My do's and don'ts on how you can make better and more empowering decisions in your business

In this episode, I delve into the world of decision-making in business and share invaluable insights on how to make better and more empowering choices. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or a seasoned professional, this podcast is for you. 

Join me as I explore the essential do's and don'ts that can help you navigate the complex terrain of decision-making and achieve your business goals. I'll discuss the critical role of mindset and mental health, how finding an accountability buddy can keep you on track. I will also share the benefits of writing down your decisions and tallying up the pros and cons to make informed decisions. Plus, I'll explore why dedicating half a day every week to new ventures and new ideas can lead to success.

In addition, I will discuss how finding a mentor or coach who has achieved what you want to achieve can help with critical decision-making in business.

On the other hand, I will also discuss what not to do while making decisions, such as not asking friends and family who aren't qualified for advice, not solely relying on Google, avoiding making decisions on a bad day, and not making a decision so big in your head that you get stuck.

Tune in to learn some practical tips that will make your decision-making process smoother and your business more successful.

Follow me on social media, it's @jenlistercoaching on Instagram and LinkedIn.

My website is Jenlister.com

Click here to get my 7 mindset steps to starting or scaling your business

Music and production by the amazing Strike Productions

Podcast management by Dean at DBVirtual 

Transcript

Jennie Lister  0:04  
Hello, and welcome to the Jennie Lister podcast. Here I'll be chatting about life, business growth strategies and sharing my personal journeys along the way. And we'll also be interviewing some incredible guests who are experts in their field. See my little black book of business?

