There have been some very buzzy words being thrown around for a few years in the online space and it’s time we define what they mean… or SHOULD mean for you.
Especially if you’re aspiring to create a long-term company, while doing something that helps others and makes you happy. Have you heard these words a lot too?
Let’s get deeper into what they mean and see how they apply to your business.
Sustainability is creating a practical legacy. It’s building a business that operates smoothly, is successful, and is run with integrity. (Umm, yes please!)
A sustainable company:
✔️ allows its team members the space to have a strong work/life balance
✔️ is strong enough to sustain itself during times of rest
✔️ will do what’s right by their client and hold itself to high standards
Things you can do to create a sustainable business environment includes keeping a focus on what’s to come down the pipeline, not getting stuck in the moment with a million small tasks. Plan ahead.
Check-in on your team’s work capacity and their mental load on a frequent basis. Keep morale high and stress low. Make sure you have proper training in place for your team members.
Ensure proper processes and systems for smooth operations. Create automations and reliable checking points for efficiency as your business grows.
Having a legacy means more than having a successful company to pass down to your children and their children… or to sell for a profit to a high bidder. (Totally possible, so if that’s your goal… go for it!)
But the basis for making your business a legacy now, really is:
✔️ creating something that’s solid and well-built
✔️ providing both tangible and intangible things to pass along
✔️ impacting people and changing lives
✔️ having a great reputation
✔️ imparting wisdom
✔️ inspiring strong work ethics by example
Building a legacy is also more than taking on a side hustle to build a little extra income. It’s going all the way for the big biz and big life.
The dream is to be an employee of your own business, making the decisions and doing what you love, but not running all the things all day long.
Sure, you’ll eventually get to have the freedom that owning your own company provides, but you first have to put in the leg work.
Building a legacy is a marathon, a long game, and it’s so worth it.
Is the “freedom as a business owner” life we see advertised on social media actually possible?
Yes, you 100% CAN have it all. BUT it requires the foundation and a lot of work (at first). Sorry, not sorry.
By creating something sustainable now, you’re allowing yourself to work less and less over time. And in the meantime, you can structure things in such a way that means you aren’t constantly working with your nose to the grindstone.
Btw, “passive income”? Sorry, but that’s a lie. Nothing is passive except maybe investments and stocks. That’s not the work/life balance we’re talking about here.
True WLB means you can allocate resources and pull from different areas in order to achieve balance in what you do from day to day or month to month. It’s ever-changing.
It also takes working strategically and seeing the priorities of movement and knowing where you want to go before you can know how you’re going to get there.
You can create a balance that works for you and your biz.
Being an entrepreneur and founder is COMPLETELY different than being a CEO. You’re not necessarily a CEO just because you are the founder.
And being a CEO isn’t just sitting on a beach sipping drinks on vacation while a team and your assistant does the hard work for you.
Ok, as a CEO, you have to have people that you manage who are managing the operations of the biz in all departments. A CEO makes big decisions, guides and steers the ship, encourages team morale, and is the overall example of work ethic for the company.
The real reason Fortune 500 CEOs take incredible vacations is because they also make incredible decisions on a daily basis. It’s a lot to handle, in all honesty, and being a CEO yourself means it’s imperative that you take time off from your business too.
Each biz consists of at least seven main areas of focus. The CEO (you) are keeping a pulse on all of them at the same time to keep balance and fluidity.
Once people realize and understand whether or not they truly want to be a “CEO”, is when the real power moves can happen.
That’s when you set up the biz you created for success, regardless of what version of success means for you.
