Some people think I help people find their calling. But I’ll be the first to tell you that’s not what I do. It’s just not my thing. The idea that there is only one purpose I was put on this Earth to do is paralyzing. I actually believe there are many things I could do that would get me excited about going to work on a Monday morning. And I think the same is probably true for you.
Related: Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Finding Your Calling
That’s why I don’t deal with callings. Instead, I help people discover something they’re really good at and enjoy doing, so they can turn it into a business they love. I love this because when people know what they’re passionate about, they begin to live intentionally in their purpose.
They become more thoughtful and action-oriented because now they know exactly what to go after. Rather than just reacting to whatever life throws at them, they set goals and carefully evaluate the steps needed to get there.
This is important because when you decide to live on purpose in your purpose, you’ll experience more fulfillment and success. Why? Because nothing will push you to work harder than whatever it is that fires you up.
So let me ask you: Is this the kind of life you’re living today? I know it can be hard to feel sure, which is why I have three clues you can look for to figure this out.
I believe God made you 100% unique. There’s no one else on this Earth who has your combination of voice, style, perspective, experience and interests.
Understanding and utilizing the gifts God has given you in your business is critical to your success. Like I said earlier: When you’re not working in your strengths, you not only won’t enjoy your work, but you’ll also lack the motivation to push through the rough patches. And let me tell you, there are a lot of those in business.
If you could use more encouragement around using your God-given gifts in business, download my free 7-Day Devotional in the Resources section below.
Just like your strengths and your gifts, God also created you with unique interests, values and passions.
I love dancing, but I hate details. I get really excited about adventure and being outside, but I’m not a fan of math, history or science. I’m passionate about people and relationships, but I’m not crazy about politics. But you know what’s so fascinating? There are lots of people out there who do get excited about the things I don’t like.
So what gets you excited? What makes you light up and come alive? What gives you energy and joy? Take your time thinking and praying over these questions. It will help you identify whether you’re actually passionate about what you’re doing.
Related: How to Find Your Passion and Grow a Business You Love
God didn’t create any of us to be an island—off on our own unconcerned about the rest of the world. In fact, I believe He created us to live and work in community. It means He gave us our unique strengths, gifts and passions for the purpose of blessing other people.
When you focus on the needs of the people you’re helping and serving, you’re making a difference. You’re impacting someone’s life, and that’s a clear indicator that you’re exactly where you need to be.
This week, I want to challenge you to look for specific examples of each clue in your life. Are you living in your strengths? Are you passionate about what you’re doing? Are you making a difference in some way?
The list you compile should tell you one of two things:
Related: How to Push Past Your Comfort Zone and Try Something New
My guest today has built her life around intentional living, and she’s experienced a lot of success because of it. Lara Casey is the CEO of Cultivate What Matters, author of the books Cultivate and Make It Happen, creator of PowerSheets and the host of the podcast Cultivate Your Life. Lara is passionate about creating tools to help women live out their purpose right where they are. Clearly, she’s doing it in so many different ways!
Her story is filled with many turns and detours. Too often, we don’t understand the winding path we’ve been on. But Lara encourages us to embrace our journey anyway because God can use all of it.
I love how Lara puts it: “Sometimes we look back at our paths to where we are now and some of the pieces can feel very disconnected. But I’m so grateful to look back and see how deeply connected each one of my pieces is.”
On today’s episode, we talk about:
Long before I created Business Boutique—before there was a book, a podcast, a live event and an Academy—I spent many months on the phone doing the not-so-glamorous work of gathering research. I wanted to learn everything I could about people with side businesses.
Related: Market Research: How to Know What Your Customers Want
I had a list of questions I asked each and every person I interviewed. One question was: “How do you feel about selling?” Every single person responded the same way. They all had negative things to say about sales.
And I totally get it! Selling is uncomfortable and intimidating, even if you’ve been in business for a while.
But you know what surprised me the most? After the question about selling, I would always ask, “Why do you love this business?” Y’all, I would literally hear an audible shift in the tone of their voice as each one told me the story behind their business.
I remember one photographer telling me, “I love capturing these moments and memories that matter.” Another woman who sewed dresses for little girls said, “I love seeing little girls in the church lobby on Sunday morning twirling around in a dress that I sewed them.” As they shared their hearts with me, I immediately wanted to buy from them right then and there. Why? Because that kind of passion is attractive and draws you in.
