Time is Money: The Plight of the DIY Business Owner

You will never 'find' time for anything. If you want time, you must make it. - Charles Bruxton

We, business owners, are a tough bunch.  We want to do everything ourselves.  We want to have our hands in every pie.  The only way to know that things are getting done right is to do it ourselves, right?  Sound Familiar?

That philosophy sounds all too familiar to me!  I am bookkeeper, secretary, graphic designer, marketing dept, janitorial services, and anything else you can think of.  I am a solo social media generating machine.  Slowly, I am learning the important lesson that I can't do everything.  My business is actually better off if I resist the urge to do everything.  Getting outside eyes looking at my branding, copy, videos and course presentations helps keep things fresh!  

I know it can be scary letting go of the reins, so I suggest giving up one small thing that annoys you the most first.  For me, it is proofreading copy.  I hate going back and making sure everything makes sense with grammar and punctuation.  Pssst....guess what?  I didn't outsource this to a person.  I did it with an online program called Grammerly. Easy Peasy!  

So...now your turn!  What are you going to let go of first?  

Tweet your answers to me: @buzz_hustle

5 Amazing Books for Personal Development

You Are A Badass - Jen Sincero

 In this refreshingly entertaining how-to guide, bestselling author and world-traveling success coach, Jen Sincero, serves up 27 bite-sized chapters full of hilariously inspiring stories, sage advice, easy exercises, and the occasional swear word, helping you to: Identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want, Create a life you totally love. And create it NOW, Make some damn money already. The kind you’ve never made before.

Rising Strong - Brene Brown

Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.

It is the rise from falling that Brown takes as her subject in Rising Strong. As a grounded theory researcher, Brown has listened as a range of people—from leaders in Fortune 500 companies and the military to artists, couples in long-term relationships, teachers, and parents—shared their stories of being brave, falling, and getting back up. She asked herself, What do these people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common? The answer was clear: They recognize the power of emotion and they’re not afraid to lean in to discomfort.

The Slight Edge - Jeff Olson

The Slight Edge is a way of thinking, a way of processing information that enables you to make the daily choices that will lead you to the success and happiness you desire. Learn why some people make dream after dream come true, while others just continue dreaming and spend their lives building dreams for someone else. The Slight Edge is not just another self-help tool for traveling the path to success. It is the doorway to creating powerful results in any area of your life, by using tools you already hold within you.

Presence - Amy Cuddy

By accessing our personal power, we can achieve "presence," the state in which we stop worrying about the impression we're making on others and instead adjust the impression we've been making on ourselves. As Harvard professor Amy Cuddy's revolutionary book reveals, we don't need to embark on a grand spiritual quest or complete an inner transformation to harness the power of presence. Instead, we need to nudge ourselves, moment by moment, by tweaking our body language, behavior, and mind-set in our day-to-day lives.

A Year of Yes - Shonda Rhimes

This poignant, intimate, and hilarious memoir explores Shonda’s life before her Year of Yes—from her nerdy, book-loving childhood creating imaginary friends to her devotion to creating television characters who reflected the world she saw around her (like Cristina Yang, whose ultimate goal wasn’t marriage, and Cyrus Beene, who is a Republican and gay). And it chronicles her life after her Year of Yes had begun—when Shonda forced herself out of the house and onto the stage, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and giving the Dartmouth Commencement speech; when she learned to say yes to her health, yes to play and she stepped out of the shadows and into the sun; when she learned to explore, empower, applaud, and love her truest self. Yes.
This wildly candid and compulsively readable book reveals how the mega talented Shonda Rhimes, an unexpected introvert, achieved badassery worthy of a Shondaland character. And how you can, too.