How to transform your business in 4 months

It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it. ‘I transformed my business in 4 months’.

Over the weekend I was looking through my reflective journal for a quote I’d written down. As I flicked back week through week, I had an astonishing realisation of how I have transformed my business in the past year.

Twelve months ago, my core offering was coaching leaders and managers of business services teams in law firms, helping them to develop and lead effective teams striving for excellence in performance. Today my focus has completely changed. Something happened on …

17 September 2014

This is the day I decided to transform my business. This is the email I sent to my coach the next day after THE transformational session:

I’m not feeling excited yet – I think I’m still a little fearful, a little scared, but I know if I let go a little bit, I’m going to feel SO SO very excited. Thank you for your time Fi. I really do appreciate it. You have allowed me the time and space to be open and honest, and I seriously didn’t realise that coaching could be like this.

I had decided to focus on working with women and helping them to feel powerful, to make strong confident decisions. I had known for many months that although I am excellent at working with law firms, it wasn’t exciting; it was fun but I didn’t feel passionate about it. I had been coaching women even before I launched my business in 2012. However until that day I felt ‘obliged’ that I ‘should’ focus on the corporate market because it felt grown-up and sophisticated. Aaagghhhh … I’m kicking myself now for not making the change earlier.

At the next session on 1 October 2014, to be honest, I was still scared. It felt like a complete reversal of everything I had been doing. Yet it was but a slight tweak. There were a lot of tears.

How did I do it?

It’s simple – I decided to focus on being happy and doing what I love. I decided to do work that makes me feel alive; that’s exciting; that feels easy; effortless effort; my zone of genius as opposed to my zone of excellence. I decided to drop all the barriers, all the obstacles, all the baggage I was carrying around from my teenage years.

What is hard is figuring out your baggage. What is holding you back. What your confidence blocks are. What is causing the inertia. Irony of ironies … THIS is what I specialise in. However it’s difficult to coach yourself, especially when parts of you are stuck in your teenager past. (I talk more about that in my forthcoming book).

That’s what I wrote in my reflective journal at the time.

The next part is easy

Once I had made the decision, once I knew WHAT I was doing, the rest was easy. Between October 2014 and January 2015, I continued with my existing corporate commitments however my action-taking energy focussed on just ONE thing: helping women to feel powerful so they can make confident decisions.

These are the strategies I adopted:

• Shared my thoughts, my fears, my plans with my amazing business mastermind group.
• Created a new vision board to remind me of my plans and where I am going.
• Launched a three week telesummit recruiting amazing inspirational mothers: Dame Sarah Storey, former Minister Jo Swinson, Miriam McCaleb, New Zealand Baby Geek.
• Changed the focus and content of my blog, posting regularly.
• Speaking opportunities.
• Focus groups – talking to mums who were at the crossroads after taking a career break to understand their hopes and fears.
• Networked with other mums in business to better appreciate the challenges they face.
• Website – complete overhaul and redesign.
• Committed to a weekly newsletter – in September, I only had 50 names on my list. Since then, my list has increased ten-fold.
• Shared valuable content and resources.
• Pitched my new business strategy to my mastermind group for their insightful feedback.
• Positive mantra.
• I went ALL IN. Nothing was going to stop me.

That is how to transform your business in four months.

Now look at me

• Regular panelist on BBC Radio Kent
• Frequent invitations to speak and be interviewed on confidence (with Vivienne Smith, Susan Heaton Wright, Mildred Talabi and more)
• Collaboration with a national training company for confidence in the workplace series
• Regular blogger for Birds on the Blog and Books on the Blog
• First time author (book comes out September 2015)
• Runner up in the UK Expert Authority Challenge 2014
• Nominated Entrepreneurial Mum of the Year
• Nominated for NCT Stars Award
• Frequent recipient of unsolicited heart-warming feedback: ‘Sherry I love you! I love all your brilliant hard work. Just wanted to let you know.’

You can do it too

Are you like I was 12 months ago? Doing good work – excellent work even, but not feeling the buzz, the excitement, the passion? Don’t you wish you had bursts of excited dancing around the kitchen table because of something you achieved or even better, something your client has achieved? Do you want your business to feel like effortless effort?

It’s simple … focus on doing what you love. What only you can do or bring to the world. On what makes you truly happy. Your passion will shine through. You will be more authentic. You will have more energy. You will seem more attractive. You will have more clients. You will be loved. You will learn to love yourself.

Not sure how?

This is what I specialise in – helping mums in business feel powerful and confident to make strong decisions and take decisive action. If you are ready to take your business to the next level, even if (especially if) you’re not 100% convinced that you are in the right business, I know I can help you. Don’t fester on it. Take action today.

How I felt about my business 12 months ago, and how I feel now – there’s no comparison. I just couldn’t love my life any more than I do right now. I want you to feel like that too.

Just imagine how it feels when you are in love with life,  and in love with your business. Take action NOW and do something about it. Don’t waste another day. The first step is a simple one. A small one.

Let’s you and I talk to find out how I can help you. Book a time here. I might not be the right person and it might not be the right time, but until we chat, how will you know?

I love what I do … I want the same for you too.