• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Apply to Get Invited to My Free Training: How to Book a Steady Stream of Clients & Earn a Full-Time Income Working 30 Hours a Week—Or Less

  • About
  • Make It Work Online
  • Products
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • FAQ + CONTACT
  • Free Resources

Jenny Shih

Success On Your Terms

Explore the Blog:
  • Build Your List
  • Get Clients & Make Money
  • Advanced Business Strategies
  • Stop Working So Hard
  • Proven Systems

Dreaming vs. Doing: How to Strike the Perfect Balance So You Can Create a Business That Supports Your Life

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about a shift in the way you run your business that can bring the calm, clarity, and control you need to make it online.

First, we discussed what challenges you’re up against and what you need to overcome. Then we talked about getting past them and not letting them stop you… all so you can create a business you love that supports a life you love.

Now you’re ready for the final piece of the puzzle.

Until today, I haven’t told you what exactly this underlying shift is or how it fits into the way you run your business. It’s more than taking courses and reading books; it will change the way you approach your work, day in and day out.

I’ll tell you what I mean by that in a minute. But first, let’s talk about what’s required for you to run and grow your business like a pro.

The Thing No One Dares to Say

A lot of blogs try to convince solopreneurs that they can get rich quickly and easily, but the thing they don’t tell you is that running and growing an online business is a real grind.

As I know you’ve experienced, it challenges you in ways you never imagined and takes everything you’ve got. You’ve learned that there are no shortcuts.

You need to know your prospects – their hopes, their experiences, and their problems – better than they know themselves so that you can offer what they need. And you have to be able to connect with those prospects by speaking directly to them (in their language!) in your web copy and emails.

You need to feel confident about putting yourself out there and promoting yourself in guest posts, on social media, and at events.

You must be super organized in your day-to-day tasks and have next-level clarity about the direction you’re taking your business in the coming weeks, months, and year.

And because you’re going solo, you must also to keep an eye on how things are progressing and ensure you’re spending your precious time and energy on all the right stuff.

With so many hats to wear and a mile-long to do list, things can get pretty overwhelming pretty fast.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. You have first-hand experience at how hard it can be to create, run, and grow an online, service-based business. But, like I always say, it doesn’t have to be so hard.

You CAN create the business of your dreams and feel confident, focused, and in-control as you go about your work. You CAN banish the anxiety, confusion, and doubt dragging you down each day. And you CAN make money doing what you love most – helping other people lead fulfilling lives!

Acknowledging that building a business brings unavoidable challenges and doing it anyway is what makes my most successful clients the pros they are – including the one who is on her way to earning a million dollars next year. (Awesome, right?!)

The Missing Piece

Even though you know building a profitable business is challenging AND ALSO that it’s totally within your reach, it all still seems like a mystery.

It’s like feeling your way through a pitch-black cave, trying desperately to reach the light at the other end. In this case, that dark unknown all around you is your business, and that is not an easy feeling.

I know, because I used to feel the same way!

Despite the progress you may have made so far, you still think, “I must be missing something. I keep running in circles and getting nowhere. I’m ready to make a bigger leap forward, but something isn’t clicking.”

What exactly are you missing?

You might have heard some experts say that it’s better to work ON your business than IN your business.

But the truth is, when you’re just starting out and trying to gain traction, you have to do both. You must be both the visionary and the executor, the boss and the employee.

Understanding this duality is the fundamental shift required for your success.

At the same time, you still have to sort out how to actually do both. How to work ON your business and IN your business. How to be the visionary and the executor.

Although it might seem tricky, it’s doable. And not only is it doable, it’s essential if you want to have a successful business. You must learn to do both, week after week, year after year.

This means the reason most business owners don’t make it is because they don’t strike the right balance. For example, most of my clients love working on their websites – endlessly – and tend to use it as an excuse for not going out there and finding clients, establishing themselves as experts, and generating buzz about their businesses.

Or they love to have ideas! Lots of ideas! They keep generating ideas and half-creating stuff… but never follow through.

(Either of these sound a little too close to home?)

If you struggle with finding the balance in your dual role as visionary and executor – or if you’re only just now realizing this might be a problem for you – you’re not alone. The best thing you can start doing for yourself and your business is to simply take notice.

Notice how often you work on your website instead of putting yourself out there. Or how much time you spend thinking and dreaming up new ideas versus executing them and crossing things off your list. Acting like an employee who has no boss offering oversight… or whether you’re always the boss and never the employee.

Regardless of how you spend your time, most newish business owners I know are definitely not striking the right balance. But before you can course correct, you first have to know what course you’re on.

