How are you showing up for your business in 2024?
Shownotes
This episode is kicking off 2024 with a bang as I embrace the world of video.
I'm diving into a topic close to my heart – the incredible impact that your energy can have on your business.
Drawing insights from recent client conversations, we'll explore the essence of intentional energy and how it can be the game-changer for your business success and I walk you through five essential questions to ensure you're not just turning up, you are showing up for a year of tremendous growth, achievement and joy.
Key Takeaways:
Energise Your Business: Take a moment to reflect on the energy you're bringing into your business.
Being real matters: How being genuine in your interactions with people can play a pivotal role in creating a positive brand experience.
Strategic Focus: Are you focusing your time and energy on the things that really matter? I introduce you to the power of the 90-day sprint, helping you to prioritise and conquer your quarterly goals.
Protect Your Energy: Identify those non-negotiables that you either can't live without or don't want in your life anymore. What are your red flags?
You Are the Golden Goose: Recognise your irreplaceable role in your business. And the importance of your own oxygen mask if you want to show up with the right energy for yourself, your team, and our brand.
Let me know if you manage to watch the video too, and get in touch I'd love to know what you think.
Lucy Rennie Resources:
https://www.iamlucyrennie.com - free downloadable resources, other episodes and more information about how to work with Lucy.
Join my mailing list -
Join me in my membership The Future-Proof Club®️ here -
Come and join me and lots of other small business owners like you in my FREE Facebook group:[
-
Future Proof Your Business EP48
Lucy Rennie: [00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to Future Proof Your Business podcast. I'm Lucy Rennie and I'm your host. And gosh, this is the first proper recording I'm doing in 2024. And my brilliant producer, Jo, who is really a Jedi, has finally got me to make the switch. And. So from now on, we are officially doing video at the same time.
Lucy Rennie: Yeah. If you've listened to one of the episodes at the end of last year, where I was talking about the reflections of doing those 45 first episode podcasts, I talked about the journey and how incredibly scary it was in the beginning to. To, yeah, to get, to do this and to come on here and do the thing and put myself out there.
Lucy Rennie: There is no way I could have done this on video at the same time, but here I am and, I can't ask other people to do scary things if I'm not doing it myself. Here goes and hopefully we'll get better at this. I'll be looking in the right place. My background will be better and, yeah, we'll we'll get used to it as we go through the next episodes and the course of this [00:01:00] new year.
Lucy Rennie: It is the new year and we are in January 2024 and one of the topics that I wanted to bring to you today really comes from some of the conversations that I've been having with quite a few of my clients over the last couple of weeks as we've started this new year and as we have been thinking about, what the focus is and how we're going to show up and Yeah.
Lucy Rennie: What we want to get out of the year. And there's been so many discussions and so many conversations that I thought, actually, I'm going to bring this here and just share with you guys a little bit of where I'm at with it, my reflections, and maybe some questions that I know I'm asking myself that I thought maybe I'd share with you and you can maybe, yeah, maybe they might be useful for you as well.
Lucy Rennie: And so the topic today is, yeah, it's how do we show up in our business and, what's the energy that we bring and how does that impact the way that. Our business runs the way that our business gets the results, the way that, we feel about things and other people feel and ultimately the impact that it can have.
Lucy Rennie: And like I said, it comes from a few conversations where [00:02:00] people have been feeling maybe a bit sluggish. People have not been in that zone of, Oh, new year, new start, what am I doing? And I know there's all sorts of pressure, isn't there? There's so many emails and things that came out over the holidays. With regards to New Year's resolutions and, the new challenge and setting yourself up for success and hustle and bustle and all those things to the point, actually, I actually turned everything off for a week over Christmas and just hibernated because I think that noise was just coming at me and it made me really think about this and it's interesting, again, like I was saying, this is, continued with conversations I've been having with clients about how they're feeling and.
Lucy Rennie: One of them was a one to one that I've been having this week and she was basically sharing how she finds it incredibly difficult to actually, do some of the things that she knows she needs to do to move her business forward or to get the results or to achieve the goals, whether that's financial or other that she needs to do.
Lucy Rennie: She finds it hard sometimes to actually take action and she, she quite openly talks about the fact that it's also the winter season, [00:03:00] it's a bit dark outside and her energy levels are up and down. So that was one conversation that we were having and we managed to unpick it a little bit and see if we could find some ways of changing that.
