The truth about cultivating a mindset that leads to sustainable growth (my interview with The Slow Entrepreneur!)
“As an entrepreneur, you’ve probably been bombarded by messages telling you to work around the clock, stay busy, build it big, build it fast, do it all. And so, you do.
Along the way, you may have chosen to sacrifice vital aspects of yourself — like mental + physical health, relationships, leisure, you name it — in order to get 💩 done.
We’ve so been there! Here’s the thing. While driving full-speed in the fast lane seems more productive, it puts tremendous wear-and-tear on our engines, and slows us down in the long run.
But success doesn’t have to look like this. We believe that true, sustainable success, happens when we make our well-being the top priority. When we work from rest — not toward rest — we go farther, faster.”
— Sarah Magidoff, Founder of The Slow Entrepreneur
Can I get an A-FREAKING-MEN!?
When I first heard about the concept of “slow entrepreneurship,” I loved it from the start.
You ladies know that I am ALL about cultivating the mindset you need to take more of the right actions in your business for more results, and that’s what I love most about this message: it’s about shifting your mindset FIRST.
It’s about believing that you can have a business that is aligned with what you want and how you want to create it. In fact, it’s that sweet spot where you’ll see the most results.
Sarah goes on to explain, “Slow Entrepreneurship is rooted in the belief that, as the founder of your company, your well-being is your greatest priority. When you make your well-being your top priority, you go farther, faster. We promote a set of values + practices intended to fuel your engine as you build a business that thrives.”
But I also know that this mindset shift isn’t always the easiest to implement on your own and it can be hugely valuable to hear the stories of others who have gone before you.
That’s why I am so excited to share that I was interviewed as part of the Slow Entrepreneur movement where you’ll get an inside look at my own journey and how I created the successful, sustainable life and business that I have today.
The best part about this interview is that you’re used to hearing me guide the conversation on how to build a thriving life and business, but this is your opportunity to hear Sarah’s questions and my responses in this candid conversation.
In fact, the original interview on the Slow Entrepreneur was trimmed down (you know how much I love to talk!) so I’ve included even more depth in this week’s blog post.
See the feature on The Slow Entrepreneur here and read my full take below. My hope is that this inspires you to create your own business that is aligned to what you want and how you want to create it, plus make more money BECAUSE of that, not in spite of it.
Here’s to the movement and building the beautiful, balanced life and successful, thriving business that suits you!
1. What does “slow entrepreneurship” mean to you?
To me, slow entrepreneurship means creating a life and business that feels both profitable AND fulfilling through sustainable growth. It means getting crystal clear on your goals and bigger vision for the future so you know what success looks like for YOU and can grow and evolve your business so that it feels truly in alignment with what you want and how you want to create it.
2. Talk about a time you chose to prioritize something personal or meaningful over the demands of work. How did that decision make you feel?
This interview is probably a good example of that! While important, other things in my life were more pressing at the time. I was in the midst of growing my second business, planning my wedding (yay!), and training for a half marathon, all while carving out time for my own self-care. My top 3 priorities were my relationship, business, and fitness so I could get what I wanted out of that season of life and business, but it meant some things needed to be pushed to the back burner.
It was after a long day that I had reached out asking for an extension in returning this interview to you (which you very graciously agreed to—wishing for me to have the space I needed to complete it!). Do I wish that it was a deadline that hadn’t have needed to be pushed? Absolutely. But I also believe in asking for what you need as a form of deep self-care. Part of learning to trust myself has been gaining clarity around what absolutely HAS to be done, what can wait, and giving myself the SPACE I need when I need it.
3. Describe what you do (1-2 sentences will do, just fine!)
I’m a mindset and sales coach who helps online business owners who are struggling behind the scenes to cultivate the mindset they need to land clients and make money on repeat. I love supporting women who feel like “nothing is working” to shift their mindset so they can own their expertise, put themselves out there, gain visibility, and close sales on repeat to thrive in both life AND biz (because I deeply believe they can have BOTH!). Too often, I see business owners feeling frustrated by all the things they COULD be doing, without feeling like any ONE thing is really getting them the results they want. We work together to take the “ick” out of selling and demystify what it takes to make money in biz, so they can start taking the RIGHT actions, consistently, and start saying “no” to the things that aren’t bringing in results.
