more away from the one-on-one retainer work for all of the reasons, all of the reasons that I talk about in these podcasts episodes. Um, but.  To sum it up. 

It really is. For me, it is my zone of excellence. It is something that I enjoy that I've learned so much from, but coaching coaching is my zone of genius. This is my passion. I really, really love coaching and really getting in and supporting and incorporating all of my background and using what I have learned from working with these six and seven figure entrepreneurs, as well as from my psychology background, my yoga teacher training, all of the inner work things that I've done. Combining that all in helping other soulful service providers. Grow their businesses intentionally. And sustainably and focusing on the things that they do well and the things that are in flow. 

So if I am going to be. The, if I'm going to coach this, I have to live this as well. Right. I can't be out here saying one thing and then doing something completely opposite, which is kind of what I had been veering towards. So let me tell you why. So back to. Last year.  I was saying, okay, I want to shift away from these OBM retainer clients. 

I wanted to go into something where I was more just kind of like, you know, at the, sort of like at the top, be in the CEO position. And, and not have to do. You know, do all the work. So I was talking with a really, really dear friend who was going to be on this podcast, uh, coming up, uh, and she is. Basically, we became business partners in aligned systems builds. 

So we partnered up because she's a click up vetted all of these things like super skull with this. I was going to be in charge of the marketing. She was going to be in charge of overseeing the implementing. We had a really cool business model. So last year, We made the website. We got some of our foundations in place. 

We actually took on an OBM client, decided that wasn't really the, the way to go. Um, Let that go after a little bit. And then restructured it to be all about systems. So we had to reduce some of our founders, you know, all of them things you'd have to do. Do you create a business? And, you know, fast forward a year later, we've had a couple of amazing systems builds clients. 

However, At the same time that I'm. You know, building and really focusing on my coaching business. I'm also having my OBM clients. And I'm building this systems business at the same time. Now.  How was I balancing this? I was balancing it, you know, it's like, okay. And now let me, I'll give you a couple of things. About what I was going to talk about before I decided to pause and get back to why I'm pausing. 

So throughout this year,  I was balancing them. Fine. Right. So there are, we would meet that. Okay. These are our goals. This is what we're going to do. I always set aside some time to do those things. Like for instance, develop this freebie. Um, you know, create the talk outline for going on podcasts. We, the balancing honestly came in the marketing. 

So.  My marketing for coaching and my marketing for systems builds were totally separate. I knew that I couldn't, I did not have myself the capacity to be on social media. A hundred percent for both of those businesses. So in order to be in alignment with what would work best. I have one. Marketing.  System for coaching. 

So in the coaching realm, I am on social media. I'm writing, you know, doing the freebies. I'm getting people on my list. I'm really engaged. I'm like, I'm out there. Like I'm on all the platforms we're on down YouTube. We're. Doing podcasting. Social media and it's not. I mean before, you're like, oh my God, you have to do all the things that you do not.  I do one thing. 

Honestly, the podcasting is my main kind of bigger piece of content. And a lot of it is repurposing from there. So honestly for me, it's recorded a podcast episode, which I love doing write a weekly email and then everything else is repurposed with the help of my VA. So I wish she started Pinterest. 

Like we have all these things going. None of it is falling on my shoulders. I have systems in place, so it's really easy. It flows really well. So don't think that like I'm over here doing like all the things, because when you have the systems in place, It goes smoothly. So that's a side note. Um, so that's that side. 

So the other side, I said, no, I'm not going to be on social media. I CA I can't, I do not have the time for this. Right. I can't balance all of these things. So we decided that on that side, we were going to do more, focuses more on the speaking and on the connection calls and, and create and do some ads and things like this and build up the database of people in this way to have it be a little bit more, less intense. 

We have a nine grid on Instagram. Um, so it's not really social media focus. So it was, you know, a bit quote, unquote, easier.  And then, so even with this, you know, it was still.  

In the past couple of months, it has been.  Weighing on me a bit like, oh, I really want to get this done on the side. I really want to get this done in the side. And how do I carve out the time? Where do I find the balance? And when it came down to it. The I couldn't.  And not in a bad way. Right? So not in a way of, oh my God, I'm working 24 7. 

