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If you've ever wanted to embrace slow living but felt like it's just not possible to be a successful entrepreneur and embrace slow living, then this episode is for you. I am diving into all the misconceptions I see and how it's actually holding you back in your business by not embracing slow living and integrating it with your entrepreneurial journey. So this is a really great episode.

I hope you enjoy it. And before we dive in, I want to remind you that if you want my eyes on your business every single week, the Jory Business Academy is the place to do it. It is the most expansive container for Jory business owners who are ready to accelerate their growth and are ready to do it with a lot of intention and strategy behind it.

And so if that feels exciting to you, if you're ready to embrace intention and strategy and you're ready to get the proven blueprints that we know work, that our clients have proven again and again that do work, then head to jorybusinessacademy.ca to learn more. And we have a limited number of calls available each week with our team who will come up with a free plan for you.

So if that feels exciting for you, I'm not sure how long we'll be doing these for. So if that feels exciting, if it feels like, yeah, I'm a little curious, then go ahead and do that. And you can book that in at jorybusinessacademy.

ca as well. And I will see you on the other side. My name is Robin Clark, and I'm obsessed with all things business and marketing.

I'm a Jory designer who left the corporate world and grew a successful Jory business. And now I help women just like you from around the world do the same. I'm the founder and CEO of the Jory Business Academy, the host of the Jory Business Academy podcast.

And I'm here to help you scale your Jory business to six figures and beyond without burning out. Through my coaching program and podcast, I help you navigate the challenging seasons of business, as well as teach you the secrets to building a sustainable business that makes you feel good. So grab a cup of tea and your notebook, get cozy and let's dive in.

Hello and welcome back. I am grateful to have you here with me today to be diving into a topic, which I think is really important. And I think there's a massive, massive misconception when it comes to being successful and entrepreneurship, being a successful Jory business, and having that life balance, having that slow living sort of way of life.

And I see some people, you know, I have friends who kind of have really embraced the slow living aspects of life. And they kind of look down on these boss babe kind of people. And I don't love the term boss babe, but that's essentially, you know, anyone who's building a business.

There's that image that, okay, you can either choose the slow living route and be intentional with how you live each day and live each moment slowly and enjoy each moment. Or you can try and like be a boss babe who's like doing it all and busy all the time and hitting these big goals, but you can't do both. And I completely disagree with this.

And so I really wanted to talk through this because I actually think this is something that holds a lot of Jory designers back from really chasing growth in their business, because they're like, oh, but I don't want to become that boss babe kind of image. I want to have lived my life slowly and intentionally. I want to take things easy.

And so I really want to dive into this topic in a bit more detail with you because I really do believe you can have it all. And I honestly, where I am right now in my business, I incorporate a lot of slow living elements into my day. So, you know, if we just start for somebody who's never heard of the term slow living, or you're not too sure what that means, you know, to me, it means slowing down.

To me, it means being present every moment in your day. To me, it means not rushing, which I absolutely hate rushing. I cannot rush.

If somebody rushes me, that's my day gone. You know, it means being able to sit and watch the sunrise in the mornings. It means being able to sit and notice the little things go for walks in nature.

Prepare your food slowly and enjoy sitting and eating it. Have coffee or tea and sit and like, look outside and watch the birds. So to me, slow living is really just being very present and being very intentional with what you're doing as you're doing it and not thinking of the next thing and not rushing through things and sort of having more rituals around the little things that you do every single day.

So nothing is seen as mundane, even little things like cleaning the dishes. There's a bit of a ritual there and it feels fulfilling and enjoyable. Sitting down and having your tea, well, you're not, you're not doing that and doing a million other things.

You're having your tea and being ready present and you have a ritual around that. So to me, that is my definition of slow living. Some people may have a different approach to it, but honestly, that's what I think of when it comes to slow living.

