Hi Reader!
This time of year, freedom is always on my mind.
I find myself thinking about whether my business is actually giving me the freedom I hoped it would when I started. It hasn’t always. Over the years, I’ve had to make changes, build systems, and rethink the way I work so my business could support my life instead of constantly competing with it.
I’ve shared before about supporting my mom and dad (Bud) through his cancer journey. That time together has meant more to me than I can put into words.
Bud passed away last Monday.
Since then, I’ve stepped away from my business for a week and a half to help my mom navigate the first days after losing her husband. I've been able to be there to help her deal with her grief, family descending like well-meaning and loving locusts (who all need fed), and the massive amounts of paperwork that come from a spouse's death. I've had the opportunity to grieve and tell stories and celebrate Bud with them without focusing on emails and client work.
As hard as these past days have been, they’ve reminded me why I built this business in the first place.
It wasn't so I could work from home, set my own hours, or even so I could be my own boss.
I wanted the freedom to be where my life needed me most.
Nine months ago, I couldn’t have imagined exactly what that would mean. Looking back now, I know this season would have been very different if I’d still been working a traditional corporate job.
That realization has me wondering something I’d encourage you to think about this weekend:
Does your business actually give you the freedom you need?
The interesting thing about freedom, for me, is that it changes over time.
When I started my business, freedom meant choosing my own schedule, deciding who I wanted to work with, and not having to ask permission to take a day off.
Those things still matter to me, maybe more than ever, but life has a way of redefining your priorities.
Sometimes freedom looks like going to your kid's ballgame without checking email under the bleachers. Other times it looks like caring for aging parents or a neighbor in need. It's even being able to say yes to an opportunity that comes out of nowhere or no to a client who isn’t the right fit.
Freedom is so much more than what your business lets you do.
It’s also about what you don't have to sacrifice.
That’s why I don’t think freedom is something that happens once you become a business owner. You build it, piece by piece, through your decisions and actions:
- Every system you put in place.
- Every boundary you enforce.
- Every marketing process that keeps work coming in.
- Every price increase that lets you work with fewer, better aligned clients.
Those decisions rarely feel like freedom while you’re making them, but they become the reason you have it.
If you haven't already thought out this, I want to encourage you to change your perception a bit this week. Instead of focusing on if your business is a success (a loaded term), ask yourself if it's supporting the life you want to build.
Take a few minutes to ask yourself these questions and really think about your answers:
- If something unexpected happened next week, could I step away for a few days?
- Do I own and manage my calendar, or do my clients?
- Which parts of my business create freedom, and which ones restrict me?
- Am I building systems and making decisions because they’re “good business,” or because they’ll give Future Me more flexibility?
- If I were starting over today, knowing what I know now, what would I change?
Really think about your answers. Are they were you want to be? If not, it might be time to start making some changes.
Building a business should be about possibilities
One of the reasons I spend so much time talking about systems, boundaries, marketing and pipeline consistency, pricing, and positioning isn’t because I love business processes. I don’t!
I love what they make possible.
For me, those systems bought me something I couldn’t have predicted when I started out two decades ago. They bought me time with my dad, the ability to be present for my mom, and time with family.
I don't think any of us starts a business hoping we’ll need that kind of freedom. But life has a way of reminding us what really matters.
So while everyone (in the US at least) is celebrating the birth of a nation this weekend, maybe take a few minutes to ask a different question.
Does my business give me the freedom I’ll need when life inevitably demands more of me?
It's not too late to make changes and move toward the type of freedom you need in your life. I'm moving into a new season now, and I'm excited about it! I'm all in on Boss Responses, and I have a few new projects in the works too. One of them is a little old school, and I'm excited to share about that in the next few weeks.
I want to thank you for being part of my journey, my friend. And thank you even more for letting me be part of yours.
Cheers,
Treasa
