Ep. 324 Designing a Business that Fits Your Life

In this week’s episode, Anna explores how to craft a business that harmonises with your unique life circumstances. Whether you’re navigating the complexities of a chronic illness, you’re balancing parenthood, or you’re soon to be an empty nester, this episode offers practical strategies to design a business tailored to your specific needs and desires. Tune in to learn how to align your professional ambitions with your personal goals and create a vision that leads to true fulfilment.

Key moments:

[00:00] Introduction to the topic and significance of aligning your business with your life goals.

[01:03] The essentials of having a clear vision and criteria for your business.

[03:12] The importance of resilience and determination in entrepreneurship.

[05:52] Practical examples: New mother, chronic illness, empty nester.

[11:52] Additional situational examples: Digital nomad, caregiver, transitioning professionals.

[12:45] Recap and advice on adapting your vision to your current life situation.

[13:37]  Invitation to reach out for personalised advice and mention of the Business Accelerator.

Resources mentioned:

• Free access to the first pillar workbook of the Business Academy. Email Anna at
  podcast@onestepoutside.com with the subject line “Success Workbook.”
• The Outsiders Business Academy
• The Outsiders Business Accelerator

A business that fits your life

Your business needs to align with your life goals. It needs to fit with and build up to your aspirations. And that’s a fancy way of saying that it needs to work for you. So you need to be hitting the income that you want and need to hit. Not just the revenue, but actually the profit and the income. Working the hours that you want and need to work, managing your energy effectively so that you can do amazing work whilst not burning out, not missing out on important milestones with your family, managing your business around your family. Whatever your life situation, whatever your needs, whatever your own health, your family structure, the business works around that. And of course that requires you to have that really clear vision and clear requirements, clear criteria for what that vision’s going to look like.

So we talked last week about redefining success, what’s meaningful to you, and hopefully you made some progress on getting really clear on what that looks like. Because everything starts with that, right? I always say people get caught up in the how before they even know the what and the why. So it all starts with getting super clear on what you want and why it’s so important. That’s going to help you develop a plan that’s going to get you there and it’s going to help you pivot and change, if needed, from your current trajectory. And it’s going to give you the confidence and resilience to keep going even through the inevitable ups and downs. I saw a little video the other day of a very successful entrepreneur who said that the key distinctive feature of a successful entrepreneur is someone who is resilient and determined, I think was a specific word he used, determined, because as he, I’m paraphrasing now, but he said something like, you will always underestimate how much gets thrown at you, how much bad stuff will happen to you in your business. And I don’t want to put people off here if you haven’t experienced those bad things yet. The reality is we get a lot of stuff thrown at us.

Life is messy. Work, health, family, the universe, society, politics, etc, etc, Right. There is a lot that can complicate our lives, you know, pandemics, etc, and the thing that’s really going to help you continue to be and to reach your goals is that you’re determined that despite those things, you have a really clear vision of where you’re going. And for me, that vision then, as I said at the beginning, needs to be very harmonious, integrated with your life as a whole. Okay, so, you know, if you’re trying to build a seven figure business and that’s the sort of roadmap, the blueprint that you’re following, scaling a team and investing this, that and the other, but actually what you want is more free time, probably something’s gone wrong there, right? So for me, again, this is my decision and perhaps you agree, since you’re listening, your personal priorities come first, not those shiny external metrics that we talked about. And I’m not saying money doesn’t matter, but money is a means to an end. Just having that money doesn’t matter. Again, I watched another video.

Apparently I watch a lot of videos these days in my Instagram scrolling and research where somebody said, look, yes, I’m a successful billionaire. The interview asked. He was one of the youngest billionaires. I want to say it’s the founder of gymshark. So let’s, let’s name him at least in his role. And he talked about, look, that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s not like I have a bank account that has billions of, you know, and all those zeros next to me. That’s not what it’s about.

