Why Connection is my word for 2020

Why Connection is my word for 2020

Welcome to Episode 35 of The Determined Mom Show. First, I cannot believe it has been 35 episodes, which is amazing. Super, crazy when I look back over the last year; I want to talk today about why the connection is my word for 20 22,019. I think it gave many people a lot of crazy situations and things in their whole life and their business, and I am no exception to that rule. 

I wouldn’t say rule but trend. I had a lot of things going on personally and also in my business in 2019. I started 20 19 with a lot of excitement and hope and all these things, and I had great income coming in and high regular income coming in that I could count on. And I knew exactly how much I was making every month. And then, I realized that I did not enjoy working for one of my clients. And it was extremely stressful. It was taking a huge toll on my family, my mental health, all of those things. 

I ended up breaking up with a client in April, and you can listen to episode 31, which aired on December 25. You will be able to find more details about that. But anyway, after that breakup, my income decreased significantly, and I was unprepared. Although I did. I was the one that initiated it. I should have been more prepared, but I was at my breaking point and could no longer deal. So with that said, at the same time, I was participating in a high-level mastermind with four other women—an amazing, amazing opportunity.

And it presented itself because I signed up for Marie Forleo is B school.  I did the school last year. And I also participated in this mastermind, which is exactly how this podcast came to fruition. So pretty cool. It was a very, very cool time in the growth of my business. And I set my direction and my audience: mom business owners. So that was amazing.

And keep in mind this whole year, all my connections are online. So there’s nothing wrong with online connections. All of my former podcast, guests are very dear to my heart and they’re very close and many of them are in the determine mom show podcast community. 

And we communicate almost daily, and I support them; they support me and help each other’s businesses grow. So constant referrals, constant things like that. So it is basically like a business networking opportunity, even if I’m only considering the guests on my podcast; all of them are just amazing people.

So and that has been a great online networking opportunity. Also, Facebook has been a great place where I’ve met a lot of amazing moms in different groups and things like that, just connecting with them, talking about a particular topic, and continuing with that topic. 

So 2019 was my year of virtual networking. But in 2020, I want to focus on in-person connections and even the relationships I have made online, making them stronger and more of them. So the connection is my word or 2020. The other things that happened in 2019 or July, June, July, and August were a blur.

I am trying to remember them. It was the summer, and every day was like getting up and Trying to work around my children, which didn’t work very well and held me back in my business. So while this summer is going to be different because we’re hoping to be moving in the summer, there’s just so much anxiety that I experienced over the summer because my kids were home. After all, I was trying to accomplish such lofty goals and things like that. 

And it was pretty much impossible for me to do with them even though they were playing outside, and that kind of thing was coming in, just all the disruptions and things like that. It was tough. So in October, I realized that something was going on with me, and I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with anxiety. So that was a fun way to start the fall. But I am blessed that that happened because I realized that I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and 

I had many things going on and was not handling it well. I think I’ve probably always had anxiety, but it is diagnosed with it, and getting that knowledge has helped me realize that, like, okay, these are the things I need to prioritize. This is how I need to deal with that kind of thing. So, the other thing that happened in November and December was I regained my focus.

After realizing the anxiety, I started counseling and all that stuff. It is helping me to be accountable and learn how I deal with things and how to deal with them better, prioritizing and focusing on items. 

The other thing I did was meditate daily, which is a huge help to my mental health. I’m up to 51 days. We’re midway through January 2020 when I’m recording this, so I’m close to two months of constant meditation, which is fantastic.

That means somewhere in November, I started, and I should say Constant meditation but daily meditation. And sometimes, I’ll do it with my kids; sometimes, I’ll do it alone. But whatever it is, I even have a shower meditation. If you use the Insight timer app, there is a meditation in the shower. 

So if you can’t squeeze it in, you can. But it has helped me focus and have that mental alone time that I need.  I have to get up at dawn to do that when no one else is around. And that is also why I’m recording this episode because everybody else in my house is still asleep. And this is the only time I can have a quiet, peaceful time. So being a mom, I’m sure you can relate to that. And just realizing all of that has made me realize that a lot of my anxiety also comes from social anxiety.  I wouldn’t say I like going to the grocery store. I wouldn’t say I like going to birthday parties. 