Hello, and welcome back to the journalist a podcast. First of all, let me say thank you so much for being here and choosing to listen to my podcast. I am so super grateful. So thank you for being here. I'm really excited about the topic I'm going to talk to you about today. It's been something that came to me when I was chatting to a friend recently. Today I'm going to be sharing with you my do's and don'ts on how you can make better and more empowering decisions in your business. Doesn't that sound great? The reason I wanted to talk to you about this is because I've been talking to some clients about this topic recently, when we were business owners, we are wearing so many hats all the time we are doing the financials we are doing the operations of the business, whatever it is that you do, like the stuff that you're delivering, whether it's products or services on a day to day basis, not only that, we've got to think about the admin, we've got to think about the people in our business, how are we growing our business? What's the strategy? What targets do we need to hear, and I haven't even talked about marketing and social media yet, that is a huge thing that I know is something that takes a lot of time for people and drains a lot of energy for people. So we don't have all the time in the world, we have to prioritise our time. And in trying to juggle all those things, decision making in business becomes tricky to throw in a personal perspective, like I said, at the start, I was talking to a friend about this recently, when it gets towards the end of the day, I use this term that I feel like I start to experience something called decision fatigue, I get towards the end of the day, it's normally around like tea time around five ish. And I'm done. I feel like I've made so many decisions in my business and on behalf of my daughter and on behalf of myself throughout the day that I'm just so fatigued by all of those decisions. And I just need to kind of be told what to do or for someone else to take the lead, and to just veg out and do nothing. And when I mentioned this to my friend, she she was like, wow, that word I've never heard it used before. And like I've never heard it use in a context of parenting. And it really resonated with her. So I hope that for you, it resonates with you, whether you're a parent, or you're not a parent, whether you've got a business, or you're thinking of starting a business, we all have lots of decisions that we have to make on a day to day basis. And it can get a bit overwhelming. This doesn't just apply to business as well. So in your personal life, we often have to make decisions and whether it's to do with your health, or your finances, or your wealth or your relationships, you might have come across decision points in your life where you've thought, Oh, I just don't know what to do. So today I'm going to take you through my do's and don'ts. And before I do that, I'm just going to give you a little bit of context to this topic and why it's important. So I want to talk to you about why we struggle with making decisions. So here are some reasons and see if they resonate with you. So the first one is fear of failure. So we might not want to make a decision to do something because we're worried about the result of it. We might be worried about what other people think if you do fail, I know that's something that I've definitely struggled with. Throughout my whole life, I have no idea why I've no idea where it comes from. But it is definitely something that I struggle with. The other reason that we can struggle with decision making is lack of confidence. And I love this as a concept. Because people sometimes think confidence is something that just some people have gotten, some people haven't got. But ultimately, Confidence comes down to whether you've got experience in doing something when you've done something once your confidence builds. And I think that's a really important thing to remember. So you might struggle with a decision because you've never done something before. And you're not confident in in taking that thing forward. So it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just part of your journey. The other reasons can be struggling with decisions because of lack of information. So you might not know everything you need to know right now to make that decision. So I actually do see this in business quite a lot. So I've had some people that say to me, I don't know if I want to continue growing my business the way I'm growing it, I think I might want to change the format or change the setup and operation of my business or they're thinking like two or three years ahead, maybe I want to sell my business one day and what does that look like? But actually, we don't necessarily have all the information right now in order to make that decision. That decision is quite a way out in the future. And it might be that we need to gather some more information or take some more time before we're ready to make that decision. The other reason that we struggle with decision making and I found this one really interesting when I was doing some research for this episode It is our mental health. If our mental health isn't in a great state, it can really impact our ability to make decisions. And actually, this really resonates with me, when I think about becoming a parent, you know what it's like, if you've had a little one, and there's a lack of sleep, and I really struggle, if I don't get enough sleep of anyone that knows me, well will know that I need a certain amount of sleep. And if I don't get it, it will affect affect how I feel. And I definitely then remember struggling to make decisions about what to do with my baby, whether to feed the baby or whether it needed to go to sleep, or whether whatever it was that she needed at the time. So I think really, really resonated with me to hear that our mental health genuinely affects our decision making. And I've never really thought about it like that before. So like I said earlier, I definitely overthink and over worry about what people think of me. So I just wanted to share with you a little story about me and how I feel like I've struggled with decision making. And I feel like I've been a bit of a people pleaser a lot of my life. So I remember when I lived on my own when I was 30, it was the first time I'd ever lived completely on my own before, which might sound crazy to some people might sound pretty normal to other people. And I remember that that was for me a really big moment, because I actually realised that I was in control of the decisions in my life. And that's a pretty bold statement. And you might be thinking, wow, really, it took you to live on your own to realise that but little things like I could choose what I would do on a weekend I could choose when I wanted to go to the supermarket, I could choose what I wanted to buy at the supermarket, what I wanted to eat for dinner that night, I genuinely feel like I'd lived a lot of my life up till then pleasing other people letting other people make decisions for me and just kind of go with the flow, which isn't a bad thing. But it took for me to live on my own to really feel empowered, and really feel like I was in control of my life and the decisions that I made. So I'd love to hear how you feel about decision making in your life, like do you feel that you are always making decisions? And you're really competent in all your decision making? Or do you feel like sometimes you really struggle, and you're thinking or overthinking those decisions. So this topic is really important to me, because I want to help you make better decisions in your life overall, but