How to Upgrade Your Business to Align with Your Values
This is a guest blog post by Elizabeth Hope Derby, a business and mindset coach helping small business owners and entrepreneurs based in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Most successful service-based business owners are busy. So busy, in fact, that their time and brainpower is spent focused on today and tomorrow, not their long-term vision or future goals.
If that’s you, you know what I mean — right now, you’re likely consumed with tasks you need to deal with ASAP. Stuff like meeting with clients, knocking out emails, tackling administrative to-dos, and brewing more coffee because, let’s face it, you’re exhausted and the day’s not over yet.
Taking the time to dream into your vision for your life and business, and setting goals and growth strategies to achieve it, is one of those projects that never feels particularly urgent nor convenient. Yet it’s a critical step you must take if you want to grow your business in alignment with your values — and a non-negotiable if you want to feel a sense of purpose, satisfaction, and pride in your career and personal life.
As a business and life coach, I guide my clients through this process one-on-one. Together, we uncover their deepest desires, remove obstacles to their growth and success, and give them the tools and tangible steps to get clear, focused, and energized to go to work every day.
Along the way, they become confident leaders, make more money, and get their mojo back — all happy side effects of learning to live and work in alignment with who you really are.
Today, I want to give you a simplified version of this process. Think of it like a cheat sheet for creating your game plan for greater focus, fulfillment, and impact as a business owner.
The 5 steps I’ve listed below are both tangible and actionable — meaning, you can read about it, but you’ll get far more value if you actually slow down and do it. So carve out some quiet time, grab your pen and paper, and let’s dig in.
Step 1. Get clear on your vision.
When was the last time you thought about your vision for your most brilliant, abundant future? I’m willing to bet it’s been a minute, so that’s where you’re going to start.
Begin by exploring the question: What is the legacy you want to leave behind? At the end of your days, what accomplishments will you cite as most meaningful and precious to you? What does your version of a life and career well-spent look like?
I recommend writing your answers down and letting your thoughts flow freely. If you notice a sense of expansion, pleasure, or joy surfacing in your body or heart, tune into that feeling and pay attention to what images, sensations, or ideas arise.
Don’t be afraid to be deeply honest with yourself. There is no “right” answer, only the truth of who you are and what you want.
Once you’ve gotten clear on your vision, figure out which 3-4 areas of life are most important to you and write them down in a (very short) list.
For example, your vision may include lots of quality time with your family, traveling the world, and doing your part to move the needle on a specific social justice issue. In this case, your target areas are family time, international travel, and reproductive rights.
You may also benefit from writing down the feelings or qualities you want to experience in these key areas. Words like connection, adventure, and liberation could make sense for the list above.
You’ll know your list is working for you when you feel inspired, excited, or a sense of YES in your body. This is where you’ll want to spend your time and energy moving forward.
Step 2. Audit your current alignment.
Once you have your list of focus areas, you need to assess how you’re currently showing up (or not). Maybe you spend lots of time with your family, travel abroad twice a year, and champion safe abortion through multiple channels on a regular basis. Or maybe you don’t, because you’re a human and nobody’s perfect and besides, you’re just doing this exercise for the first time.
So what are your current contributions to each of the areas that matter most to you? Do you give them time, energy, or financial support on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis? What kind of results or legacy are you likely to create if you continue at your current cadence?
You can also take stock of how often you experience the feelings you’ve identified in each area that matters. Using the example above, when do you experience feelings of connection, adventure, and liberation?
Chances are high that you currently focus at least some of your time, energy and attention on your values, in the areas you truly care about.
So before you dive into the areas you want to improve, take a few moments now to celebrate all that you’ve already achieved.
Once you’ve raised a glass to your general badassery, it’s time to game plan your improvements.
3. Identify your short-term growth goals.
As a business owner, you have many options for how to center your values and adjust your business to prioritize what matters most to you.
You can brainstorm a list of upgrades or changes you’d like to make across your business and work life. With your shortlist of values in hand, read through the following list and notice what improvements you could make:
What you sell and how you package your offerings
How you price your services
How you communicate with clients and colleagues
How you talk about your brand and marketing messaging
What your work schedule and standard operating procedures look like
How you talk to and care for yourself
Who you hire and how you support them
Be sure to write down any ideas that strike you.
Alternatively, you can brainstorm growth goals or projects in each of your key areas that will help you make progress toward your long-term vision.
For example, if you currently spend many weeknights toiling away at the office, but family time is important to you, you may want to commit to turning off your computer by 6pm, two nights during the week.
Or if you find yourself longing for a change of scenery, but you never sit down to make travel plans, you may commit to taking a month-long vacation before the calendar year is out.
Want to make bigger strides in giving people with uteruses access to safe reproductive care? Consider donating a percentage of your business profits or a set number of hours of your professional skills to groups doing on-the-ground work.
