S2E14: How to Create a Freedom Business
Welcome to Women Rocking Business, where we are here to help you rock yourself, rock your life, and rock the world as a woman entrepreneur, because the world needs you and the time is now. I’m Sage Lavine, CEO, trainer, unretired, camp counselor, and best-selling author of the Hay House book Women Rocking Business. We’ve had the honor of serving over a hundred thousand women entrepreneurs around the globe, just like you, who are here to do more, be more and have more by giving your gift to the planet. So let’s dive in.
Sage Lavine
00:00:32
So how many of you have ever had the thought… since I became an entrepreneur, I haven’t been able to do X, Y, or Z. How many of you have ever had the thought… You know, if they only knew how hard I was working. How many of you have ever asked yourself… Am I really cut out for this? Is this business going to rob me of my life, my passions, my time in nature, my time with my loved ones.
If you’ve ever asked yourself any of those questions, I have a few hacks to help you get to the front side of that, help you rock out this week and help you make this year, the best, the most amazing year in your business ever.
Sage Lavine
00:01:17
So one of the coolest things that happened to me is that every year I choose a word, a word that helps me orient around what I really want to expand into this year. You know, sometimes the simplest things are the most powerful. When we set all these new year’s resolutions, we can get really hung up in, I should be doing this and I should be doing this and this long complicated plan. And a lot of it will fall short. The other thing about setting big new year’s resolutions is that for me personally, a lot of the kind of starting fresh action steps that I like to initiate in my life and my business naturally work in the springtime.
Sage Lavine
00:02:03
I’m a little bit more attuned to the seasons. Some of you might resonate with that. Right? In the middle of winter, especially where I live in Santa Cruz, California. We actually have seasons. It’s cold, it’s rainy, it’s chilly. It stark. We’re putting on thick sweaters and raincoats and hats and gloves, making pots of stew and thinking about, you know, starting fresh with some big thing for the whole year can almost be a little bit of a hindrance. So this new year, the possibility is to orient around one word of intention that you’re not going to forget. You’re not going to forget it in three months. You’re not going to forget it at the end of the year. You know, every year I even choose a word and I have the word printed somewhere. Last year, my friend Vivian Glyck sent me this. [holds up sign that reads, “quantum”]
Sage Lavine
00:02:48
So I had it on my living room wall. I could not forget my word last year, quantum.
In 2017, the word that I chose was wealth. I wanted to understand that year… what really is wealth? Not just financial wealth, but well, a feeling, a wealth of time, feeling a wealth of love, feeling a wealth of money. I did want to explore what it felt like to really have money, to have more than enough coming in… more than enough to grow my team, to invest in things in my business. And that was the year that we went into the multi seven figures. Sage Lavine
00:03:29
It was 2018 that I chose the word team. I did a lot of team building things that year. I hired a few more people. Our team grew to, I think, close to 20 people on the team. I took them to the spa. We really bonded. We talked about what it meant to grow a team.
That year, like I said, I was able to hire more team members and our team got stronger than ever before. This past year, my word has been quantum. I wanted to understand quantum love, quantum service, quantum impact, quantum success. I wanted to understand this, this idea of just more and especially in the area of love. I’m super proud to say that intention resulted in my sweetheart Drew asking me to marry him!
Sage Lavine
00:04:16
He proposed down on the beach and we had the most incredible engagement. My dear friend, Elizabeth Ocean, actually was down there and snapped this picture. For those of you that can’t see it. This is a picture of Drew down on one knee in the sunset with me throwing my head back, tears rolling down my face. When Drew proposed to me, it was like, everything made sense. I waited for this man for 10 years. I left my husband 10 years ago and was ready to get married. I thought my next guy was like waiting for me around the corner. I figured I’d be married again within a year or two. For the last 10 years, I have been on a soul-searching mission to align with my biggest vision, for my impact on humanity.
Sage Lavine
00:05:01
My commitment to change lives, my dedication to supporting rockstar entrepreneurs, to live completely on mission, to change the world and to have the business building strategies to do that. And there were times that I thought, “Oh my god, what if all of this energy that I’m pouring into my business is going to result in me, never having the kind of love that I really want.”
