Woo-Woo Practices for the Modern Small Business Owner
When you run your own business things get personal really fast. Things you never imagined sharing with someone else all of a sudden become normal everyday conversation. The gray lines of what to do, and what to say become even blurrier and eventually you just have to settle into a routine.
What works for us may not work for everybody, but that’s the way life is supposed to be. Today we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite things - some may be a bit woo - woo, but they have made a huge difference in our lives and business.
Me Time
When we started using Trello to organize our business and lives, it became clear we needed to add a little “me” time into our days. Stress levels seemed at an all time high and we were in desperate need of a system to cut the crap, get down to business, but also give us some freedom and space to do more of what we love.
Abagail: I’ve found the only way “me” time is happening is if I write it down. For me that means a planned workout twice a week - every Tuesday and Thursday morning. No, I don’t wake up early. I take me time to work on my body both physically and emotionally. This is my favorite time to think and learn.
Emylee: Luckily I can take my “me” time when Abagail is working out (it might make sense for me to work out as well, but you know). So on Tuesdays and Thursdays I know that we aren’t getting started until 9 or so. This allows me to do whatever I need that day to rejuvenate. I’m one of those weird extroverted introverts so while I’m outgoing at events, people wear me out tremendously. I might sleep in, go grab coffee, do some laundry, watch a show or browse Pinterest just for fun on these days. It’s super relaxing, and helps make the most of the rest of the day.
Daily Affirmations
We take 30-seconds to write down a daily affirmation and record it inside our Trello weekly calendar. An affirmation, by definition, is the assertion that something exists or is true declared as a statement.
Abagail: It sounds silly, but by writing these things down miraculous things have happened like record sales months, family members surviving stage 4 cancer, and watching Emylee get the call about adopting. For some people affirmations feel like lying, but for me telling the universe what I want just seems to make it that much more likely to come true.
Emylee: These can be seen as woo-woo but honestly they’re just about the vibe you’re putting out into the world. If you’re negative or doubtful that something will work out chances are it’s not going to work out. So why waste time being a negative self-fulfilling prophecy when you can be a positive one? We’ve had a lot going on in the last 7 months like reaching financial milestones, buying a house in another state, and getting the call for a baby. My mom said recently maybe she needed to watch what she was asking for us some days because so much was happening!
Essential Oils
This might be the biggest woo-woo practice of them all, but when it comes down to it if you’re not healthy and functioning your business won’t either. Instead of running off to the doctor every time something flares up we’ve learned to reach for the oldies but goodies, essential oils. We personally use and love Young Living Essential Oils.
Abagail: Emylee has not just changed my business, but my life. I used to be sick ALL of the time. Like raspy throat, cough, body aches, and non-stop headaches. Emylee introduced me to the idea of using essential oils to replace things we already tend to reach for - allergy medication, ibuprofen, and even cold medicine. As someone who has always avoided medication (I’d rather hurt than have some foreign chemical in me) I was up for trying it. I now use essential oils every single day. My allergy flare ups are few and far between. I no longer wake up from dry mouth (thanks to my diffuser). I haven’t been sick in 8 months (knock on wood). Now that I feel better I am more productive, and spend far less time wasting away in doctors offices.
Emylee: Although essential oils have been in my life since I was little, I started using them more frequently in 2014. Holy moly. I was never a sicky person, but my hormones were all out of whack. I thought the attitude, the PMS, the bitchy-ness was just a part of being me. Let me tell you, it doesn’t have to be that way. I have my daily routine now of oils that support my body, and it makes me a better human.
Natural and Organic
The “natural and organic” way ranges anywhere from food, to clothes to cleaning products. We’re constantly seeking the best for our business and households, and truly try to leave the smallest footprint when possible.
Abagail: As with pretty much anything woo-woo I remained skeptical, but I knew I wanted an alternative. I was tired of chemicals in literally everything - my face wash, laundry detergent, air freshener, bug spray, etc. Slowly but surely I have replaced many of my normal everyday products with natural alternatives. Which in many cases means I now make them from scratch or when I can’t (or I am lazy) I buy from others in our tribe who specialize in these sorts of things. My big girl dream is to have a line of lipstick (literally for sale) made from 100% natural products that lasts all day long!
Emylee: Once essential oils came in and changed my life I knew I wanted to focus on other areas as well. We shop local when we can mostly to support our community’s businesses, but also because it’s usually cheaper. We’ve shifted our mindset to not expect strawberries in the winter, buy only what we need, and find products that can be multifaceted.
Keep Calm and Carry On
As two type A, high strung, opinionated, independent woman we both are in desperate need of stuff to keep us chill and relaxed. Otherwise Abagail will turn into chatty cathy or worried wonda and Emylee will be the over caffeinated crazy plant lady (spoiler alert: she still is).
Abagail: Woah, even reading that last sentence made me a little crazy. I have two major recommendations to calm the crazy. One - if you don’t have the app called Calm, go right now and download it. At my 9 to 5 this was my go to after a two hour meeting and I wanted to pull my hair out. Now I use the guided meditations to fall asleep when I can’t turn my creative brain off from all the cool stuff we have brewing at TCC. Two - Yoga. If you haven’t tried it, you should. Every good entrepreneur needs to know how to stare at a ceiling and not think. WAY WAY harder than you think. That combined with the natural exercise and it is pretty much a win, win, win.
Emylee: As someone who is generally pretty all over the place, I’ve struggled with getting into Yoga and Meditations. I personally love Barre classes and Pilates (specifically Pilates by Robin). It’s only in these type of workouts that I can truly focus on something other than my to-do list.
Good Vibes, Good JuJu and Old-Fashioned Prayer
When you need help in life or business you can’t be afraid to ask for it. People are good. People will surprise you. You just have to ask in ways that lets them give back in whatever way feels best for them. In a few moments of desperation, namely Emylee’s adoption and Abagail’s friend having brain surgery we asked our tribe for whatever they could spare - happy thoughts, good vibes, good ju-ju, prayer. They mustered together and create a powerful force that is hard to be reckoned with.
Abagail: Raised Roman Catholic (now a practicing Methodist) I used to always just ask people to pray for me when I needed help. By being a bit more open and using more inclusive language I’ve been surrounded by a tribe of super giving people from all walks of life. I’ll take it all. Good is good no matter what religion your practice or culture you come from. I take what I can get and it has helped more times than I can count.
Emylee: You get what you put out into this world. Period. Our entire business is structured on the give, give, give model and that’s come back a thousand times over. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see members of our tribe reaching out and going above and beyond for others in our group. It’s happened too many times to count and it gives me goosebumps every time. So whatever we’re doing to attract those amazing humans, we’re going to do more of that.
So there you have it. The sometimes woo-woo, always effective ways we sprinkle goodness into our business. Have you tried any of these methods? Do you want to pick a couple to implement this week? We’d love to hear what you choose and the effect it has in your business! Comment below or catch up with us on Instagram to keep us in the loop.
