The Maroon Suit

When I started Worx 8 years ago, I had no idea how to run a business. I didn’t have any formal business training, I wasn’t sure how to file legal papers and I sure as heck wasn’t able to replace my income from my full time job right away. What I did have was an idea and a burning desire to live it everyday.  I knew I wanted to work for myself and do what I love everyday. So I committed to doing that.

I had been working as a professional in my industry for a few years and was familiar with the idea of being a business woman. I knew they dressed in suits, went to meetings and came back and did their duties. The next day they would do the same thing over again. To me, these women were successful. They appeared to have it all figured out and were living the life I wanted. So, the first thing I did when I started my business was buy a suit.

This wasn’t any ordinary suit. This was a maroon suit. I felt special in it. It had a coat and a pencil skirt, both of which were maroon. I had a nice white blouse that I wore underneath of it and when I had this on, I felt like I had made it. I was one of those successful women.

After wearing it to a half a dozen meetings or so, each of which I took out my nose ring and put my hair in a slick back bun, something started to feel off. I was uncomfortable wearing it. I hated putting on pantyhose and the more I saw the color maroon, the more I hated it. I felt like a fraud. I was putting on a front based on what I saw and felt was “success.”

It didn’t take me long to realize that this was not for me. I’m sure there are lots of lovely maroon suit wearing ladies out there that are killing it! You go girls! But for me, I had to put the suit away. I started dressing more like a creative professional. My fav - blazer and a graphic t-shirt, WITH my nose ring. The more I started to dress like myself, the more I started to talk like myself. The more I talked like myself, the more I attracted clients that appreciated me for who I was and what I could offer them. I went from being uncomfortable and attracting the wrong clients to feeling confident and attracting the best clients.

What are you doing in your business that feels like it just isn’t you? Are you putting on a front, feeling as though you have to impress someone with a version of yourself that doesn’t truly exist? Are you following a business model that someone else is using but feel a disconnect with it? Are you marketing in a corporate way when you’re really light hearted and funny? Are you wearing a suit when you should be sporting your favorite fashion? Are you offering a service that you really do not care for and keep thinking about one you wish you were?

Anytime you feel a disconnect with your business it’s an opportunity to dig deeper and get in touch with who you really are and how you want people to experience your brand. The beautiful thing about being in business for yourself is you do not have to follow the “business rules.” There are absolutely some best practices to adopt, but when it comes to building your business, you have an opportunity to create it in a way that you want to work with people. You can create your tone, your look, what you offer and how you offer it. Your business is unique! Why try to be like another business when you can be like yours. Be a poster business for what others strive to be. Show your courage to be different. Create a culture that is magnetic and inspire others to do the same. Just because someone else is successful doesn’t mean their path is right for you. By staying true to yourself, you will create your own unique path of success.

I donated that ridiculous maroon suit. Today I’m sporting me, and that works.

Don't beat yourself up!

I’ve had a few people ask me in the past few weeks, “How did you get started?” I love that question because it gives me a chance to reflect. It also gives me an opportunity to share some experience and pass down what I’ve learned.

Here’s the cliff notes version:

In 2007, my husband and I decided to start a family. I was working for the phone book, designing yellow page ads. I’ve always known I wanted to work for myself, but never really had the push I needed to do it - until the summer of 2007. With my family goals changing and my desire to be more creative growing, I faced a tough decision. Do I stay here with a secure paycheck and “work through it,” or do I leave it all behind and start something new? I took some time to really let it sink in. It wasn’t an overnight decision.

I had been freelancing for a while so I had an established client base, I had the equipment that I needed and my husband fully supported my decision. One day it dawned on me - the fear left, the doubt took a hike and I stood strong knowing that I was going to take a risk. Soon thereafter, Worx (and my son Kandon) were born.

I remember wishing I were further along. I wanted to grow faster. I wanted to achieve everything the second I started it. Now I’m looking back at eight years thinking, how did things go by so quickly? It’s like watching a child grow – it happens right in front of you, but you don’t realize it until you break out the photo album.

As humans, we spend a lot of time thinking about the future. The future is shiny and perfect. The future has everything we dream about in it. What about right now? What is happening in your journey right now that is teaching you the valuable skills and lessons you’ll need to achieve your goal? Be patient with yourself and what’s happening around you. If you’re taking action, you’re moving forward. If you’re moving forward, you’re making progress. If you’re making progress, you’re being successful. Don’t beat yourself up! You’re that much closer each and every day.

What can you do to get started and create momentum? Here are a few things I like to use as positive reinforcement.

1. Make a list. I love lists because it gives me the satisfaction of crossing things off. It’s visual reinforcement that I’m getting shit done. And nothing beats the satisfaction of crumbling that thing up and tossing it in the trash. 
2. Meet people. Swap out the sweatpants for some work pants, leave the house and meet some people. Chamber events, networking groups or having a lunch with fellow business owners are great ways to build your network. 
3. Find a mentor. I adore my mentors because they help me get outside of my own head and focus on what’s important. A mentor or coach can help you to focus on your goals and give you the pep rally you need to keep going. 
4. Celebrate your milestones. When you achieve a goal, whether small or monumental, celebrate it! You’ve worked hard and deserve to kick back and pat yourself on the back. Grab a drink with friends, veg out on the couch or treat yourself to a steak dinner. Whatever you enjoy! 
5. Be patient with yourself. Don’t beat yourself up when something goes haywire. Your progress only stops when you do. If you’re making effort you’re moving forward. Keep your eye on the prize!