No, I'm not working like that because. I refuse to anymore have, and we know I burnt out hardcore. I worked so much. Now we're doing things in a much more balanced way. I'm putting my mental health first. I'm putting balance first. I'm putting this first so I can show up the best for my clients, for my business, for myself, for my partner, for my dog. For everybody. So this is a non-negotiable at this point, moving forward. 

So could I work a ton and get all of these things done? I could, but I'm not going to because. It would be to the detriment of everything, because if I did that, I would burn out again. I would.  Everything would fall apart. Right? Cause I wouldn't, I would not be giving the best of myself. So, if you're thinking of these things, you can 100%, if you say I'm multi-passionate, I want to do more than one thing. 

I do more than one thing right now. Two things. Three things may be a bit much for me. But there are ways right. To do it with the right support with the right everything. So if this is what's calling to you, if you're really excited about it, then do it also. Try it out. If you say, oh, let me try. I'm a big proponent of getting the experience and feeling into it and then making the decision from there. So.  What happened was why? 

Where did the pause come from? The pause came from. Her and I'm at this business partner and I having a conversation and thankfully, thankfully she is amazing. We agree on all the things. There's no weirdness, there's no push and pull. Everything is very flowy, very easy, very transparent, very open between us. 

So if you're wanting to work with somebody. Obviously, these are things to keep in mind. We've been working together in one capacity or another, since 2019. You know, it's good. So she has a, she's also a certified online business manager like myself. She has her own business as well. This partnership was something to do. You know, to bring in some extra income to do this, to kind of like go. Have it be easy in a way, because it would be right. 

It's very easy to build these really, really cool systems for us. It, eh, It was fun, you know, fun to work together. And in this conversation she said, you know, And I had said, I need a little pause. Like I need a break because I need to focus on X, Y, Z, and the coaching side. And then I'm going to come back to doing this thing in a little bit. 

And.  And she had said, well, you know, this is to the effect of, listen, this is our secondary businesses. We don't have to do it.  Right now we don't have to. And the thing that the. Skill, I guess that I have developed is. Really, really being in touch with my own intuition. And when I feel it, I trust it a hundred percent. 

I don't question it. I no longer I did before I no longer have the, oh, what would this person think? Oh, we did all the, you know, how all of these things that come in when I feel it a hundred percent, I say, okay,  And it has never steered me wrong. So she said that, and my intuition told me. You know, I felt inside of me.  She's right. It's not the time for this right now is not the time for building and growing two businesses simultaneously while having a third one. Running in the background.  It's not the time. And once I, I only had to sit with it for like a minute. And I felt it. 

I listened to it. And once that happened, I then felt relief.  Your intuition will always.  You'll always feel good. There will never be any doubts. Any second guessing any of these things when it is your highest truth. That's guiding you. So.  Drip a plan said, okay, let's do this. And,  and his, and then, and she agreed to the great, so what I'm doing or what we're doing is we were working on this free systems, chorus, a little, you know, an opt-in. And we recorded it and we just have to write the emails and the. Opt-in page.  Um, so we're going to do that. We're going to do that. 

We're going to continue to have pins, Pinterest running to do that. I'm going to continue to talk about it.  Passively, you know, so it's going to be there. The website will still be there. I am tastes, I added a second tub Sato. I am going to take that off and we're going to do, um, click up forms instead. 

Cause she, you know, she was click up queen. So we're going to switch over some of these things have a little bit less of an automated onboarding.  Just to save that investment because it's not really needed for, for right now. So it will be running in the background. And I have connection calls when I talk to people, I will say, oh, we also do this. This is how I've gotten the clients. It was through these connection calls. But I'm no longer going to be actively marketing it. And that feels good for now.  And that's amazing. It feels good for her. We're simplifying. 

So in the end, It came down to priorities. And this is also to say that I have not killing it forever. Right. So I said, we're going to do it because this is easy for us. We were good at it. This is, you know, it's fun. We love working together. It's a great extra income on the side to have these projects come in and great, but we're not going to focus on actively marketing it at this time. In the future, if it feels like the right time to bring in the marketing. Then we will do that. 