Lucy Rennie: So the first conversation, the second conversation I've been having was actually in my mastermind with some wonderful ladies, some wonderful business owners. And again, this was in the same kind of mindset I was asking them about. What we're bringing, what are the intentions that we're bringing to 2024, because.
Lucy Rennie: As if you've read my book, you'll know I'm a big a big believer in having that end in mind. It doesn't have to be an exact end in mind, but we need to know where we want to go or where I want to be in order to make sure that we're on track and we're moving in the right direction.
Lucy Rennie: And so I spend a lot of time with different clients to get them to think about that so that. We can then really focus on the things that are going to help them get there. So making sure that, they are doing the things that are going to have the biggest impact, which we'll talk a bit more about in a bit.
Lucy Rennie: And that was the same, what was coming up in discussion was some of the things where it was like, Oh, there's so many things to do. I'm not quite [00:04:00] sure. Which ones focus on first or. We realized that quite a few of us end up going down rabbit holes and make things more complicated than they need to be, where sometimes we just need a really simple solution.
Lucy Rennie: We just need to get the thing out there, but instead we put things off or we want to make it so perfect that actually what happens is we take twice as long, if not three times as long to actually get the things out there. And that was one of the things was what I was asking them, what we're going to focus on for the next three months.
Lucy Rennie: And they were finding it quite tricky to identify what that was. So we had big conversations about that. And then interestingly at the joining the dots program. So with my young entrepreneurs that I meet with every Monday, I was asking them, they were doing some testimonials this week about take part because they.
Lucy Rennie: We're organizing behind the scenes, like an open day for take part to encourage new people to come along and have a go. And so they were recording and it's quite interesting because they were saying the most amazing things. They'd taken so much time to prepare it and they were really, heartfelt testimonials [00:05:00] and their own personal stories, really, of how they've grown in confidence, how they've made amazing friends, how they found somewhere where they feel like they can be themselves.
Lucy Rennie: But what was happening was they were coming on camera. And they were talking like this and saying, oh yeah, it's really changed my life and everything's really amazing and dah. And it was quite, it was, you couldn't miss it, really, the impact that actually the words were meaning nothing because actually the way that they were showing up and the way that they were communicating that and the energy they were bringing.
Lucy Rennie: Just meant that actually it didn't mean anything at all. And there was a disjoint between them. So that's another example. And then another example is a business that I'm working with at the moment, which is a brilliant business. And I'm not going to name names, but the CEO is desperately trying to let go a little bit of control and micromanaging it's been a business that they've grown organically themselves, and now it's about.
Lucy Rennie: Passing some of the responsibility, the accountability to the team so that they can focus more on, on the strategic things, but the team can then, move things [00:06:00] forward and yeah, get on with running the business day to day. But what's happening is this person is what's the word?
Lucy Rennie: Stressed or so panicking that things aren't necessarily going to get done, that they're showing up in a way that seems erratic, that seems last minute, that seems panicky almost. And what's happening is the team are getting on with things and then suddenly all these firebombs are coming in and really disrupting The whole organization, I'm going to say is it really is quite stressful.
Lucy Rennie: And it's really not intentional, but this is what's happening and actually what. What's happening, the impact of that is that they're going backwards rather than forwards, and it's just creating this real stressful and shouty environment to work with, which is goes completely against the vision and the values of the organization.
Lucy Rennie: And the person in question would be absolutely devastated if they knew that this was what was happening. And this is something that we're working on, together. And with all these things that have been happening, what are we, the second week into January, I just thought, you know what, there is [00:07:00] something really important here that we can all take away and that we can all think about, and it's a little bit of a reality check in terms of Or a reality check on a sense check with ourselves, because I think sometimes we think that running a business, we think that we're going to click our fingers and overnight it's going to, it's all going to fall into place, or we just need to bring a new person in and they're going to know exactly what they need to do, or whether that's an employee or whether that's a freelancer, or we're going to bring in some, take on some new and it's all gonna, like magic.
Lucy Rennie: I just want to yeah, have a bit of a reality check really to say that actually it doesn't happen like that and that there is no quick fix to any of this. And I talk about this in my book as well. There's no magic pill to creating a successful business. And if anything, we have to think of it in the long term because that's how we get better at things.
