I’ve been looking forward to speaking to this topic in order to encourage other female entrepreneurs and while this conversation will be an ongoing topic to continue expanding on, I’m going to share five specific things that have really impacted the way I operate as a business owner.
The beauty of these things is that they also translate and trickle into life as a whole, so even if you’re not running a business the perspective shared here on these topics can still be utilized for some ah-ha moments of your own.
Taking a feminine perspective on business may be the exact game changer you need to find more ease and impact.
If you’re anything like me, some of the strongest role models you've had in your life may have been Men and even if not, it's likely the societal norms you've been around stem from masculine messaging that you've never taken a moment to question. Odds are you’ve naturally absorbed a few of those habits and qualities. Many women are collectively taught that to be successful we need to be strong, hardworking, and dedicated to no end. If you're anything like me circa 2020, this is likely something you may not even be consciously aware of.
It took a career ending, a global pandemic, and a physical adrenal burnout diagnosis for me to finally see the error of my work addiction ways. Through the years of operating my own business on my own terms, I’ve grown as an entrepreneur and learned different theories and strategies for personal growth. Now, this masculine way of pursuing "success" truly became non-negotiable to un-learn.
First - Please hear me when I say, this blog isn't about feminism or putting down men. There’s sooo many reasons we operate differently, and rightfully so. Instead, the ideas in this post are simply softer and more holistic which is why I’m categorizing them as opportunities to take a feminine approach to business VS a more traditional, by the book, high stress, high performance, head down, work harder masculine way of doing things.
There are five topics I want to specifically highlight in this blog post and I encourage you to dive deeper into whichever one intrigues you most.
Let's kickstart this list with something all women deserve to know more about —
1. Tracking Your Cycle
There’s a bit of a caveat here in that if you’re currently on a form of hormonal birth control or have any individual health anomalies that affect your reproductive system you may or may not have trouble really relating on a deep level to the fluctuations we encounter as females that naturally cycle through different levels of hormones throughout the month. Obviously I’m not a doctor so I'll give you the just below surface points of information that I wish I'd been privy to much earlier on in life. First of all, self-awareness enables you to create a business and life experience that is completely custom to you and your individuality. As females, I don’t believe there is a ton of empowerment surrounding our cycles - and while there have been improvements made over the years we’re still not taught exactly how our bodies are working. Since our cycle literally affects our day-to-day for our entire lives, understanding it can be a game changer.
The four main phases of our cycles are: menstrual phase. the follicular phase, ovulation phase, & the luteal phase. I think it's pretty obvious that a large amount of us likely know MOST about the menstrual phase and the way it affects us both physically and energetically but what If you could plan your business AROUND IT?! And not only around that phase but ALL the phases? When you understand what is happening in each phase, you can actually start to plan your activities, projects, tasks, launches, content batching, and more in order to work WITH the phase you’re in instead of battling it and being hard on yourself for not consistently having the energy you want day in and day out. As women we simply operate differently than men both energetically and emotionally because of what is happening within our bodies during these phases. Three key hormones—estrogen, testosterone and progesterone—rise and fall in a specific pattern throughout this cycle and we can take advantage of it when thinking through what needs to be done in our businesses each month. While each of us will experience each phase of our cycle in our own individual ways as well as have different things required of us through each month, there are some overarching themes that you COULD keep in mind but, how can you take action based on these?
First, start to listen to your body and record your moods/energy levels yourself. Then, set aside time to plan the upcoming months accordingly, knowing you will likely experience the same highs, lows, and steady emotions around the same times each month.
You can find an app that helps with predicting things or simply write in your planner when you notice mood and energy changes.
Estrogen helps the brain produce feel good chemicals like serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine. The higher it rises the more of these get produced. Throughout the phases of our cycle it rises, peaks, and falls.
Learn more about cycle syncing here.
Before we move on, here’s a quick example of how I’ve used this knowledge based on how the fluctuations affect me:
When I was asked to participate in a speaking engagement, I made sure to offer up dates of availability that lined up with my typical ovulation schedule. During ovulation, I feel most confident and have a steady energy I can rely on.
When booking clients that I work with in person, I typically block off at least the first 2 days of my expected period and instead choose to rest and not force myself to be more energetic than I am.
I’ve also planned launch dates, content batching dates, and more all around what I can expect as my natural cycle plays out. I HIGHLY recommend this to the clients I’ve coached.
Alright, Next up —
2. Understanding Lifestyle Seasons
2021 was actually my first full year in business where I’ve intentionally thought through my lifestyle in seasons and planned my business accordingly.
Basically what this means is to think through the typical patterns you experience throughout the year when it comes to life at home and within your family as well as thinking through your typical busy or slow seasons in business and to plan out which timeframes it makes sense to be introducing something new, trusting a steady flow, not being impulsive during a slow season, and knowing that a busier one is around the corner. When you start to think through things with this bigger picture in mind you can break down your goals, projections, and expectations accordingly while also having a really solid opportunity to be communicating with family, friends, or coworkers about when you might need additional support, grace, or extra coffee. My husband is a farmer and for us the seasonal idea is actually quite literal. There are fluctuations with the seasons and sometimes solo parenting becomes more necessary as well as bearing the load of the at-home to-dos, and when that’s the case I know to not overdo things on the business side of my life (saying "no" more often, pushing out availability, booking for a month or two in advance etc…)
I want to help normalize the fact that you CAN and should be planning your business around your life, not the other way around.
That being said, when the roles in my marriage are reversed a bit and I have a busy season to plan for — I’m able to communicate to my husband that I will be focusing a lot of my energy and thoughts on something important to me and with that being said and clearly communicated he is able to support and understand where I’m coming from, and extend a little extra grace, during this temporary timeframe. Notice I use the word temporary, because its very important that the business isn’t becoming all consuming - that masculine go-go-go push harder mentality will always lead to burn out and bigger issues.