And course correct is exactly what we’re going to do.

Getting You on the Right Track

You can create a wildly successful business that supports the life you love, and I want to help you get there. I have so much more to teach you about how to make this happen.

And we’re going to dive in together in the new year, going far beyond the theory that most people teach and into the real, concrete action steps that will help you make permanent shifts.

  • You’ll learn to balance being a dreamer and a doer.
  • You’ll cut through the overwhelm of mega to-do lists and see how to get laser-focused so you can get shit done.
  • You’ll simplify your daily workload so you can find your inner calm and finally feel in control.
  • And you’ll know exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to do it so that you can get your business on track for amazing growth – and keep it on track!

Sounds good, right?

Join me in for totally free, month-long training to skip the struggle, trial and error, and self-doubt – and jump right to doing what works. I’ve got you covered. No cost. No risk. No obligation. No reason not to join in!

If you’ve already signed up, awesome. Tweet here to pass the word on to your fellow business owners.

If you haven’t signed up, what are you waiting for? Register here, and we’ll start kicking ass on January 4th.

See you there!

P.S. I’m taking a two-week break from blogging for the holidays, so I’ll see you all back here on January 6, 2016.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nathalie says

    December 16, 2015 at 6:17 am

    Hi Jenny,

    I love everything you said.

    its so easy up ge lost in tactics and get lost in the big picture! For me, it had the impact of getting really tired. I took it back so I could plan for 2016. Not as many clients, but at least I have vision again. I’m also managing my time.

    Oh it helps I’m also on vacation for a week. I can’t wait to get home and get started.

    Reply
    • Jenny Shih says

      December 16, 2015 at 9:17 am

      Excited for you to plan for 2016 in a way that supports your vision and allows you to work without exhausting yourself!

      Enjoy your vacation!

      Reply
  2. carla holden says

    December 16, 2015 at 11:59 am

    I still get caught up in working on my biz instead of in it. I can see when I stop putting myself out there, things start dwindling down to a trickle. And when I get overwhelmed with clients, I fall behind on admin tasks and managing the day to day. It’s a constant balancing act…

    Consistency, discipline and focus are my mantra’s right now.

    Thanks for the reminder, Jenny!

    Happy Holidays!!
    Carla xo

    Reply
    • Jenny Shih says

      December 16, 2015 at 2:16 pm

      It IS a constant balancing act, and I totally know the energetic shift you’re talking about — both based on my own experience and what I see with clients. We have to find a way to keep doing both kinds of work for our long-term success.

      Keep it up, Carla!!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Ultimate Online Business Bundle

Build a wildly profitable online business (without ever burning out)

THE IDEA FLIGHT KIT
THE SYSTEM FLIGHT KIT
7 STEPS TO GETTING YOUR FIRST 1000 SUBSCRIBERS
7 STEPS TO MAKE IT WORK ONLINE

By entering your information, you agree to receive information and promotions from me. Per my privacy notice, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Free Resources

Build Your List

Get Clients & Make Money

Advanced Business Strategies

Stop Working So Hard

Proven Systems

BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST

Popular articles

Steal This! My Simple System for Getting Killer Testimonials [Plus a Free Download with Done-for-You Script]

Curious About B-School? Here’s My 100% Honest Review of the Program, Plus Answers to Your Most-Asked Questions

Want to Sell a Course, Product, or Group Program? Read This First to Learn Why Most Fail and How to Avoid It

Steal This! The Must-Have Copy for Your ‘Work With Me’ Page

The Single Most Important Reason You’re Not Getting Clients on Social Media & How You Can Change It Immediately

Running My Business with Lyme Disease: What the Last 4 Years Have Really Been Like (A Deeply Personal Story)

I Eff’d Up: The Story Behind How I Failed My Way to Creating a Successful Online Business That I Love (Part 1)

One Email That Could Double Your Client List and Turn Subscribers into Mega-Fans (In Just a Few Minutes a Day)

6 Keys to Hitting 6 Figures: Discover What Made the Difference in My Business, My Mindset, and My Bottom Line

Why You Shouldn’t Sell Coaching and What to Sell Instead So That You Consistently Get More Clients to Hire You

SEARCH

Footer

Search

Explore the Blog

  • Build Your List
  • Get Clients and Make Money
  • Advanced Business Strategies
  • Stop Working So Hard
  • Proven Systems

© JENNY SHIH // ALL RIGHTS RESERVED      TERMS OF USE       PRIVACY NOTICE        COOKIE POLICY        DISCLAIMER