When I suggest to my clients that it’s time to promote themselves, they often look surprised, laugh a little and say, ‘I can’t do that!” But, actually not only as business owners can we give ourselves promotions, it’s important that we do and here’s why.
Think back to a time when you were promoted, how did you feel?
I know for myself, when I was promoted in my corporate life, I felt amazing, the excitement for something new, my mind buzzing with ideas on how to deliver the challenge and a wonderful feeling of pride that I’d been recognized and believed in for my brilliance.
When I moved out of the corporate world to become a business owner, I really didn’t think about promotions, actually saw it as something that didn’t apply to me anymore, how could I be promoted? I’m the top of the tree.
And for the first year or so, that wasn’t an issue, I was firing on all cylinders, giving a 100% to the business and loving the challenge that it was giving me. As I ticked towards year three, I realized, I was ready for the ‘what next’ and had I still been in the corporate world, this would have been the nudge I needed to start considering, what role was next for me?
So here I was, running a successful business that I love, knowing there was more to be had, that I was ready for a fresh challenge, to take my business somewhere new, but there wasn’t a position above me to go for to do that, so what now?
Doing nothing wasn’t an option, I was ready for my next challenge, to have that feeling of excitement again, the fizz in my belly, the I can’t wait to get started feeling, I was ready for a promotion, so something had to be done.
And that is when I had the lightbulb moment, the answer was I needed a promotion in my business. So, I had the answer, and then quickly realized, I didn’t know how to do that.
Because the BIG difference as the business owner is you can’t search the job sites, there isn’t a structure in place to support you, you have to create your ‘what next’ yourself. The figuring it all out and making decisions sits squarely with you and it is quite overwhelming.
So, where do you start?
By asking yourself questions, a great starter question is,
What would I like to do more of in my business?
Thinking about where you WANT to be spending your time going forward is a great way to start uncovering the type of promotion you are ready for in your business.
Do you need my help in figuring out the right promotion for you in your business? Get in touch cathy.hilton@thriveminds.co.uk