It’s about my mission, it’s about what I’m doing. And he seemed very grounded and I don’t know him super well, so I won’t comment too much, but I just really like the message. I had another one which was a rich Russian gentleman who said, you shouldn’t worry about materialistic things. So, you know, we all know this stuff and I think we all deep down agree. But if you want to create a vision that aligns with your Life goals, then you want to be thinking, where are you working? Where are you working? You know, if it’s your ideal day, how many hours, what kind of work are you doing, who are you spending your time with? And if you missed it last week I did say I wanted to give you access, free access to a resource from my business academy, which is a paid, self paced course. And this is the workbook from the first pillar that I wanted to give to you. So if you either ping me on one of the socials, so Instagram, for example, Anna SE Lundberg, or you can find me on Facebook or you can email me@podcastonesstepoutside.com and I’ll send you over this workbook. It’s like 10, 11 pages.

You can fill it in online or print it out and do it on pen and paper, but it gives you some of these exercises. I actually thought what would be more helpful is just to give you some really tangible examples and you might recognise yourself in one of these examples and you might not. But I’ve got a list of a few, let’s say six or seven, let’s see how we go. But the first one is as a new mother, for example. So when I first had a newborn child, I batch created lots of stuff. I did start working after about six weeks, which actually was something I never thought I’d do, but it didn’t feel oddly, you know, it didn’t feel stressful, it didn’t feel too much and I managed it around work. But if you are a new mother, you might want to build a business that allows for flexible hours so that you can be present for your baby. And so you would design a business model with perhaps shorter working days.

Maybe it’s more limited concentrated services like a VIP day or you know, a kind of consulting package that requires fewer hours but generates higher income, which, let’s face it, is good for many of us. But certainly if you don’t want to be sort of working hours on end or day every day you want to be and you need to be with your little baby, then maybe, you know, just taking a few hours away from your little family is going to be more manageable, but you still want to make sure that’s generating a higher income. I also, as I said, I batch tasks, nap times. I’m not even going to try to preach to what you can do there. This is thankfully a time that is long past for me. But you know, if you can do some things during nap times, use child care strategically so you can actually do Your deep focus work, then obviously that’s helpful. If you can automate outsource admin tasks, then that’s valuable as well. But you can see how a new mother would have certain requirements around them.

And I’m using mother. Apologies, but it is especially in the early years for a newborn baby, generally the mother, but of course a parent, if that’s your case as well, who is the primary caregiver? Different example, someone who is living with a chronic illness. You’ll probably need a business that lets you work at your own pace, rest when needed. So again, if you’re creating content, which you probably should be, could be for your business, you could, it’s going to be flexible. It might not be the same day every week, but batch create materials on your good days, schedule them out in advance. Or if you’re, let’s say a coach, and probably you’re going to be both a coach and a content creator, you can then perhaps do one to one coaching because it’s easier then to say to an individual client, hey, I’m really sorry, I’m not feeling well today, can we postpone until tomorrow or next week than it is to have a massive group programme where you’re expected or you know, keynote talks or something like that that requires lots of energy and where you really can’t move the date of the big conference. Right, so those are considerations, unfortunately. It may mean compromising sometimes, but it’s about getting super practical and pragmatic of what you need for your health and then finding ways still to create the freedom, flexibility, fulfilment and financial income that you need.

So, you know, prioritise work that aligns with your energy levels. Use tools like project management software to keep things organised so you can pick up where you left off if you’ve had to have a bit of time off, and so on at the other end of the parenting journey. I suppose if you’re an empty nester exploring new passions, you know your children have left home, it might be the perfect time to transition into a passion project or a so called side business. So you could turn your expertise into a course or consulting service that perhaps doesn’t require full time commitment but keeps you intellectually engaged and earning money. So really at this stage I would say focus on the projects that bring you joy and meaning and work with a schedule that gives you freedom to explore hobbies and maybe travel more and with your partner if you have one, and spend time with grandchildren. Speaking of travelling, as I first started my business, you know, if you’re the digital nomad type. Then if your dream is to travel more, continue to travel. Obviously a location independent business is important.