I wouldn’t say I like going anywhere where there’s going to be a lot of people. When we go to the library, I want to go as soon as it opens because no one else is there. If we go later in the day, there are too many people, and then I get all sweaty, anxious, and grumpy with my kids. I want to leave like instantly. I’m like, get your books. We’re leaving, so I want them to enjoy things. So I realized that I have to work things into my schedule in a certain way. But that social anxiety has hindered me from showing up in person networking in groups, and in my business the way that I want to. 

I have a photographer Angie Witten, who invited me to an in-person networking event. And this is like 150 people in a room in a casino. There are just so many people. I’ve seen videos of it online, like video clips of this networking group. It’s so active, and everybody is always like, it’s just a busy, bustling place, and could I say see myself there in October? Oh, no, there was no way that I would be able to go there. 

So after about a month or so of counseling, Angie invited me, I think actually, in December of 2019. And I told her, I said, I have terrible social anxiety. So it would be best if you held my hand in, you cannot leave my side. Like, please meet me out front. I was just, like, so anxiety-ridden. And I decided this was my first step in attending the in-person networking I needed to do in 2020. 

I went, and it was amazing. And I signed up that day to be a networking group member, and I don’t regret anything about it. The people are unique, and many of my anxiety and things like that are tied to false thinking, just like I’m sure all of your worries and troubles are mainly attributed to false thinking.

So I’ve also been working On my mindset, which will help you regain that focus if you are having trouble with anxiety, just refocusing and doing affirmations and things like that to ensure that you’re always thinking positively.So because of this networking group, I have made it my goal to connect with as many people as possible to learn about their businesses and how I can help them who I can refer to in 2020. The other networking group that I joined is mob nation Alliance.

So Aria Lady is a podcast guest and one of my upcoming episodes. When we recorded that, I was inspired by her and her passion for getting other mom business owners together, or mom-owned businesses together, as she calls the mobs, and her spark and enthusiasm for connection and networking. And I was supporting each other. And it was just so inspiring. 

I joined and will be hosting the meetups in Olympia, Washington. If anybody here is in Olympia and you would like to join us, we will start in February, and if not February, then March, depending on venues. So excited to be able to bring together mom-owned businesses in the Olympia area and do that in person and connect with people and form those connections and bonds. The importance of doing this not only for your mental health, just getting out there and talking to adults instead of children all day, but also the rate at which it will accelerate your business is beyond anything you could do online.

If you had a great launch or something like that, that would accelerate your business. Still, the know-like and trust factor of meeting someone in person and understanding their business is understanding them understanding what you do in your industry. It overcomes that like immediately with online interactions; it takes much longer to foster those relationships and overcome that know-like and trust factor. It’s very, very important to work with someone or use someone as a referral partner, any of those things. 

I highly encourage you to look and research your local DNI groups, your business and industry groups, and your local Chamber of Commerce; those things, the networking groups that I belong to, are untraditional in that they’re not a chamber group. It’s like a membership networking group. And then the mob nation is also a membership networking group, but it is amazing. So if you are looking for a network of amazing mobs and own mob businesses, that would be a great place to start. So you can join the main group for that on Facebook; it is an amazing place. 

So love it, and I love This podcast, and I love that you are listening to it right now. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to listen to it. And I hope you love this podcast and will leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher or wherever you listen to this; I look forward to hearing what you say. And I may start featuring your reviews on the podcast. 

I would love to share all about you and your business with the other audience members and listeners and feature you as a spotlight if you leave a review. Then I can connect with you and get to know you because that is my word of the year for 2020. I guess I have to put my money where my mouth is right, so I would love to connect with you and learn more about you and your business.

Please join the determined mom show community on Facebook. It is a great place to network with other mom business owners and learn from them. Share with and support them, and they will support you back. Thank you so much for listening. Next week on the determined mom show, we will have the lovely Ericka Beal telling us how to make 2020 the year that you shift away from dieting and unleash your true potential.