If you’re overworked and stressed as a coach and business owner, it could be that you haven’t designed your business around the ideal lifestyle that you want.

Let’s talk about how to do that, along with the things I did to set up my coaching business for an amazing maternity “leave”.

Because the truth is, when running your own business you can worry about how you’ll ever take proper time off again…how you’ll ever be able to stop working nights, weekends, summers, holidays or during the many precious moments in life…and especially, how to have the business function, grow and make money without you being there.

I once worried about these things.

When I got pregnant at the end of last year, I didn’t necessarily think about stepping away from my work and life’s purpose with a baby because truly, I love it. It grounds me. It nourishes me. It drives me.

And so does my family.

Especially when I envision welcoming and caring for this new, small, perfect tiny little thing alongside the man I love—and together figuring out our new priorities and routines and rhythms. And to put it mildly: I can’t wait for that.

I deeply believe that my work and my family can both have their special, rightful and protected place.

And what I know is that you can design your business around your ideal lifestyle by putting the right leverage, systems and support in place. Most people tend to do the opposite. Build the business and then squeeze the life in around the nooks and crannies. Which only leads to burn out, resentment, imbalance, and a whole host of other disempowering and negative feelings that impact not just you—but the closest people to you and your clients, too.

No need for any of that!

I’m going to share exactly what I did to strategically - and spiritually - plan and prepare for what some might refer to as “time off”, and what I choose to refer to as a rearrangement of priorities. No matter if you’re planning a leave or vacation in the near or distant future or are simply trying to figure out how to not work Fridays ever again—this is for you. Know that there are no limitations to what you create when you allow yourself to build it how you want—and receive what you most want.

Some of these things might feel a few steps ahead of where you are currently and that’s perfect. It’s the best way to learn and close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Proximity to success creates success.

Here are the 8 things I did to design my business around my evolving ideal lifestyle—that supports even more impact, time and freedom.

Watch out for a single insight or takeaway that might be exactly what you need in this moment.

1) Start with a clear vision in mind.

Be clear about what you want and why you want it. You can’t attract anything if you do not know what it is you want. With a baby coming and the shifts in time and priorities that that can bring, I knew the baseline monthly income that was my non-negotiable for earning and I wanted to be able to delegate or automate many aspects of the business with the exception of private client work. This would allow me to be fully present with my family and do my amazing “work” 5-6 hours per week in the first couple of months. Maybe some weeks more, and some weeks even less if that’s how I’m feeling. This vision felt really good in my soul.

2) Believe that you can have it the way you want it.

Once you have your vision you’ll need to eliminate the voice vultures that show up because vision is often met with resistance in some form. Voices in your head like: “Is that really possible?” “Who am I to have that?” “Am I expecting too much?” “Am I smart/savvy/successful enough to have that?” If you can drop the struggle in your head, you can have it. To do this, become the gentle observer of your thoughts and observe what mental blocks or limiting beliefs come up. Write them down and really examine them. The majority of them will be lies that you are lacking in some way and/or rooted in a childhood experience—and they simply reveal to us that we have work to do and lies to clear so that we can create space for more truth. The ultimate truth being that you are enough, you are a child of God, you are valuable, you deserve the best, what you need and desire matters a lot, and you feeling financially supported matters a lot. Everything else is a big fat lie.

3) Vibrate with the vision daily.

Continually shift into a place of seeing and feeling what it would feel like to have the thing you’re wanting and believing you can have. Own it. See it. Be it. Feel it. In the morning when you first wake up, as you’re meditating, out in nature, in the shower, talking about it with trusted friends, business colleagues, and mentors, and so forth. You’re now hanging out as an energetic match for the thing you say you want. Which allows the Universe to do its part in bringing you the ideas, signs, people and resources to make the vision happen.

4) From that energetic place, take inspired action.

Notice the nudges and signs you get that lead and guide your next steps. You might notice they come in the form of more of the right leverage, systems and/or support—the 3 keys to strategic success:

a) The Right Leverage.

If you think you need to always be creating something new, you’re missing the gold that’s already in the palm of your hand. One thing successful businesses have in common is their ability to create maximum leverage. Getting more out of what’s working with less time required from you. Consider how to get more leverage from your business model, offerings, marketing, client delivery, sales process and/or team, if applicable.

One way that I did this was by looking for a DARES opportunity in my business: creating something that would be digitized, automated, recurring, evergreen and scalable—the most powerful way companies and brands grow their impact and income. Think: Netflix.

I decided the simplest and most aligned path for me to do this was to take my 4-part client creation framework - the 4 things I did (and still do) to organically grow my business to six-figures working 25 hours per week - and what I teach private clients over a 5-6 month period - and distill that method and teachings into a 90 minute recorded intensive. Side note: this wasn’t simply about creating a digital product for the sake of creating a digital product. This was about spreading my WHY as a way to inspire and support others on a similar journey. Because when people think of me I want them to think…”ahh that’s the Business Coach who teaches people not just how to make great money and work with amazing clients in a really lovely and elegant way but that’s the coach who helps people create an amazing lifestyle to enjoy with their family…”—this is my WHY which brings tears to my eyes when I think about it (because it was something I didn’t have for so long and I know the pain of that) - and why I know the program will make a contribution.

