Over 20 years of starting, scaling and selling businesses, I’ve learned what I need to do to take care of myself, and how vital that is to the success of my company.

I want to ask you a question – how are things for you at the moment?

Have you been looking after yourself? As founders, we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be hitting milestones, achieving targets, getting traction, looking after our team, our investors and all those around us. Sometimes forgetting that we need to prioritise our own wellbeing.

I’m not going to lie, the last 5 or so months have been pretty full-on! I’ve managed to take a proper break over August from the constant demands of homeschooling, looking after 4 kids in lockdown, work, podcasting, networking and discovery calls.

And it’s been wonderful to have some time with my family, walking in the countryside, swimming in the river, reading books and taking stock of what it is that is important to me.

Early on in lockdown, I interviewed Elise Finn for my podcast, Starting to Scale. She reminded me that the relationship we need to nurture the most is the relationship we have with ourselves.

I have been thinking about that a lot. And also speaking with my mentor about the need for a break.

To meditate. To exercise. To make time to relax and have fun. To prioritise my well-being.

The fear of our current situation has driven us all to do more, to work harder. Unsure of what the future holds I have been working with clients that have really suffered, like many businesses. We’re all working harder than ever, in more stressful circumstances.

I am aware that I can’t take care of my business unless I take care of myself first. I learnt that in my first business when I got a horrible bout of labyrinthitis which rendered me unable to do anything for about 3 weeks.

A lot is out of our hands right now.

But we do have a choice about how we treat ourselves.

We need to remember to look after ourselves. To take time out, to relax, to meditate, to take a break from work, to try and have a good night’s sleep.

This is a regular conversation with my clients.  If I feel that they are overdoing it I just add to our weekly task list something like ‘daily walk, daily meditation’ and it helps. I believe that our own health and wellbeing is the foundation for a successful business.

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So I encourage you to have a listen to this podcast interview on Starting to Scale where Elise Finn shares:

  • The #1 most important relationship we need to maintain to ensure our happiness and effectiveness.
  • What to do when chosen change and unchosen change collide.
  • How to avoid acting on emotions (while still allowing yourself to feel them).
  • The 3 step process that helps you quickly move on from bad news, so you can take considered, effective action.

I’d love to know have you managed to take a break over the summer?

What will you do more of to prioritise your own wellbeing?

Connect with Elise:

If you’re a founder interested in digital growth then you are in the right place.

I write about digital growth, business strategy, digital marketing, entrepreneurship and my own experience of setting up, scaling and selling businesses in digital, marketing and tech.

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