Business is full of tough decisions. Decisions about clients, marketing, blog posts, finances, and so much more.
Nothing equips us for all of the decisions we have to make, yet we still have to face them when they show up.
There’s one recent decision I made that was just about the hardest I’ve ever faced.
Why? Because it cost me $144,000 in revenue.
My Difficult Decision
As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have my full strength right now. To keep my business running and take care of my health, I keep work hours minimal, I prioritize like a wizard, and I make sure I’m not pushing too hard to make anything happen.
At the same time, I’m our household breadwinner, and money needs to be made so the mortgage and bills can be paid.
In service of paying the bills, late last month I was putting the final touches on the marketing material for a new program I was ready to unveil.
It was over a year in the making, with time and money invested in bringing it to life. I knew it was going to be a game-changer for the women who would join me, and I was excited to put this work into the world.
At the same time, I felt an internal push-back.
I know this feeling well. It’s as if someone is standing in front of me with their hand on my chest, gently holding me back from moving forward. I’ve felt it many times before, and I know it’s always best to listen — even if I don’t want to.
The inner conflict was clear.
On one hand, I had my new program ready to go. I was excited about it. And it was a critical piece of my 2015 financial plan.
On the other hand, my body was clearly telling me to wait. To stop. To not put it into the world (at least not yet).
This is generally the point where I cuss and scream and throw a fit like a toddler.
I love doing new things in my business. AND I want to feel better.
Sometimes I can’t have both.
Getting Really Honest
I was at a go / no-go point for this 6-month program.
I either needed to go for it — market and fill the program — or not. It had been scheduled to start in January, and I needed time to fill it before the holidays. I didn’t want it to run through the summer, so simply pushing it out a few months wouldn’t work.
In the middle of my wrestling, I texted a friend and got really honest with myself.
Me: Something feels off for my new program. What do I do?
My friend: What would make you more excited about it?
Me: Not sure. I guess what I really want is to create more space in my business and work even less for awhile.
(I was shocked when those words came from my fingertips.)
My friend: Can you?
Over the course of the next two hours, I worked my way through her question.
I knew what my body wanted me to do, but I needed to get my mind fully on board. Could I really not offer this program?
I needed to be honest with how I was feeling AND be practical about paying the bills.
Here’s what I did.
Step 1: Could I make it feel better to offer and sell?
First, I needed to see where the program felt “off” and see if I could resolve any catches. I pinpointed three specifics that weren’t quite right and made adjustments.
After the adjustments, it felt better, but I was still getting a NO.
Step 2: Did I have crappy thinking that needed clearing?
The next step was to see if I had any crappy thinking around any aspects of the offer.
I found a nice whopping limiting belief, worked on it, cleared the way, and made one more adjustment to the program as a result.
It felt better, but I was still getting a NO.
Now that the program felt perfectly solid and my crappy thinking was in check, I had to get honest about my financials.
Step 3: Could I really make it work financially?
Did I REALLY need to offer the program to pay my business and personal bills in 2015? I needed to dig in to find the answer.
It’s important to mention that it’s easy to say “yes” to a question like this. After all, a lot of money was on the line, and I pay the majority of the household bills. It would instantly seem like I would have to say “yes.”
But to jump to a yes too quickly is never smart. Instead, I turned to my trusted spreadsheet.
My Spreadsheet Is My Business’s Best Friend
Unlike many online entrepreneurs I know, women who diligently avoid their numbers, I diligently dive in.
I have a not-too-complicated but not-too-simplistic spreadsheet where I track my projected revenue, expenses, tax payments, retirement savings, my “paycheck,” and household expenditures. Basically, it’s an at-a-glance review of the numbers for my business and our household.
With a few clicks of the mouse and a few taps on the keyboard, I can test new scenarios — like losing $144,000 in revenue — to see how things pan out as a result in the coming year.
I can evaluate things like…
When will I be “in the red?”
Will I need to reduce how much I pay myself?
Should we push out that home remodel project by a few months?
This straight-up, brutally honest approach to finances keeps my head clear and emotions out of an already highly-charged topic.
After diving in to the numbers, I realized that with a few sacrifices, a small dip into my business savings, and some minor shifts to the household financial plan for next year, I could say NO to my new project. Sure, I’d have to come up with another income-generating option by the middle of next year, but that’s many months away with plenty of time to plan. Maybe this program would feel ripe and ready then. Who knows?
I could do this. I could say NO.
When I realized this, my whole body relaxed.
Yes, this was the right decision. On one hand, I was pissed because I just spent a year planning this program; on the other hand, I knew it was what I needed to do to continue healing.
