Building a business around your values

What might that look like I wonder?

Crafted as a keepsake from the programme

There is something both magical and horrifying about coming together with 9 strangers to share the inner workings of who you are.

Some of you will know I’ve been doing Kate Weiler’s Reflect:Recenter programme since September. Yesterday we spent 4 hours in person in a lovely house in East London closing out the programme.

I joined the programme at what felt like a point of desperation. I don’t actually know when I spotted it and signed up but I do remember being very drawn to it as if I was clutching to a life raft. 

I think I came in putting a lot of pressure on this programme to sort everything out. This year has felt like a lot. Because of this there have definitely been times when the lines between therapy and professional development have blurred. Not only did I want a life changing epiphany but I wanted a practical action plan for how to run my business (and probably my life if I’m honest) for at least the next year. Ambitious much?! 

I think a few of us signed up to the programme with these high, likely unrealistic, hopes. One observation from yesterday is, I feel like a lot of us are leaving with the understanding that we already have a lot of what we need.

Running a business of one can be confusing. There is a lot of second guessing yourself and pondering of the future direction - because you can do anything. What this course taught me is I need to be more me - and that I am enough.

For a long time this idea of purpose and impact has held a lot of value for me. It’s felt loaded. Like it’s the ultimate end goal to be devoting your life to your true purpose. Well, I’m gonna pop that in the bin for a while and try a different approach.

What if I design my business life around my values and I trust that happiness and purpose will find me if I do that?

One of the times I felt most energised doing the course was reflecting on my values. I wrote about it at the time. It was the last gasp of summer and I did the session from our garden room. Now, deep in the grip of winter it feels challenging to recapture that energy but coming back to my values feels important.

The week after next I’m going on my annual Joy retreat to Broadstairs to reflect on the year and plan the next. Last year my day of reflection seemed to come easy. I never plan it before I go. I let the plan emerge while I’m there. While that was great last year, I always had this niggle that my approach was lacking depth.

This year I want to bring in a reflection framework that is formed around my values. I’m not sure how I’m going to do that but I know one shift I want to make is to be more future focused. I’ve spent a lot of my career moving away from things I don’t like rather than moving towards things I do like. I want to bring that mindset into my retreat this year. 

So this is my public accountability for what I want to get from my retreat this year. My goal is to create a practical strategy for next year that is built on my values. Some loose thoughts that feed into this are:

1. I want my word next year to be connection.

2. I need actionable ways to develop my self belief.

3. I want to make more money from other income streams that are not consultancy.

4. I want to actively engage with and contribute to the future of my industry and lean into the fear that surrounds that.

5. I enjoy helping others and I get a lot from that.

6. My self reflection and honesty is one way of helping others. 

So watch this space folks. This is likely the last weeknote for 2023 until I start writing up some of my end of year reflections so I want to say a big thank you for being with me on this journey. For your comments and encouragement. It means a lot to be building this community.

I also want to say a big thank you to Kate for her thoughtful and inclusive facilitation style. And to the other humans I shared this experience with - thank you for your openness and honesty. I learned something from each and every one of you.