7 key lessons from my biggest turnaround

Today I want to share with you my 7 key lessons on how I went from depressed, in debt and hidden in the market place to vibrant, visible and actually selling. They are my business turnaround tips that you can actually use now. 

Lesson 1.  Stop thinking and start doing

I was depressed. I couldn’t have a shower. I couldn’t write a blog, let alone sell something.
One day I woke up and decided that had to stop. I went and asked for help. That decision changed my life. I found a great psychologist and a terrific healer. I did the soul searching. I confronted my daemons and skeletons in my closet.

When I felt a bit more powerful, I went out and started organizing something called “Clarity Roundtable”. I organized breakfasts for women on career related topics. I had no plan. I just did it.

That brought air into my life. I could connect to other women’s challenges and to my own knowledge and experience. I remembered what I have to give them.

If you are depressed, make a decision today: ask for help. If you’re not depressed (or if you are on the road to recovery), take action towards being of service. No matter what action! Do it wrong. Get yourself out there!

Lesson 2. Invest forward

I have an MBA and I was a very senior executive for years. Yet, after my depression I couldn’t see where to start, my own value, or the needs of the market. I needed help.

I started by buying a 300 euros training to do my year plan. In a month I made twice that. Then I joined a mastermind (1k). After one month, my sales covered my investment 3 times.
The fantastic thing about working with other coaches is that you get to discover yourself as a coach. I like this, but not that. You understand how you want to run your business.

If you want to grow, you need to invest. If your business is not growing, it is dying. Investing forward is a sign to your subconscious that you are serious about growing your business. 

Lesson 3. Have a mission

Building a business just to make money is not a mission. Entrepreneurship is like Elon Musk says: chewing glass while looking at the abyss.  It’s hard. You need some fuel that moves you, especially when things get hard.

My mission, accelerate the heart centered economy, took me out of my depression. It moved me to create the Bloom Mastermind, for women who are ready for their mission. I got one client, then another one, then another one… Before I knew it, it was a reality. They started growing their own businesses, daring to be more visible, to sell and most importantly to live their mission. 

When the Corona Virus outbreak came, my mission sustained me and inspired me to serve even in the midst of fear and uncertainty. In this environment, I created an offer design retreat (Emerge). I filled it up. Then my customers started selling. It was a miracle in their lives as for years they were unable to do so. It was a miracle all together as in this time there’s the belief that it’s impossible to sell.

Lesson 4. Ask for help

After the passing of my mother, I was in debt with the bank and grieving. Double trouble! I was emotionally unable to sell and with no financial leverage to invest on anything. So I went and ask for help,

•  A dear friend lend me money. Asking was terrifying, but I knew I could do this because of our relationship. We documented the loan and the repayment method. This proved to be critical, because this allowed me to invest in tools, training and support. 
• Invested in my inner game. My psychologist and my healer supported me in my journey out of depression and in navigating towards self-love and compassion. Another critical help! Without winning your own inner game no marketing strategy or brilliant software will launch your business. 
• Fiverr my way around. As I’ve been building my business, I’ve identified the processes that could be outsourced. I’ve defined them specifically and outsourced them. My favorite source of support is Fiverr. It’s a great first step before you have a team. 
• You need a village. I told everyone what I was doing: my family, my friends, my MBA friends, my fellow coaches, my neighbors. People are more supportive than you think they are. Before, I was worried about this: “they won’t understand me”, “they will criticize me”. When I opened up to share what I did and what I needed I found support and enthusiasm. 
• Build your team. My husband has decided to support the automation of the back office. His support has been incredible. All the software that he has analyzed and installed is proven terrific to accelerate it all. Now we’re identifying more things to automate and to delegate. Magic! 

You don’t have to do it all on your own. You cannot. Nobody can. Start today! Ask for help!

Lesson 5. Create a vision 

Seeing it as you want it to be is the first step an entrepreneur must do. Without a vision, you have no idea where you will end up. With a vision, what you need to do is less important. Your vision will guide you to who you need to become.

Since I was a little girl I visualized my future. I had the dream of living in Europe. Now this is my reality for more than 2 decades. I dreamed of public speaking. Now it’s my job.
I dreamed of holding the space for women to bring live to their vision, now is my life.
What do you want to see? Who do you want to be?

Lesson 6. Stay focused

We live in the age of distraction. That’s especially challenging when it’s a matter of building a business online. Focus is the key to success.

A key element of my turnaround was focus. Once I found my thing, I booked customer after customer. I was able to launch group programs. I was flying.

When you’re starting your business, the sky is the limit. Distraction is easy. You need outside accountability to keep you on track. That’s what we do in the Bloom Mastermind. 

Lesson 7. Do it 100% YOU

My inner critics (“you are not good enough”, comparison, envy…) led me to disaster. I created products and services that were what I thought “they” wanted from me. This was so bad. I was not truly serving as I was not actually giving my gifts.  

After my dark night of the entrepreneurial soul, plus the Corona Virus outbreak, I couldn’t allow these inner voices to stop me. I needed to show up and be 100% me. I did. The entire story changed.

I created the Emerge retreat combining spirituality and business. For the first time I dared to include the weird part of me: meditation, visualization, somatic techniques. For the first time I dared to give my advise on business strategy. Results were staggering.

The business “miracles” that happened to my customers afterwards surprised me (and them). One very spiritual participant had not made any money for the past 3 years. After this retreat, she was able to create an offer, promote it and sell it. YES! She was able to show up 100% herself, because I showed up 100% myself.
Are you showing up 100%? Your customers need you!

These were my 7 key lessons from my biggest turnaround: how I went from depressed, in debt and hidden in the market place to vibrant, visible and actually selling.
What’s your biggest takeaway? What's your favorite business turnaround tip?
Which of the 7 lessons are you going to implement in 2020?