That to me is, are the principles of the things that people really value is that it's being present in each moment. It's having those little rituals around each moment and it's recognizing that those little, what to some people may be, be mundane moments are actually really meaningful moments in your life. Or making your breakfast, sitting and having your breakfast mindfully, having your morning tea, going for walks, preparing dinner slowly and enjoyably, like cutting your vegetables, cleaning them, prepping them, having, enjoying the whole process to me is embracing slow living.

And so as an entrepreneur, it can be really challenging to separate your work from your personal life. And I think this is where a lot of people get really struggled to find this balance is because especially jewelry business owners who are working from home, they have their home studio and they're on their phone all the time. So when they're making dinner, while they checking their phone and replying to Instagram messages and when they're having tea, they're doing all these other tasks and they're actually not being very present during their day when they're supposed to be relaxing.

And then when they're working, they're doing all these other things. They'll be designing and making pieces and then checking their phone for orders and doing a random Instagram post and it's all over the show. And so those sort of business owners feel frantic.

There's an element of that frantic energy, that busy be energy. And you know, when you see busyness as predict productivity, when you confuse busyness and productivity, that's when a lot of issues arise in your business and with yourself. And it often leads to burnout because business owners don't understand, well, I'm busy all the time.

I work 24 seven, I don't understand why my business isn't getting where it is. Or they think, well, I'm already busy all the time. I'm already doing all the things.

Like, I don't want to scale my business beyond where I'm at right now, because there's no way I could cope. There's no way I could even do anything else more. There's no way I can add to my plate, because there's just no way I can cope.

And you know, I've seen that with clients that I've worked with, one that's coming to mind is someone who was really busy all the time, had a bit of a frantic energy. You know, she's you know, she had a family, she had a business and was just nonstop working. But when we looked at those tasks of what she was doing and when we are like, okay, well, let's be more present, let's be more intentional, and let's be more strategic about the things you're doing.

And let's cut 80% of the tasks that you're doing are just fluff, let's cut those and hone in on those 20% key tasks. And when we did that, and she was consistent with that for 60 days, that's when her business flipped. And she was already a really successful six figure business owner.

But with that intention and strategy behind what she was doing, that's when she started seeing results, she saw an increase in sales of 30% in 60 days higher than she had ever had in the previous 14 years of her business building journey. And she spent more time with her family and her relationships improved, all of that. And so it is possible.

And I think it's just being able to step back and recognize as a jewelry business owner, like, hey, I have the power to if slow limit living and balance is important to me, I can integrate that with my entrepreneurial life, it is possible to do. And it actually can increase your productivity and can increase your results, which is really important to recognize. So, you know, I just want to really remind you while we're on the topic of busyness and productivity, busyness is just the absolute worst because it gives you and those around you the illusion that you are being productive.

But most of the time people who are busy are just wasting their time because they don't really know exactly what tasks they need to do. They're getting caught up in the fun fluffy things. They like just finding new projects.

But those aren't the things that are going to grow that business. And so they're wasting time. And so really, if you get nothing else from this episode, I'd love for you to get really clear on what are those 20% of the tasks that you need to hone in on in your jewelry business, and just be really intentional and really strategic and really consistent with because that is how you switch from that busy work frame of mind to being really intentional and being really productive.

So the other thing that you can incorporate into your days is elements or practices like mindfulness and meditation that are going to help reduce your stress. Because when I think of slow living, I think of somebody who isn't stressed, who isn't anxious, who isn't frantic, their energy is very grounded, their energy is very calm, they are not reactive to things, you know. And so practices like meditation, like mindfulness, anything like that is going to help bring your body back to resting states and over time is going to help reduce your stress and anxiety.

And again, this is one of those things where it's like consistency matters. Consistency is really important. And so it's going to be different for everyone, but find those things that you can incorporate, those little practices you can incorporate into your day.