I am proud to say that Drew loves me in a way that I’ve never been loved before. I want to put a stake in the ground for every single one of you who might still be single or might have found yourself single and midlife, or be thinking about starting over in a new relationship. I want to put a stake in the ground that I promise you. When you keep your heart open, the greatest love of your life absolutely lies ahead.
Sage Lavine
00:05:43
What I also want to share, you guys, is that your business can’t actually rob you of your time when you commit to making sure you have balance. Don’t let your business hold you hostage. For 10 years, I consistently either was dating myself or was dating other people. I made time every week to get on, you know, online dating sites to keep my heart open. I had three different relationship mentors, two of them that helped me learn how to date. I probably went out on over 50, you know, walking dates or tea dates.
Sage Lavine
00:06:24
I’m not a coffee drinker, but I went out on at least 50 or more dates over that time and had several shorter relationships with amazing men who helped me open my heart even more. What I want to ask you this year is to really commit, you guys, to commit to making sure you’re putting time in your schedule for things that aren’t just business. Okay? You cannot build a business that takes over your life. You have to have…right? You have to have a business that fits into your life and that begins with you. So do not let your business hold you hostage. If there’s something you need to do, if there’s things you need to put in your schedule so that you feel balanced this year, please do it.
Sage Lavine
00:07:08
Okay, rockstar. If this content is resonating with you, and if you see yourself speaking, taking the stage, building an online speaking business in the future… I’d like to invite you to take my Speaker Superpower Quiz. It’ll just take 2 minutes. Whether you’re a visionary, a truth teller, a motivator, or a nurturer, I’ll send you a bunch of business growing hacks based on your speaker superpower, so you can take a deep dive into your superpower and really learn how to leverage it to rock the stage and find your clients online. You’ll get my favorite tips to use all 4 speaker superpowers to grow your speaking based business, grow your confidence as a leader and make an even bigger difference on the planet leading both virtual and live stages. Just take the free 2-minute quiz at www.womenrockingbusiness.com/quiz. That’s www.womenrockingbusiness.com/quiz. I cannot wait for you to discover your speaker superpower!
Sage Lavine
00:08:16
I also want to put a stake in the ground that you as an entrepreneur, you’re going to need new rituals. If you haven’t spent your whole life as an entrepreneur, if you haven’t spent your whole life working from home, you’re going to need new rituals because of your business. You’re going to need to take time when you set your business aside at the end of the day, to close down your computer. I like to walk around the block. I like to call a friend. I like to get in water if I can. I have a hot tub, I have a sauna. So what are the rituals that you’re doing so that you’re not thinking about your business all the time… Because let’s all be honest. You can’t really work on your business for more than 35 or 40 or 45 hours a week. You’re just going to blow out.
Sage Lavine
00:08:57
One of the biggest dangers I think is that we think about our business too much. It can be a slow drain on our energy. If you find yourself thinking the same thought over and over again, you got to get into action around that. What are you chewing on? Make a new plan. I was having a conversation in my head with one of my team members and I caught myself having the conversation three times. I thought I need to make some notes so that I can actually sit down with this team member and go through these notes and really see if we’re on the same page. Right? So the things that you’re thinking about over and over again, you got to get into action around them.
Sage Lavine
00:09:37
Don’t let your brain hijack you. I also recommend for those of you that are taking notes to schedule time to think, because you need time to think as an entrepreneur, you can’t always just be doing, doing, doing.
I think best when I’m walking in nature, taking a shower can really help me find clarity in my thoughts, schedule time to think so that your thinking can be productive. Does that make sense? You’ve got to actually have that time set aside so that you’re not chewing on it and thinking about it during the times that you really should be working, getting things done, right? Those key hours during the day. I like to really be productive between the kind of 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM range.
Sage Lavine
00:10:23
If I can be really productive in those hours, I find that I can have really luxurious mornings where I have time to think about things I can do my morning practice. I can get done with work in time to have some sunlight, to be able to get back outside.