also, in particular in your business. So I'm gonna give you some do's and don'ts. So my first section is going to be all about the things that I want you to do to help you make better decisions. My first thing that I want you to do is I want you to book regular downtime and regular holidays in your business. I don't know about you. But when you're doing so a service based business like me, and you're doing client facing work, it's often go go go and you're booking things in, and one week rolls on to the next. So you don't really think about your downtime and your holidays. So what want you to do is think about the next 12 months in your business. And I want you to book in holiday time, you don't have to necessarily go away, it can be staycations, I want you to book downtime in I want you to book weekends away, whatever it is that resonates with you, you need to have time away from your business, especially if you run a business because when we work a job, when we are in corporate, or whatever it is that you do, you tend to get maybe five weeks holiday a year. But when we run a business, we tend to forget that we can have holidays. And we think well we've got a lifestyle business, because it's our own business, we get to choose when we're there and when we're not. But the result of that, and I was actually talking to a client yesterday about this is that they feel like they're on all the time, they're checking their messages on the weekends. Because if someone's inquired, they want to get back to them. They're looking at their phones in the evenings and wondering like Have they got any responses to something they've put out into social media. So having boundaries around your work and booking in regular time off of your work, where you're not anywhere near your phone, you go away, you might go abroad, you might stay at home, you might just spend some time dedicated time with your family, you book that in because that downtime and that rest time is going to help you be more empowered and make better decisions because you're going to have a better mental health, you're gonna have had a break and arrest and you're going to come with all guns blazing to your business. Number two for dues is I want you to get a buddy, I want you to find somebody that's a similar stage in their journey to you and have some accountability with them. So where do you find these people? I hear you ask. It could be somebody that you know, through Instagram or LinkedIn. It could be someone that you've met at a networking group and really connected with or it could be another friend that you've got that you know also runs a business or is starting out a business. So get someone that's at a similar stage in the journey booking a coffee with them maybe booking an hour coffee with them to try and talk about how you could be each other's accountability buddies because everyone's different. So Maybe you guys wanted to set up a chat on WhatsApp that's just focused around business. And you can can name it something related to your businesses and use that as a celebrating success or sharing challenges and just cheering each other on. Or maybe like me, just to give you an example, I've got real excited about this, I've got a strategy. I can't even say the word strategy. And it's what I do. I've got a strategy day booked in with a fellow female entrepreneur who's UK based, and is amazing when it comes to marketing and strategy. And building a brand. And we are doing like a skills exchange. So we're going to both sense check each other's strategies. And we both understand each other because we have got similar situations with young kids and stuff, and really, really excited about that. So get yourself a buddy. Having someone that understands where you're at, you build that rapport with, and you've got empathy for each other situations can be really motivational in your business, it can really help you with moving your business forward. And since checking things now, and again, with your decisions, it's going to really build your confidence as well, if they're an entrepreneur as well, chances are, they are going to be a great cheerleader, and they're going to understand all of your concerns around maybe I'll foul, maybe this won't work. I've not done this before, like they're going to be there with you. And they're going to cheer you on, and they're going to help you be motivated and try new things. Okay, so my third is journaling. So if you've got a big decision coming up in your business or any decision, I want you to grab your notepad and a pen, and I want you to write down what is coming up for you. So write these words. So write down I have got a decision to make, and it is this, or this or this, whatever it is. And I want you to write down the pros and cons I want you to write down. I'm feeling like this, how you feeling about the decision? What's it bringing up for you. And what journaling does is it helps you tap into your intuition and your inner voice. And it helps you express how you're feeling, get it down on paper and see it in black and white, it will be a guiding light for you in getting to the decision. It's sometimes quite an uncomfortable thing to do. I know sometimes I sit there and journal and I'm like, Oh, I really hope no one gets to read this one. But you can always throw it away, shred it, check it out afterwards, don't expect a journal and then get the decision come to you like this light bulb all of a sudden, spend some time journaling, then spend some time away from your journal and reflecting or go out for a run or go and do something completely different. And just see what happens throughout the day and throughout the coming days. Because by getting those thoughts on paper, you will have moved yourself closer to your intuition and the decision that is right for you. And I say that very intentionally I'm not saying the right decision, because there's no such thing as a right or a wrong decision, in my opinion. Okay, so my next do is I want you to take out half a day a week for new ventures and new projects that might sound quite like quite a lot. I would say, if you work full time in your business, then half a day a week would be ideal. You can take more if you like the reason for this is often when we make decisions, we kind of try and make them quickly and on a whim that actually if you can give yourself some headspace and some time dedicated in your business, ideally the same time each week, you'd block it out in your diary, it might be a Friday afternoon that you're feeling creative, ready for the weekend. And you block that out to explore new ventures and new projects that might be doing some research online, it might be journaling some ideas down, it might be sketching out some things that you're coming up with, it might be talking to somebody that's doing the thing that you're thinking of exploring, if you can pick out your time for that you will absolutely grow your creativity and your innovation in your business. And it will help you guide your business in the future for the direction that you want it to go in. Okay, so my next do when it comes to decision making your business is get a mentor or a coach. So this isn't the right thing for everybody. And that's why I wanted to start earlier by sharing my top tip around getting a buddy. Because by having a buddy that's a more accessible thing that you can do with a friend or a business colleague, getting a mentor or a coach is going to be more of an investment in your business, but it is going to help you because you're working with somebody that presumably is got experience has got credibility and can help you and guide you through your