Getting Honest About Want Versus Need
My most successful clients know that in order to be successful and make good money, we have to get HONEST about money.
We can’t say, “I need $5000/month” if we don’t really NEED $5000/month. We might like to have that much money, but do we NEED it? That’s an entirely different question that results in an entirely different answer, action plan, approach, and mindset.
When you’re honest about what you NEED and what you WANT, entertaining different business scenarios becomes an entirely new conversation. It’s HONEST and FRANK and REAL.
That’s what my spreadsheet and my own honest conversation helped me do. Honor the bills and honor my body.
The Lessons
Success in business is more nuanced than many business coaches will tell you. It’s more than blogging or selling products or getting your mindset right or having good strategies in place or knowing how to be a strong copywriter.
It’s all of those things – and more!
It’s also listening to ourselves, trusting our guts, and following our intuition – while balancing that with practicalities like paying the bills.
It’s about having a smart marketing strategy – and making sure our list is big enough to support our desired goals.
It’s checking in with our crappy thinking, adjusting limiting beliefs – and then going for that next hard thing that we need to do.
It’s about shooting for the stars, embracing the unknown, and learning to write copy with the best of them.
It’s all of these things – and more.
To be successful, we need to use our mind, emotions, body, and intuition. We need to deepen our understanding of all of these areas and use them to make holistic decisions. Tweet that!
So even though it hurts to turn away $144,000 in revenue, I know it’s right because all parts of me weighed in to find the best answer to this difficult situation.
… even though that means making less and living on less in the interim.
What About You?
I’m so curious about your experiences!
Have you had to make difficult decisions in your life or business that seemed “illogical” even though you knew they were right?
When it comes to decision-making, do you balance all four aspects: mind, emotions, body, and intuition?
What lessons or insights do you have, or what questions do you have about what you’ve read today?
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and stories in the comments below!
I am so glad you listened to yourself! And that you have put yourself in the position to have this clarity and freedom!
Congrats! Great great post!
Thank you, Maiyah!
Jenny, thanks for sharing this personal process with us. Really inspiring and helpful.
I am learning myself to listen more and more to my own “feelings” intuitions? I do not know how to call it but it comes from deep inside!
So glad it was helpful for you, Sonia. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this, Jenny!
I am at a similar point now, and my financial spreadsheet not only gives me the honest response, but motivates me that I can do more, in a very realistic way.
Very timely, thanks again,
Llyane
The spreadsheet is just as important as following the inner knowing. It keeps us balanced with one foot in the spiritual realm and one foot here on earth where we live 🙂
Thanks Jenny …. much of what you shared I am going thru as well. Our instincts are right on. Take care of you, there ain’t nobody else that’s going to 🙂
So true!
Thanks for sharing. I can truly relate to your struggle and am so glad to hear I am not alone! I’m finding that I use my intuition even more since I began my own consulting business. I believe it’s our beacon as we go forth…. But as you said. .. the numbers tell a truth that we can’t deny!
I can’t NOT use both, Veronica. Since starting my business I’ve personally found that the balance of intellect and intuition keeps me on course. Just one will veer me away from my true north, and I’m glad for the constant opportunities in life and business to practice both.
How brave Jenny! By the sounds of this you’re well on your way through the healing process. I’ve done this before – allowing my body, mind and emotions walk me through similar decision making process. I can tell when something’s off. My heart beating loud in my ears when I lie down. Sweaty palms when I think of the decision at hand. Procrastinating by researching miniature dachshund puppies online. I just need to integrate the spread sheet part a bit more and I’ll be more set up for next time 😉
Yes, definitely integrate the spreadsheet. It’s important whether you’re someone who follows your intuition easily (and reluctantly looks at practical things like money) or you’re someone like me who leans first toward logic but wants to support myself fully with listening to my intuition. It provides the perfect balance to the inner knowings, so we can take care of the practical things (like making money) associated with being human.
I’ve been out of the loop so didn’t know you weren’t feeling well. How wonderfully awesome that you listened to your Inner Wisdom and focused on well-being and love instead of fear and lack. What a wonderful combination of good self-care and good business practice 🙂 Thank you! Totally priceless information.
Thanks, Jill! Yes, as a one-woman-show here at jennyshih.com (with some support staff, of course, but my business is me), I must take care of myself in order to serve my clients to the best of my abilities. Self-care is as essential as paying the bills!
Not many people offer that honesty. I So appreciate it.