Here’s the thing. We cannot be victims as entrepreneurs. If you find yourself getting cranky, it might be because you haven’t been doing enough things for yourself. It also might be because you aren’t getting the results you really need to feel great about continuing to keep going. If you’re cranky, it’s not necessarily because the business isn’t really meant to be. It’s not necessarily because you’re not meant to be doing this, or you’re not good at it.
Sage Lavine
00:11:06
If you’re cranky, it might be, you’re not taking care of yourself. It might be, you’re not getting your results. So those are a couple places to look. Do. I need to put some things in my schedule this week to take more care of myself or do I need to hire someone that can actually help me have the results that I need to feel great about what I’m doing? Because when you’re getting your results, it’s a huge quantum leap forward. It’s a huge feeling of nourishment and satisfaction, right? We have to be getting those results to be able to continue and to be able to sustain putting in those long hours. And so I’m putting a stake in the ground for every single one of you to go get your results, stay open to love.
1Sage Lavine
00:11:49
Remember that your life is going to… doors are gonna open up for you because of your business, not in spite of your business. You know, I didn’t find Drew, the love of my life, who we laugh more than I’ve ever laughed in any relationship. We play more in this relationship than any relationship. We’re constantly grabbing the Frisbee, grabbing the basketball, you know, wrestling each other, constantly, all these inside jokes. We believe in each other. He knows what I’m up to. I know what he’s up to. We’re mission driven and we’re committed to changing the world together, but also to having like the best life ever. And now that I’ve found him, I couldn’t settle for a relationship that was anything less than this, because I know this exists.
Sage Lavine
00:12:35
For me, this exists because of my business. You guys, I met Drew when I was staying with one of my dear entrepreneurial friend & rockstar mentor, Lee rector. Lee was the one that actually helped me find drew on Bumble. She insisted, I go across the street and meet him at the resort there, right on the beach. Drew and I had our first date, literally in one of the most impeccably gorgeous sort of next level resorts in Maui, overlooking Molokai, watching the sunset, getting in the saltwater pool, looking into each other’s eyes, just being like, where have you been? Where have you been all my life?
Sage Lavine
00:13:17
We felt the same way. And we felt it immediately. I met him because of my business. I met him because I was in the right place at the right time masterminding with one of my colleagues. I read on his profile that he had done coaching, training, therapeutic trainings, NVC training, Hakomi training. I recognized him because of who I’ve become and the relationships in my life and my closest friends are all mission-driven in the way that I am. We connect because of our commitment to our businesses, not in spite of. You’re going to have the most incredible miraculous stores open for you this year, because you go all in on your business, not in spite of.
Sage Lavine
00:14:03
So tell me your word. Tell me what your word is. I would love to know, like I said, my word this year is freedom. My word this year is freedom. Last year, it was quantum and whoa, quantum quantum came through and this year there’s another level of freedom for me that I’m calling in. It’s especially freedom from old limiting beliefs, familial patterns, habitual ways of thinking that I learned from as far back as being a child and maybe even before this lifetime. It’s a spiritual freedom. It’s a freedom to love a freedom within love.
Sage Lavine
00:14:44
It’s a freedom to choose each moment how I’m being. That’s what freedom means to me. What does you word mean to you? I would love to know. Please pop your word below into the comments and thank you for being a mission driven rock star. I hope you have an absolutely incredible week. Let’s make it an incredible year so we can go change the world together with our businesses. Let’s do this thing. Your clients are waiting. Bye everybody!
You’ve been listening to Women Rocking Business. I’m Sage Lavine. The next step is to join our private Facebook group. The Women Rocking Business Sisterhood and introduce yourself over there for the real and vulnerable conversation of what it really takes to launch and scale a business you love in that Sisterhood group. We have each other’s backs, each other’s sides and each other’s fronts. This is true collaboration. So go grab a seat in the Sisterhood because we can go so much further when we go together, you’ll find a link to the private Sisterhood group and do our upcoming events in the show notes.
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