Your progress timeframe may be different than the people you admire or follow. Everyone has had his or her own struggles or setbacks. They may just be at a different part of the journey than you are. The progress you make, whether one step or a huge leap, is important and valuable to your success. One day you’ll crack open the figurative business photo album and say, wow, look at how far I’ve come!

Banning The B Word

I can’t today.

I don’t have time.

I won’t make it…

I recently heard a wise man challenge me and my associates to ensure that we do not mistake busyness for productivity. In our Worx culture, we live to live less busy. To ensure that our answer for, “how are you?” is not busy. It’s a passive way of replying “I don’t have time for you; everything else is a priority before you.”

That’s when I realized words that once held the power of positive action, we’ve turned into negative connotations via one tiny stroke in the air. With this mark, we create contractions. I call them four-letter words.

As I was recently browsing on one of the greatest time wasters (and I say I’m too busy?) a post across the great Atlantic Ocean caught my attention:

“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.'”  

-Lao Tzu

When I was younger, my brothers tried to convince me “they” [the government] were going to change time. Either they would add a day or elongate the days by hours. How would it affect us as humans? It would change our school schedule. In the negative. I almost believed them.

However, looking back I think how many times I hear myself and adults wish for more hours in a day. Because we don’t have time. Because we are too stressed. Because we are too busy.

So we can’t, we don’t and we won’t.

However, since working at Worx, I learned two invaluable practices:

Make the moments count: We must learn time isn’t about us; it’s about others. Everyone is allotted 24 hours a day no matter where his or her hour hand is. It’s not about borrowing, giving, taking, wishing away, looking back or speeding up time. It’s about sharing time.

Make the conversations intentional: Ban the apathetic four-letter words. Including the “B” word, busy. Be presumptuous. Someone at some point will be asking you, "how are you?" Prepare your answer. Assume that someone will ask for a favor or invite you to be part of his or her inner circle. Be imaginative and find a way to abstain from those pesky go-to contraction words.

Because you do have time. You just have to decide if you want to or don’t want to.

Are you going to let that tiny stroke in the air steal your action? Are you going to do or don’t?

Facing Your Fears

Fear is a 4-letter word all of us are familiar with. Some experience it less than others. Some are fearful; some are fearless. It’s even referenced in Brandstarter with the clever acronym “False Expectations Appearing Real.”

To celebrate 8 years since Laura opened the doors of Worx, we had a team birthday party. No balloons and streamers here, though. Instead, a 22’ pole, rope ladders, zip-lining, a huge swing and tightropes through tree canopies. It was a fun day overall, but every single one of us achieved personal goals and faced some major fears.

How do you know when you’re feeling “fear”? Does your heart race? Does your mind think of worst-case scenario endings? Do you shake from head to toe? We all felt a combination of those feelings when in reality our lives were not in danger. We had the proper safety equipment, a trained professional and our team to rely on. We all admit to repeating the same question and answer in our heads throughout the day.

“Will I die?” “No.”

During the climb of the 22’ pole, my body was shaking; I had to pause to control my breathing. I wanted to get to the top more than anything. The harness was attached to a rope that was being held by other members in my group. If I fell, I wouldn’t get hurt. Reaching the top and standing tall was liberating and joyful. I faced my fear, and I lived! So, while there are legitimate things to make you fear for your life in this world, most of the ones we face for personal or professional advancement isn’t life or death. 

The entire day, the bond grew stronger between the team as a whole and between each of us individually. To know we could rely on others, and we were willing to help each other in any way, demonstrated the importance of a team. 

Whether it’s your company, your family or a group of friends or a group of strangers, who is there during the initial fear? Can you count on them? A support team of motivators can really elevate your progress and successes.

While my favorite activity was the zip-line, the swing was also quite the adrenaline rush. As the harness attached to the rope is pulled by the rest of your team, raising you into the air, you feel it click into place. The only thing left to do is pull the lever. This frees the attached person from the rope stabilizing their height and allows you (and me, in this case) to fall and swing above the trees. The only way I was able to pull the lever was not hesitating. If you think about it too much, over-analyze the situation; you’ll never pull it. So with a green light from Clive (our man of the day!), I pulled the lever and experienced an amazing flying sensation.

The most challenging part of the day for me was the tight ropes between the trees. Constantly stabilizing my body and weight for 45 minutes straight literally led to muscle failure. I was completely exhausted physically and mentally. How can you avoid exhaustion? Pause when you need too, refuel as you go. Realize you are stronger than you think and keep going. Muster up that one last UMPH! to keep going. While I had to pause and regather my thoughts, I had special people around me helping me to appreciate my progress rather than feeling the frustration of my apparent weakness.

So, the next time you face fear, whether it’s starting a new job, giving a speech, or bungee jumping, ask yourself:

Who is there to help me?

