The 10 Commandments of Creating a Business You Love

Imagine with me for a second. Your alarm goes off this morning—but rather than groan, roll over and hit snooze—your eyes open and there’s a *feeling* deep in your gut that propels you out of bed.

This is what happiness feels like.

Pretend further that this feeling has been getting stronger over the last few months as you’ve been making significant changes to your business.

You’ve stopped wasting time comparing yourself to others, getting yourself set up with a solid team you trust like family and narrowed in on booking appointment with clients who bring you joy.

How would *this reality,* improve your current situation?

You’d likely stop getting a weekly case of the Sunday Scaries {or Tuesday Terrors}, and be able to focus on growing a successful business, right?

And I bet you’re wondering how you can go from where you are now {covers over your head, hiding in bed} to the freedom of building your dream business.

In a nutshell, that’s what the 10 commandments of creating a business you love will show you.

#1. Thou shalt not shun automation

Your phone starts buzzing the moment you sit down for dinner with your friends… and not a moment sooner. Isn’t that the way it always works?! As your business picks up steam you’re getting messages in your inbox, Instagram DM’s, Facebook messages and now via text. Things are about to get nuts.

Unless you’re in a place where you can hire a personal assistant to *handle it*—the time has come to automate some processes. If you want to continue to love your clients {and you do, right?}, you need to set boundaries.

Enter appointment scheduling software. Imagine for a moment what it would be like for all your appointment booking requests to be in ONE place. Ahhh, I can hear you relaxing. As a growing business, you need to put systems in place that are going to save you time and reduce stress. Burnout does not equal a business you love.

Take the time to review your processes and determine which ones you can replace with automation.

Related → How to Quit Your Day Job and Start Your Dream Business

#2. Thou shalt not live in the past

Here’s the thing, to build your confidence and grow a business you love you need to dream big and try {crazy} things. Risking it all means you’re not always going to reach your goals. Sometimes you might miss by a hair and other times you’re gonna flame out in a blaze of glory.

Instead of stewing on your past {gasp, failures}, think about what you learned and how you can use those lessons to reach your big hairy goals. As the great Johnny Cash once said:

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”

#3. Thou shalt discover what success means to you

The number-one reason most people feel unsuccessful is they haven’t taken the time to define what they want. What does success look and feel like to you? If you’re scratching your head with confusion, how will you know when you’ve finally made it?

I’ll let you in on this little nugget—it’s not what other people tell you. That’s their vision of success. If you’re taking others ideas and running wild with them, the finish line won’t feel the way you dreamed. You need to take the time to dig deep and find out what drives you to succeed.

Start by making a list:

• How will a *successful* business make you feel?
• What would make it an achievement? {financial freedom, a sense of accomplishment, waking up to calendar full of appointments}?

Then look ahead to what your life will look like once you’ve become *successful.* Where will you live, what will you be doing… you get it. 

Success is an individual concept. Own yours.

#4. Thou shalt not compare yourself to others 

If you’re starting your day by opening up Instagram and Facebook to look at the lives of your competition, I have some news for you… it’s gonna be a crappy day.

We should all know by now, social media has a *rose-colored* filter permeating everyone’s feed. Yet, the more time you spend looking at your bestie’s latest trip to Cabo or your arch enemy’s new 5-series BMW, it hardly matters. The feeling of not measuring up or falling behind is REAL, even if the Instafeed is fake.

The solution? Stop comparing your real journey to a *things have never been better* curated feed. For some of you, that might mean cutting back on the time you spend online {at least for personal use}. For others, it’s getting clear on what success means to you {see above ^^} and blocking out all the unnecessary noise.

Related: Some Practical Thoughts on Impostor Syndrome

#5. Thou shalt not be everything to everyone

As the {cliché} saying goes, you never want to be a *Jack of all trades, master of none.* Ouch. These days clients are looking for experts. Whether that’s a hairstylist, tattoo artist or personal trainer. Clients are looking for someone at the top of their game. An authority who spends time and resources to keep up to date on the latest industry trends and techniques. 

How can you be that person if you’re trying to please everyone? You can’t.

When you focus your business down to your expertise you’ll begin to draw in your dream clients. The ones you’re stoked to work with {Translation: they value your time & skills}.

