Right at the heart of the Tabono philosophy is the fact that wellbeing and business go hand in hand. Our businesses support our wellbeing by contributing to the creation of a life that we love. And when we look after ourselves, we’re able to give our businesses everything that they need to grow and to flourish. Consequently, self-care for female small business owners and supporting their wellbeing is a fundamental part of everything we do, and all of the services that we offer to clients and community members.
But as female small business owners, and as individuals, we are all different, and as a result there is now sure-fire recipe for looking ourselves that works for everyone. So in our blog today, I thought I would share my own ideas on self-care for female small business owners, in the hope that they can be helpful to you in your own journey.
1) Get organised
I’ve always been pretty organised. I’m the kind of person who likes to know what’s what and where’s where. Lateness drives me crazy and I feel bad if I don’t do something when I either plan to or say I will. So if I leave self-care as something intangible, with no concrete plan behind it, I find that all too easily, it gets swept under the carpet and left for another day. Or completely forgotten. So when it comes to self-care for small business owners, an important tip for me is to organise it! Put it in your diary. Block the time out. Organise the child care. Whatever you need to do to make it happen, put plans in place to make sure that it does.
2) If it isn’t in the schedule…
This point builds on my first suggestion above. As our regular followers might know, my (and Chloe’s) go-to planner is a bullet journal, and my unwritten rule is that if it’s not in the journal, it’s not happening. So in it goes not just work commitments, but family stuff, chores, reminders to buy birthday presents and order food shopping, and self-care. Because I know that if it’s in my schedule, it’s far more likely to happen.
3) One step at a time
When it comes to self-care for female business owners, this point took me quite a long time to get my head around. There are so many self-care related messages out there about what we should be doing and why we should be doing it. Sometimes even when we should be doing it. But sometimes, such an influx of information and advice, while well-meaning, can cause great pressure. And that pressure then results in procrastination, and inaction. But what I’ve learned is to take things one step at a time. You don’t have to think about eating better AND exercising more AND being more mindful, all at the same time. Just pick a priority, and start with that.
4) Set goals… but break them down
Here at Tabono we talk about this a lot. That goal-setting is most effective when you take your big goal and break it down. When you don’t do that, big goals quickly become overwhelming and we end up hiding from them. And this is why New Year’s Resolutions never work! And the same rule applies to self care. Instead of telling yourself ‘this year I’m going to eat more healthily’, break that down. First, try to make drinking more water a habit. Then do some reading to learn more about healthy choices. Perhaps invest in a new recipe book or two, and so on. By breaking goals down, we’re far more likely to be successful.
5) Be selfish
But yet often, as female small business owners, we have far more to deal with than ‘just’ our businesses. We have childcare. Home-related errands and tasks. Other family-related commitments. And this can so easily become another reason when self-care gets pushed to the bottom of the pile. So take it from us – sometimes it’s ok to be selfish. It’s ok to put ourselves first once in a while. Because when we do, we’re able to manage everything else so much more successfully.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Why not share some of your own in the comments or tag us on social media. And let us know how you’re getting on in looking after yourself as well as your business.
Finally, if you’re looking for some support in building your confidence, looking after your wellbeing AND growing your business, why not join us for a free trial of our membership community?