How will it feel to overcome this fear?

How can I pace myself mentally and physically in order to succeed?

If you're interested in facing similar fears in an outdoor adventure atmosphere, visit upwardenterprises.com

The secret to getting sh*t done.

I sat down to write this blog an hour ago. Since then, I have been distracted by red notification dots, office antics, an article about coconut oil and how big my pores are. Getting shit done always seems worse when I am trying to focus. Truth: uninterrupted productivity is usually impossible - whether you are a solopreneur or have an office full of employees. There are random ideas and/or brainstorming sessions, people with questions, phone calls, emails, etc., that distract from pending projects. All of the trivial things that we mentally check off (i.e. checking emails or Facebook) seem like real work when we really are not getting anything done at all.

“Until further notice, Amber ain’t gonna be able to do it!”

Sometimes you have to get off the grid and become unavailable for a while. Once a month at Worx we schedule a Blackout Day. Here are the ground rules: no email, phone, internal or external meetings. While these things are important, they eat up a lot of time when there is a looming deadline. In the days leading up to the Blackout Day, each of us comes up with a personal plan of action for what is top priority. We turn off the phones, close out our emails and only communicate (if needed) though our in-office messaging system, Slack. And you know what? No client is ever upset because they didn’t get a response the same day. Things are generally never as urgent as we make them out to be. Our expectations for communication, meetings and deliverables make life very difficult if we aren’t consciously making an effort to schedule things out in a way that allows breathing room.

Staying focused and diligent is fantastic, but it is impossible to do it all alone. Get help when you need it so you can focus on the big picture. If there is someone that is able to take away some of the workload, delegation is a beautiful thing. Everyone at Worx is working towards the same goal, so it is in our best interest to help each other out when possible. If one person has a gap in their schedule and they can help complete a task, they do it. No one ever says that it isn’t their job. If one of us is a success, we all win.

Dump Thursday

Recently we started integrating “Dump Thursday” into our weekly schedule. I’m not referring to a weekly trip to the place where trash is taken, or a comical term for a bodily function. Instead, dumping things that no longer serve you.

There’s so much stuff. Everywhere.

It seems almost like bragging rights to have a lot of stuff. If that stuff isn’t serving you well or making you happier, then why have it? Collecting “things” seems like a commodity, but what void is it filling besides negative space in your home or work?

Take the time as frequently as you need to dump. Purge the things that no longer serve you. Does it make you happy? Does it bring you joy? Does it help you? The less stuff you have that doesn’t serve you, the more space you have to be surrounded by the things that actually do make you happier!

Here are 3 reasons of why less is more:

-More time. By decreasing and simplifying the choices you make every day, the more time you have to enjoy the things that fulfill you. Imagine getting dressed every day and choosing only from clothes that you love and fit you perfectly. Imagine knowing right where your keys are as you walk out the door.

-More money. Throwing things out might not necessarily make you money, but it will save you money. The less you have, the less you’ll lose or break things. You’ll have fewer items, but higher quality and you’ll know exactly where they are.

-More joy. If your belongings are serving you well, making you happier and making your life easier, then the extra stuff was just space fillers. See, use and enjoy everything that you own and love. When it has finished serving its purpose, it’s ok to let it go.

Be intentional about the things taking up space in your life. Be it collections, clothes or even people! Respect yourself, your own time and your own space to know what is serving you well and bringing you joy.

Lean Into the Pain

Taking a leap of faith to start your own business takes a lot of guts. You couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But sometimes there is a nagging sense of doubt. Something is holding you back. It is time to talk about FEAR. In all reality, failure is never as scary as we make it out to be. At WORX we like to settle in and get cozy with what makes us a little uncomfortable, immersing ourselves in it so our weaknesses can become strengths. Recently, I listened to Rourke Denver speak at a conference, and there are a few things I will keep with me forever.

Whatever brings you fear and hesitation – FACE IT.

How? Well, have you ever tried to tackle everything at once and felt like you weren’t accomplishing anything? Our brains just aren’t wired that way. Time and time again we have heard that there is no such thing as multitasking, only task switching. I don’t know about you but that feels overwhelming to me. When I feel overwhelmed, I don’t want to bother with any of it.

Whether you choose a small carry-on or a hefty suitcase for your next trip, either way you will fill the bag. Choose wisely and don’t take on more work than you can handle. Taking something that seems impossible, intimidating or scary and breaking it into reasonable chunks makes it seem doable. By limiting your field of view, I promise you will see more.

Pain is an agent of fear. We are made to absorb pain (mental or physical) because we recover stronger than before. We refer to these as “growing pains” in our company culture. If something is broken, many of us stay in that situation because it is familiar, therefore more comfortable than changing it. Change is scary. This may be a surprise but small changes will only yield small results. You don’t have to do something because that is how it has always been done. Make BOLD corrections and ask, “Is there anything else I can do?” It is easier to make small adjustments moving forward.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be a solo act. Surround yourself with a support team of people that are in your corner rooting for you. Find the right group of people to play on your team who can help you find your rhythm. Once you find your rhythm, you will absolutely know you are where you are intended to be.