Stop Running on Empty: 14 ‘Micro-Hacks’ to Reclaim Your Focus and Drive Right Now
It's simpler than you think.
I’m ebbing closer to a decade of running my own business. The learnings along the way have been INVALUABLE as a professional, a human, a mother. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. But it’s absolutely for people who want to grow exponentially on every level, because that’s what it requires. All businesses are a living organism and approaching them that way helps us keep things in perspective.
For those of you in the trenches, here are my personal top 14 “Micro-Hacks” and learnings I’m inspired to share with you to give you a sense of relief and grounding right now.
If something stands out, please comment/reply back and let me know. I want to know you and what’s happening in your world. We aren’t meant to do this alone.
— Sarah Auda | Founder + CEO, Three Beats Consulting
14 ‘Micro-Hacks’ to Reclaim Your Focus and Drive Right Now
DON’T DO BUSINESS ALONE. Hire support via a mentor, expert, coach, or consultant who is ahead of you in the game. Not all experts are for everyone, so ensure they have a solid track record of building the sort of business you’re building. Ensure there’s consistent accountability for the things you want to measure. Ensure your expert feels 100% aligned for you and that they can support your unique positioning, because there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all in business.
GET A COMMUNITY. Get yourself into intentional spaces with other likeminded founders/ business owners who are sharing vulnerably about the messy, fun, chaotic processes of building something behind the scenes. It’s key to have realtime reminders that you’re not alone. If you’re looking for this, I have a monthly masterclass for founders to connect.
TRUST YOUR GUT. Only you know what feels “right” for you, which might seem a bit “woo-woo” for business. But your insides are right every single time. Listen to your intuition. Attune to your inner wisdom. No one can outsource that for you, which is why pre-packaged business plans don’t often work. A sign you’re in misalignment: you’re doing things from a place of “should” instead of inspiration. If you don’t have a sense of peace about what/how you’re doing things, pause and realign.
DON’T TRY TO BE EXTRAORDINARY. Instead, create extraordinary relationships. Have a followup plan. Nurture your prospects with authenticity and intentionality. Be a trusted resource. Connect people. You’ll never want for clients when you honor the people you already are “someone” to.
ONLINE FOLLOWERSHIP DOES NOT EQUAL INCOME. Don’t get it twisted. Optics aren’t everything. I know multi-millionaires with zero online presence. Your impact is not based on followers or subscribers.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A THOUGHT LEADER TO MAKE AN IMPACT. Don’t worry about proving yourself. Just share the truth about what happens when people engage with you, talk with you, or work with you. The truth is enough.
YOU CAN FIGURE OUT ANYTHING. There’s an answer and solution for everything. Instead of letting fear run in the background, make a mantra: “No matter what, I’ll figure it out.”
DON’T SOLVE PROBLEMS THAT DON’T EXIST YET. We can spin our wheels worrying about all the what'-ifs. Stop. Solve problems in the present moment. See above.
THE SECRET NO ONE TELLS YOU…. You set the rules. Discard shoulds, assumptions, projections. You don’t have to work 9-5pm. You don’t have to post __x/week. You don’t have to do anything conventional. Build your business based on your own qualifications. This is a steep learning curve for people who prefer to outsource their wisdom.
SIMPLE AND FREE CAN BE JUST AS EFFECTIVE. The backend of your business can run any way you want it to. A lot of founders invest in complicated CRMs and platforms that they don’t actually need from the start. Don’t. Just the other day, I was consulting with a founder and showing her how to use all the free services of Google Business Suite for contracts, video meetings, recaps, client storage, and more. She cried because she’s been wasting time trying to figure out a much more complicated app that she didn’t need yet. So… What’s simple? What’s free? Scale later.
TELL MORE STORIES. Stop trying to sell your services or products. Start telling more stories about people who do work with you. What are the client wins? the client results? the client rave reviews? Focus on them as the star of the show vs you as the hero. Make all of your clients the hero.
MAKE A REFERRAL/INTRODUCTION TODAY. A referral is often one of the best ways to market your own business. Open up your black book and be generous with your connections. People will start coming to you as a connector and not just for your services/product.
WORK ON THE BUSINESS AND NOT JUST IN THE BUSINESS. Plan regular times to work on the business vs IN the business. Monthly Reflections and Quarterly Reviews are some of my personal favorites. Dedicated time to scope out and see all the data, the metrics, the time/energy invested, and the results helps you better plan for your success.
EVERYTHING IS A PILOT. An experiment. Take the pressure off by seeing it as such. Reinvent as often as you want. Don’t be afraid to change the way you do things, what you offer, or the kind of client you work with. As we evolve, our businesses evolve. And that’s GREAT news.
Bonus: 15) Take more naps. Period.
What was most helpful from this article? Reply back and let me know.
For those of you seeking more consistent support based on this, join this April 9th masterclass with other founders diving into work/life balance and energy ROI.
And if you are wanting more personal support, you can set a call with me here.
ROOTING FOR YOU.
There’s something so relieving about the way you name the real work of entrepreneurship here: not scaling harder, but scaling down the noise so a human nervous system can actually sustain what she’s building.
The pieces that land deepest for me are “you set the rules” and “everything is a pilot,” because they quietly cancel two of the heaviest loads I see on ambitious women’s bodies: performing for invisible business standards and treating every decision like a permanent referendum on their worth. Reading this feels like being reminded that our insides are allowed to lead, and that “simple, free, and aligned” is not amateur hour, it’s the only way a business becomes something you can live in without running yourself into the ground.
Thoroughly enjoyed these. I learned #2 far too late, yet it has been one of the most impactful pieces of both life fulfillment and business. #5 so glad you put that out there. If I take note of my 8-9 figure business owners, they have no social media presence or like 4 followers, but social media (specially IG) distorts that reality.
Thank you for this share, Sarah.