If you identify as a sensitive person, empath, or someone whose brain works differently, a traditional business strategy can feel transactional and exhausting.

When you boil your business down to numbers, tasks and KPIs to tell you whether you’re successful or not, you can end up making decisions to “optimize” those targets, at the expense of yourself.

As a small business, though, your work is a HUGE part of your life. 

It takes up more of your time and energy than any other activity that you do. 

Especially in the first few years, your business depends on you in order to survive – and thrive.

YOU build your business foundation.

You ARE the foundation for your business.

More precisely, your body, mind and spirit are the foundation for your business.

Here is a graphic that I often share when giving workshops on self-care and business success. It shows your business as being built on top of the foundation that is you. Work-life balance for small businesses isn’t just a luxury, it’s fundamental to long term success in today’s world.

However, most of us have been socialized to believe that we have separate professional and personal selves. And that often we must sacrifice our self-care, rest and boundaries in order to get work done and be successful. And so we build our business in a way that reflects these deeper beliefs.

Fueled by glamorous pics idealizing “hustle” culture and 6-figure launches, we accidentally equate entrepreneurship with being busy and overworked.

Or we re-create 9-5 schedules, and then work late & weekends – even though we have the power to make our own schedule.

Work-life balance becomes something we scoff

Throw in a good dose of excitement (and stress) that comes from running your own business and you end up with a business strategy that leads to burnout.

Exhaustion and burnout are signs that you’re working unsustainably. 

Sure, some folks might thrive at the same level of output and be able to power through for months on end. It might be easier for them to do sales and marketing or figure out the tech. Everyone has a different set point.

However, if you often feel exhausted, you can take it as an invitation to do business differently and to bring well-being into your business strategy.

I call this a human-centered business approach, where you take your experience as a whole-human into consideration (and that of your team members).

It’s where you bring the concept of well-being into decision making and planning.

Instead of just listing out numbers, tasks and goals to work towards, you include questions like:

• How can I build more well-being into my business?
• How can I schedule my days so that I don’t overwork? What resources and help do I need to work towards in order to support this schedule?
• How can I nourish myself so that I am better able to show up for this intense 2 week launch? And how will I refuel myself afterwards?
• What wellness habits can I incorporate into meetings to help everyone be present, calm and at their best for important conversations?

I like to take it one step further and bring in the concept of regenerative business.

This means that not only is your business energetically sustainable but that it actually gives back more energy than it takes.

Instead of being extractive. 

How do you create a regenerative business?

You ask yourself.

Over and over and over – How can I/we make this more regenerative?

And then take action.

There’s no quick fix or formula to follow here. It’s really about reflection and experimentation.

However, one potential answer is to care deeply about the well-being of everyone involved in your business.

And it starts with you.

When your body, mind and spirit are cared for, you avoid burnout and show up better in your business.

You’re less stressed, you make better decisions and you feel more freedom and joy in your work.

You’re better able to navigate problems, learn new things and lead your team.

And you enjoy the process along the way.

Want to talk more about building well-being into your business? Sign up for a free Virtual Tea Date here. It’s a casual, no sales chat to explore whatever you need to thrive in your business.