The Four Core Values of How I Run My Business
Last year as I was starting to build my coaching business, I started working with my own business coach. Shout out to Jane from Jane Carter Coaching. She really pushed me into new depths for both me and my goals.
It forced me to dig deep and really look inside myself. I looked at the reasons why I do what I do. And why I want to keep helping others to make their own transformations.
It all came back to my values. I then realized my business had its own set of values, some of which crossed over with my personal values. But as a small business owner, I am my business, right?
These ideas and concepts drive every decision I make for and about my business. They help me to set goals and create steps to achieve them, just like in my personal goals. These values are my greatest and best coworkers in the business.
Connecting my goals to my values ensures that I stay true to who I am and how I want to present my business to clients and the general public. (Ooooh check out my value #2 already showing itself!)
And of course, me being me, I had to come up with a fun acronym. (And there is #3 peeking through.)
I am all about “putting my best FACE forward.” This is how I want to show up for myself, my business, and my clients. I do this by showing up with:
FUN
AUTHENTICITY
CREATIVITY
EMPATHY
With FUN, I strive to bring joy into all that I do. This can be tough business wise but my theory is “if you can’t make it fun, is it really worth doing?” I do this by either bringing the fun directly to the task I am doing or rewarding myself after completing a task I have been avoiding. I play games like “beat the clock” to see how quickly and efficiently I can get things done. I also schedule in self-care time after having to do high stress things. It’s easy to bring the fun!
Bringing AUTHENTICITY is a huge value for me in all areas. I want to show up as the real, true me. And it’s not always comfy, cozy, and happy. There are definite stresses, struggles, and ugly cries. Seeing others show up as their most authentic selves helped me feel less alone. This is exactly what I want to do for others. Help others feel less alone. And I can do that by showing all sides of myself.
I live CREATIVITY by thinking outside the box in all ways. I love a challenge and to be able to think of new ways to look at a situation and determine how to best achieve goals in an exciting way that works best for you. And, yes, I also like to bring the traditional creativity to many things with both art and design. We can all be creative in our own ways.
I bring EMPATHY to all that I do by being an empath, which means I feel for other people on another, almost cellular, level. It’s deep. It’s challenging. And it can be both a blessing and a curse at times. It helps me do my job because I am honest, raw, and real in saying I can sense how much of a challenge it is to experience certain emotions. I have most likely felt those emotions myself and know how they feel on a physical as well as emotional level. I will cry with clients and celebrate their big and small victories. I wear all of my emotions on my sleeve.
Living each of these values in my daily life helps me to make decisions that connect to who I truly am and to build truth to my business. It shows me how I can best serve and deliver what my clients need most.