Do you find yourself struggling to maintain your high energy, health, wellness and business plan? Have you found running a coaching business on your own time is requiring a shift in previous boundaries and self-care? Have you ever felt anger or guilt at not being well enough to work? Let’s talk about self-care as a business owner. It’s critical to your career success.

If so, this short article is for you! Here are two lessons I’ve learned about self-care as a business owner to enhance my well-being. They’ve proved helpful for me and I think they can help you, too.

1. IT IS OKAY NOT TO BE OKAY.

There are many things that can impact our ability to create content for our coaching businesses.⁠ Sickness, technology issues, family obligations, other work roles, and creative block can all keep us from creating new content to support our community.⁠

Being a business owner, especially a coaching business owner, can create enormous pressure. We may think that we owe it to ourselves, our clients, and our external stakeholders to never stop the “hustle” of growing our business or helping our clients. However, when we do not assess where we are in our own wellbeing we are not able to show up wholeheartedly for clients, nor create content or business plans to the best of our ability. Check-ins with yourself about the amount you have left to give and how to refill those needs is the best way to practice compassion and business strategy. Practicing self-compassion and self-alignment makes a better coach, a better business owner, and a more content human. A triple whammy!  

How can you insert self-compassion into your day, your business, and your productivity? ⁠Remember that when you make your to-do list, your schedule, and run your business; you have the chance to schedule in time to care for yourself, too.⁠ It takes well cared for business owners to make the best choices for themselves and for their clients.⁠

2.  PRIORITIZING SELF-CARE AS A BUSINESS OWNER IS PRODUCTIVE.

Guilt and shame about not being able to continue to work on the to-do list for the day can be a common barrier to taking a break when needed. Even though forcing yourself to work won’t be as productive, the urge to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” and “just get through it” can be powerful. Learning to prioritize YOU over YOUR WORK is a hard shift to make for many business owners, but it is necessary.

Despite what work experiences in the past may have taught you about ‘good work’ equaling ‘no time off’, you are in a role as business owner where you CAN give yourself permission to rest. And you should! Here is why: your work, your business, your strategy, your clients all have one thing in common… YOU. If you don’t take care of yourself, then all those aspects you care about fiercely are going to suffer for it.

Taking care of yourself is the quickest way to take care of your business. Putting your self-care first and addressing your needs is cherishing and preserving the core of your business.

“But Jenesis, if I stop, my business stops!” you may say, and you know what? I get you! The anxiety and pressure of being a sole owner of my own business has made me feel exactly the same way, but…

You still impact those around you even if you pause.

Your mission, your previous content, your connections, relationships, presence, ALL still matter and work for you on the days we take a breath or a step away.

You do not fail by pausing.

You do not end your business by taking a day off.

Your mission is valid.

Remind yourself of the above statements often. I do. We can only do our best work if we are our best selves. Self-care as a business owner is necessary.

BONUS: YOUR SELF-CARE NEEDS CAN (AND PROBABLY WILL) CHANGE

In current climates of uncertainty in health, society, and work-life, please be sure to realize that your needs and self-care strategies may need to be re-addressed or re-imagined. Things that worked before may be disrupted or inaccessible. Get ahead of your needs as much as possible and listen to your mind, soul and body as they experience each day. Ask yourself, “What do I need right now?”

Connect with communities that can support you through hurdles that come collectively or individually. Self-care is not an entirely self-done process. Find those who can have your back & (if needed) your business’s back.

If you’re not sure where to start with this, let’s connect! I would love to get you connected to the network I have of love, wisdom, compassion, inspiration and know-how.