So as soon as you feel your blood rising, as soon as you feel that frantic energy rising, you're like, okay, I know now this is a sign I need to take a step back, remove myself from the situation, get myself grounded again, and then come back and move forward in a more intentional way, in a less frantic way with less frantic and anxious energy. And so mindfulness and meditation really go hand in hand with creating that slow living environment for yourself. Now one of the things a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with and rarely neglect is their physical and mental health, while they are building their businesses.

And I've seen this on my journey as well, it's so easy sometimes to be like, oh, I'm just going to go all in for the next 90 days and just do everything focused on my business. And I'm not going to do all the things that I know fill my cup up. And I've done this, I've tested it out, and it led me to burn out very quickly.

So you know, if you're wanting to embrace slow living and build a successful business, you have to prioritize yourself above everything else, even above your business, because without you, there is no business. So anything you can do to prioritize looking after your physical health and your mental health and your energy, that is going to benefit you and your business in the long term. So you know, for example, I have, I've always been kind of active in my life, but over the pandemic, I lost a lot of that fitness.

I had some health issues and it really knocked me big time. And it's been quite a journey to getting my fitness and health back on track. And you know, for me, I prioritize my health and my physical and mental well being over everything else in my business.

And I will invest in things that are going to help support me in that way, so that I can show up with the best energy to support my clients with the best mindsets to support my clients. And so that I can also be around for the long run. And so that's why my physical and mental well being and health are a priority for me.

And they always will be as I scale my business. I'm never going to put those things on the back burner because I've done it before. And I saw how negatively it spiraled my mental health very quickly when I cut physical activity.

And it spiraled my business very quickly. You know, your energy and the way you show up on Instagram through emails, everything, it matters. It matters.

And you know, you need to feel energized in order to feel excited to drive more sales because that's something I also see with clients who've come to me when they burnt out. They're like, well, I actually every time I get an order, I just dread having to make it and dread having to ship it out. And that to me is a sign that, hey, we're not taking care of you first.

And so prioritizing that is so key if you're wanting to to live that slow life balance with entrepreneurship and really integrate those two together. Now, this is something actually I am so passionate about. You guys know, if you've listened to the podcast, I've chatted about minimalism a couple of times.

I've had some epic guests join me diving into minimalism. But minimalism can really help you simplify your life. And anything you can do to simplify your life and simplify your business is going to reduce stress.

It's going to reduce fluff. It's going to reduce anxiety. It's going to reduce the amount of decisions you need to make on a daily basis.

So anyway, you can incorporate minimalism into your life. You know, I've incorporated it across the board in my life. From my wardrobe, you guys, I've had like a lot of comments actually from people being like, why do you always wear like basically the same thing? And I'm like, well, I have a bit of a uniform.

That's just the way I put it. I know which clothes make me feel energized and make me feel calm and grounded and super comfy. And I just have the same pieces in a couple of different colors.

And that's my uniform. That's what I wear every day. And I don't have to think about it.

Now, I have another wardrobe for when I go out and I want something more flowery and flowy. And that's just a different section of my wardrobe. But my everyday wardrobe, very basic, very simple.

I never have to think about what I'm going to wear. Never. It's just, it's the there's my outfits. I just put them on and I'm ready to go.

I have a very minimal morning routine because anything that's going to take up too much brain space is just has been cut. And I used to have a very elaborate morning routine and that's just been completely cut. And it's made a huge difference to my business and to my life as well.

You know, my makeup routine, super simple takes three to five minutes max. If I'm wearing makeup that day, otherwise, I just cut it all together. Breakfast, like all my meals, super simple, super easy 15 minutes max to prepare.

My, my whole home is very minimalist, like has really minimalist decor, so that they're literally isn't clutter. There's never clutter. There's never stuff all over the show.

And it's super easy just to keep it clean and, and tidy and clear surfaces. And I need that in order to have the headspace that I need to show up in my business in the best way possible. And then obviously in my business, you know, every time I'm looking at my business, I do quarterly audits and I'm looking at things, I'm like, okay, what can we cut? And what can we hone in on more? You know, I see this with jewelry business owners, they kind of try to do all the things in their business before they've really mastered one thing.