That is the power of story. You don’t have to feel slimy or be pushy or get on people’s nerves to sell your product or service. Instead, I want to encourage you to simply share your story. Share your why with your potential customer. When you do that, the sale will naturally follow.
On today’s #AskChristyWright segment, we talk about the pros and cons of selling your products on Etsy versus launching your own website. We also talk about standing out from the competition on Etsy and how to leverage your current and past customers.
I love hearing directly from you. If you have a question for me, give me a call on my toll-free line at 844.944.1074. You might hear your question on a future episode!
1:19 Intentional Living: Three Clues You're Living in Your Purpose
11:49 How to Cultivate a Life of Purpose with Lara Casey
37:55 #AskChristyWright
42:45 Challenge: Share Your "Why" with Your Customers
Get Christy’s 7-Day Devotional by filling out the form here!
The Business Boutique Academy is OPEN!
I’m so excited to announce that enrollment to the Business Boutique Academy is open! The Academy is the only place where I get in your business with you.
Stop getting stuck wondering what to do next. I’ll teach you what to focus on every week and give you the resources to help you win. You’ll also get monthly training sessions with me and access to an incredible community of like-minded women in business—because you weren’t made to do this alone.
It’s only open for a few days, so get in before it’s too late. And you know I’ve got a special treat for you, my podcast listeners. When you sign up for the Academy using the promo code ACADEMYBONUS, you’ll get a free audio lesson: 3 Ninja Tricks I Use to Maximize Social Media. I’ll see you there!
Check out our friends at DesignCrowd. If you’re looking for design work for your business, anything from a logo – to business cards – to your website, DesignCrowd is offering you, my Business Boutique listeners, a special offer to save up to $100 when you start your next project. Simply enter the discount code “BB” when posting a project on DesignCrowd. Or visit DesignCrowd.com/BB.
If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com.
New podcast episodes are available every other week.
It’s hard to believe that nearly five years ago, Business Boutique was just a dream in my heart. Wow. That’s hard to grasp on so many levels, but especially because Business Boutique is such a huge part of my life now. But, y’all, talk about humble beginnings. All we really knew is that we wanted to create a place where women could get the support and training they need to make money doing what they love. That’s it.
So we went straight to the source: women who knew they were made for more. We talked to a lot of them and asked what felt like millions of questions. And we noticed something interesting.
All of these women seemed to describe their pursuit of “more” in different ways. Some called it a side business. Others referred to it as a side hustle. Some even called themselves mompreneurs. Suddenly, we knew coming up with a name for our project that perfectly encompasses what all of these women do—and one that clearly communicates exactly how we can help them—was absolutely crucial to our success.
No pressure, right?
In all our meetings and brainstorming sessions, my leader Dave Ramsey kept referring to a small side business as a boutique business. But that name didn’t feel quite right. Would people immediately think we only help people start boutiques? I mean, we were going to help them grow a lot of different things.
We continued to run into this wall until I decided to pray about it. I know, it should have been the first thing I did. But unfortunately, it was my last resort.
My prayer that day was this: Lord, what are we going to call this? We can’t call it Boutique Business because we’re not helping people start boutiques. We’re helping them grow a lot of different things. How do we describe this market when these women describe themselves in so many different ways?
He answered me that very day.
I heard God say: Flip it. It’s not Boutique Business. It’s the Business Boutique. And you’re not describing what all of them do. You’re describing what YOU do. You are the place where women come to get help with their business—any type of business.
Y’all, I knew in the moment that Business Boutique was it. I immediately sent a text to the team telling them we were supposed to flip the name. It was like this lightbulb had finally come on. And everyone agreed.
Of course they did! Because it was God’s idea.
And you know what? God is full of really good ideas. That’s why I invite my faith into my business every single day. Seeing God’s fingerprints all over Business Boutique takes the pressure off me and reminds me of who’s really in control.
Have you invited God into your business yet? I’m here to tell you it’s never too late.