I can’t offer you money for a program, but I can offer you a healing. If you want obe(say yes) and I will send one. It would be me way of giving back to the inspiration you offer every week.
On that note, I stopped working in August so that I could focus on my business. I did but quickly found out that I was exhausted. It was in moment that I realized that I have to take care of myself first. I still don’t know if it was the right decision, but it is what I needed. I’m taking a month off (after I built a plan) and spending it in the Bahamas. It’s really beautiful.
Love & light,
Nathalie
Thank you for the kind gesture, Nathalie!
I totally understand what it’s like to have that struggle — realizing you need to quit your job to work on your business and then quitting and realizing that you need to rest. I felt like it took me a year to “detox” from corporate life. i was building my first business during that time; although I didn’t push too hard, I was incredibly stressed about money and that totally contributed to the health issues I have now. If I had listened to my body and dealt with the stress a better way, I might not be where I am today. That said, I have learned a lot from all that I’ve been through and wouldn’t trade it. So just know that whatever you decide is perfect and will help you in new ways.
All the best to you — enjoy the Bahamas!
I am just starting but I had to listen to myself over someone else. Sometimes you have to take a step back to see if what you are using to get yourself out there is working like opt in and if its not then you have to dig , do research and see what to do or create something new. At first I though this will slow it all down but it wont. I know my people are out there and I need to tweek it to move forward and not be all rushed by the money stories that come up. Its taking my power and listening to the universe and my gutt.
Yes, Connie. Definitely listen to yourself. Others may guide you or provide necessary information, but your inner knowings should almost always trump their expertise.
This is the most beautiful and honest post I have ever read about business. Beautiful, honest and helpful. As I tidy up my systems (thank you!), I will add the financial spreadsheet to my business ground. That way, I will know when I need to soar and when it’s OK to rest. xoxox
Thank you, Claire! I’ve been feeling called to speak more about the “inside” of how I run my business that’s more than strategy, systems, and marketing. Even though I’m not the one to teach intuition and self-coaching to clients, they are essential to how I run my business and always have been.
Great post Jenny about combining your head-heart and internal knowing!
I can totally relate!
I made a decision awhile ago to transition out of business coaching and into more of helping spiritual-based entrepreneurs with their internal life (their intuition) around their business and also their relationships.
It was the best decision I ever made as I feel like I’m more in my genius zone and while I was really great at traditional business coaching and it was profitable, inside I knew it was time for a change to come into great alignment with who I am.
So yes, sometimes we have to switch gears and on paper, it seems totally ridiculous but when we are aligned, we make more money. Plain and simple! (And having an action plan to account for the temporary financial swings in the transition is KEY!)
Love,
Diana
Good for you, Diana! You knew what you needed to do and followed it. The combination of intuition and checking in with your left brain on logic is so essential to keep your whole self on track. I do believe, like you, that when we get our whole selves on board, everything is easier (and eventually more profitable)!
Jenny,
I could read on forever but I honestly want to grant you my blessings and pray about your health. That’s the miracle worker in me. I know your health is MUCH more important to you and to be completely healed would make $144K look like rat dust.
So that’s how I want to give back to you as you continually to pour your soul into all that you do..
Know that you’re loved, appreciated, and we care about you!
With Upmost Admiration,
Amanda
Thank you, Amanda!
This was good to read. I also had to push back a new group program that I intended to launch in January. It didn’t feel ready just yet. I’ll probably roll it out in the spring or summer, but that is still revenue I’m not going to see. My mental health is more important when I’m still struggling to manage my various mental illnesses.
Yes! Sometimes we know it’s a “not now” but don’t know when. That’s challenging to not know the plan (I hate it!). At the same time, honoring yourself and your healing is critical — we can’t care for our clients if we aren’t cared for ourselves. Wishing you well, Mallie!
Dear Jenny, I LOVE the courage you’ve shared with us. This process is HUGE and you did every single freakin’ thing to make sure there was alignment all the way through. Yes, I’ve had to make similar choices and am finding my way forward 12 months later with the gift of your help. Thank you for your transparency and for blazing the way with congruence.
Excellent, Christy! I love that you’re balancing all aspects of you in your business, too. So important!
Jenny, Thanks so much for sharing. I have experienced a similar situation this fall. I was just not getting the right traction in trying to get my next program out there. Then I had an intuitive freeze about it. I could not get my brain or body to work on it. So, I hit pause, rested, listened and realized that I was applying somebody else’s timeline to my creative process. Now I have clarity, things are getting done and it will launch when it is done. In the meantime, next steps are revealed, the right people are turning up and I know sitting on the couch for a couple of weeks was the right thing to do.