And you want to master one thing, then go to the next thing, go to the next, and not just try to do all of it off the get go. And often they're also implementing strategies that aren't really supportive to them and their business and where they're at. So incorporating minimalism into the way you develop your collections, the materials you work with, your packaging, massive one, oh my gosh, the number of jewelry business owners with hectic packaging that, yes, is gorgeous and gives people a fun unboxing experience, but is like over the top to be honest with you and take so much energy from them is just not worth it.

So look at all the things you can maybe do, write it out and think, well, where in my life and where in my business and where in my health routine and where in my fitness and wellness routine, can I simplify? Can I cut? How easy does it get to be to show up feeling energized and show up feeling intentional and strategic? And how easy does it get to be for me to show up in my business and really drive sales each day and to fulfill those sales? Think about how easy it gets to be and then go cut all those things that make it a little bit a little bit of friction that add a little bit of friction and make it not so easy and not so flowy. Now, one of the things that slow living to me really also represents is building meaningful relationships, having a community around you that is supportive of you that you have these deep connections with and that you really nurture. And I think for entrepreneurs, this can be a challenging one because, you know, when you are an entrepreneur, it can be lonely, especially jewelry business owners, you're working your studio all day, maybe if you're doing events, you get more interaction with people.

But on the whole, what I've seen was a lot of clients is they do struggle with like that learningness of everyday showing up on their own in their studio. And then their relationships also start to have a bit of strains on them because they work so much, because they don't have those boundaries in place. So, you know, if relationships are really important to you and you really want to nurture them, then slow living, integrating slow living with your entrepreneurial journey is so key and is going to help you build those meaningful relationships.

It's going to give you that headspace and that time and that energy and you won't be able to get to this place of building meaningful relationships and really deep relationships, really intentionally. If you haven't done all the other things that we've walked through first, if you haven't simplified your business, if you haven't got clear on those tasks you need to be doing, if you haven't worked on your nervous system and regulating your nervous system so you don't show up with that frantic energy every day, it's going to be really hard to really focus on building these meaningful relationships. So, once you've done all those other things and you've mastered them and you then have that headspace and time and energy, it's going to be so much easier for you to start building really meaningful relationships and deep relationships with those around you.

And this is where being a part of community is so important as well. You know, I got a text from one of my clients a few days ago who she just said, she's like, Robin, I'm just so grateful to be a part of this community. You know, I knew when I signed up that I was looking forward to it, but I was kind of more looking forward to just everything else.

And I didn't, I really underestimated how powerful being a part of a community would be because she's a multiple six figure jewelry business owner. She's been doing this for many, many years. She has a really supportive family, but she's like, wow, I've only just recognized how lonely I've been feeling on this journey and how I can now just relax into it and how I'm able to build these connections and relationships with these other jewelry business owners who are part of the program and really connect with them and they understand the journey I'm going on and I just feel so much less alone and I just feel so much more connected.

And that is the power of community. Honestly, there's so many benefits to it, but we rarely focus on in the jewelry business academy. One of the elements we do really focus on is how can we really, really help these jewelry business owners build really deep relationships with one another because those relationships help you keep going in the long term, as well as with the coaching and strategy and intention.

But this is an element that a lot of people bypass because it just seems like fluff, but this in fact is not fluff. This is really, really important when it comes to improving your mental well-being as well as the longevity of you in building a business and then being on that entrepreneurial path. So, you know, one of the things that slow living is also rarely often associated in my mind with is sustainability and being eco-conscious.

So, you know, I actually see this with a lot of my clients and I love seeing this. A lot of them are really intentional with how they are building their business. They're being really intentional with the materials they work with, really intentional with their packaging because they recognize like, hey, I want to make my business as sustainable as possible and as eco-conscious as profitable as possible.

