School’s Out for Summer!

So it’s the first Monday of July and this week has a “schools out” feel here at Selling from the Heart!

Because as of Friday my private mentoring group, Business from the Heart has officially broken up for the holidays. This is the first year that I’ve built in a summer break into the programme and I’ve decided to share the thinking behind it with you as it may encourage you to bring a bit of the holiday spirit into your business too.

Why we break for summer
Last year I observed my clients taking time off to go on holiday, spend time with family or just slow down after a busy 6 months running launches, workshops or laying the foundations for their business growth.  I also noticed how many of them didn’t give themselves permission to actually enjoy this time.  I heard a lot of guilt and a lot of “shoulds”.  People giving themselves a hard time for not making the most of the programme and worries about “falling behind” – as if growing a business is a race!

But my clients are not robots. And neither are you. You are human and you are spirit and you are not created to work at an intense pace for 12 months of the year – even though that seems to be what so many of us expect for ourselves. Yes of course there are times when it’s important to focus, and times when giving things a big push and putting your all into a project is exciting and exactly what is needed. But we also need time to slow down, have fun and rest our spirits.

It is also a lifestyle choice for me as a business owner.   I work very hard through certain times of the year (I’m definitely not  a member of the “4 hour work week” camp!).   Autumn is particularly busy when I launch and run my “Get More Clients Saying Yes!” course and in the new year and spring I’m busy with the Business from the Heart Mentoring Programme.   Not to mention VIP days and private clients, speaking engagements and writing blog posts.   It’s a busy life as a business owner!    And so I have built in July and August as a time when I too take my foot of the pedal and use the time to relax, spend time with friends and family, take holiday, catch up on stuff around the house, and generally take things at a slower pace.

For me I feel a real rhythm to the seasons – in winter I find it easy to spend the long dark evenings creating content or running webinars and I’m happy to throw myself into my work.   But in the summer I feel restless.  I want to be outdoors more.   I want more freedom and less commitments.

So if , like me,  the energy of summer calls for you to slow down, walk barefoot in the grass, drink one too many Pimms of an afternoon and sit under the stars before bed – then do that.    And do it without guilt, without beating yourself with “shoulds” and self-talk of “not going fast enough”.

And I don’t mean stop work altogether either.   I find that summer is a great time for taking consistent daily action on the things that will make the biggest difference in the longer term – even just a few hours a day of activity on the things that matter can have a huge impact on the rest of the year.

And depending on your business model you may need to continue with regular activity to generate clients in the short term.   But try and do it with a spring in your step and a relaxed approach – I find that just an “attitude” of being on summer break gives me a different quality of experience – even on the days when I end up working just as much as ever.

I will most definitely be working this summer – I’ll be attending a seminar in the US, meeting with my wonderful team, and working behind the scenes to prepare for opening the doors to the supported “Get More Clients Saying Yes!” programme and the enrolment for the 2016 mentoring group.  So it’s not that I take time off completely – it’s just that I operate at a different pace and with a different focus to the rest of the year – as per that old cliché “a change is as good as a rest”!

So have a wonderful summer, give yourself a chance to slow down and enjoy life (guilt free).  You will come back in September refreshed and more able to serve and support the clients that you love.

Your business and your clients will thank you for it!