Ep. 67 The One Thing That Makes You Wealthier Than Profit

As shopkeepers, it’s easy to get caught up in running our business. We chug along, push forward, and hustle to make it work. But that often comes at a high cost—our emotional health. 

Our emotional health and our mindset are crucial to our work as shopkeepers. Without them, it’s challenging to succeed. Over the past year, I’ve learned this the hard way.

My Personal Journey to Improve my Emotional Health

For nearly 20 years, I worked in an emotionally, psychologically, and sometimes physically draining career. When I left that career, I dove headfirst into entrepreneurship. I put myself into the hustle, get stuff done, go go go mode. I was determined to succeed as an entrepreneur.

But when the pandemic hit, I realized I never gave myself time to process some of the thoughts and emotions from the life I lived before Savvy Shopkeeper. It all smacked me in the face in 2020.

I shifted to an even higher level of HUSTLE. Not only was I trying to manage myself, my thoughts, my family adjusting to this new way of life, and repositioning my two businesses to serve customers better, but I was also carrying the weight of every business owner in my community.

Over the years, I’ve become known as a fixer, resolver, mediator. I thought I could be everything to everyone. But that meant I neglected MYSELF.

After leaving my 20-year career, it looked like I was investing in or going all-in on myself. I even invested in a business mastermind. But there’s a difference between how things appear externally and what is actually happening internally. 

Just like everyone else, I’d accumulated a set of strong thoughts and beliefs throughout my life. I didn’t realize that some of these thoughts and beliefs were limiting my success and holding me back.

Everyone else in my business mastermind was soaring while I was sinking. I realized that if I didn’t address these limiting beliefs and thoughts, I wouldn’t make any progress. I wouldn’t be who I genuinely wanted to be. 

So I invested in a coach. During my work with them, I uncovered SO MUCH more than I ever thought possible. I had so many thoughts that were holding me back.

Here are some of the thoughts that I worked through with my coach: 

• I have to work hard so that I can take care of others
• I’ll always be poor
• I have to hustle just to get by in life, just to make enough to live comfortably
• I’m not smart enough to be an expert

And the biggest of them all was this: 

• I worry about what others think.

I had never thought of myself as a chronic people pleaser. But through my work with my coach, I came to see that I absolutely was, and this mentality was holding me back big time. 

I was blaming everyone else for not being where I wanted to be, even though I was the only one holding me back. Talk about a MASSIVE “aha” moment.

None of these thoughts were serving me well. They were causing me turmoil and resulting in a lot of inner struggle. What I was thinking was not aligned with who I wanted to be or how I wanted to live my life. 

Why All Shopkeepers Should Address Their Mindset

Your limiting beliefs might not be the same as mine were. But EVERYONE has thoughts or beliefs they struggle with and that hold them back, whether they realize it or not. I hear limiting beliefs come up in my conversations with business owners in the Savvy Shopkeeper community every single day. 

With my 1:1 clients, we work through their limiting beliefs and raise their emotional health. Seeing that sigh of relief, the relaxation in their shoulders, and the huge smile that comes from changing a thought pattern is incredible. They embody more positive, energizing, and motivating beliefs through our work together.

When I think back to before I worked with a coach, I often felt like something was “off,” something wasn’t right. I used to think, “why is this all so hard?” 

Even though I was coaching others, I didn’t realize I needed coaching for myself. Talk about a facepalm moment. 🤦‍♀️

“You can’t see the forest for the trees” really applies here. We become so caught up in the small details that we’re unable to step back and see what’s really going on.

Throughout my coaching, I learned that my thoughts are the starting point to everything I feel and do. I needed to identify the many thoughts that were holding me back.  

Once I did, I felt an expansion from within. I felt a substantial weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt like the clouds above me were now letting the sunshine in.

Improving Your Mindset Isn’t Easy, But It’s Worth It

Getting coached and shifting my thoughts has NOT been easy.  It’s some of the most uncomfortable work I’ve EVER done in my life. But I can honestly say that getting coached has made me a better coach. I’m so grateful.

We all have different challenging experiences in life. These experiences play a role in the way we think and, in turn, the way we feel.

If the thoughts around your business are….

• I’m not good at math, so I’ll never understand my P&L or what profit margin is
• Business is complex—I wish Kathy would stop talking about profiting more and working less
• I’m not good at marketing, so I can’t get customers into my store or to my website
• I’m not made for video—going live terrifies me
• Why is X down the street doing so much better than me
• I suck at social media
• My business will never be profitable
• I can’t do it all in 24 hours. I need more TIME in a day
• I’m ashamed or embarrassed about what I don’t know… so I hide
• I HAVE to do things to make OTHERS happy in MY business

Imagine the emotions that follow those thoughts and how the ripple effect can stifle your life and business.

Do not underestimate the power of your thoughts. Your thoughts guide your feelings, actions, and the results you create in your business and life. 

Resources

• Shopkeeper Shoutout: Rachel of More Than Clay Co. 

Timestamps

• [03:28] My Personal Journey to Improve my Emotional Health
• [09:47] Why All Shopkeepers Should Address Their Mindset
• [13:16] Improving Your Mindset Isn’t Easy, But It’s Worth It