Creating a Conscious Business
The world is continually changing, and we must change with it. Doing so with the understanding that we don’t know what we don’t know is essential to building a conscious business.
Being open to new ideas, welcoming new perspectives, and listening to people who have different backgrounds than we do (in every way “background” can be defined) helps us to keep up with the change in the world around us. It helps us to evolve consciously, rather than just change with whatever tide happens to come along and push our little boat in a direction.
I’m on a journey to make my business more conscious and conscientious – to do what’s right no matter what the consequences are. On my podcast, The Good Business Witch, the first several weeks of 2021 are following this thread as I take you along on my journey to doing business even better – for the betterment of society.
So, let’s start with the parts of conscious business ownership:
Continual Education
Part of our conscious evolution as a business owner is supported by continual education. What I mean is always looking outside yourself for new ideas. If you own a yoga practice, maybe this means studying with a new teacher yourself. For me, as a marketing professional, that means learning from other marketing pros to see what they’ve learned. NOT to steal their content, but to learn from people who are doing it better and differently than I am.
I appreciate and do my best to foster a community over competition approach in all I do. I firmly believe there’s enough business for everyone so that we don’t have to stomp on each other. I also believe that relationships are at the heart of business.
Diversity and Inclusion
I recently attended a diversity and inclusion session with Jena Marie Hernandez and then had a consult with her. I am NOT an expert in this subject and as a white woman, it’s essential that I look to others for help in this area. It’s not enough to want to do better, we must strive to be better. Part of adopting a stance for diversity and inclusion is looking to experts in the field who can help you bring new practices to your business so that everyone feels welcome.
My biggest takeaway from my work so far with Jena is that I wasn’t doing any harm, but I also wasn’t contributing positively as I should in allyship and as a co-conspirator. So, I’m working on that!
Conscious Business Leadership
Being a conscious business leader means making certain commitments about how you do business. For me, I am looking at all business decisions I make: marketing and sales, operations, and hiring contractors and team members in the future, with an awareness of how those choices influence those around me.
Remember, small business is personal. I want to make sure that the way I’m personally operating and impacting others is done from a place of helping, rather than hurting.
Authentic Expression
This blog is a great example of what I mean by authentic expression. I think it’s incredibly important to both a) learn in front of your audience and b) admit when you get it wrong. Sometimes I’ll begin talking about a topic that’s new to me. I always preface it with a disclaimer that I’m still learning. This reminds me to be compassionate with myself AND it lets people know that I may screw up. I’m human. I’m learning.
The other part of authentic expression comes into play when we’re talking about creating those authentic, helpful connections with people. Being authentic – especially online – doesn’t mean you have to share everything about your life, business, or education, but it does mean showing up as yourself. People want to do business with people they like – especially if you’re in the service industry.
Opportunity to Be Vulnerable
Being a conscious business owner allows us to be vulnerable. There’s great strength in vulnerability and if you’ve never read the work of Brené Brown, definitely check her out. Her research centers on vulnerability and shame. If you have read her, then you know what I’m talking about. Don’t be afraid to mess up in front of people. If you approach a topic with a sincere heart focused on no harm, and do it imperfectly, it’s better than not showing up at all. We’ve all got to learn somehow, right?
If you want continued support in creating and building your conscious business, send me a message at hello@meganwinkler.com. I’d love to connect with you and to share a new support offering that I’ve created specifically for business owners with soulful work.