My Word for 2019 - When I Grow Up

My Word for 2019 - When I Grow Up Well, here we are: Mid-December 2018. Just 20 days remain between us and 2019. And here we are, asking questions: What will the new year hold for me? What should my intentions be? What do I need to amplify? What would do me good to release? What are my Big Dreams for 2019 and do I dare put them in motion? What resolutions should I make? What were my lessons/mistakes/regrets from 2018? What were my wins, and why don’t I allow myself to celebrate them more? I’m in that space, too answering those questions and searching for answers. It’s why I’ve picked a word to guide me every year since 2011  (you can follow the hyperlinks to 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 phew!), and I don’t plan to sit this year out. My word for 2019 came to me a few months ago. It’s a sneaky word, one that I kept hearing over and over again until it clicked: This is the word I need to claim. That word? CEO. It feels crazy to say this, but my gross profit increased 42% this year, and it felt and continues to feel huge. It also led me to realize: I’ve been seeing When I Grow Up Coach as “my little coaching business”, but 10 years later (!) it’s not that at all. It’s a company. It’s a company that allows my husband to only take jobs he wants, since I’m able to be the breadwinner and cover our expenses. It’s a company that allowed us to buy our dream home, since I’ve owned it for so long and profits have been strong and on a growth trajectory from the start. It’s a company that has paid out 9 freelancers this year, from those who work directly with my clients through 90 Day Business Launch to the developers, bookkeeper, assistant, content writer, designer, Facebook ad queen and business coach who help keep me sane, looking good, and make it easier for me to reach my own big dreams. (Thanks everyone!) “CEO” comes to me with 3 separate intentions: Not to shrink from the big goals I have for my business. I hit a big financial milestone this year, and I can further trust the foundation I’ve built since 2008. It’s time to think both big and positive about the changes that are on their way (which I’ll be unveiling throughout the month, FYI). To state what I want, need and feel while being direct and kind whether it’s in my personal or professional life. A recovering people-pleaser, I know I have a tendency to brush things off and use wishy-washy language. I’m no longer going to say “No worries!” when an error was made that upset me. I’m not going to ask for something “Whenever it’s convenient!” if I need it quickly. I’m not going to deflect to “Whatever you think is best!” when I want it done a certain way. I’m not going to say “You choose!” when I really want to get take-out from the new Thai place (OMG, the new Thai place!). I can do this and not fear being a jerk ( this is me faking it ‘til I believe it, ha!). Like our hero Brené says, Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind. Set up my business back-end so that it’s a well-oiled machine. As a CEO, I need to ensure that there’s an up-to-date and easy-to-pass-along handbook for all my freelancers to follow. As a CEO, I need templates for everything that I repeat in my business so I don’t have to create things from scratch each time I do them (I do this somewhat already, but it can be way better). As a CEO, I want most of my time to be client-facing and then I want to be mostly working on high level tasks: brainstorming, visioning, planning. I am jonesing for systems galore right now, and 2019 will be the year when these internal structures take priority. So, here I am: leaning in to the discomfort I feel around “CEO” and all it means to me (especially that 2nd bulletpoint holy guacamole is that scary). And yet? I won’t shrink down. Nuh-uh 2019. I’m coming from you. Are you having similar thoughts of stepping up and owning your big dreams in 2019? Let me help you leave your job launch your business with this live, $0, two-hour training session!