It’s been two years since my marriage ended.

The reason why it ended (and how empowering a journey this has been for both my ex and I) is a story for another time.

Anyone who has been through divorce, death, illness or other life-altering situations can attest to the fact that it’s tough stuff!

It takes copious amounts of time & energy to sort through the changes, make big decisions and hold the space for transition. Truth be told it was much harder than I thought it would be (I like to think I’m a ‘get it done and get over it’ kind of gal… I learned to be patient this time around 😉

After the split I was essentially unplugged from my business. I was able to be present in the moment to serve clients and do the work – but I had ZERO capacity to drive the growth of the business. My heart was so swept up in setting a new foundation for my daughters and I that there was very little left over to give to the biz.

And yet we grew 60% in that time frame.

There is a part of me that is amazed by this, because it “shouldn’t” have happened that way right? My business “should” have shut-down when I did (I know this has been the reality for others in my situation.)

How did we do it?

When I look back I can see that it was about having 3 key elements in place:

1) A business model that doesn’t rely solely on me to deliver to clients – if it was just me serving clients I guarantee that the business would have shrunk during this time.

2) A team that is as invested in the business as I am – the women I am blessed to work with care as much about our vision & mission as I do. When I couldn’t be there they stepped up without question and I am forever grateful to them (you know who you are ladies)

3) A solid foundation of systems – we worked our butts off for years to get solid processes, plans and tools in place so that we never have to question “how do we do this again?”… everyone knows what they need to do and how to do it.

I’ve talked for years now about having a business that can run without you – it was the main message of my book The Entrepreneur’s Trap that I wrote back in 2012. I can now attest from personal experience that it is possible.

Let me ask you a very real question – what would happen to your business right now if you had to unplug?

This isn’t just about big life events – it could be as simple as wanting to take a real vacation (one that doesn’t include bringing your laptop and checking in with the office!)

Would your business fall apart if you weren’t there?
Would you come back to a giant mess?
Would your revenue plummet?

If you are serious about your business, your mission and your work you need to ask yourself these questions.

If the answers scare you then let’s connect… we can help. Just pop an email to Tina@Tinaforsyth.com.