business strategy

How to make better business decisions by balancing head and heart

I’m a big believer in balancing our heads and hearts as business owners, founders, and creatives. Building a business requires savvy decisions, smart strategy, and ongoing education, but building a business that’s right for you and aligns with the life you really want — that’s all heart, and maybe some soul too.

So as a small business owner, whether you’re a one-woman-band solopreneur or creative founder with a fantastic team supporting you, how do you engage both your whip-smart head and your super-strong heart?

Before I share three things that will help you use both, let me explain a bit about what happens when you’re out of balance.

Too headstrong (and not in a good way)

If you’re in your head too much, you probably experience some or all of these things:

  • You overthink everything
  • You get caught up in what other people are thinking or doing
  • You spend ages making decisions, even for small things
  • Or you make quick decisions, without really considering whether it’s the right option for you
  • You’re ticking all the boxes of what you “should” be doing, but you’re not seeing the results or feeling the satisfaction
  • You create new products and new marketing content regularly, but it doesn’t seem to connect with your customer base
  • You’ve reached a turnover or income plateau and don’t seem to be able to break through it

Our brains are really clever. Like, better-than-your-computer clever. But they also get stuck in problem-solving and worrying mode really easily. Unchecked, our heads are too logical (think Mr Spock in Star Trek) and have a tendency to lead us down paths that “make sense” but don’t feel good.

Too much heart

If you’re in your heart too much, there are some things you might experience:

  • You have no idea what you made last month, quarter, or year
  • You have lots of creative ideas, but not so much follow through
  • You find yourself doing a lot of tasks manually when they could be automated
  • You get caught out by unexpected bills you could have anticipated
  • Even though you have a team, you end up doing too much yourself because you aren’t managing the people or the work effectively
  • You spend a lot on pretty things or fun-sounding education, but you don’t see an ROI
  • You often under-price your products and services, or offer discounts
  • You LOVE to go with the flow, but important tasks get neglected until they’re really urgent (I see you, tax return avoiders)

Our hearts are our pathfinders. They’re the creative epicentre of our lives and businesses. All things considered, I believe our hearts and souls are the best bosses. But without the wisdom and savvy of our minds, they can get a bit floaty, a bit ungrounded, and kind of exhausted.

In balance

When our heads and hearts are in balance, we’re in flow. We’ve got the gorgeous creative direction, the vision, and the unique creativity that we’re here to share. Plus we’ve got structure and systems that help us to stay creative – and stay in business.

You might find that you nodded your head to some things on the head list AND some things on the heart list. That’s not unusual. It means that you’re giving your heart some of the head’s jobs and vice versa. Balance means you’re strong and healthy in both areas.

Balance is a verb rather than a noun – it’s something we practice rather than something we achieve.

So how can we practice balance between head and heart more?

  1. Give your brain information

Because our brains are super-computers, they thrive when they have accurate data to play with. When we give our brains information, it filters into our unconscious, giving our “gut” (aka subconscious / heart / soul) more powerful responses.

In practice, this means reviewing your sales figures regularly (I’d say once a month), understanding what your bestsellers are, checking your most popular search terms or website pages, and checking how customers actually reach your website. There might be other pieces of data you want to feed your brain, but these are some good starting points.

  1. Let your heart do the talking

Once your brain has data, it will filter it through to your heart. Which means we can fully trust our hearts to be the strongest compass for our decisions and our direction.

If something looks right but feels wrong, that’s your brain doing the talking. If something looks weird but feels really right, that’s your heart and soul shining through. 

  1. Hire your brain as your heart’s VA

Ever fancy getting a virtual assistant to get things done? Your brain is a really, really good VA. When you let your heart set the agenda, figuring out your vision and where you want to go, you can then plug in your brain to do that tippity top problem-solving it’s so good at.

Your head can check out the numbers on that new product you’ve designed to make sure they add up. Or perhaps you set your head the task of creating a nice smooth process for your order management so that your heart has space to create and dream and feel passionate about what you’re doing.

