What's your word for 2018?

I’ve seen a few of these ‘word of the year’ posts doing the rounds on Twitter, and it got me thinking… 

If you could choose a word or theme for 2018, what would it be? 

For me, it bubbled up pretty quickly: SIMPLIFY

Why? Well my last blog post explained why 2017 was my ‘annus horribilis’ (and thank you for all the kind comments and messages, the support was incredibly touching).

And that was just on a personal level. World events in general in 2017 were also frequently shocking, overwhelming, and bewildering for us all.

So in 2018, I’ve decided to focus on what feels good. On calm. On authenticity. On connection. And on simplicity. 

How does that translate into business? Well in the online world, there’s a lot of talk about the ‘right’ way to start and grow your business. Use certain tactics, hit certain targets, and a six figure income will be yours in a matter of months!

But for me, it hasn’t worked that way. Growth has been slow and steady, based on making genuine connections, and on learning and correcting as I go along. 

Yes there are definitely certain systems and structures that you can put in place to make growing your business a bit easier, and the ones that have worked for me are the ones I teach my clients. But I’ve tried others and they didn’t work. At least not for me.

So I’m going to trust my instincts more this year. Trust myself more. And trust that things will unfold exactly as they’re meant to.

In practical terms that looks like:

• Not planning too far ahead. 90 day goals are plenty and allow flexibility. Any longer feels overwhelming. 
• Creating a calm, realistic marketing schedule and not giving in to the “OMG I have to post on social media every single day otherwise my business will collapse!” fear. 
• Offering genuine value with all my content that feels good to share i.e does it pass the ‘would I want to receive/watch/read this?’ test. 
• Letting go of the outcome. There are 7 billion people in the world. Not everyone will be my perfect client. The right clients will find me at the right time.

So what’s your word for the year? And how does that translate into your life, career or business? What will you be doing more of (or less of?). I’d love to know.

Speak soon,
Juliette xx

How to get clarity in your business

Clarity. That magic word. Something that many of us spend years waiting for. 

“If only I knew what I was meant to do with my life”.  

We wait, and wait, and wait before taking any action because we want to be:

a) Clear on how we can help the world
b) Clear on who we want to help
c) Clear on how to get our message across
d) Clear on how to make money whilst doing it

And yes that makes total sense. It’s scary to take a leap into the unknown, when you can’t see the path ahead. But here’s a little hint:

Clarity comes as a RESULT of action, not before it

So what kind of action steps can you take to get that clarity? Here are some suggestions…

-Find your flow. Ever find yourself so absorbed in something that you don’t notice time passing? Are there activities that come easily and naturally to you, whilst other people struggle with them? Which topics could you talk about for hours on end? Follow these clues. They will lead to your strengths, which you can base your business idea around.

-Identify your dream clients. Often this is actually someone you were in the past. Think back to the situations you have overcome to be where you are now. How could you help someone to get there too? These people need your help, they’re just waiting for you to get your business together!

-Just get started. There will never be a ‘right’ time. If I had waited until I had lots of free time, felt 100% confident, and had thousands of pounds of savings in the bank, then I would still be stuck in my 9 to 5 job. Start before you’re ‘ready’.

You can be where you want to be.
You just have to start with one small step.

Talk to you soon,
Juliette xx