When was the last time you took some time to freshen up? Not re-brand or start over or plod on, but just… freshen up.
To me, freshening up brings to mind a beautiful moment in a busy day: a moment to pop to a luxurious bathroom or bedroom, take a breath, redo your makeup and hair, and dab yourself with something that smells divine.
Or freshening up a pot of tea. Is there anything more delightful?!
I think about freshening up a room with a lick of paint, or plumping the cushions. Adding a new necklace to an outfit to take it somewhere new. Dusting off a shelf and adding a different photo in front of the books. Adding an essential oil to your yoga practice.
It’s not a redesign of the whole house. It’s not taking a shower and putting on a totally new outfit and starting your makeup from scratch. It’s not starting a totally new yoga practice.
It’s freshening up.
It’s not a rebrand. It’s not throwing out your entire business plan and strategy. It’s not believing nothing is working and it all needs to change.
It’s not a rigorous new routine. It’s not a new skill. It’s not something you have to learn from the very beginning.
It’s freshening up.
For our businesses, freshening up is like tuning up. Dialling up the things we want more of, just a little, but in a way that’s significant to us.
Perhaps it’s giving a little closer attention to your Instagram captions, if they’ve dwindled.
Or ordering those new stickers for your packaging.
Or changing your email signature and Facebook cover.
Or spring cleaning your product listings.
Freshening up is ideal for this time of year, or any time of year, and it’s a gentle but powerful way to shift your energy and your business. You’ve already (I imagine) made some goals for the year, put some plans in place, and given 2018 some serious attention.
But perhaps your energy is waning, or things feel a little impossible.
You know what time it is: time to freshen up.
Here’s the thing
In March, I’m doing a soft launch of the new-look Progress not Perfection group course. It’s currently called Planning With Purpose, and I’m building on all my experience and work to develop an ongoing supportive course and community for small business owners.
I currently have a lovely group of women signed up to the course, and they’ll be testing the new material next month, which has a theme of Freshening Up. (D’uh!)
Here are some of the questions I’ll be asking the group:
- What’s the metaphorical lick of paint for your business?
- What would bring a breath of fresh air to your business?
- What can we weed out to make room for fresh growth?
- What would “fresh” feel like for you over the next four weeks?
- How can you bring yourself a symbolic bunch of daffodils?
- If you tuned up by 10%, what would be different?
- How could you get just a little closer to the business (person, life) that’s so clear in your mind and heart?
I’m not advertising the new version of this course right now – just experimenting with the new look and the new content. But just in case you fancy joining before it officially changes over (and the price goes up), you can sign up here and spend March freshening up your business with us.
