Celebrating Milestones and Setting Boundaries | EP292

Approaching five years of podcasting is no small feat, and as we draw near to this milestone on April 16th, I can't help but reflect on the journey of the Mindset in Action podcast. This solo episode is brimming with personal updates, from my revamped office space to heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support. Together, let's celebrate the perseverance required in a world where many podcasts fade after just a few episodes. Catch up on last week's enlightening conversation with Kam, who offered invaluable accounting tips for businesses. Plus, hear about plans for an exciting in-person event to mark our anniversary.

This episode also dives into the crucial topic of boundaries, both in business and personal life. Drawing from my own experiences and insights from thought leaders like Amy Porterfield, I share the importance of stepping back when needed. Entrepreneurship offers a unique flexibility that can be harnessed to prioritise personal well-being, and I'm reminded by my business bestie, Carly Wall, that pacing ourselves is perfectly okay. A session with Jenni Donato also brought fresh perspectives, highlighting how self-reflection and external input can create much-needed clarity. Let's embark on another year of growth and transformation, embracing these lessons along the way.

I've yet to get Jenni on the podcast but here is the episode I did on her podcast last year LISTEN

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Chapters

• 0:00 Podcast Anniversary Celebration and Announcement
• 13:59 Navigating Business Boundaries and Work-Life Balance
• 24:04 Embracing Flexibility in Business

Transcript

Donna Eade: 0:50

You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast, the place to be to grow and streamline your business. I'm your host, donna Eade. Let's jump into the show. There are far better things ahead than any we left behind. Cs Lewis, welcome back to the podcast.

Donna Eade: 1:16

Everybody, I am so glad to have you here with me today for this first solo podcast of the new year and the first podcast that has been recorded in the new year. Things are a little bit different in my office. I can't remember if I told you all last year that we were having new windows and doors put in just before Christmas. They literally came on the 16th of December and were here for four days and fitted new windows and doors for us. Now that meant that my office got completely dismantled so they could reach the window, and when I put it back, I didn't put it back in the same way. So this is an interesting new setup I have got in terms of being able to record my podcast. So we will see how this goes. I do have some spare space that I might be able to make more of a proper podcasting studio type thing. So we'll see. We'll see New things, new year, new things to come.

Donna Eade: 2:21

So on to today's podcast. Really, I wanted to just welcome everybody back because I'm sure everybody is back to work now, despite children, holidays, extended breaks etc. I'm sure everybody is now back. I hope that you managed to catch last week's episode with Cam. It was a really great episode, all about your accounting and how you set up for that, what you need to pay attention to. You know the big, big bugbears from an accountant's point of view things that if you just get them right big bugbears from an accountant's point of view of things that if you just get them right, it makes the job so much easier. So do go back and have a listen to that. And thank you to Cam for coming on the show and being the first episode of the new year. It was really great to start the year with a guest episode.

Donna Eade: 3:11

So what are we talking about today? Today I am really giving you a little bit of exciting news and then I wanted to touch on something that has been on my mind. So it's a little bit of a mindset episode today. So I'm not going to keep you waiting for the exciting news. If you're on my email list, you will already know this news. But this year we are celebrating five years of the Mindset in Action podcast. Not in this guise, because those of you who know know that the podcast has had a number of names, but this is the fifth year, so on April the 16th, it'll be five years ago since I started this podcast, which is a pretty magnificent feat, especially in the podcasting world. And I've told you the stats before and they are slightly different now, but I still think they just sound better, have more impact and it's not that much different now so I can still use them.

Donna Eade: 4:11

It is the fact that 90% of people who start a podcast will stop podcasting after episode three. So of the people that put out episode one, episode two, episode three, 90% of those people won't put out any more. Now there's a number of reasons for this. Sometimes it's they underestimated it, or they haven't given it a good enough chance, they don't know the value of it, or perhaps they were doing it as a freebie for something. So it was just a three episode series that is finished. Obviously, that takes into account as well the series podcast, where it is just episodes, and I'll come back to that in a moment. But 90% of people will stop after they have done three episodes, and then of that 10% that continue past episode three, 90% of those will quit at episode 21. So again, could be that it's a serial podcast and they only wanted to do a set number. It could be that they just underestimated the amount of work that it was going to take for them. They had inflated ideas of what a podcast was going to do in that amount of time and really 21 weeks is not enough time to give a podcast a real good go. So it is interesting to see that, on reflection, 1% of people make it to episode 22. So to get to five years and still be podcasting regularly, consistently, is a pretty incredible achievement and I want to celebrate that achievement.

