HerPower #5 -Thinking Growth and Acting with Intent

Hey, it's Dawn McGruer, the Business Growth Coach, and welcome to Dawn of a New Era, the podcast where we talk all things health, wealth and happiness, and where founders share the good, the bad and ugly of being an entrepreneur. So welcome to part five, the last and final part of our mini series all about female empowerment. And today we're going to be talking about thinking growth and acting with intent, and turning motivation into action. So don't ever be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.

The fear of judgment holds back so many women. So here is one of my favorite strategies for setting intentional goals and making confident decisions, and this is about visualizing and validating. So the strategy here is about practicing visualization techniques to imagine the successful achievement of your goals, and play it like a movie in your head. So how would you be showing up in your new reality and actually step into it, live it, breathe it, and make it happen, and validate your intentions with peers or mentors to ensure alignment and gain feedback.

So in terms of implementation, try and spend time each week reflecting on your visions and seeking input from your network. And adjust your strategies based on actionable feedback to enhance decision confidence. Now, I want to share a short story with you, all about intentionally transforming a business. And this is a story about Emma's boutique.

Emma, a passionate boutique owner in Brighton, faced challenges scaling her business. So despite a strong start, her growth plateaued. Frustrated yet determined, Emma attended a workshop on intentional goal setting. Inspired, she redefined her business objectives by using the SMART framework, focusing on increasing online sales.

So she decided to expand her digital reach by improving her website and engaging with customers on social media more consistently. Emma also joined a local women's entrepreneur group where she found support and shared insights. And within a year, her intentional approach paid off because online sales had doubled and foot traffic to her store increased. So thanks to the community she's built around her brand, Emma realized that being deliberate in her goals transformed her business from a static store to a dynamic, thriving brand.

So finally, I'd like to finish with a practical exercise all around daily or weekly practices that's about keeping your intentions clear and actionable. So what I want you to do is focus on the practice of keeping a weekly intentional journal. And the purpose here is to reflect, to plan, and maintain clarity on your business intentions. So how do you implement this?

Well, you need to set some time aside and choose a specific time each week, e.g. a Sunday evening, to review and plan, and reflect on the past week. So note achievements and areas for improvement, and identify what actions aligned with your intentions and goals, and then plan for the upcoming week.

So set three main goals using the SMART framework. Framework and list actionable steps for each goal. So next up is visualization, spending five or ten minutes visualizing the successful completion of your goals, and maybe try an affirmation. So write a positive affirmation that supports your intentions for the week, and then review.

So quickly revisit your journal entries each morning to remind yourself of your priorities and to stay focused. So by integrating this practice and these tips, you'll maintain a clearer vision of your intentions, making your goals feel more attainable and your decision-making more confident. So thank you for listening to our five-part mini series. If you've missed any of it, you can go back and catch up.

We have nearly 150 episodes to choose from in Dawn of a New Era. So please join us on this mission and make sure that you follow the podcast to get notified of all upcoming episodes, because I've got some of the most inspiring leaders in business who are coming onto the podcast and sharing their stories. Now we talk about everything to do with health, wealth and happiness, and all of my guests share an amusing story as well, so you don't want to miss out on that. Thanks for listening to Dawn of a New Era, the podcast brought to you in association with the Her Power Community.

This initiative was founded by myself, and it's all about empowering female founders to recognize their limitless potential and pursue their ambitions with confidence. Now there is less than 1.8% that goes into investing in female-founded businesses, and we are here to make positive change. So come and support us on Instagram at Her Power Community and find out more about what we're doing to support female founders to scale and grow their businesses.