Once you have a list of options to choose from, you’ll want to winnow it down to one growth goal per target area. Once you’ve made that initial stretch, you can build off your success with a new or expanded goal.
4. Create a simple upgrade plan.
Now that you have a shortlist of goals, you need a plan to make them happen. What needs to get done for you in order for you to achieve each of these results?
For example:
You could change your client schedule to free up Wednesday and Thursdays nights for family time.
You could raise your fees and commit a percentage of monthly or annual profits to Planned Parenthood or the National Abortion Federation.
You could rework your packages or client contracts so that you can take a month or two off from work to wander around the globe.
As you plan your next steps, I encourage you to be generous with yourself and others. Consider how you can make this experience fun or pleasurable for you. You’re much more likely to tackle these changes if you actually enjoy making them.
Beware the trap that most business owners fall into: trying to shove more stressful activities into an already packed life, schedule, and operation. Acknowledge at the outset that you’ll need to devote mental bandwidth, energy, time and/or money to help create these changes, and build your plans accordingly.
5. Ask for help.
Speaking of enjoyment, not every task on your list can or will be accomplished by you. You simply cannot succeed if you try to go it alone on the journey of creating meaningful, long-term change.
Like every other person, you have limitations. Your mind is designed to keep you safe inside your comfort zone, so you’re likely to drift or snap back into old habits and work styles by default.
Not only that, you have gaps in your knowledge — plus limited time and energy. Asking for help allows you to outsmart obstacles, take advantage of hidden opportunities, and achieve greater results than you could possibly accomplish on your own.
Ask yourself where you feel the most resistance, either in building this plan or executing on it. Are there places where you know you’ll fall down, where you’ll get overwhelmed, or where you know you’ll avoid taking action?
If you’re feeling generally overwhelmed, intimidated, or nervous about going it alone, I recommend you hire a coach or mentor who can help you tease out your growth plan, offer real-time advice on your entrepreneurial journey, and help you make powerful decisions that are true to you.
If, on the other hand, you lack the time, technical skills, or subject matter expertise to make changes that serve your business and your long-term goals, I recommend hiring a consultant, assistant or team member whose zone of genius supplements your leadership.
Last but not least, take a beat to acknowledge your privilege and how it limits your overall worldview. As you connect with service providers and share your goals with other folks in your communities, be sure to seek out diverse perspectives and people who expand your thinking. That’s how you will begin to build a legacy that transcends toxic paradigms and helps forge a more just and joyful world.
And there you have it — your game plan is done!
Now that you have your action plan in hand, it’s time for you to implement it.
As you begin taking these steps toward living and leading your business on purpose, remember that sustainable changes take time.
When you’ve inherited limited beliefs and toxic behaviors from former bosses, caregivers, and endless social messaging, it takes wisdom and courage to break free from “business as usual”.
When you’ve spent your whole life swimming in waters designed to homogenize your behavior and oppress your instincts, it’s a BFD to operate in alignment with who you truly are.
For now, I encourage you to keep tuning in to your final destination. Get inspired by your vision on a regular basis, and savor each little win along the way.
Because when you drink deeply from the cup of your own creativity and celebrate the truth in your heart, you become the kind of leader we actually need — a human who serves from the inside out, while blessing each person they meet with the joy and potential of living their life on purpose.
Meet the Author
Elizabeth Hope Derby is a business and life coach for high-achieving women and women-identifying folks on the journey of entrepreneurship. Her clients make the leap from stressed-out service providers to confident, creative leaders who follow their intuition in business, leverage their natural strengths, and upgrade the ways they work and live for greater joy and fulfillment.
Elizabeth combines a background in Fortune 500 marketing, brand strategy, and creative writing with a love of personal development and entrepreneurship. An award-winning storyteller and engaging speaker, she’s spoken to and inspired audiences of all sizes, from 5 to 5,000 people.
Over the course of her career, Elizabeth has delivered numerous presentations to a variety of groups and organizations, including Procter & Gamble, Clarivate Industries, and the Quadruplicity Women’s Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia. She’s also interviewed and profiled hundreds of artists and entrepreneurial innovators, including David Duchovny, the co-founder of Gizmodo, and the creator of Beyonce’s Super Bowl dress.
As a coach, Elizabeth specializes in helping service-based business owners create significant results in a short period of time by teaching them how to work in ways that are simple, sustainable, and true to who they are. She provides big-picture guidance and granular strategic support to help clients bridge the gap between where they are now and where they truly want to be. Her clients define their visions and growth goals; upgrade their mindset, messaging, and systems; and build the skills and self-awareness to grow and thrive in their roles as leaders, service providers, and human beings.
When she’s not helping people live their best lives, you can find Elizabeth leading kitchen dance parties with her husband, toddler, and a cat named Mulder.
To chat with Elizabeth about how she can help you grow your business with greater ease and joy, request a complimentary consultation here.
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