Imagine if you will for a moment that you have a large dessert in front of you. At the table sits your partner, your children (or if you don’t have those, then your friends). Your boss is there too.

Your job is to divide the dessert so everyone gets a piece fairly.

So you cut it up with large pieces going to your family members, your boss and your friends. But how big was the piece that you cut for yourself, and when did you cut it?

If you are like most women, the piece will have been tiny to non-existent and come last; as you content yourself in seeing everyone else happy ahead of your own comfort. In fact that’s how it is for most things isn’t it? Your time and energy are spent first on others.

Before you go into business it is critical that this kind of division of your time, emotions and self worth be sorted or the result will be a very burned-out you and your family/friends copping the brunt of the inevitable explosion.

Put Yourself First

The only sure solution to ensuring you get enough of what you need is to put yourself first. Like the relationships we want to develop in our businesses, the long term benefit from this will be greater than the initial “expense” of doing it. Yes there will be an expense. Those that have grown accustomed to your selfless giving will be puzzled at a change in that mode of behaviour. It might be that you need to introduce these changes slowly so all around you has time to acclimatise to the new “you”.

What to consider

Time: create blocks of time that are yours and only yours. Make this a priority rather than an afterthought. Whether you start with 10 minutes a day or a day a week, book that time in advance and stick to it!

No cheating either, that time is to be spent on you. Not thinking about buying toilet paper, or wondering what the kids are doing. Read for growth, grab a massage, meditate, get into the habit of doing something just for you without feeling guilty.

What’s all that got to do with business?

The temptation when starting a new business is to forget all about paying yourself for your effort and continue to work long hours with zero reward (sound like that dessert again?). Even when you are working online at something you love to do, you do not have a business until you are tracking your expenses correctly which includes money for your effort.

I am sure you have heard the common sense advice about “paying yourself first”. This is usually applied to wage earners and putting money away in savings, but in your business the same applies literally. Ensure that you are counting yourself in your bookwork, it is absolutely essential that you do.

Be practical here, do not attempt to pay yourself as a 10 year veteran if you are really an apprentice, but pay yourself all the same, you can apply for a pay rise later on when you are more experienced. Again no cheating here! The money is yours, not the businesses so spend some on you.

Why is it essential you count yourself in the books?

If you want to be a successful businesswoman you need to believe you are in business

Yep this is something we go into within the SWBN teaching area. The mindset needs to be there before the reality will match it. If you are not treating your online efforts as a business then you aren’t in business, you have an online hobby. Consider the difference between what pops into your mind when you think “hobby”, then when you think “professional”.

So back to taking that first slice of the dessert and making sure you get enough. Balance in everything is still required, too much dessert will add inches to the thighs, too little and you won’t have enough energy to give your full attention to those things that need it. Check regularly on yourself to make sure you are getting it close to “just right”.