Lucy Rennie: That's how we learn things. That's how we discover things and become the expert or we gain the experience so that we can. Feel into things and know what we should be [00:08:00] focusing on and know about, how we show up or know, get under the skin of our customers and things. And so at the heart of it of really, I believe, future proofing your business and getting to where you want to be and creating the impact that you want to bring.
Lucy Rennie: Is energy and I've been really lucky. I've had the privilege and even today I got the privilege of working with some absolutely amazing business owners, including those that I've mentioned, from an array of sizes and shapes and industries and the seniority in terms of the length of time they've been going and all those things.
Lucy Rennie: And one of the things that I see is key. That comes behind it is the fact that we have to protect our energy. We have to think about this and be mindful of it and actually be intentional about it. And sometimes we don't want to be actually. It's one of those things that we really do have to think about and Bring to the table if we want [00:09:00] to make it a success.
Lucy Rennie: Yeah, it's, that's the difference. I really do believe that's the difference between someone who is going to create a brand that is sustainable, that shows that makes people feel good over somebody who is just going to tick along, who's going to plateau, who's going to do the same things and it's going to get frustrated because they're not moving forward.
Lucy Rennie: It all comes down to energy. So five questions that I. Use myself to check in with myself once a month while I'm doing my reflections and pretty much, as most mornings while I'm journaling or while I'm setting myself up for the day, I will check in and ask myself these questions. So I thought I would share them with you.
Lucy Rennie: And I'd love for you to maybe feedback to me, let you know how you get on or what you use or the experience you've got, or just even if it just makes sense to you. So the first question is just actually ask yourself, how much energy do you bring to your business? Are you really putting everything into it as if your life depended on it?
Lucy Rennie: Are you really doing the things that you know you need [00:10:00] to, that you need to do? Are you really doing everything you can to make sure that your business is a success? Because very often what happens I can say is we think, Oh, it'd be okay to do it tomorrow or take the foot off the gas because we're tired because these things happen.
Lucy Rennie: And. That's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. But what we can't do is then expect our business or get expect to get the results that we want, if we're not putting in the, the. The work and it's isn't about encouraging a hustle culture, but it is about science and the just logic that You know the amount of effort we put in equals the amount of reward that we get out So that's the first question just check in with yourself and see And sometimes what's quite nice is to give yourself a score for these so you might give your score Give yourself a score out of ten and check in, see what that looks like and think about what the ideal situation might be.
Lucy Rennie: The second question is how much energy or what type of energy you're showing up with in terms of when you are engaging with your teams, when you're [00:11:00] engaging with your customers, with your partners, with your husband, with your wife, with your kids how much energy you bring in. And what kind of energy does that feel like?
Lucy Rennie: So again, when I was talking about the joining the dots girls who were doing the video, they put all this energy into preparing for it. But actually when they showed up themselves, there was no energy. And so actually it had the detrimental effect. It made me not want to listen. It put me off. It looked like actually they weren't really meaning what they were meaning.
Lucy Rennie: So it felt a bit unauthentic or inauthentic. So really think about that and then think about the impact. That's having on your brand, because remember a brand is all about energy. It's all about how you make somebody feel. It's all about yeah, the impact that you're having on them. So if you're showing up in a different way with a different kind of energy, what's that mean?
Lucy Rennie: What's the impact that's having. And also if you're. Showing up in a certain way. That's maybe not exactly how you want, your brand to be. How can you expect other people to show up in the same way? So it's also ties in with, if you've got a team, you want to be leading by [00:12:00] example.
Lucy Rennie: The third question is. And again, this goes back to that focus question that we were talking about in terms of the year ahead. Are you spending your energy in the right place? Are you focusing in the right place where you know that it's going to have the biggest impact? And it's really tricky to do.
Lucy Rennie: It's really hard, especially when you're running the business, because there's so many things that you have to juggle. There's so many things that you have to think about, whether that's just. client work and delivering or creating the products or services, making sure you're doing a good job, which is the business in the first place.
Lucy Rennie: But also then there's working on the business, there's the finance, there's the admin, there's the whatever that might be, even just if it's buying extra coffee, which I had to do this morning to make sure I had some of that in house to to keep me going. But. Make sure, really ask yourself if there was one thing, this is what we did, dump it all on paper and then really ask yourself, what's the thing today right now that I need to do that's going to move the needle forward?
