Protecting Your Energy - How To Build A Sustainable Business In 2023

Indie retail besties, let's be real...our businesses are not going to thrive (or even survive, frankly) if we burn ourselves out. So ask yourself 'can I sustain this pace indefinitely?' 

Tune in for my take on what sustainability means for small businesses, how we can work more like nature, and why working on your shop (versus in the shop) will help you find your focus.
 

🕸 feelgoodretail.com

📱 @feelgoodretail

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Transcript

Welcome to retail for the rest of us a podcast for Indie retailers and makers and Shop owners who want to do business differently.
I'm your host Janine Malone retail expert small business cheerleader in the founder of feel-good retail.
On this show you'll hear insights strategies and ideas on how to sustain and scale your shop without sacrificing your sanity.
Each week you'll hear from me and the occasional guest expert in what I hope feels more like a voice note from your retail BFF than a business podcast.
Additional goodies and support can be found in our show notes and it feel good retail.com now let's get into the show.

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Hey everyone welcome back to retail for the rest of us I'm your host Janine Malone and first of all.
And I want to talk today about building a sustainable business.
Because you know this Return of the podcast we've been talking so much about burnout overwhelmed feeling.
Exhausted and I've heard from so many of you that.
It just really has resonated which you know is kind of a double-edged sword right or whatever that phrases.

I feel really validated in my feelings and I know that you feel validated and your feelings because we need aren't alone,
but on the same side of it I wish we didn't feel like this at all you know I wish running our businesses could feel good all the time right.
Literally I do wish that's why I named my company feel good retail so one of the pillars of feel-good retail is this idea of sustainability and I don't mean that.
In the sense of environmental sustainability although that is a gorgeous and admirable Pursuit I mean sustainable in that you can maintain it for a long time.

That you are moving at a pace that you could sustained indefinitely Or for as long as you want your business to be around,
I don't want.
To see small businesses closed because owners and Founders and creatives don't have the capacity to continue.
With this Marathon.
And I understand why that happens you know that's not it's not to you no shame or make anyone feel bad if that's the case or they've had to Pivot or closed down or take a break or.
It's not reinvent because they felt overwhelmed I mean trust me I've been there you know that I've recorded episodes for the last couple of months about how I was feeling
like I wanted to quit and that I'd had enough and so sustainability is.

Really near and dear to my heart and also an experience that I recognize as incredibly challenging.
And so what I want feel good retail to be able to do is help you create a sustainable business in that you can maintain it.
For a long time that it's sustainable for you as a human being it's sustainable for the folks who work with and for your business because I want you to succeed and Thrive and grow for a long time.

We aren't gonna beat Amazon by burning ourselves out right we just don't have the same Resource as these huge big box stores so we have to be really strategic.
In how our time and our energy and our Brilliance in our creativity and our money is spent and.
I just don't see a way around that without thinking about sustainability.

And one of the things that has always inspired me in this Pursuit is nature specifically its seasons and phases.
It quite literally embodies that you can in fact do everything but you can't do it all at once.
There are these natural slow moving but also incredibly fast.

Generative processes that are happening all around us all the time and.
I mean let's be real it would be crazy to think that living amongst those Cycles didn't affect us too right it is,
all around us and you know I mean I'm recording this it's almost the winter solstice which is the darkest day of the year here where I live and,
you know I can tell you that my energy this week feels.

Very different than it did in June at the summer solstice.

So I think that's something that we have to keep in mind well I won't say that we don't have to do anything,
I think it's something that's really valuable to keep in mind because for thousands of years before blue light was making all of us insomniacs,
human beings were directed by Moonlight we planned our whole lives around this wheel of the year and.
I think that instinct is still very much present for us so what does that mean for our business.
We're not the same day after day our energy isn't the same day after day our customers aren't the same day after day so why would we expect
the work inside of our businesses inside of our shops to work the exact same way day after day where we're wearing all of these different hats we're focused on everything all at once which means we're kind of focused on nothing.

And when I talk to retailers when I talk to business owners when I think about my own experience I,
hear that that is so much where the overwhelm comes from this decision fatigue of like what is the most important what is going to make the greatest impact but also not wanting to drop,
any of the balls or take off any of the hats or whatever metaphor you want to use.
It is really overwhelming to try and.
Optimize what seems like a really tacky word really masculine word trying to optimize everything all the time.
Means that nothing is really.
Being optimized because you don't even know what's working right it's like in a science experiment in a science experiment you can't.
Change more than one thing at a time because then your results are meaningless you don't know what caused the change and so.
I'm thinking about the seasons and this idea of like radical focus and.

Supportive Focus that allows us to of course do the same tasks that we do,
week after week right we look at our sales numbers we place orders we pay our bills we make the schedule we post to whatever social media platforms you're on
those are things that are just habits business habits right.
But those habits that ongoing marketing that those things are about working.
In your business right there tasks that just keep the engine running but,
what about when we need to work on our business when we need to be the CEO be the founder be the creative director be the Visionary be the person in charge of this train
that is where I think we can really utilize and be supported by this idea of.

Seasonality.
Focusing on certain elements of the business at certain times of year where we're set up to do so where we have the energy to do so where we have,
the support of the world around us and also just,
the rhythm of retail because there is one you know shifts a little bit store to store but I guarantee your shop has a rhythm that you can utilize to support,
its strategy and growth and availability to what comes next you can't do everything all at once.
And just like nature because that's what you are you are.
This beautiful creative cyclical being that shouldn't expect yourself to be a robot
try as we might we really shouldn't expect ourselves to be a piece of software that can just be rebooted and sent out to do the same thing day after day that doesn't leave enough space shh sniffs for brilliance
doesn't leave enough speciousness for clarity it doesn't leave enough speciousness for us to step into that leadership role.
Because if there is anything I know about small business owners it's that there is that.

To those two archetypes there is the worker kind of the like everyday magician and then there is the Visionary.

And we make a lot of space for that little worker bee for that little magician to be keeping the wheels on the bus but we really need to nurture,
that Visionary piece of us because that is what creates what comes next it builds our next phase it pushes us forward and it is the peace that,
allows us to be in the driver seat and growing our own dream.

Instead of just reacting to what's happening in the day-to-day.
So how are we growing a sustainable business we're focusing on phases.
We are noticing our energy levels and we are making space for that visionary.

Cyclical genius piece of us that is at the helm of our businesses.

I really hope to support you going into 2023 and making it our most successful and sustainable year yet,
until next time next year actually thank you for being here thank you for being in business and cheers to feeling good,
thanks for listening to retail for the rest of us find additional information and resources related to this episode in the show notes or on our website feel good retail.com,
this show was lovingly produced and edited by softer sounds a feminist podcast Studio.
If you enjoyed this episode please take a minute to text it to your business bestie share it on social media and leave us a rating or review it really helps the showgirl organically and we love making new friends,
thank you for being here thank you for being in business and cheers to feeling good.

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