4. Do you find it difficult to guard your free time? What disciplines do you observe to ensure your boundaries are maintained?
Honestly, I used to keep a more rigid schedule around this. When I first started my design business, I had a policy not to look at my work email on the weekends (and not to work the weekends!). Creating boundaries around my work in such a clean-cut way allowed me to see that the world would not crumble if an email was not responded to immediately or if I took those two precious days to myself.
These days, I have a relationship with my work that flows with more ease. I don’t feel bad about taking off early on a Friday to take my pup to the dog park and working Saturday mornings on writing my weekly content instead (because I write best in the mornings anyway!). I’m more aligned with when I work best and capitalizing on those times rather than spending more, unproductive time pushing to get something done for the sake of having it done.
I don’t feel bad or guilty when I’m in a busy season and pouring more into my business, the same way I don’t feel bad or guilty going for a long run in the morning during a slow season. It’s more of an equal energy exchange in which I’m pouring into my business more when it needs it, and it’s pouring into me more when I need it.
It’s mindset shifts like this that I help my clients work through so they can take more of the RIGHT actions to grow their business, let go of the guilt that can come with prioritizing their own self-care, and see bigger and better results.
5. When not working, how do you spend your free time?
When I’m not supporting Future You clients, I’m upleveling my own mindset, going for early morning trail runs, mid-day walks with my puppy, sipping wine with the girls while we watch The Bachelor, or checking out a new, local restaurant with my man. On weekends you’ll likely find me hiking, backpacking, skiing, or renovating and styling our home.
6. You made a big move, career-wise, transitioning from a corporate job in New York City to running your own business in Colorado at a much slower pace. Why was that an important transition for you to make?
I think it’s important to recognize that our dreams and goals for the future grow and evolve as we do. There was a time when moving to New York City, getting a job as a graphic designer at a big name fashion brand, and living the big city life, was quite literally THE DREAM. But as we achieve more of what we want (aka the very definition of success!), we have new desires and new callings, and that’s a big part of how we learn and grow both personally and professionally.
After several years, I craved something more than the life I was living: more than my tiny apartment, my annoying commute, and my long-distance relationship. I had become ingrained in the routine of city living, numb to the long subway rides and late nights. I felt trapped in the buzz of the concrete jungle and longed for open space and fresh air. And I knew that it didn’t have to be this way.
The realization happened in an instant but the transformation didn’t transpire overnight. Instead, I dug deep and questioned what it would take to live a life that didn’t just LOOK successful on the outside but FELT successful on the inside too. These powerful mindset shifts were a catalyst for change, inspiring me to take action aligned with what I actually wanted.
Through a series of small, consistent efforts I moved out west and launched my own design studio in the mountains just outside Denver, Colorado, where I now live with my love and mix-of-everything puppy. That business has been profitable since day one, thriving for years selling high-end design projects at a premium price point, before pivoting to mindset and sales coaching. It’s in this way that I learned what it truly means to have BOTH a beautiful, balanced life and a thriving, successful business. Now I spend my days helping others shift their mindset and do the same through Future You 1:1 coaching, so they can own their expertise, put themselves out there, gain visibility, and close sales on repeat to thrive in both life and biz because it's what I'm most passionate about.
7. To the Slow Entrepreneur, mental, physical, and emotional health are not optional. We believe that maintaining these aspects of our lives allows us to run successful businesses at peak performance. What do you do to maintain your health, and what tips can you give us for making it a priority?
I like to make some form of movement a priority each day. Most of us know that taking care of our physical well-being can have an incredible effect on our mental health too. However, so many creatives and entrepreneurs have a mindset block around what it means to practice DEEP self-care so not only do they get that workout in, but they also experience the kind of focus and clarity that yields BIG results in business. I’ve found that stepping away from my desk and making time for exercise only BENEFITS my business rather than takes away from it (even on the days I think I don’t have time!).