And I want it to be profitable, but I also wanted to be in an environmentally responsible company. And so implementing those sustainable business practices, again, if you've started simplifying things in your business, you're automatically moving yourself closer to this. And this is not something that any business is going to be perfect at.

This is just a work in progress. But to me, incorporating this, weaving this in to your business is going to help integrate that slow living and entrepreneurial journey for you. And then the last sort of thing, well, the last one of the last things I wanted to touch on, I have a call coming up soon.

So, I'm going to wrap this up pretty snappy. But one of the things I see is that a lot of entrepreneurs have this huge fear of missing out. So they say yes to every single opportunity that comes their way.

And if you're a new business owner, yeah, okay, say yes to quite a bit. But there comes a point where you have to be more intentional. You have to learn to say no because to everything you're saying yes to, you're actually saying no to something else without recognizing it.

So you need to overcome that fear of missing out. And you need to really get clear on where it is you're wanting to go and what is going to help you get there and then say no to everything else. And I know this is really, really challenging.

But what I think you need to do is you need to sort of reframe that fear of missing out. So when you recognize like, oh, something's happening and I'm feeling like I have to be there because I don't want to miss out, well, take a step back and think of the things that you're missing out by going, you know, get clear on like, well, by doing that event, for example, what I meant, I'm missing out, am I missing out on another event? Or am I going to deplete my energy that I need for the next week for projects I have going on? Am I going to deplete like my energy in terms of the way I'm showing up? Is it going to bring in this frantic energy back into my business and back into my life? Get really clear on that because that's a massive, massive one. And then finally, the really one of the really important elements of integrating slow living and entrepreneurship is really finding joy in the journey.

And what I find with myself as well is being more intentional, embracing slow living and entrepreneurship has really helped me find joy in the journey. You know, I'm not just chasing the end point. I am embracing every single day and living every single day and enjoying every single day and every step of the process.

And it gives me so much joy, it gives me so much fulfillment and it lights me up and it makes me excited to wake up each morning. And that's what you want. You want to be focused on enjoying the journey and not just on the final destination.

And you know, I was chatting to another jewelry business owner the other day who was really struggling because she's so driven, so, so, so driven to hit her massive goals this year that she actually was hating the journey. And that's where you know, being able to take a step back and be like, okay, how can I find joy in the journey? Why am I putting all this pressure on myself? Why don't I just hone in and focus on the key things I need to focus on each day, make sure I'm doing the right things and start finding the joy in the journey. Because that is going to be completely transformative to your entrepreneurial journey.

And I'd say anyone listening to this, even if you don't want to embrace slow living for whatever reasons, embrace finding the joy in the journey. It is so important to just really be able to look back as well 10 years from now and be like, wow, I loved that process of building my journey. I found it so rewarding.

I found it so fulfilling. I grew so much as an individual. I built so many deep relationships around me in such a beautiful community around me.

And I really am so grateful for that time and for that period. And I'm still enjoying the journey as I go on now. So, you know, I hope this helps anyone who's been thinking like, oh, I have to hold back from really growing this business if I want to embrace slow living.

Because I don't agree. I think you can have a multiple six, multiple seven, multiple eight figure business and embrace slow living. I don't think these are mutually exclusive at all.

And you know, I've seen it on my own journey. The more I embrace these elements of slow living and integrate them into my entrepreneurial journey, the better my business is done, the better I show up, the better my energy when I show up in my business as well. And the better I'm able to have that headspace and energy to invest in relationships and friendships and all of that around me as well, which is so, so important.

So, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. If you did, let me know. I love hearing from you.

It really means a lot to me when you take a minute out of your day to let me know that you are finding the podcast, uplifting and motivating and inspiring and that it's helping you on your business building journey. So if you have enjoyed it, let me know. Tag me on Instagram.

It's Robin Clark Coaching and you can just share a screenshot of the episode you're listening to. And I'm really looking forward to connecting with you next week.