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I have a super fun guest for this post! And no, I’m not talking about my dog Luna, although she was nearby when we recorded the podcast that accompanies this post. My husband Mike joined me on the latest episode of the #PrettyAwkward podcast and I’m recapping our conversation below. We get into his perspective on my business and how it’s evolved over the past ten years or so.
Mike and I have been together pretty much since I started my business, so he’s seen me through a lot of shifts and pivots. Because of that, he has some really interesting insights to share. It was a great convo, so let’s start rehashing it below!
Mike reflected on how I had always wanted to do something in the entrepreneur space and he was very supportive of my Beach Body career. He noted that he goes back and forth on how he feels about MLMs, and he felt hesitant around the industry itself when I first got started.
When I started with BeachBody, I was an amazing student. I was a listener and a follower of directions. And sometimes, at that time – I followed what I was told to do blindly and didn’t question it. That’s something I encourage you to do in your own business – question everything! Question whether things you’re doing feel aligned with you, your goals, and where you want your business to go.
Mike reflected that when I started with BeachBody, he remembers it feeling wrong that I would say things like, “I have to get 50 messages a day out.” He wanted me to do what I wanted to do, but our relationship was pretty new so wasn’t as forthcoming in those thoughts at that time.
So again, the lesson from these reflections is to stop and question what you’re being told to do – does it make you feel good? And, the other lesson is to realize that you’re going to change and evolve over time, and that’s okay! It’s okay to look back and accept how different you are now than how you were then.
My goal back in the day was to be a millionaire BeachBody coach, but when I would tell Mike that, he was supportive, but he voiced that he actually thought I was going to do something else – something more.
I talked to him in this conversation about why he thought that. He saw me grinding for another company and knew I was meant to do something else, on my own and for myself.
He shared how – at the end of my time with Beach Body – he thought it was stressful. It was even stressful for him to watch. He recalled me being a little bit over the top to meet certain thresholds in the business and he thought it was unnecessary that some of the “loopholes” existed within the company to meet certain accomplishments in my Beach Body career.
There were moments when I was truly miserable and frantic to reach certain milestones in this business. I remember Mike asking me as I cried hysterically one morning at 5 am, “Is it worth it?”.
Let’s just say the BeachBody career path wasn’t Mike’s style, but he was still SUPER supportive of it. He didn’t agree with it, but he understood why I was in it. But all along, he knew I was going to do my own thing.
So that brings me to my first pivot. He shared that he was really excited when I came to the point of making this change.
Some people feel like when they make a change in their business they’re giving up or failing. But it’s just part of being an entrepreneur. For me, I could have stuck with Beach Body because that’s how I started my career, but I would have been unfulfilled and promoting something I really didn’t want to be talking about anymore. What kind of a life would that have been?
For my next pivot, I shifted from fitness coaching to business. This one happened a lot quicker. Mike’s perspective was that he trusts me blindly and believes in my instincts and smarts in business. He remembers it being an easy shift, which it was!
Once I made that shift, it took my business to another level. Mike remembers that initially, the influx of my income gave him more freedom surrounding what he wanted to do, but then he got more lax. From there, he looked for growth and it became more like a competition between the two of us regarding income. That spoke a lot to how our marriage was at the time.
This is something he’s much more comfortable with and our marriage is in a much better place now, and he knows that whatever business he starts next WILL be successful, but it doesn’t have to be now.
During that time, though, our communication wasn’t strong, but we didn’t realize that. We had separate finances, paid bills separately, and it really did feel like a competition.
Mike didn’t feel included in my growth and he felt secluded. He craved credit from me and his mission became to make more money than me at all costs. Around that time, we did separate for six months and COVID hit, so there was a lot going on!
But one of the biggest pivots I made in business was at that time. I was working like crazy, had 20 clients, and was constantly back to back in my schedule. Around the same time, Mike began to realize that money was not the be-all-end-all of life. Happiness is just as, if not more, important. What an important realization!
For me, my largest pivot comes not in shifting industries or changing up my business model, but in how I do business. I will no longer sacrifice certain things to work in order to make the maximum amount of money I can like I once was. Now, I prioritize spending time with my family, having a balance, and enjoying my life. That’s not always how things were.
The amount of growth that we’ve experienced over the past few years as a couple and both of us in our own business has been incredible, and we’re in such a better place for it now.
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When I told Mike that I was going to be giving up my mastermind program and clients and, thus, giving up a good chunk of income, Mike was super supportive. He shared that he wanted to ensure I wasn’t making a rash decision and doing what I TRULY wanted, and from there, he knew that we would figure it out.
He’s really poignant in how he communicates the need for patience and to let things happen in their own time. Giving up a big chunk of income won’t just be replaced in a month or a short amount of time. But it will eventually be replaced, and in a much better way for me and for us.
Trying something and it not working the way you expect the first time but recognizing that as an opportunity to try again is the attitude in business that gives you staying power. It’s something that Mike and I have learned time and time again and we’re both so grateful for that lesson.
One thing that I admire so much in Mike is that he can bounce back so quickly from a loss. Maybe it comes from his poker experience, but it relates so well to business. For instance, if you have a big launch and it doesn’t go the way you thought, you need to reevaluate and see what you can do differently going forward.
Mike shared that he got that way by being honest with himself and reviewing mistakes to understand what happened. It’s easy to wash over your mistakes as being unlucky or a poor set of circumstances, but you need to take ownership of your decisions and reflect on them.
In short, you need to take radical responsibility. Mike calls it being honest. It can be summed up by not playing the blame game. At the end of the day, taking responsibility is SO empowering, because then it gives you the ability to make the changes you need to move forward.
It’s all about progress, not perfection. It’s hard to keep making mistakes, but reflecting on them, trying again, and repeating the process is what will bring you success.
Mike also shared that he gets frustrated when he gets beat in poker by a “worse player”. This is something that relates well to my industry, too. If I let someone I think is a worse coach or business person having a successful launch frustrate me, then I’m not looking at it the right way. Instead, I need to look at what they did and see what I can learn from it.
Mike has pivoted a bunch in his different businesses and has seen me pivot, so I wanted to see what signs he thinks people should look for to know if it’s right for them to pivot. He shared that some financial things inside of the business would be a good indication. If you’re treading water, it might be time to make a change.
More importantly, if you’re not happy with what you’re doing, it’s time to pivot to something different that will be more fulfilling. He’s been in that spot before, and making the change to prioritize his happiness is not something he’d ever regret.
The word pivot makes people think that something MAJOR has to change, but that’s definitely not always true. You could pivot your business by making the smallest change. Maybe it’s not an industry change but a more niche client or a more highly tailored offer.
And, I want to point out that you can be happy but still have a pit of unfulfillment inside of you. This somewhat happened to me when I was working with BeachBody, and that unfulfillment was compelling enough to me to make a change, and it was the best thing for me.
Mike shared that he’s most excited for me to have more time in my life as a result of me restructuring my business in 2022. He can’t wait to have more quality time and us time this year. He also loves that I’m finally starting to trust myself in business and doing what I think is right for myself.
I’ve come to realize that the next step in life and business is not always straightforward and it’s not the same for everyone. I used to believe that I had to follow a certain process and timeline, but that’s not the way it actually works. I’m excited to embrace that in 2022 and I’m so glad that Mike supports that and is excited about it too!
Thanks so much for reading!
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