Lucy Rennie: What's the thing that's going to have the biggest [00:13:00] impact? And yes, that might be client work, but actually might be by saying I need to be doing this one project or this sales. Page or this marketing campaign and find a way to do it so that's the thing that you're focusing on. And then really try and be disciplined to not get distracted by going off in the shiny object or trying a new tool or a different thing.
Lucy Rennie: Really try and help yourself by focusing on those key things that are going to move you forward. And. Ideally, what I try to do with my clients and with myself is work on a bit of a 90 day sprint. So you'd have a 12 month roadmap, which is from now to the end of the year, but then really think about, okay, that's where I want to be.
Lucy Rennie: Reverse engineer it, give yourself some milestones back, and that's a nice way of doing that is quarterly, and then give yourself a quarterly plan. And it might be that there's only three things in that quarterly plan that are those bigger things, but those are the things that you're going to work on.
Lucy Rennie: Those are the things that you're going to focus your energy on over that time. The [00:14:00] fourth question is, Behind all that, because that sounds really quite quite a lot, doesn't it? In terms of energy, but the fourth thing is actually what are you doing to protect your energy? Okay. So again, there's no way I can expect, or we can expect anybody to stay at that high energy.
Lucy Rennie: All the time, a hundred percent day in, day out, 24 seven, it's just not possible. We are not robots. We are human beings. And so one of the key things is really important is to tap into what do we need? What is it that you're you as as you, as the business owner, as the mom, the dad, the.
Lucy Rennie: The partner, what do you need to make sure that, you are protecting your energy so that you can show up in the right way. And there's a whole chapter in my book about this, about, learning to put your oxygen mask on first, learning to say no. I think somebody, I heard somebody talk about it being a vitamin vitamin N, which is, the impact of actually saying no to certain things, which means that you're saying yes to other things.
Lucy Rennie: I'm really thinking about what that looks like. And with that in mind. And it's really nice to stop and think [00:15:00] about that, but what are the strategies then or the non negotiables that you know you need in order to protect your energy to be able to show up in the right way at the right time, depending on whatever that looks like.
Lucy Rennie: So for me, for example, I know I need sleep. I need to drink lots of water and running at least once a week for a good 10 K or more run is the best way for me to de stress. Get rid of all the cobwebs and yeah, get rid of all the little bits that are going on. And it actually fills me with dopamine and makes me feel really good.
Lucy Rennie: So those are my key things. I've got other clients who they'll book once a quarter, a little weekend away in Lanzarote or somewhere warm with their wife. And that's their time out and it's just short, little snippets, but they go and they're disciplined with that because they know that they need that because otherwise what happens is that.
Lucy Rennie: They have a compound effect, a bit like a pressure cooker and then it explodes. So I think that's the key is how can we make sure that we can maintain this and future proof ourselves really [00:16:00] so that we can show up and be in the right energy for us, for our business, but also for our family and other, friends and people.
Lucy Rennie: Again, it might be golf. It might be what else have people who go singing. I've got people who love gardening. Whatever it might be, make sure that actually this year, this is the year where you create these non negotiables. Because as I talk about in my book, you are the golden goose. If you are not in a good place, if you're, you are not able to show up with the right energy, then the impact is going to be enormous.
Lucy Rennie: And not in necessarily the best way. It's going to impact on first of all yourself, but also on your brand, on the way you're showing up to customers, to clients, to teams. Yeah it's huge. So on that note, I'm just gonna, yeah, invite you to check in, to think about your energy, to think about the energy that you want to bring to the business, to yourselves and remind yourself that actually no one else can do this for you.
Lucy Rennie: You, it starts with you at the top. Whether you've got just you in the business, whether you've got three people or 300 people, that [00:17:00] energy. It's incredibly important and is the key. It's at the root of the success of your business and your brand. So on that note, I'm going to leave you. I would love you to get in touch and let me know how you get on and what your reflections are.
Lucy Rennie: If you'd like to do an exercise, there is a really love it. Lovely exercise called the wheel of life, which I can share with you in the show notes, but otherwise I will see you next week for another episode of the future. Peep your business podcast. Thanks for listening. And thanks for watching today. Please subscribe, please share with anyone who you think might be interested and just really give me a thumbs up if you can, just to say, well done for being brave and showing up on video camera.
Lucy Rennie: All right. Have a great week. I'll see you later. Bye.