Personally, some days that simply means a 20-minute spin workout with my Peloton app. Other times, it means going for a four-mile run around the lake with my puppy. But I absolutely notice a difference in my overall well-being through this daily practice. It changes the way I show up for everything from client calls to how I ask my significant other to kindly put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. 😉 In that way, I think taking care of myself is the most important work I can do every day to yield more of the results I want in life and business (because we always get more of the results we want when we feel good!).
8. List 10 things that bring you joy.
Misty runs through the mountains with my puppy.
Seeing the look in my client’s eyes when they have a major breakthrough moment.
Making gluten-free blueberry pancakes with my husband on a Sunday morning.
My puppy jumping up on the bed at the start of each day.
A lavender epsom salt bath after a day of skiing.
Campfire smores.
Signing new clients that I know I will help cultivate the mindset they need to create a business that is both profitable and fulfilling.
Rosé champagne.
Hosting podcast interviews with amazing women who are living out their own definition of success.
Snowy days cozied up by the wood stove.
9. We’re all about working smarter, not harder. What shortcut(s) or hacks have you implemented that help you manage your energy well, reclaim more of your time, and reach your goals with ease?
I’m a huge proponent of creating an ideal weekly schedule that creates time for the things that will move your business forward THE MOST so you can move away from the stress and overwhelm of all the things you think you should be doing (but are having a hard time following through on!) and into the small, consistent efforts that will create RESULTS in your life and business. I think managing your schedule in this way is really powerful because it gives you a way to see if how you’re ACTUALLY spending your time is in alignment with your priorities and what is most important to you in work and life.
With that, I also love batching tasks and time blocking. I find that within any business, there are a number of tasks that we do consistently (because showing up consistently is such a powerful way to see more of the results we want!) and like tasks can be grouped together and streamlined. This allows me to move through tasks more quickly and efficiently rather than constantly switching gears or touching a project multiple times unnecessarily.
For example, in the beginning of my business, I used to spend way too much time creating content for Instagram each week. It was incredibly draining to constantly find time to shoot a photo, edit a photo, write a caption (and let’s be real, probably overanalyze said caption), find the right hashtags, and post. Now I have a collection of branded photographs that were taken by a professional photographer in the span of a few hours that I use as a library of content. I also have a specific “block” of time each week when I sit down to write out my weekly content which gets repurposed on my blog, newsletter, and Instagram feed. It’s a much better use of my time and it means that I have more time and energy to focus on my clients. And this is exactly the kind of mindset shift that I help my clients with because they're typically really overwhelmed by all the things on their to-do list and consequently, aren’t seeing results consistent with the amount of time and energy they're putting in. We work together to shift their mindset and focus the RIGHT actions to grow their business so they can start saying “no” to the things that aren’t bringing in results.
10. Describe your perfect day at work.
My perfect day at work is one in which I have enough space to do deep work in the tasks I find most fulfilling. I spend the morning checking in with clients, crafting emails, writing content, or focusing on other marketing-related tasks. I record an interview for my podcast, One Simple Shift, about the one simple actionable mindset shift listeners can implement TODAY to completely transform the way they show up in their life and business daily. I take a mid-day walk with my puppy and take a break to eat lunch. In the afternoon, I dive into coaching calls with my Future You clients or hop on one of my free Sincere Sales coaching calls. I wrap up the day with client check-ins and reviewing what’s on my plate for the following day.
11. As a mindset coach, you must have quiet a few mindset shifts up your sleeve! Could you share some of your favorites with us?
I find that a lot of mindset challenges that I tackle with creatives and entrepreneurs in my signature program, Future You, fall into the categories of fear, overwhelm, and self-doubt. Thoughts like…
...what if I’m being too sales-y and people find me annoying?
...what if the market is oversaturated and I can never make a living doing what I love?
...what if this new client isn’t happy with my work and tells everyone on earth?
And very few of those fears actually come to fruition but they can hold you back from cultivating the mindset you need to take action in your business in some really BIG ways. The first thing that I like to do is bring awareness around those fears because I think this can be a really powerful tool in moving past them.