To be clear, creating this wasn’t easy. It took 7 months of establishing and anchoring the vision, planning the training, writing, developing and shooting the content, setting up the entire back end, and so many blurred moments along the way where I felt completely unsavvy and tech-illiterate—wondering if we would ever get it done. We did. Because of my practices with #3, the most idyllic team essentially fell upon my doorstep at the beginning of the year as the perfect partners for this mission. That’s the way it works. And it was all so worth it in the end. I love this offering and know it will have an impact. You can find it here if you’re curious.

b) The Right Systems.

No matter if “systems” signal the death of freedom or more freedom to you, the right systems have the power to change your life and that of your clients. Said by a girl who once thought systems would be the end of her creativity and flow—when in fact the opposite occurred. I now have a system for practically every part of the business.

There are two aspects of your coaching business: serving clients and creating clients. Within these two functions, there are systems that can be adopted in order to optimize both and save you a lot of time. For example, on the serving clients side you can have systems for onboarding, scheduling, delivery of services, client communication, results tracking, feedback, testimonial and referral collection, offboarding and/or transitioning—just to name a few. To determine what systems you need, open up a google document and think through your client experience from start to finish. Map out their journey and document each step. You’ll start to see opportunities to systematize certain tasks and deliverables. Focus on establishing and documenting a system one at a time. This means you will have a documented process for how each task gets done, and ideally, automated wherever possible. This documentation will become your operations manual, a living breathing document that will evolve over the lifetime of your business.

c) The Right Support.

Let go of thinking or pretending that you have to do it all. As women, we’re used to bearing the weight of the world on our shoulders but this way of thinking is actually stifling your growth and impact as someone here to make a really big contribution and impact. Plus, there comes a time when growth requires your business to evolve from a personality-driven company to a process-driven one and you need the right hands to be able to make that shift. Hire quality help before you’re ever ready—it will push and stretch you to your next level and allow you to see your vision through, faster. This year my “support team” included a brand manager, a junior coach, three mentors (a Business Coach, Leadership Coach, and a Mindset Expert), and a top-notch digital marketing agency. Not to mention the countless books, podcasts and binaural beats playing in the background most days. And this is completely separate from my personal support team of spiritual teachers, health & fitness experts, energy practitioners, prenatal teachers, a parenting coach, Doula and birth team. Did I start my career with full benches of support? No. I made slow but smart (some not-so-smart but they taught me something I needed too), hiring decisions one by one—while mixing in plenty of free resources. And I always invest before I feel financially “secure enough” or ready, because I know that the discomfort of this ultimately leads to big growth. Which is why the largest chunk of my business earnings always gets reinvested back into the business, into my development, because death to me is not growing. And I want to always be growing and becoming, Michelle Obama style—so that I can be the best version of myself for those who look to me for leadership, guidance and support.

5) Create an (un)optimistic timeline.

There’s a common phenomenon known as optimism bias where we can often underestimate the time and obstacles involved in completing a task or project (or seeing a vision through). Simply knowing this allows us to plan for vs. react to it. Build in time for setbacks and delays, always. Establish an ideal AND a stretch timeline. For example, ideally I wanted to have x/y/z accomplished and finalized by 7/15 (ideal timeline); but all would be OK in the world if it weren’t to complete until 8/15 (stretch timeline). This way you’re not defeated, stressed or in a bad situation should things get pushed back or delayed, and thanks to that optimism bias and many things out of your control, they often do.

6) Have clear days for getting the things done.

This goes hand-in-hand with #5. You know your timeline now…when will you work on the things!? Maybe it’s a day or afternoon each week you devote to working ON the business. If it’s a longer-term vision, maybe you designate a few days or week each month? The last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of each month I take a “CEO Think Week” where I spend quiet, uninterrupted and highly focused time in creative execution mode. No calls. No client meetings. At the end of those weeks, I’ll then update my calendar with a note on the things that were worked on and completed which allows me to look back and see my progress. This is the block of time that allowed me to accomplish all that I mentioned in #4 over a span of 7 months (which my optimism bias originally predicted 6 months).

7) Double down on your self-care.

Anytime you’re in a “sprint” or “getting sh*t done” phase in your business, the more you need time for rest and recovery. This could mean that you allow yourself to be less available for things that aren’t directly feeding your vision—the person who wants to interview you for their new magazine or podcast, maybe now isn’t the time? It could mean only working with 4 clients instead of 6. Sleeping 8 hours instead of 6.5 hours. Meditating in the morning and afternoon as opposed to just in the morning. Moving or tending to your body differently each day. Asking God for more help and guidance.

8) Give yourself time and grace.

Re-read #5. And know that you will never work for someone as demanding as you. The fascinating paradox of all professionals turned coaches. Be kind to yourself. You’re working towards something that very few people ever will: a prosperous business without compromising on the lifestyle you want. :)

Love,

Stephanie