by Women, especially women entrepreneurs, are notoriously bad about beating themselves up for falling short of perfection…and expecting perfection in EVERY single aspect of their lives. (If this is NOT you, consider yourself lucky and feel free to browse my other content. If this IS you, read on.)
In almost every client meeting I have, or really every conversation with a woman in business, some version of this statement is said: “I SHOULD be better at this.” Or “I feel like I’m FAILING at this.” And “this” can be anything from social media posts to networking to organizing accounting and many more. My response is simply, “Why did you go into business?”
You see, we choose to start businesses or enter careers because of the part we excel at, our “zone of genius.” Yes, if you are going to be successful, you need to know all the parts of the business, but knowing and perfecting are two different things. For example, I started my coaching business because I am passionate about helping other women in business and my zone of genius is teaching women how to make an action plan that overcomes overwhelm and gets them to their goals faster. As the owner of a coaching business, I am always working to perfect my coaching craft. As the owner of a coaching business, I know that I have to pay business taxes, but I don’t need to perfect doing my own taxes.
Here’s another example. I recently met with a woman who has been in real estate for many years. She told me she feels like a loser because her social media is not as stellar as it should be. So I asked her, “Why did you go into real estate?” She lit up and shared that she loves connecting with people and helping someone find the right home is such a personal experience that she loves being part of. I asked, “So you did not go into real estate to be a social media expert?” Of course she didn’t. But what to do about it?
Here’s the answer in 3 easy steps:
- Delegate – Which tasks do you need performed but you don’t want to do, either because you don’t enjoy them or they are really not worth the time and money you are losing when you could be making money in your zone of genius? Example: My real estate friend could delegate her social media marketing to someone who loves it and free herself up for in-person networking and connecting with potential clients.
- Automate – Which tasks can you automate, either with actual automation technology or with processes that you establish? Example: Maybe you dislike the back and forth of scheduling appointments…or you’re not organized enough to keep track of your calendar. You can automate your appointments with an app like Calendly*.
- Eliminate – Which tasks have you been doing because you think you SHOULD that you really don’t need? Example: If you keep driving an hour to attend a networking group that you have never gotten a single lead from, but you keep going because you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings if you don’t attend…eliminate it!
Go ahead and try it! Make a list of all the tasks you do for your business, career, or even in your home (yes, you can delegate cleaning bathrooms!) For each task that is not in your zone of genius, work towards either delegating it, automating it, or eliminating it. And for goodness sakes, STOP beating yourself up about it!!
*Speaking of Calendly, if you are a woman in business who’d like to discuss how to overcome overwhelm and achieve your goals faster and more consistently, here’s my Calendly link to schedule your free strategy session!
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