Ep #15 Life Lessons For the Entrepreneurial Woman

In the United Kingdom, 32% of businesses are owned by women. In the United States the figure is 39% and in Ghana, its a whopping 44%.

 

When it comes to employment, 72.7% of women form part of the workforce in the United Kingdom and in the USA the figure is 57.9%.

 

More women are balancing or attempting to balance a job or business with raising the family, yet, we keep adding to our plate without making room for more.

 

We have a responsibility to decide what we take on so that we can live a healthy, happy life with as little stress as possible. 

 

In this episode, I share some life-hacks for the busy woman, so she can live a simpler life.

 

There appears to be a limiting belief that the more we struggle, the closer we get to being superwoman. The truth is, no one is handing out medals and if we keep choosing the complicated route, we will end up burning out.

 

As a woman in business, mindset coach and busy mum of four, five if we include my husband, I have had to develop systems and routines to make sure life works for me. Of course, it wasn't without stumbling a few times, but I surrendered when I discovered no one was coming to save me. I needed to save myself. Here are a few lessons and hacks I have adopted so I can live a stress-free, happier life. 

 

Mealtimes Hack

Menu planning cannot be underestimated and it is a simple, yet powerful hack to make life simpler. You don't need to be super-organised to adopt meal-planning, anyone can do it.:

1. List all the meals your family eats
2. Plug a mix of easy prep and more elaborate options in your week's calendar- what you consider elaborate will differ from person to person.  
3. Shuffle if required.

You can also engage the services of a caterer as I sometimes do, or/ad have a bulk-cooking day.

 

Banish Outfit Paralysis

Decide how you want to dress for church and group similar items together. For example, you prefer to wear dresses to church, so you put your church dresses together. Work will be Skirt suits; meetings- trouser suits, lunch with friends can be a pair of jeans and a top, running to the grocery store is joggers or yoga pants.

 

This stops you from wondering and planning and trying on 15 outfits until it feels right. It will save you time and energy while keeping your stress levels down. So when you have a meeting scheduled, you don’t need to wonder what to wear, you know its power suit day! 

 

Another hack is to know your skin understood and know what colours suit you. It saves the time we spend deliberating on whether an outfit will look good on you. If your wardrobe only contains your colours, you will become confident as the need to 'feel' right in an outfit is removed.

 

Have a Process for Dealing with Crisis 

Everyone handles challenges differently so there is no right or wrong way- generally. We cannot avoid running into difficulties, entrepreneurship guarantees that. And if you have an ounce of ambition in you, you will need to stretch to move up the ladder in your job. So it helps to have a process for handling fear or other situations that come to shake us.

 

In my case, I breathe deeply, consciously because shallow breathing does not feed your brain and can increase the feelings of anxiety. Next, I pray quietly and finally I gather the information, so I am well informed and not making any assumptions. Episode #2 goes into greater detail of how I handle challenges.

 

Look back to see how you have responded in the past and use that to create a simple process for you. The process exists to bring you to a place of peace and calmness, so you can deal logically with the issue at hand.

 

I would love to carry on this conversation and hear your thoughts. We can do this on social media- @toksaruoture on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
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References:

 

DejuTTT Kitchen by Jumoke Aina

Quick and Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe

Style at Senamin by Ajoke Savage

Potential U by Joy Odunsi

Ninja Grill & Air Fryer