So graphic designer, online coach can work remotely, set really clear client boundaries, use asynchronous communication tools as they call it these days, to stay flexible rather than having to be online at certain times. I did my coaching course when I was in Hawaii and I did my final exams at three in the morning, which I would not recommend but it was possible because I was young and single at the time time and travelling. So look, plan, work around your travel schedule, right? Use things like time zone converters and cloud based apps so you can stay organised and so on. Perhaps you’re a caregiver supporting an elderly parent. You might need a business that allows for breaks during the day. If you’re a freelance writer, maybe you can set up, you know, regular client work that doesn’t rely on constant availability or as a solopreneur, of course you can offer pre recorded workshops for a bit more passive income. If you can’t be available all the time, block your specific caregiving times into your calendar and again use project management tools to track deadlines and progress when you are available. I haven’t got there yet, but maybe you’re a parent with teenage teenagers preparing for college and you might want to increase your income then in a way that doesn’t take over your evenings and weekends.

So you could shift from hourly projects to actually selling more online comprehensive programmes, group coaching sessions. Maybe you’re now able to do much more in person work and travel a bit more, but really focus on income streams as ever really that don’t rely just on your time like perhaps a membership or digital product or a retainer or something like that. And look, if you’re a professional at the beginning of transitioning out of corporate, you might want to replicate your corporate income while gaining more control over your schedule. And you want that freedom and flexibility. So you could start consulting or coaching in your area of expertise. That’s always a great way to first transition into that new type of business. Working for yourself, coming out of corporate full time employment. And then you can gradually transition into fewer but higher playing clients, or you can begin to pivot into your true passion, perhaps as you go.

But really starting by repackaging your corporate skills into offers that are easy to sell and align with the hours you want to work is going to give you the freedom, flexibility that you want right away. Okay, so I’ve given you different examples there and maybe one resonates, but at least hopefully They’ve given you different ways of thinking about this. The point is that it is what it is. As the saying goes, it sucks if we have a health condition. It, you know, we might be the sandwich generation where we have both caring responsibilities for our kids and our parents. There’s all sorts of things that could be going on and at the same time it could be that you’re in a fortunate position where you’re simply looking to have your cake and eat it and travel while earning a load of money and not work so much and so on. Right? Whatever your situation is your situation. But I don’t think you should need to settle or give up entirely on your dreams.

It might just need a bit of a rejig to align realign your vision with the reality of your energy levels, your health, your family situation right now. Right. So a bit of pragmatism in the short term while you’re still idealistic in the long term. So I hope that was helpful and I’d obviously love to hear your specific situation, especially if you’re not not one of the examples that I gave you. If you’re wondering how to creatively realign your business model, then why not reach out to me? I’d love to Hear from you podcastepoutside.com where you can ping me on my social channels as well. And I’d love for you to challenge me in helping you design a business model that works for your specific situation and aspirations. Hope that was helpful. The practical examples especially, and best of luck with creating a vision, modifying your vision to align with your life goals and situation.

Bye for now. Alright, so if any of this resonates and you’re ready to build a business that truly works for you without the overwhelm, without the hustle, all that constant second guessing, then I’d love for you to join us in the business accelerator. Bringing together a small group of like minded experts, coaches, consultants, solopreneurs who want that personalised support, clear action steps and above all, real account accountability. If you want to get in early, then head on over to onestepoutside.com accelerate onestepoutside.com accelerate to register your interest or join the waiting list. Let’s create the business and the life that you have always wanted. Can’t wait to see you inside.

WORK WITH ANNA

Let us help you design a business and a life that gives you freedom from the 9 to 5. There are several options for how you can work with us. Choose the programme that’s right for you.

The Outsiders Business Incubator

A year-long business incubator for experienced corporate professionals who want to translate their skills and passions into a profitable and fulfilling business. onestepoutside.com/9to5

The Outsiders Business Accelerator

An ongoing mastermind for service-based business owners, freelancers and online entrepreneurs who are ready to achieve success on their own terms. onestepoutside.com/accelerate

The Outsiders Business Academy

A self-paced course for you to work through in your own time, to learn – and implement – the foundations of building a profitable business that lets you escape the 9 to 5. onestepoutside.com/course

1:1 Coaching & Mentoring

If you’re looking for one-to-one support to help you achieve your specific life and business goals, Anna has a limited number of spots for individual coaching and mentoring. onestepoutside.com/coaching