Donna Eade: 5:48

I don't often do birthday parties for myself. Like, literally, I've never arranged a birthday party. I arranged one party for my 30th. I won't go into it. It was quite traumatic for me, but let's just say it was the worst birthday and nobody came. None of my family, none of my friends turned up and I don't particularly blame them. However, you know, for somebody I love, I would do things that I didn't particularly blame them. However, you know, for somebody I love, I would do things that I didn't particularly want to do to make sure that they were happy on their birthday. It's by the by, like I say, it's a bit traumatic not going to go into it but nobody turned up, so it's kind of put me off arranging anything.

Donna Eade: 6:30

But I have decided that I would really, really like to celebrate the fifth birthday of this podcast and I would like to do it with an in-person event, because this is very much a one-way street. A lot of the time, you know, I do get listeners reach out to me and say that they listen to particular episodes and really enjoyed them, and I find you know new people that have listened to the podcast that tell me that they are a listener and that's great. But I would love to see you guys in person. I would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, I would love to get your feedback in real life and I would love to celebrate with you because, at the end of the day, if it wasn't for you listening, I wouldn't be doing this podcast. Like, if nobody was listening, there would be no point. You know, talking into the ether, as it were, is not fun. Um, if you're not getting anything back from it and obviously I do get things back from it. I do know you guys are listening, but it would be just so nice to be able to give you a hug and say thank you so much for listening.

Donna Eade: 7:32

So I am going to be running an in-person event this year Now unfortunately, for a number of reasons, it can't be on the actual podcast birthday. It lands right in the middle of the Easter holidays for a start, which is not practical. However, we have got a date that is close by and at the moment it is looking like it's going to be the 15th of May, is looking like it's going to be the 15th of May. So it's going to be an in-person day event on the 15th of May. I am going to clarify that, but I do have a wait list, so, if you are interested in coming and joining me for this day, it is going to be a day of education, it's going to be a day of podcasting and it's going to be a day of celebration. So it's going to include all of my favourite things. We're going to be talking about the pillars of this podcast, so you'll get some actionable tips to take away.

Donna Eade: 8:22

In the education portion, I'm going to be talking about podcasting. Obviously, that's what I teach. If you're new here. Hi, my name's Donna. I'm a podcast host and mentor, and that's what I teach people to do is to start and launch their own podcasts. So we'll be talking about podcasting. I will have guest speakers coming and being interviewed by me giving us some actionable tips to take away. We're going to be celebrating with birthday cake and I'm also going to be inviting some very special guests to share some more lighthearted, non-work related things with you to break up the day and just give us a bit of a mind break from the you know, the education portion. So it's going to be fun. It's going to be really enjoyable.

Donna Eade: 9:06

It's going to probably run from about 10 till 4. There's going to be networking, which is another big, big love. Love of mine. I love to network. For those of you who don't know, I actually run an online networking meeting for Business Women Unlimited. It's usually the third Tuesday of the month. We are meeting next Tuesday, on the 21st of January, so you are more than welcome to join me at any of those meetings as well. You can go to businesswomenunlimitedcouk and you'll be able to find all of the events there. I host the online ones, so those are the ones that I'm at. So if you want to come and join me for that, I would love to see you there. That would be fantastic, but I would love even more to see you in person at my birthday event.

Donna Eade: 9:55

So the wait list um, you can go to donnaeedcom forward slash birthday bash. That's all one word. That's donnaeedcom forward slash birthday bash, and you can register your interest there. Um, I'm like I'm 99% sure that I'm going to be able to do some early bird tickets, so those people that get on the wait list will be there for those early bird tickets. We're going to have an afternoon tea as well. So that is really exciting, because you know I love afternoon tea, and who doesn't love a tea and a scone? So make sure that you put your name down if you're interested, because it can only take place if I get. You know people who are interested to come. So, if you're interested because it can only take place if I get, you know people who are interested to come. So if you want to be there, please do put your name down on that wait list. It's donnaecom forward slash birthday bash and I hope to see you there in May.

Donna Eade: 10:50

So, moving on to the mindset element of today's episode, and I think we're probably going to run a little shorter than regular episodes today, just because I'm easing back into the year. But it was something that came to me just today, actually, while I was thinking about what I'm doing for the new year and how I've changed this podcast and just some things that have sort of come up for me in just being back up in the work seat for just over a week. So the first thing is that I have gone back down to one episode a week, which you may or may not have noticed or may or may not have known, but I did say before the Christmas break that I was going back to one episode a week. Obviously, last week's was just one episode and this week is just one episode, so hopefully that you have figured that out. But what I found really interesting was that I found out that Amy Porterfield has decided to do the same thing. So I already said this before Christmas.