We'll return to it.  Fabulous. We don't feel bad. There's no regret. Right. There's no. Oh,  And this is because of my trust. I trust myself, I trust my decisions. I trust my intuition, and this is a skill that I have built.  And also alongside of this. Like I was saying earlier, coaching is my priority. This is my passion. 

This is what I'm amazing at. This is.  The thing that really gives me energy. The thing that like lights me up to at the end of a coaching call, like, let's go, you know, I'm so excited. Like when we're doing these things and I have things I want to do, so.  That is my priority.  In this season. And I know that, and I have to listen to myself and embody that.  So all of this talk, I hope this little behind the scenes of how I made this decision. Is really helpful for you to hear about if you are kind of struggling with, oh, I have these different directions. 

What do I do? Can I do things at the same time? A hundred percent. Yes. Right now I'm doing two things at the same time, because one of them, I don't have to mark it. Right. One of them is not taking up all of my time in terms of marketing. This is my almost like quote unquote, like part-time jobs sustaining me. I have my clients were stable. If one of them goes, that's fine. You know, I'm can get another one. 

Like we're good.  And the other one is where I get to then focus all of my creative energy, where I get to.  Right. The sales pages where I get to like improve my marketing or, you know, this is what I'm working on now is really improving my messaging and marketing, where I get to show up where I get to put all of my passion and my love. So this is my focus and that feels so good. That feels so good to me.  So I have to treat it with as a priority, if this is what I want to grow, even more than what it is now I have to treat it like that. 

Right. I have to make it a priority. So, this is what I'm doing.  So instead of balancing, I am now pausing.  And the reason that I'm able to make this decision is.  Like I said to reiterate the.  The intuition, the self-trust. And third reason is because what is my dream life? I know what my goals are. I know what I want my life to look like.  I'm Mike. Most of the way there. 

And then of course your dreams evolve and you go further, further, further, and you're always evolving. And, but I know, and because I know this, it is my north star. And I'm able to make business decisions quickly. And this is the intangible piece of what I also do with my coaching clients. Right. It is the strategy because as. I work with these. 

And I have been working since for the past four or five years, with six and seven figure businesses. I know all the strategies. I know them all.  Every strategy works. Every strategy works. The key, the magic is building up. These things that are intangible is building up yourself. Trust is really practicing, deepening your intuition and listening to it. Is knowing what your dream life is, is knowing what you're amazing at. Where your passion really lies in and trusting that.  This is a big piece of what I do with my clients in any of my programs, the most of course is working. 

One-on-one. So together. This is where we get to dive the deepest, where we get to do all of the things where you get to come at me and Voxer. And in our calls and where we get to go through it. And I use all of my training. All of my PhD training in clinical psychology. Along with the strategy of the UBM business. 

I use all of these pieces along with my own spiritual journey, my own practices.  To coach my clients to get them to where they want to be, to have a business that feels so good to them too. Be able to.  Say goodbye to something that they've been working on and feel good about that. Goodbye.  Goodbye for now. I have a friend to suicide by for now. 

And I think it's really lovely. You know, so they get to take it back for now and come back to it when they're ready.  Or let it go.  But feel confident in that decision. This is what makes the biggest difference in your business and your life and everything, because it carries over everywhere in your life. 

So, I invite you. If this is something that you are interested in, if this resonates with you.  Please reach out to me. Let's connect. And see how it is that I can support you in creating the business that you love and doing it with intention. And doing it with building these long lasting. Intangible skills for lack of better word. That will support you in every area, every aspect of your life.  



So with that, I will wrap this up today. 

The wrap up the behind the scenes. And invite you to connect with me on Instagram too. Connect with me on Thursday. I'm like I told you, I'm in all the places. So it'll all be in the show notes and I would love to hear. Uh, what your thoughts are on this episode. There's also the thing where you can text me, which is like crazy. Um, like just through, directly through the platform, through your podcast. 

So very cool. Hey, how that is that I'll wrap it up at goodbye for now. And I will talk to you guys next time.

  Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over to dancingleafsolutions. com slash resources for free tools to help you do just that.

And thank you again for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community, your presence and dedication to growth, inspiring me every day.