Love how you did that for yourself, Miriam! It’s so easy to get caught up in what other people think is right or what other people are doing. It can be helpful to get outside information but we always want to come back to ourselves and our truth. Well done!
Thank you Jenny for your raw, sincere honesty. I wish you all the healing possible.
For me, I left a 6 figure job that was making me physically ill. I was literally sick for 6 weeks because of the stress and because I allowed my manager to affect me so negatively. I may not have been ready to leave such a lucrative job, but I had to do it for me and my family. It was so the right thing for me. Now I am working to build my own little business and I love it. Yes it is a challenge and I wonder if I will ever get back to 6 figures, but one day at a time. I know I can do this. And like you said, do I NEED 6 figures right now. No, I can do this a bit more slowly right now. Thank you again.
I love that you got honest about what you NEED versus what you liked, Brigid. It’s so easy to jump to conclusions and aren’t in alignment with what’s right for us right now, and that can take us off track! I wish you fast healing and good luck building your business. It’s a challenging journey but worth it in the end.
Great article Jenny! I think you made the right choice for the right reasons!
Thanks, John!
Loved this post Jenny (as usual)! I consider myself a queen of “gut listening” and I had a very similar experience recently with a blended program I was about to launch. I was weary and getting a “no”, but much like you I went through a little mental checklist. My “no” turned to a “yes” when I hit the pricing question and got over a few blocks holding my back from hitting my next level.
Once those two items were adjusted I was excited and the signups are flowing! Unless the last program I launched that I quite literally FORCED myself to re-launch. The results were less than stellar and I was pushing against my gut the entire time. Big learning lesson for me.
Wow! Well done, Anna!! It totally can happen that if we check in with each of those “catches” that something that felt off starts to feel right. Absolutely! I love that it happened for you because, like happened to you, things really flow and click when we’re all lined up. Congrats on your success!!
Your emails are always so incredibly timely. This one reminded me to turn inward as I face the next impasse: start working a “regular” job in my field and simultaneously re-brand or keep pushing something that feels a touch off, inauthentic, and not completely satisfying.
I’m going to workshop through everything using this strategy and see what FEELS best, to my body and soul. Perhaps neither is the right answer. Perhaps I can simply “fix” the feelings of my current stuff being not right. Perhaps I need to completely start over. All I know now is I feel empowered with the tools to make the decision and TRUST.
OH and thanks to you I can look at the financials to help make a decision! 🙂
Yes yes yes!! I love this, Kait, and I’m so glad you’re taking my steps to apply them to your situation. Because sometimes you really can fix the things that feel off or adjust your crappy thinking or realize that the financial (or other logistical details) are different than you realized. The magic is in combining all aspects and seeing what can shift or change or what needs to happen. I’m excited for you!!
Well done for listening to yourself! We can wait, and we’d rather have you ship shape 🙂
Thanks, Marsha!! 🙂
Great lesson, Jenny! I am glad you worked this through and made the best decision for you.
Thanks, Tanuja. I know it’s right (even if it’s also a bummer)!
That takes a lot of guts Jenny. Way to go! I’ve made decisions similar in the past where some people thought I was nuts. It’s take courage to go with your intuition.
It’s a trip to listen even when it looks crazy from the outside, isn’t it? Sounds like you made the right call for yourself, too. Thanks for your support!
Thank you SO much! I have been avoiding the spreadsheet for too long, but reading your post makes me “feel” the freedom it gives you, to say yes or no in an informed way, with both brain and heart. I think I am ready for that 🙂 I just blocked some “numbers” time in my calendar — a little bit every day, no pressure, but my spreadsheet will be started!
There is freedom in structure and spreadsheets, even if it seems initially counter-intuitive. I’m so glad for you that you’ve made a commitment to yourself to dive in. Way to go!
Hi Jenny, I’m so glad you posted this and shared your decision to stay in alignment with your intuition. The entire start up of my business has been premised on 2 nonnegotiables: 1) being present for my kids, and 2): staying present and healthy in myself. Because I coach stressed out moms, this is what it takes for me to walk my talk. It has meant a slower and v risk averse start up then I had envisioned, and having to depend on my husband’s income. This is been a real internal struggle for me! However, I know that when I look back I will have no regrets. Without healing ourselves, we can get lost. After all, isn’t the whole point of having our own businesses about doing something we loveand enjoying a lifestyle that works for us. Yay on the spreadsheet, I’d love to learn more about how to develop one of those. Sending best wishes in your healing journey, Alex