Donna Eade: 11:52

I'm not a weekly listener to her podcast anymore. Still love it when I do listen, but I just don't have the time to listen to as many podcasts as I used to. So it was just on her story that she said that she was going back to one episode a week and I was like, oh, that's interesting, because obviously Amy Porterfield has a lot more listeners than I do. Interesting because obviously Amy Porterfield has a lot more listeners than I do and it seems that she has seen similar results, perhaps in the last year, running her two episodes a week, to what I have in doing my two episodes a week. So that was an interesting one for me to see.

Donna Eade: 12:30

So in that I thought about how we put expectations on ourselves to do certain things so to be bigger, to be better, to go more often, to do all of those things that will help us grow our businesses and how we can often put ourselves under a lot of pressure and feel like we are being ruled by a tyrant of a boss, which oftentimes is what we were trying to move away from when we left corporate. If you have come from that environment, many, many reasons why people leave corporate and decide to start up their own business, many reasons why people start their own business is not necessarily coming from corporate. However, one of the things that people do tend to move away from mainstream employment is because they don't want to have the boss that they had or the bosses that they'd had. They want to be their own boss and what tends to happen is we're actually harder on ourselves than anybody else ever would be, and this is so true. And I found this in just this last week of coming back, where I'm sitting here thinking I should be doing this. I week of coming back where I'm sitting here thinking I should be doing this, I should be doing that, I should be doing the other. Now I did a whole episode on shoulding and how you shouldn't should all over yourself, but um, and I will link that in the show notes if I remember. So do head to the show notes and take a look for the links there. I will also link the birthday bash link there so you can click it. So do head to the show notes.

Donna Eade: 13:59

But it's really like frustrating to me that we do this to ourselves, that we come back and we just put this huge pressure on ourselves to do all of these things that we think are going to make a difference. Half the time they don't make a difference. Half the time they are not. Things that are hugely important, and one of the things that you guys who have been listening for a while will know that I have a part-time job that I do. My boss said something this week that really made me sit up and think and she said I've got to remember because she can be quite intense. I've got to remember we are not an emergency service and I was like, yes, that is so true for that job, but also for my business. I'm not an emergency service. Things don't have to be done yesterday I can take my time.

Donna Eade: 14:53

And the reason that this came up whilst I was thinking about Amy Porterfield also going down to one episode a week is because it brought me back to something that her husband said to her. So her husband has always been hugely supportive of her entrepreneurial journey but has often had to say to her you know, I'm being left out here Like I need some attention, you are not present in our marriage or in our family life because she is a workaholic and let's work consume her. I've had similar conversations with Matthew, where he's gone like are you leaving the office tonight? You know, are you coming out? Because he works all day and then I'm a bit of a night owl, so I actually get the bug around mid-afternoon. That's when I'm like really sort of get my teeth sunk into projects and then I just want to keep going. So I've had those similar conversations and you may be sitting there thinking, gosh, you know what?

Donna Eade: 15:50

I've had similar conversations with my partner too, about how much time I'm working and where my boundaries are and things, and I think it's very important that we actually stop and have these conversations Now. It's not necessarily that we would want to have these conversations with your partner, but what Hobie had said to Amy was I think you need to go and have a word with your boss, meaning that he wanted her to literally go and look in the mirror and talk to herself about what was going on and how it was affecting their family life, and I think that's quite an important thing for us to do, and if you can do that, all power to you. I find that, talking to myself I mean I can't say that I've ever gone and looked in the mirror and talked to myself about work, but perhaps it would work but I do feel like sometimes you need that extra voice just to reflect back to you. So what I am suggesting is that if you are somebody who is sort of struggling with the pace of work, thinking that you're behind, falling, you know, into old habits, old patterns, overstepping your boundaries, doing all of that stuff, and we're only a week into the year and you're already feeling like you're drowning. I would really urge you to stop and reach out to a business friend and have a conversation Now. This isn't to have a business chat, just general chit chat, catch up. I've had one of those this week which was absolutely fantastic. I really enjoy those. But last week I was able to have a business boost session with Jenny Donato. I won a competition back in December. She ran a little competition in her group which I won, and I got this business boost session with her.

Donna Eade: 17:44

Now Jenny has actually been on the podcast. I will link to her episode in the show notes. So she's a business strategist and coach and she helps people to really get momentum and amplify their business. She has a program called Altitude and it's a really, really great program where you not only get access to her and her expertise, which are phenomenal, but also you get access to a whole host of coaches that can coach you on very specific things for your business and she will help you discover which coaches are best for you. So it's a fantastic program. Definitely reach out to Jenny if you're interested to find out more about that, but I'll link her episode in the show notes.

