The Calm That Comes With Experience

One of the unexpected joys of running my business is discovering insights and answers when I crunch my numbers. After three plus years of coaching and training full time (nearly five years total), I can now see patterns that stem from both seasonality and the impact of all the things that are happening in my life. Being a mom of two (plus one fairly needy dog), and a caregiver to my uncle with Parkinson’s, certainly makes for a life that has its highs and lows.

So when I look at my monthly revenue numbers, and I see:

One of my highest revenue months was one November when I moved my uncle into an assisted living facility and was touring a dozen middle schools.

February and August have been quiet each year.

I plan accordingly.

If a big life event is coming up or shows up unexpectedly, my go-to response is often—this is going to impact the time I spend in the business and the revenue I bring in. And then I remember that crazy, yet energizing November. I use it to change my mindset in the moment. I stay the course and know, with some self-compassion and scheduling precision, I can still pull out a powerful and profitable month.

In my first two years of business, I may or may not have found myself looking at LinkedIn job descriptions during February and August. When activity slowed, I was swept into the siren song of fear.

This year, with the data as evidence and the confidence in both the business and me, I chose to see the quiet time as a gift.

I scheduled a vacation for February (and it was glorious).

I used the extra time to create two new group coaching programs.

I started the outline for the eventual book. Yes, I just wrote that.

I set up more meetings with colleagues, mentors and collaborators.

It is a shift I’m celebrating daily—especially now that we’re into March. Armed with the data, I gave myself permission to find calm, move towards joy and rebuild my energy. Now I’m enjoying the rewards in the form of new creative projects that are directly connected to the stretch/unthinkable/crazy goals I set for my business in the very beginning. At the time, I didn’t know how I would get there. I realize now that the story is being told within the numbers, and I am now paying close attention.