What Works For You Right Now?

I felt like a racehorse in the start gate but the race would never start. I kept bumping up against the gate, ready to run, ready to take off and start my business full time. But I still had little people at home. 

Very little.

My oldest was in Grade 1, my middle in SK and then... the youngest. Still another year with him at home.

The resentment grew. I was angry and resentful most days, never fully present, always dreaming and planning my business - but never executing on my visions in the stream of snacks, diapers, baths, tantrums and toys. 

I was miserable.

At my husband's insistence, I took a day out and put myself through the DecisionMatrixTM. This is a process I use for myself and with my clients for making strategic and intentional decisions within a business.

* What works best for me?

* What works best for my family?

* What works best for my business?

In this instance, what was best for me was jumping into my business full time. But every time I looked at my squishy, adorable, huggable youngest, I was racked with guilt at wanting to put him into daycare to liberate some time for my business. I was sure he would hate it, be forever scarred from the experience - I felt I was signing him for a lifetime of therapy bills to overcome the abandonment.

But being at home wasn't best for me. I was unhappy. And me being unhappy and resentful, wasn't good for my family. It was definitely not working for my business. And having more income was definitely going to benefit all of us. So riddled with guilt, I took my youngest to the daycare for a "playdate" where we could watch him before I made the decision to enroll him.

I was prepared for him to cling to me, to be so upset I was leaving, to be screaming and wailing at having been abandoned.

He walked into The Green Room at daycare, squealed with delight, trotted off with the ECE hand in hand and sat beside two little dudes playing trains, and that was that. He didn't have a tantrum at being left. He had a tantrum having to leave. 

Initially, I was heartbroken. Honestly. But I walked home the long way that morning and it suddenly dawned on me.

It was best for me to work and have time out during the day. I was a better mom when I had a chance to step into the adult world and use my brain. It was best for my family to have me being happier, to have my youngest be fully engaged and stimulated all day by other kids. This allowed me to step into my business and begin to earn proper money so I could contribute and ease some of the financial stress.

We are facing a crazy September. Uncertainty is everywhere. Some of you are trying to plan your lives without knowing what school will look like or if you will send your kids back.

Whatever your decision - make it confidently. Make no apologies. Make it with no judgments of others who may be making different decisions.

But make it based on what works best for you, for your family AND THEN your business.

Take yourself through The DecisionMatrixTM - then reverse engineer a couple of versions of your plan... it all starts with:

What works best for me?

Tell me... right here and right now... what works best for YOU right now?

And if you are stuck - let's talk.

Book a Business Accelerator Session and let's figure out the best plan for you - then engineer your business to fit that plan. https://calendly.com/shelaghcummins/accelerator

Shelagh Cummins is a Business Consultant, Trainer and Keynote Speaker who helps women entrepreneurs scale a profitable business to find the breakthroughs, cash flow, and joy in their business. https://shelaghcummins.com/

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