As we hurtle towards the end of 2022, I felt it would be valuable to look back on my year to reflect on what I’ve achieved in the last 12 months. I think it’s really important to take the time to see how far we’ve come: often we’re so concerned with looking forwards that we don’t congratulate ourselves on what’s gone before!
It was a difficult start to the year. I knew that I was getting in the way of my own progress and could feel myself pulling back and making myself less visible, so I decided to do something about it. I did a lot of deep work to tackle the unhelpful patterns that were holding me back and it really unlocked a lot of momentum for me.
The first thing I did was something I’d been putting off for a while – I hired a Virtual Assistant to help me with those tasks I don’t enjoy, but which come with the territory of being a business owner. It’s made such a difference and really freed me up to think about developing my business further.
I dove back into social media, something I’d always struggled with. I’d been posting sporadically on LinkedIn but didn’t enjoy it, so now I’ve found a way to commit to regular posting. More recently I’ve started being active on Facebook, which has been a really big deal for me. I’d previously found the issue of being visible on that platform challenging, however everyone has been very encouraging thus far!
I started a monthly newsletter – something I’d been meaning to do for a long time but again had been putting off, and put myself forward as a speaker at Des O’Connor’s Women in Business Conference, the first time in at least three years that I’d spoken at a big conference, and I’ve also run several webinars. I also made a point of joining (and creating) several networks to build up my community and connect with other business leaders – something that’s so important when you’re an entrepreneur but often overlooked – we all need a tribe! Through this I’ve sponsored the Women in Sales award at the 2022 Women’s Business Club awards, because I think it’s vital that we support women doing a great job of selling themselves, or showing others how it should be done!
After the positive results I’d personally had with hypnotherapy, I trained as a hypnotherapist, which has culminated in partnering with global hypnotherapy brand Hypnofit®, running one of only two Hypnofit® clinics in the UK. I also expanded my existing catalogue, adding to my work with teams and departments about retention, motivational drivers and wellbeing with a 1:1 programme for leaders, which is going great guns. It looks at the issues leaders might have with confidence, self-doubt and imposter syndrome, depression, anxiety and trauma. Get in touch to find out more information on any of these programmes or my Hypnofit ® work. Alongside this I continued my neuroscience training to make sure I’m up to date on all the latest research and findings.
But maybe my two most important achievements this year have come from the deep work I mentioned at the outset: firstly, I stopped worrying so much about what people thought of me and have become a lot more comfortable with who I am, as well as embracing my unique skillset, rather than trying to fit in with what I thought I ‘should’ be. I now describe myself as a nurse-entrepreneur to connect my healthcare background to my work with teams and individuals.
Secondly, I’ve really connected with my value and worth as a business owner, and that really only comes from doing the deep work – reprogramming the old patterns that no longer serve me. I’m following my path, doing things that bring me joy and make a difference to others – this has meant stopping those things that weren’t making me happy, even though I thought they were necessary for success.
When I sat down to make these notes, I was stunned with how much I’d actually achieved – sometimes it’s difficult to see the wood for the trees and really appreciate how far you’ve come while you’re actually doing it! If you’d like to talk to about how you can escalate your own development, get in touch!
