How can intuition help you run your business?

As business owners and freelancers, we often have to make important decisions. Should I take on that client? How much should I charge? Is this piece of work ready to submit?

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Without a team to turn to, what tools do we use to make those decisions? We might look at facts, figures, evidence, history. But is there a place for intuition? I posed the question on Twitter and the response was overwhelming. Without exception, every person who replied told me intuition was an important tool in running their business. For Emily Penny, following her gut is even written down in her business plan.

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So what’s so good about following your intuition and how do you use it to run a successful business? Let’s find out.

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What is intuition?

Much to my dismay, intuition isn’t a magical power. We can all do it. Our brains interpret tonnes of information, identify patterns and probabilities, and draw conclusions. They then direct our bodies to react a certain way in response: that ‘gut’ feeling we talk about.

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The intuition muscle

Further dispelling my misguided belief that intuition is a cosmic gift, you can strengthen your intuition by using it. Just like a muscle.

As part of that learning curve, it’s best to make a few mistakes so that your brain can gather data and fine-tune your senses next time. In other words, if you slip up, celebrate. You’re honing your intuition.

As Aisha Ejaz says: “I’m quite intuitive but there have been times when I’ve overridden the gut feel and jumped in regardless. The result wasn’t ideal but the lessons learnt were invaluable”.

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Why do we ignore our intuition?

It’s not just Aisha. From speaking to you lovely lot on Twitter, ignoring our intuition has got us in some sticky spots. Hayley Maguire got burnt last year by a potential new client who wasted a lot of her time. While André Spiteri says: “My gut was screaming at me not to take a project a year or so ago, but I felt I was in too deep. It went really well and I questioned myself…until I found myself removing it from my portfolio on Christmas Eve because they’d taken a sledgehammer to it and burned it to the ground”. That’s some next-level intuiting right there.

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So why do we ignore our intuition? Lots of the freelancers I spoke to put it down to inexperience and lack of confidence. “Having intuition is enormously valuable, but being brave enough to trust it is priceless,” says John Humphreys.

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But sometimes it’s more than a lack of bravery. Sometimes we’re driven by other factors when we ignore our gut feeling.

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Imagine your brain has a little board of directors, a bit like in that Pixar movie, Inside Out. If Intuition gets silenced, who else is talking? Quite often, it’s the Finance department. “You need the money.” Or perhaps it’s our old friend Insecurity: “What if you never get offered work again?” Maybe it’s the Comfort Zone gatekeeper saying: “You can’t do this! It’s too hard for you”. Or maybe it’s Ego, hooked on the buzz of landing a new client and shouting about it on social media.

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It’s totally fine and normal for these voices to play a part in our decision-making. And hell, if you do need the money or the ego boost, go for it. What’s useful is to acknowledge those pushes and pulls for what they are, and make the decision as a committee.

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It can be hard to discern when fear, nerves or excitement cloud our intuition, especially when we’re still learning the ropes. The trouble is, when our insecurities or fears drown out our intuition, we risk limiting ourselves and playing small. Read on for tips on decoding your intuition and using it to your advantage in your business.

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How to work with your intuition

Whether you’re a seasoned freelancer who wields their intuition with ease or you’re a newbie thinking HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO TRUST MY GUT WHEN EVERY JOB GIVES ME ABSOLUTE FEAR (been there), here’s a little guide to help you get the most out of your intuition.

Imagine you’ve met with a client for the first time and you’ve got a weird vibe. You need to decide whether to take on the work or not. ?

First thing Michelle Garrett advises is to: “slow down the process a little so that {you} have more time to decide”.

1. Acknowledge the gut feeling, the weird vibe. Know it’s got good intentions. It’s trying to keep you safe.
2. Get clear on your values. When you’re clear on your values and boundaries, you can use them to support your intuition.
3. Look at the facts. If a client is giving you a weird feeling, can you pinpoint why? If you’re new to freelancing, red flag checklists such as this by Kirsten Lamb and this by Laura Howarth are good places to start.
4. Listen to the other opinions in your head. Where are they coming from and what are they trying to protect you from? Is there insecurity? Anxiety? Financial worries? Acknowledge these voices and balance them with your intuition.
5. Imagine yourself in both potential positions, the one where you take the job and the one where you pass on it. How does your body feel as you picture each scenario? Listen particularly to your belly and chest. Do you feel constricted? Tense? Or excited? Energised?
6. Once you’ve consulted your internal board of directors, get outside support. A trusted friend, family member or more experienced freelancer will help you see things with more clarity.
7. Make a decision. Know that it doesn’t have to be a binary one. Mark Grainger says: “Sometimes {my intuition} stops me working with someone completely, sometimes it leads me to set greater boundaries”. That could mean tightening up your contract, demanding full payment in advance or working on a small project to test the fit.
8. Once you’ve made a decision, don’t look back says Berenice Smith. “Decide, stick with it and don’t Google them.”

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If you’re still not sure about trusting your intuition, Hilary Young has some brilliant advice: “It took me a few years to start listening to my intuition. Part of it was learning to trust that nothing good ever leaves my life unless something better is coming. Knowing that, and really believing it based on empirical data, gave me the confidence to listen to myself more”.