If These Heels Could Talk

Perfect is a limiting belief:  a subjective state of being that is not only impossible but also damaging. No one is perfect and nothing is perfect. But our belief that we can be if we only try hard enough damages our relationships with others and our self-worth.

The double-edged sword of perfectionism is likely rearing in your mind right now, “But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try! Working toward a goal is important!” Working toward goals is important. But goals and perfection are not the same thing. We can work to make something the best we can, but if we’re always judging our best by a literal impossible standard, we’re always going to fall short. And what do we miss in the meantime?

Listen as JoyGenea and Michelle embrace imperfection and talk about silencing the judgy, critical Stickler in ourselves so we can show up with flexibility and strive toward our goals in peace.

How do we lie honestly? Stating opinion as fact, misremembering things, detail avoidance and more are all of the ways we lie without intending to deceive. Confabulation is the fancy word for it. In psychological terms, it is often associated with memory disorders and a variety of conditions. Brene Brown talks about confabulation in Dare to Lead using examples like stating opinions as facts, leaving out salient details to make the storyteller more appealing, and ‘spinning’ information to not be the bearer of bad news. 

In a relationship, confabulation can have many impacts. But eroding trust is something to watch for on working teams. Listen as JoyGenea and Michelle tell the truth about all of the daily lies we tell ourselves and others.  

Next year will be the year for…what? Setting a theme for the year isn’t about resolutions or goals, but intention. It’s not as specific (or pressure-filled), but can help you focus other efforts for the year ahead.

Goals and resolutions can feel like pressure to perform, where a theme for the year can be a more flexible way to focus on the overall picture of the business and your decision-making. If you’ve never found goals to be helpful, try a theme first. Then work up to goal setting with third party who can help make the goal-setting and tracking more accessible.

Listen in as Michelle and JoyGenea talk about setting a theme and their ideas for the upcoming year.

Understanding "Letter of the Law or Spirit of the Law" and how as a business owner these questions can often land in your lap that have multiple answers and some fall under "Letter of the Law" and others are under the "Spirit of the Law". 

Michelle and JoyGenea talk about a recent situation that really made Michelle question these points a little deeper.

It’s the “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” to do your business plan.  We have given or have heard all of the excuses as to why there is no time to make a one page business plan.  All of them are BS unless you are on your deathbed. 

Of course, you can’t make ALL the decisions in 15 minutes. But you can get broad strokes on paper. Sometimes, that’s all you need to motivate a start. And if this is your first business plan, 15 minutes may be all you need to understand if you even want to keep moving forward on the idea that just won’t go away. Join us, get out your pencil and a piece of paper or just hit pause and take a voice memo and you too can have this done in 15 min.

Link to the one-page business plan we used.

https://www.hubspot.com/business-templates/one-page-business-plan

Youtube Link

https://youtu.be/Lym5C14gjVI

When you spend every day in the trenches, it is hard to know the way out. It is hard to see any other path than the well-worn one in front of you. Time away is essential for creative problem-solving. When is your next true vacation?

And we don’t mean when is your next day that you don’t go to the office. Because today, we take our offices with us everywhere we go. Boundaries are blurred between work and home, work and life. We can answer email everywhere. So we do. We can ‘take a quick call’ anywhere. So we do. And we teach those around us that we are always available. 

How can you get out of those trenches? How can you pull away so your brain has time to rest and gain perspective? Because when you do, you will solve problems you can’t even see right now. Your business will grow. Your team will succeed. And your family will thank you.

Listen in as JoyGenea and Michelle discuss true vacations and the benefits to their businesses.

It’s one of the most highly recommended books by women in business - Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski. Centered on the female experience as well as the human stress response, Burnout is one of those books that people describe as a pivotal moment in their development. 

But Michelle and JoyGenea haven’t had time to read it. Yet. 

Follow along as If These Heels Could Talk discusses reading Burnout. What resonates? What does not? And will both JoyGenea and Michelle get through the book during the holidays - one of the most stressful times of the year - without experiencing burnout?

Seamless integration. Stellar customer service. Fantastic value. 

In marketing, we call it puffery. Not being shy about what our businesses do well. Sometimes, puffery borders on overstatement. When it enters the sales process, it can be downright harmful. Because if you can’t deliver what you promise in a sales meeting, you might get the client, but you lose the relationship.

Why? Sales is about promise. Delivery is about fulfillment, or living up to that promise. So if your sales and onboarding team aren’t communicating well, or the person who needs to work through a process at a client’s business isn’t part of the team choosing a vendor, delivery can’t fulfill the promise of sales. Trust is broken. The relationship devolves. And maybe you get to keep that business, but you won’t get the referral or the next project. 

Michelle and JoyGenea talk about preventative selling. That is, making sure you sell what you can deliver. And then working to fulfill those promises with intention, everyday.

If you could go back and tell your pre-pandemic self something, what would it be?

That’s the question that Michelle springs on JoyGenea in this episode of If These Heels Could Talk. If you could write a letter and your pre-pandemic self would read it, what would it say? 

Hear about everything from being resilient to change, to turning off the news faster, to just plain chilling out. Listen in as JoyGenea and Michelle talk about what they have learned, what they think is still coming, and why we should all embrace life without the concept of normal. 

Someone has just asked you to go to something. Maybe it’s a holiday party. Maybe it’s a networking event. Maybe it’s a community service club. Maybe it’s a fundraiser. You will be representing your business at this event. And the event isn’t one that you want to go to - not because you generally dislike events (that’s a whole different podcast!) but because the event doesn’t align with your values. 

How do you say no without alienating the person asking? How do you gracefully decline without sharing personal information you may not be comfortable sharing? 

Listen in as Michelle and JoyGenea discuss navigating the shark-infested waters of being ‘other’ than the predominant culture, when the predominant culture assumes you’re one of them.