“I’m 60K in the red?!”
That was me reading my tax return the first few years I was in business.
To be fair, I was still on network television, so I was collecting a steady paycheck.
I wasn’t dependent on the income from my side hustle.
But, boy, when I made the decision to go full-on in my business, and only freelance on television on the side —-those were dark dark days.
I was so broke, that I was pouring coins out from a little silver box I got from India on my bedside table to cobble together the $2.00 to take the subway to work.
This happened within the last decade. It wasn’t so long ago, I’m embarrassed to say.
Starting a business is crazy overwhelming. In the early years, I said ‘yes’ to everything.
But I was often working for free, or at a deep discount, to gain traction.
I didn’t know how to negotiate my worth when it came to salary, so I was consistently underpaid. BUT—- I had NO blueprint for how to run a successful business either.
I was a GREAT survivor.
But I made a decision that day, as I was pouring out my “piggy bank” of coins, that I didn’t want to “just eek by”and SURVIVE anymore. I wanted (and deserved to) THRIVE with my business.
In the beginning, I said “yes” to everything.
Now, 13 years in, I say ‘no’ to everything.
I may not be the best at business, but I do know this:
Focus trumps talent any day.
For example, this week, someone asked me to plan a friend’s birthday.
“Why can’t you plan it?”
“Because people listen to you.”
Great, but here’s what I’m not interested in.
50 rounds of “I’m so busy and can’t do that date, can’t do this date” conversation.
I have less than month to go before I leave for the summer and am gone until July. I am hosting my Mastermind members in Greece for their retreat and preparing for their week intensive there.
I said, “I can’t do this.”
Today, I have systems in place that lock all of my revenue for the year by January.
In today’s video, I am sharing the daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly habits that helped me get there.
Daily (3 things)
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Joya’s Substack to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
