I believe a happy business is a successful business. The more that you’re ‘in love’ with your business, the more you’ll be inspired to put the effort in and the more your business will grow.

So what are the 5 secrets to building a business you love?

1.      Feeling free

We’ve all left behind the 9-5 for various reasons, but the one that comes up again and again is to have freedom. Freedom to choose the work you do, where you work, who you work with, how long you work. And generally once you’ve tasted the ‘free’lance lifestyle you never want to go back.

But I bet you’ll recognise these scenarios. You’re working longer hours than you did in your ‘real’ job. You’re anxious about money so you’re saying yes to work you don’t really want to do. You’re procrastinating about what move to make next. You’re scared of being visible and showing up and looking like a fool, so you’re avoiding making the most of social media.

The other 4 points deal with all of the issues that makes us feel less than free!

2.      Making enough money

Only you know what ‘enough’ money means to you. How much money do you want to earn in your business? Are you bold with your goals?

It’s really hard to love your business when it’s barely able to feed you, and you’re constantly stressed about where the next months rent is going to come from.

You get to decide how much you sell your products for and how you work with.

Do you know who your ideal customer is, the one that loves what you do and pays you a handsome price for it?

Are you charging enough for your services? It takes the same amount of time to get a customer paying you £100 as £10.

Take these examples I can pay £10 for a candle or £100, I can pay £30 an hour for someone’s services or £300. I can get a hair cut for £7.50 or £70.

In every industry there is a massive difference across price ranges. It’s the estimated value that people are paying for – how much value are you giving people? How much joy or transformation do you offer with what you do?

And when you’re looking at pricing your services, think about how much money you want to earn and hour many hours you want to work – price your services so you can have the freedom you want.

3.      Feeling comfortable being you

The more ourselves we’re able to be, the happier we’ll be. When we’re trying to ‘fit’ in or wear a persona it’s really difficult to be 100% happy. We’re always looking to please and impress others.

I work with lots of women who’ve left the corporate world and then feel uncomfortable stepping out and just being themselves. We worry about what people might think, that we’re not good enough.

Here’s the rub. You can only be yourself. When you truly step into who you are, people are able to know, like and trust you. It’s the mantra of all good marketing. You’ll create genuine relationships with your clients and customers, and you’ll be attracting the right clients who love you.

The more ‘you’ you allow yourself to be, the more comfortable you’ll feel with sales and marketing. It’s not sleazy sales then, it’s just you being you, getting excited about your products and telling people how you can help them.

And the more ‘you’ you are, the stronger your brand. There is no-one else quite like you, you are your unique selling proposition!

4.      Building your brand on your values

There are going to be values that you hold dear, that are non-negotiable to you. That you can reflect on as you create your brand.

What’s important to you? Community, Freedom, Faith, Courage, Boldness, Fairness, Simplicity, Justice. You get to choose your own values. They’re unique to you.

These values are your prescription for happiness. The more you live your life away from these values, the more stressed, unhappy and disconnected you’ll become.

Use your values as the foundation of all that you do. They’ll help you build your brand, your messaging, your ideal customer, your products.

5.      Knowing what you’re doing and where you’re going

Having a strategy and the knowledge needed to pull it off is key to building a business you love!

How can you know where you’re going if you haven’t set out where there is? And once you’ve created your goal, you need a plan and strategy to get you there.

We all feel much happier when we know that the work we’re doing is contributing to our overall goal. Otherwise, you can end up wasting our time doing the wrong things.

What are the tasks that are going to get you where you want to be? What do you need to focus on to grow your business? Are there some things you need to learn? How are you going to stay motivated and accountable to make sure you get there?

Aimlessly drifting is an uncomfortable place in business. Wonderful in a lilo in the Mediterranean, not so good in a business context. What’s your plan?

And I’m going to stick a 6th in here, because it really is important and that’s rest.

Make sure you make time in your business to rest. Give your brain a break. Step away from the computer, have every Friday afternoon off, spend time with people you love at the weekend, don’t work in your bed!

Rest and restoration is so super important I cannot stress it enough. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

We get inspiration when we go for walks, when we chat to others, when we indulge in a spot of TV, when we have a bubble bath.

Look after yourself and never forget to rest, stop and pause.

I’m an award-winning business coach that helps entrepreneurs just like you build businesses they love. Imagine charging what you’re worth, having a waiting list of clients you love, being visible and truly you in your marketing and having a strategy to building your successful business. Why not book a free 20-minute call and we can talk about your business dreams.

Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels