3 Signs You're Running an Ugly Business (Even If It Looks Successful)

Can you think back to a time that your business looked great on the outside, but felt awful to live inside?  

Do you have one of those times? Most entrepreneurs do.  

Here’s the question: Is that just a rite of passage for entrepreneurs? Or is there another way?  

The good news? You do not have to live the ugly business life at any stage of the entrepreneurial adventure.  

Once you know what an ugly business looks like, you can start spotting it early - and start swapping it out for something that actually supports your life instead of draining it (aka a sexy business!)

Here are three signs your business has drifted into ‘ugly’ territory, straight from our own experience.

1. You’re The Martyr

Does your business look successful on the outside, but you’re the one doing everything on the inside?  

The business itself might not be the problem. The problem is: who is carrying all the weight? 

“One morning, looking out at the sun rise over the lake, I realized I’d been at the office since before sunset the night before - and never left. It just wasn't sexy, because I was the one doing so much of it, and I was the one paying the price." ~ Kim White 

Have you had your sunrise moment? The moment you realize that your business will cost you everything if something doesn’t change?  

Where are you carrying everything in your business in a way that you don’t need to? 

2. You’re Burning Out

"We need freedom, not only with our time, but we need freedom with money and we need freedom with bandwidth." ~ Kim White

Picture this: your whole world changes after having a baby, and now you want to stay home instead of going back to your 9 to 5.  

Starting a business seems like the ideal answer - stay home, raise your baby, build something meaningful on your own schedule.  

"It looked perfect from the outside, or it seemed like the perfect answer. But I could only work when the baby napped, so that meant I was working all nights or all early mornings, and it was just crazy." 
~ Jill Olish 

The result isn't the freedom you pictured. It’s real burnout.  If you’re experiencing any level of burnout, it’s a big sign that your business is turning ‘ugly.’ 

"Burnout is definitely a great sign of unsexy." ~ Kim White

3. You’re Believing The Lies

A lot of ugly business habits don't come from bad instincts - they come from believing that you need things you don't really need. 

"There's a bill of goods we're being sold in most places: that we have to have all of these pieces for our business that are actually not necessary." ~ Kim White 

The extra platform. The extra hire before you can afford it. The extra hustle because someone on social media said it's required.  

None of it is automatically necessary - and treating it as though it is vital will quietly eat your time, money, and energy.  

And sadly, it will turn your business into an ugly business.

"If it's taking your life, what are you doing this for?" ~ Kim White

It isn't an easy question, but it is necessary.  It’s necessary in order to have the business, and the life you actually want. 

If any of these three signs sound familiar - doing everything all alone, running on empty, or carrying pieces of your business you never actually needed - that doesn’t mean you have failed..  

It's information. It's your business telling you it's time to run it through the sexy business filter.

If you missed the conversation between Kim and Jill on their podcast Buckets and Boom Gates, you can listen to Episode #106 here. 

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To connect and find out more about Kim or how to create a sexy business for a sexy life, you can reach her and the My Sexy Business Team at www.mysexybusiness.com. 

And to connect with Jill Olish go straight to her website www.mamaoutspoken.com and you'll find her there! 

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