decision making process like that is what they're there to do. If you're not sure about something, you should be able to go to your mentor or your coach and ask them some questions. They should be able to ask you questions and help you figure out your way forward. So ultimately, if you want to make quicker decisions and move forward quicker in your business, working with a mentor or coach, he's absolutely going to do that and it's going to transform the way that you think the way I think you trust your intuition, the way that you guide yourself and have a strong mindset and confidence as you move forward in your business. And obviously doing what I do as a business strategy coach. I'm a big fan of it, but I'm a big fan of it when it's the right time for you, and when you're ready to do it. And some people might not agree with that theory. Some people might not agree with that as a statement, because sometimes we're never ready for these things. And sometimes we just got to feel the fear and do it anyway. But I do think that you know, when the time is, right, okay, so my last do before I move on to some don'ts for you, is I want you to book in some quarterly reflection, and ideas time in your business. So the reason that this is important for decision making is, like I said earlier, so often in our business, we're like, go, go, go, let's keep pushing, let's keep pushing, let's deliver those sessions to clients. Let's have those meetings. And sometimes we get a bit lost. And we're like, we don't take that step back, and focus on the business. And this is one of my passions. And this is why I set up my business is I wanted to give business owners small business owners space and headspace and opportunity to take that step back from their business and focus on the business as opposed to being in the business and delivering what they're ultimately being paid to deliver all the time. So by taking yourself away from your business, and asking yourself some reflection questions every quarter, I would recommend you take two hours minimum away from your desk away from your normal place of work, go to a lovely coffee shop, grab a cup of tea, a cup of coffee, or hot chocolate, and take your journal reflect on what's worked really well in the last three months, what's not worked so well. What ideas have you got for the future that you want to explore, because giving yourself this headspace is giving you scope to honour your ideas, but also make decisions in your business. So you might reflect on the last three months and go, Oh, my goodness, I can't believe I launched this, or I spent my money on this. Or I don't know, I worked with this client and Something didn't feel right. On reflection, I could have done this differently. So you can reflect. And then that will help you make better decisions in the future. Or you might decide to make a decision in that moment and say, right, I'm going to do this differently next time. So you're giving your yourself that time, that space and that energy to look from a bird's eye perspective on your business. And just a quick note on this. If you run your own business, and it's a small business, I want you to think of your business as an entity in itself. The reason this is important is so often in business, we make emotional decisions. But I want you to treat your business as such, I want you to treat your business as a professional entity and not make decisions because of your personal feelings or your emotional feelings. But actually be that director in your business, be that CEO of your business and go okay, from a business perspective. Here are the pros, here are the cons, here's the analysis, the business decision that I'm going to make is this. So that's the point of your quarterly sessions that you have. It's your being the CEO of your business, you're taking an objective, look at what's going on what's working, what's not working, and you're making really empowered decisions for the future. Okay, I'm going to move on to my don'ts. Now before I wrap up this episode. So I've got four don'ts for you. The first one is please, please, please don't ask your friends and family who aren't qualified to make decisions for you in your business. I do hear it a lot. I do hear potential clients say I'm just going to talk to my other half about this. And I respect that. And I think that is completely understandable if I'm honest. However, just to tell you a story. When I started my first business, I had so many people telling me that I shouldn't or saying oh, you should just go and get a job because that's what you've done in the past. And a lot of people didn't kind of believe that I could make it work. Now. We went on to grow the business significantly, we won seven awards in three years. And we made a massive impact on the community that we operated in. And I'm really proud of everything we achieved in that business. Now if I'd have listened to my family, and what they thought, I probably wouldn't have done it. So I just want you to remember that if you've got a business and you're going out for drinks with your friends or you're seeing your family at the weekends, remember that you don't have to consult with them on your business decisions or on the direction that your business is going in or even on the concept of just starting your business in the first instance that you don't need to tell anyone people don't have to know. It's not everyone else's business. It's your business only so when it comes to decisions, whether it's big decisions, like should I start my business? Or whether it's little decisions? Like, should I launch this on this day or on that day, you don't need to consult with anybody apart from yourself, which I know can feel lonely at times, which is why one of my dues was around, get yourself a buddy, get yourself a mentor or a coach. Okay, my second down. And I hope I haven't hammered the point too much on that first one is I don't want you to always defer to Google. So this is something I'm really passionate about, how often do you ask a question, or someone asks you a question and you go, Oh, I'm just gonna Google it to find the answer. No, like, we have got so much brain power. Before Google, we had to work out the answers ourselves. So is there a way that you can try and come up with the answer yourself without googling it, and it might be difficult, and maybe you do Google it in the end, but try and use some of your own intuition and tap into that a little bit more. When it comes to your business. Okay, my third down, which I really strongly believe in and hopefully will resonate with you is, please don't make a decision on a bad day. I know being an entrepreneur is challenging, it throws so many things at you. And on some days, I've heard many times people say to me, Oh, I just don't know if I can do this anymore. It is tough. And it is absolutely tough. But I would say don't make a decision to stop or change or make a big change on a bad day. Like don't make a big decision or a bad day. Because we all have bad days, everyone, whether it's whether you work a job, whether you work a business, whatever it is that you choose to do. Okay, so my last don't is when it comes to decision making, don't make your decisions a big deal. And this is something that I learnt when I was in around my 30s is I had a big decision to make. And I made it a massive deal. And I was getting really stressed about it. What should I do? Should I do this? Or should I do that? And what I did, and this is why this is really close to my heart, what I did is I chunk to the decision down into small parts. So instead of jumping to the end result, you know, should I do A, B or