Donna Eade: 18:27

And having this one-to-one with her was really really cool because she was like, gave me the option of what I wanted to strategize about, and we sat there and we had a conversation about what is happening in my business, what I wanted to strategize about, and we sat there and we had a conversation about what is happening in my business, what I want to change and what I want to do for 2025. So I was really excited to have this conversation with her. She put some things in front of my face that I hadn't thought about. She was able to give me ideas and just change my thinking on some things, like make me look at things from different perspectives, and that was really really useful. And I think that is always useful to have.

Donna Eade: 19:08

And you don't necessarily have to go and pay a coach to do this. You can do it with your business bestie um, not the business bestie. Obviously, you know you would have to pay her because she is very, very qualified in what she does as well. Um, but if you are, you know, earlier in your business, you haven't quite got the money to be able to go to coaches and things. You can do this with your best friend in business. Call somebody up and say can we have a chat? Can we sit down? Can I talk to you as if you were me about my business and let me just get this stuff out and you can have a conversation about it. That person can then throw those questions back to you when you turn around and say I have to do this. Is it what makes it that you have to do this, so they can just turn your statements into questions and help you uncover what's really, really important and what you really need to be focusing on. Because I think a lot of the times, we do all have the knowledge in our heads, but we just don't know where it is or how to access it. So that is my call for you today.

Donna Eade: 20:25

If you are feeling overwhelmed, if you are feeling like you're already drowning, if you feel like your boundaries are being stepped on left, right and center, if you are just already feeling like the new year is swallowing you up, then please, please, do stop and take a moment. Take a deep breath. You know, take three, because they are so good. Take a deep breath, take a moment and reach out to a business friend and ask to have those conversations and you can do the same for them. So maybe you book an hour or a two hour slot where, for the first half of the call, you are talking about your business and they're just reflecting back to you the statements that you're making, so you can tell them what it is that you're struggling with, what it is that you're planning, and they can throw questions back to you about that so that you can uncover some stuff. And then you can do the same for them. And whilst you are in your mode, you're talking about your business, they don't talk about their business. Because I think that's the problem with when we get on a call with a friend is they're like oh yeah, in my business, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, because they want to show you that they understand where you're coming from. But that doesn't help you get to the root cause or the root answer of what you need. So really focus on your business first and then focus on their business, or vice versa, and have those conversations. You may be hearing Twinkle in the background. So that's a happy new year.

Donna Eade: 21:58

My little 18 and a half year old. She's still thriving and being loud, so if you can hear her, my apologies, but I'm not going to edit it out, because you know she is who she is and it is my life. So I hope that helps and I hope it came across. Okay, I am. I am fully unfiltered this year, so this has been a very unedited, unscripted episode where I just wanted to really come in, tell you about my birthday bash. Please, please, come along. I would absolutely love to give you a hug in person. So donnaecom forward slash birthday bash. And please, please, come along. I would absolutely love to give you a hug in person. So donateecom forward slash birthday bash.

Donna Eade: 22:36

And then I just wanted to reach out and say to you that you know, if you are feeling that way, you are not alone I have felt that way already in the first week back and just give you an option of how you could address it, because that conversation with Jenny was invaluable. The conversation I had with Carly today was really good, because you know that was a friend call and that was a business call and they both had elements that really helped me and I think if you can bring those two into a conversation with a business friend, if you're feeling that way, you might just be able to find the answers on what you need to put down and what you actually need to keep hold of. So, um, that is it for me this week. Happy new year to you again. I won't say it next week, I promise, um, I will be back next week. Who knows what the episode is gonna be. I have got a plan for this year. I have got a couple of guests lined up already, and I'm really excited to see what the year brings. So please do drop me a message. If you can Come over to the Facebook group, come and join me over there and tell me what you're working on this year.

Donna Eade: 23:40

I would love to know what your plans for 2025 are. Are you learning to say no? Are you saying yes to everything? Are you planning on doing public speaking, starting a podcast maybe? Are you looking at adding something new to your business? Are you looking at solidifying the business that you've already got, or are you pulling back for some reason?

Donna Eade: 24:04

You know there are lots of reasons why we might need to pull back in our business whether we're risking burnout, we're looking after family members, personal circumstances have changed. That is the flexibility that we have with our businesses that we can do that, and that is one of the big, big reasons why many people start their own business is so that they can do that. If you're pulling back or if you're just trying to keep ticking along, don't think that you are failing, because you see everybody going oh, this year I'm going to do this bigger and better, because it's your business and you get to do it your way. And that is from my business bestie, carly Wool. Thank you very much. Okay, so I will see you again next week, guys. Bye for now.