To build a business you love, you need to attract clients who understand why your prices are higher than the shop down the street. Who appreciate the little extras you do to show you care { <– like online booking, what client doesn’t want to be able to book with you 24/7?!}.

It may take longer to fill your online appointment scheduler with these ideal clients, but the more you show your expertise, the sooner those who dig your vibe will find you.

#6. Thou shalt not do this on your own

There comes a tipping point when you realize if you want to keep growing you can’t do it alone. It’s thrilling and terrifying all at the same time. After relying on yourself for so long, how can you begin to trust someone else?

Rather than look at these changes through a lens of negativity, view it as an opportunity to hire the best and start delegating. Feel the stress melt away as the hours in your day return to normal and you enjoy the benefits a close-knit team brings to the business.

When you combine hiring the right people with improvements in your technology {I’m looking at you appointment scheduling software}, you’ll be kicking yourself that you didn’t take the plunge sooner.

#7. Thou shalt embrace growing slowly

Growing slowly isn’t sexy enough to warrant articles on Forbes or memes on Instagram—but it’s the best way to run your business and stay *in love* with it.

There are lots of ways to look at pumping the breaks. One is to start by offering a small selection of services or even just one and do it really well. As discussed earlier, niching down your expertise will draw in the clients you love and it helps to quickly build loyalty to your business.

You can also slow down when it comes doing *all the things.* Just because your competition has started a YouTube channel, is blowing up on TikTok and holds monthly workshops for clients—doesn’t mean you have to add those to your repertoire. Start slowly and build up as you get comfortable. It’s better to be first-rate at a few things, than half-ass a bundle of them.

#8. Thou shalt focus on only which you love

Seems pretty straight forward, yeah? Then why is it so hard? Part of the struggle is discovering *what* you feel passionate about, enjoy doing and fills up your calendar with clients you love. The second part is keeping your eye on that prize while going through the growing pains everyone experiences no matter how much they *love* their business.

It’s all about perspective. You can choose to focus on how much you detest doing monthly payroll or the anxiety of annual reviews… but isn’t that all part of the ultimate dream?

The big picture’s important when your day to day can feel like a grind. Grease the wheels where you can {hiring a bookkeeper to do your taxes or moving your appointment booking online}. Keep the ultimate goal—a business you love—in the forefront of your mind, that way, these little hiccups will blend into the tapestry of your journey.

#9. Thou shalt not hide your personality

Whether you’re the face of your shop, your business or you’re an independent contractor—you can use the best parts of yourself to draw in clients and keep your online booking calendar jam-packed.

Take some time to reflect on which aspects of your personality shine brightest, and which of those you want to emphasize. Write them down and find ways to infuse them into your online presence. The way you communicate as a business will often be the first point of contact your client/customer has with you. It can be as simple as adding a little bit of your personality within the service descriptions on your online booking page, or sprinkling your vibe into your custom confirmation email.

Once you’ve nailed down the parts of yourself that connect with your client, you’ll find creating content, whether it be a behind-the-scenes video on Instagram or the About page on your website will feel easier since you’re speaking authentically. Infusing your business with the finest parts of yourself will also help you stand out.

There’s no one else like you, and when you start to inject little idiosyncrasies into your business you become memorable and difficult to replicate {buh-bye copycats}.

#10. Thou shalt ignite a spark in each of your days

Do you know why the most successful people in the world have routines? Because they work. It can be a morning or nightly routine, or even something in-between, as long as it gives the balance you need to survive the day.

Even when you’re running a business you love, it’s still tough. There’ll be weeks you put in 80 hours, work 11 days in a row or seem to have a never-ending stream of hateful clients. But, if you have the systems and routines in place to keep you healthy, it’ll pass.

Try to incorporate mindfulness, movement, and mastery into your daily routine in whatever way works best for you. That’s the beauty of living *your* life. You get to decide what stays and what goes. Routines can be fluid and change as your lifestyle and business progress. Finding what keeps you grounded and calm can be life-changing.

If you’re ready to break free from the *comparison club*, focus on your definition of success and build the business of your dreams, start by following “The 10 Commandments of Creating a Business You Love.” Let us know in the comments ⬇️ if saying sayonara to the *hustle harder, grow fast* model left you feeling more love for your biz. We can’t wait to hear from you!