C, I made a tiny little change. And I just tried something, I experimented. And I tried one thing. And I said I'm gonna give it like three or four weeks and see how that feels. And it was like a tiny step towards one of the decisions. And then I reflected, I reviewed and I thought about how I felt. And this was my personal life. This wasn't in my business life, by the way. And then I did the same thing again, I was like, Hey, I feel better, who made this decision than I did back three or four weeks ago with a previous decision. So sit with that small decision and then move forward again, with a little decision that's going to take you in a in a slightly different direction, maybe or on the same trajectory. So I hope that doesn't sound too convoluted. But what I want you to know is if you feel like you're faced with a big decision, and you're feeling overwhelmed, and you're feeling like you just don't know where to go, and I've been there, and I feel you try to break it down into small chunks, try to give different options, a little trial. And then you can always go backwards, you can always change your mind again, like a decision isn't final, we can always course correct, we can always change the direction that we're going in to bring it back to alignment with us. And we don't know until we've tried sometimes. So the chances are, like I was you are massively overthinking whatever the decision is that you've got right now. So I really want you to try that if you've got a big decision that you feel overwhelmed with at the moment, write it down and come up with some ideas with how you can chunk it into smaller pieces. And if you want to have a chat with me, I would be more than happy to try and work through that decision with you. Whether it's personal or business case. So there you have it. They are my do's and don'ts for you in order to make more empowered decisions in your business, so I'm gonna run through them very quickly. So the do's were around, book regular downtime. Get yourself a buddy, journal in your business. Take half a day a week for new ventures. Get yourself a mentor or coach and booking quarterly reflection time. And the don'ts were don't ask friends and family for their input. Don't always defer to Google. Don't make a decision on a bad day. And don't make it a big deal. So I've really hope that there's been some nuggets in this episode that have sparked your creativity sparks your ideas, giving you some practical advice on things that you can really do to make an impact on your ability to make decisions in your business. If you want to have a chat with me, please send me a message. You can find me on App genista coaching on Instagram and LinkedIn and I would be so grateful if you could Leave me a review on your podcast platform. Have a great day and I'll see you next time on The Jennie Lister podcast. Thank you so much for listening to the Jennie Lister podcast. I truly appreciate every single one of you. If you'd like to leave me a review on your podcast app, I would love that and if you'd like to follow me on social media is at genista coaching on Instagram and LinkedIn