When you’re thinking through your year, if there's ever chunks of time that always seem to be more chaotic than normal, try to think about what could be put in place or done now to make that season less stressful. And in that same breath, when it’s a slower season, allow yourself to embrace pockets of free time, let yourself daydream, find new inspiration, and trust that your strategies will kick in and pay off when it's time.
This all might be a little woo-woo for ya, but just remember this is all about utilizing femininity in your business. And embracing the “woo” in life is as feminine as it gets for me.
3. Embracing Human Design As A Tool
At the surface level, Human Design is all about your own energetics and how your energy was designed when you came into the world as your most authentic self, before societal and relational conditioning. Before you dismiss and scroll away – Listen; If God made YOU, the sun, the moon, and the stars… you better believe I trust that the sun, the moon, and the stars each have an effect on us. — Human Design is simply a personal development tool to utilize if it resonates with you.
Once you have someone go over your human design chart basics, you will likely feel very “seen” and be able to make future decisions based on the knowledge you feel most aligned with. The confidence that can come from this additional validation is really amazing. The whole idea in utilizing your human design chart is to see who you came into the world as (and what societal or relational conditioning has changed about that) in order to try and start operating as your most authentic self.
When we’re living in that full alignment, being truly ourselves, life (and business) begins to feel easy.
A quote from an article about Human Design that was featured on Goop explains, “Human Design offers a map, or a manual, that indicates how you are unique as a person, and guides you in living in a manner that is in sync with who you are. When we live in alignment with our true nature, we begin to experience a level of comfort and acceptance for who we are, instead of chasing who we are not—and we’re able to live out our real purpose in the world.” — Lynette Hagins There are five different energy types you ultimately fall into: Manifestors, Generators, Manifesting Generators, Reflectors, & Projectors— some are more rare than others and within each category you can learn about your strategy and authority, defined and undefined centers, emotions, strongest senses, and soooo much more. We can cater this knowledge to the way we show up in life, but especially in business! When you do, the authenticity becomes magnetic. I’ve personally used my own Human Design chart to make more aligned decisions based on listening to and acknowledging my "gut" (or my defined sacral) overtime rather than overthinking and over analyzing which happens quite often due to my undefined head center.
One big example of relying on this would be when I decided to sell my motherhood photography business and double down on a new niche. When I proposed this idea to myself, my sacral was LIT UP telling me "yes" that's the right move for me.
This self awareness has been huge for me in learning to say no to different things and YES more often to the things that really light my fire.
I’ve also used this methodology in order to impact my coaching clients — Pulling their charts and being able to speak to and advise them in a way that is really going to benefit their energy and the way THEY operate helps our 1:1 conversations really land and hit home and/or guide them out of situations that they may otherwise feel stuck or unsure in.
Okay, now THIS ONE IS BIG —
4. Be Around Other Women In Business
We’ve all heard the saying you become like the 5 people you spend the most time around. And as female entrepreneurs, especially those on a personal growth journey, when your goals and vision expands you can start to feel a little bit lonely when you are not personally surrounded by others who can appreciate and hold that same vision.
It's so important to think through -- What women are you in touch with most often? Do they build you up? Do they hold you back? Do an audit and consider how you feel around your top 5 people.
Where is there room for growth?
THAT ALONE is reason enough to seek out mentorship or community whether that’s virtually or in person so that the people you’re surrounded by most start to look a little more like what you’re aiming to achieve as a business owner. Not only that but if you’re in business, doing business with other women who offer something you could actually use, either professionally or personally, THAT is the best form of connection and good karma that a fellow female business owner could ask for.
Once you dive into that small business community, it will support you back tenfold - be that in dollars, referrals, encouragement, or support. I would highly encourage any new entrepreneur to seek out more relationships that they can feel uplifted by and to offer the type of support to others that you would want to receive.
And last but most certainly not least —
5. Acknowledging Limiting Beliefs
The depth to this one is hard to cap and each and every one of us has these whether we realize it or not. Again, many of your potential limiting beliefs may not even be something you’re aware of yet.
Jumping into entrepreneurship is a quick way to find all your strengths and weaknesses, but it's also an amazing motivator to become the best version of yourself if you’re feeling called to do so.
Some super common limiting beliefs for women in business typically revolve around money mindset, the value of your time and skill sets, mom guilt and so on. You might start to recognize certain things you say that sound a bit negative or maybe certain fears and stresses repeatedly show up for you when it comes to a topic of discussion.
Try to realize that we all have these conditions that we’ve placed on ourselves subconsciously because of who and what we’re surrounded by, the messaging we’ve subscribed to, the inevitable borrowing of other peoples truths, the way we feel about our past, and the traumas or experiences we’ve each had that caused our brains to form a belief that now keeps us safe.
If you ever find yourself playing small, questioning your abilities, or holding back from something it might be because a limiting belief is at play - let’s dissect that so you can move past it and thrive. When we can start to see these limiting beliefs for ourselves, especially when it comes to creating a dream business and hitting new goals, it becomes something we can push past and begin to conquer. Ideally, if you think back to number four and start to surround yourself with other women in business not only will THEY be able to help you acknowledge your own limiting beliefs but they can also be an example for you to see that it’s safe and possible to take big actions despite our own fears.
Alright, let's do a quick recap —
5 Ways to Take a More Feminine Approach to Business:
1. Tracking and Planning Around Your Cycle.
2. Considering Lifestyle Seasons.
3. Utilizing Human Design.
4. Surround yourself with other Women in Business.
5. Acknowledge limiting beliefs.
Which topic will you considered when mapping out the rest of your year?
I’d love to hear from you and continue this conversation over on instagram!
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