Too often, we keep our personal lives and our business lives separate. We are so faith-filled in our personal lives but, for some reason, we get all practical and non-spiritual in our business. It’s as if we believe God doesn’t have any part to play—as if He can’t provide for our business, doesn’t understand the industry, or can’t help us scale it. The truth is faith and business go hand in hand.
Guess who gave you the gifts and skills you use in your business?
Guess who gave you the finances needed to start your business?
Guess who gave you the courage to finally do it even though you were scared?
That’s all God. The business you own is actually God’s business. Do you see a pattern here?
God is already in your business because God is in you—and you are in your business.
I want to challenge you to start thinking about your business as a place where you can invite God to partner with you. Our business problems are not outside of God’s control. He wants to be immersed in every aspect of our lives, so don’t leave Him out of this part.
I created this 7-Day Devotional to help you do just that. I pray this devotional will help remind you that God cares not only about you, but He also cares about your dreams and your business, too. He loves to come through for you—not just on Sunday, but during the week.
Is your business thriving right now? Have you praised God for that?
Is your business struggling right now? Have you prayed for wisdom and help yet?
Is something holding you back from starting? You can pray for courage, too!
I also want to challenge you to start a new habit this week. Set aside time every day to pray over your business, your team members and your customers—and the way they will be impacted by your product or service.
God wants to build your business with you. Invite Him in!
My guest today knows all about bringing faith into your business. Heather MacFadyen is the founder of Don’t Mom Alone and the host of the Don’t Mom Alone Podcast.
After blogging for three years, Heather thought she was on track to write a book. But God had a different plan for her—podcasting. Organically, her show began to center around three themes: mentorship, friendship and discipleship. And, amazingly, those topics all reinforced the same thing: Don’t Mom Alone..
In this episode, we talk about:
Too often, my mind is being pulled in a thousand directions. Can you relate? The problem is that it’s not always the right direction or the truth direction. Guess what? This is an area where the enemy can really get a foothold and paralyze you.
It can start with something as small as one mean comment on your blog post or one bad review about your product. The enemy takes that tiny seed and waters it so it grows and begins to spiral out of control. All of a sudden, what started out as an insignificant comment compounds into a giant insecurity.
2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. If we don’t do that, our thoughts will shape our beliefs and our beliefs will shape our behavior.
If you’re not careful, these negative thoughts can change your actions. You’ll no longer try as hard. You won’t go for opportunities that scare you because your courage is shot. You might even give up. And it can all be traced back to that one tiny thought.
I want to tell you what I do when that starts to happen to me. I stop and ask myself: Is this true? Is this what God says about me? Those simple questions immediately cut through the lies and bring me back to reality.
No, I’m not a bad mom.
Yes, I was made for business.
Of course, I CAN do this.
I want to encourage you to make a list of everything you believe about your business. Don’t edit it. Write down all the thoughts that go through your head during the day and hold them against that litmus test. Is this true about me? Is this true about my business? Is this what God says about me? Is this what the Bible says about me?
Just wait and see how God changes the way you think about yourself. You were created on purpose, for a purpose. Don’t let the enemy take that from you.
On today’s #AskChristyWright segment, we talk about:
If you have a question, give me a call on my toll-free line at 844.944.1074. You might hear your question on a future episode!
1:23 Inviting God Into Your Business
14:25 Discovering Your God Assignments With Heather MacFadyen
37:16 #AskChristyWright
40:37 Encouragement: Take Your Thoughts Captive
Get your own Fear or Wisdom Filter by filling out the form here!
It will be open for only a few days, and I’m telling you now because I want you to plan for it. The cost is $489 for the entire year to have me as your business coach and a tribe of women by your side every step of the way. Budget for it, mark your calendar, join the waitlist, and get in the Academy on March 18!
Text the code ACADEMYWAITLIST to 33444 to sign up for the Business Boutique Academy Waitlist to be notified the moment enrollment opens!
Check out our friends at DesignCrowd. If you’re looking for design work for your business, anything from a logo - to business cards - to your website, DesignCrowd is offering you, my Business Boutique listeners, a special offer to save up to $100 when you start your next project. Simply enter the discount code “BB” when posting a project on DesignCrowd. Or visit DesignCrowd.com/BB.
If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at podcast@businessboutique.com.
New podcast episodes are available every other week.