One practice that’s been hugely transformative in my own life and business is what I call a “fear inventory.”Each day I take a sheet of paper and write out all of the fears that I can think of. I’ll write down anything that comes to mind until I can’t think of any more. I make a point not to reread my fears or dwell on them, but rather take the sheet of paper and rip it up. The act of simply writing them out lessens how scary they feel. I’ve moved through some major mindset blocks this way!
12. What unorthodox business practice have you put in place to help you maintain work-life boundaries?
I’ve turned off all notifications on my phone with the exception of one or two that I absolutely NEED. I found them to be way too distracting and prefer to be more intentional about when I’m using certain apps on my phone. This shift has been an absolute game-changer for me because it allows me to be more proactive about how I spend my time rather than reactive. I now have the space I need to focus on what’s in front of me, rather than constantly being pulled in different directions. My business isn't less successful because of it but I thrive way more in life.
13. Have you had to make any professional sacrifices in order to have more free time?
Possibly, but I can’t say that I’ve paid much attention to them. When I first started down this road of entrepreneurship I worked as a freelance designer and I experienced what people describe as the “gig economy.” Projects could come in at any time—a rush job over the weekend, a quick project when I was about to leave for vacation, and a client “emergency” when a friend was in town.
It taught me to establish and communicate my own boundaries more effectively. It was in those instances that I’d make an intentional choice that my own free time was more important than a few more dollars in the bank. Not to say this isn’t a constant evolution. I still have things come up that test my boundaries and I still have to make decisions around how I choose to spend my time. But the important thing to remember is that there’s always a choice and the more decisions we can make that are in alignment with what we want, the easier it is to create a thriving life and business.
14. How does your business look different now that you’ve learned to slow down?
I actually don’t think my business was ever on the “fast track.” After living in New York City, working a 9–5 corporate job, and constantly being surrounded by the hustle and bustle, I made a very conscious choice not to recreate that for myself in my own business. To me, that means embracing the freedom and flexibility that my business allows me.
Each day, I try to live from a place of fun, fulfillment, and ease rather than a place of overwhelm. I make those misty morning runs through the mountains a priority because I know the sense of joy and accomplishment they bring me. I make a conscious choice to pause client work and carve out time for an afternoon walk with the puppy or sushi with my love.
Because those are the things that fulfill me. Those are the things that make this crazy rollercoaster of an entrepreneur journey worth every damn second. While it’s a constant work in progress, I can put my head on the pillow each night knowing that I choose how I spend my time. Not only that, but I know I'm creating these same changes and moments for my clients where they don't have to sacrifice success for personal fulfillment. And other entrepreneurs can too, with the right mindset and support.
15. Social media - love it or hate it?
Love it. Social media has been an incredible tool for connecting with my audience and getting to know each other on a deeper level. But I definitely did not always feel that way. Before I was clear on my message in my business (I help creatives and entrepreneurs who are stressed and overwhelmed to create a beautiful, balanced life and a successful, thriving business!) posting to social just felt like a chore. And because I wasn’t talking about my expertise, showing up consistently, and inviting people to work with me (aka marketing and selling!), I consequently wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. When I started to focus on the RIGHT actions to grow my business, my relationship with social media shifted because I started to grow an audience that I love engaging with, have a bigger impact, and generate more leads and clients from it.
The bottom line:
I believe that it IS possible to build a business that is both profitable AND fulfilling (and therefore sustainable!) and it all starts with knowing what success looks like to you.
In this way, you’re able to create a business that is aligned with what you want and how you want to create it so you can close more sales and make more money in a way that feels good (because we always get the best results when it feels good!).
If you’re struggling to cultivate the mindset you need to close more sales with more ease, then I would absolutely love for you to join me on my free Sincere Sales coaching call.
Together we’ll talk about the mindset challenge that is holding you back the MOST when it comes to sales and how to shift it. You’ll walk away with one simple action you can take for more results!
Tell me in the comments below:
What does slow entrepreneurship mean to you?
Photography by Sandstone Creative