Whatever you do, don’t let your heart do your mind’s job – or vice versa.

So, are you more head or more heart? What can you do to regain some balance and make wiser business decisions?

Jenny x

PS If you’d like to learn how to feed your brain good data and then let your heart lead, this free workshop is for you.

Now even more so…

How are you, friend? Where are you on the rollercoaster right now?

Like many, I’m up and down, exhausted and hopeful, trying and then resting. I’m incredibly grateful to be home, safe, well, with my humans. I’m grateful to be able to show up here on my blog, occasionally on social media, and for my clients and groups.

The conversations with clients and the things I’ve been thinking about have often brought moments of “This! We need to think about THIS!” shortly followed by, “But we have always needed to think about that…”

I’ve started naming it the Now Even More So principle.

Here are some examples:

Comparison

We know, don’t we, that comparison is the thief of joy. Right now, it’s not only the thief of joy, but also the thief of sanity and survival.

While real life is kind of shut down – shops are closed, we’re not going out – the internet is very, very alive. And some of the internet is amazing, supportive, truly great.

But I know that for many of us, comparison has increased dramatically. We’re looking to our peers and our leaders and our favourites to show us what to do. We’re not sure what we should be doing. And so we slip into a comfortable groove amongst all the uncertainty:

We compare ourselves to others.

Friends, if this has been you, and most likely is has been, I offer compassion. It is natural to compare. It’s sooooo easy. But no one is you. No one has your exactly skills or experience or situation. And no, you don’t have to keep up with anyone right now.

Whatever you can do to reduce this very human form of self-torture, prioritise it! Don’t drive yourself insane.

Money

I think this is where a lot of us have been hanging out, too. The money worries.

Again, we can worry about money at the best of times, can’t we? And yet Now Even More So.

Clients who don’t usually worry about money are freaking out. People who’ve been in business for a really long time are struggling. Because none of us have ever been here before.

I thoroughly recommend working with an accountant to get the best financial advice for your business, and reviewing the government’s guidance on what you are eligible for.

Know that any situation you’re in right now is not your fault. It’s really easy (for me, too) to blame ourselves, to think that we should have prepared more or that this has hit us harder because we messed up.

This is not your fault.

Any time we worry about money, it hinders creativity, which is ultimately how we get out of sticky situations. The aim, as ever, is to release the worry – or at least put it on pause – while you allow your wisest, most creative, most resourceful self to be in charge.

You have survived. You may need to make hard decisions. You may need to ask for help. But right now, you just have to make the next decision, the one right in front of you.

Discernment

There are, on any given day, about a billion possibilities. This is still true. There are SO MANY options available to you.

I find this a comforting and encouraging thought.

But it also means we have to flex our discernment muscles. During normal times (remember them?), we practice discernment and prioritisation. Well, Now Even More So.

Discernment isn’t about making perfect decisions. I repeat: this is not about perfection!

It’s about choosing the things that matter to you, and the things that don’t. Sometimes, it’s about choosing ONE thing that matters most, and letting others take a back seat for the time being.

It’s about saying no to one thing so that you can say yes to a better thing.

Discernment is a muscle. It requires head and heart. In these uncharted waters, we need both Now Even More So.

What else?

There are more of the Now Even More Sos. Imposter syndrome, focusing on one thing at a time, grieving past decisions, creating community, marketing with authenticity… Not to mention environmentalism, activism, dismantling the patriarchy and white supremacy. They needed our attention before, and now they need it even more.

We’re still going. Even if you business is on pause or hibernating or becoming a different size or shape, you’re still going.

Even more than before, it’s vital that you believe in yourself. That you keep putting one foot in front of the other (even if it’s right back into bed). That you live closer to your dreams than your fears.

Support

I’m running weekly live calls through my Progress not Perfection membership, which is currently Pay What You Can. Join us on Mondays at 12pm, and get access to past recordings and resources when you sign up.

I’m also putting together a directory of small businesses who are still delivering, offering freebies, or sharing services. Add your details here.

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Enter The Forge

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