The 4 Principles to Creating an Aligned Business

[00:00:00] Jamie Berman: Today we are gonna talk about business because as promised, I told you I was gonna do an individual episode on each of the main themes of this podcast. So two weeks ago we talked money. Last week we talked manifestation, and for today we get to dive into business. I love business. It’s amazing and we’re gonna talk about why I love it so much today.

So I thought it would be fun on this episode to talk about a little bit of my backstory on business and then to dive into some of the foundational principles that I hold that really keep me grounded and going and loving. Business, and I’m gonna share them really as an invitation for you to think about what those are for you, because the why behind our business matters.

The intention that we infuse [00:01:00] into our business is not only experienced our ourselves as the CEOs, but it is also. Experienced by those who are a part of our business, by those who follow us, by our customers and our clients. They feel the energy that you put into your business. So I think setting up that foundation and putting intention into it matters.

So I wanted to talk about the five different principles that I hold and come back to a time and time again that really. Keep me loving it. Keep me in it and keep me going even when it’s tough. ’cause you know, if you’re in business, you are in the arena. It is the most incredible opportunity for growth.

Right, and this is gonna apply whether you’re in business or for anything, any work that you’re putting into the world, whatever your dharma is, whatever you’re giving, you can think about the why [00:02:00] behind that and it will make such a difference. Okay, so let me share a little bit about my background in business, how I got started, and I’ll tell you about some of the businesses that I’ve had, and then we’ll dive into those principles.

So I started my first business at 11 years old. I started a babysitting business. Basically. I wanted to save up money. First of all, I just liked making money. My parents didn’t give me a lot of money. It wasn’t like we, there was five kids in my family, so like, they were not handing out tons of money for chores, right?

So like, if you wanted extra things, You win it and figure it out how to make money. So that’s what I did. I, even though I was 11 years old, which I laugh at now, ’cause I’m like, who trusted me at 11 years old to watch their kids? But like I said, I had four younger siblings so I was really, really good at babysitting and watching kids ’cause I pretty much had been doing it my entire life.[00:03:00] 

So I realized this is something I can do. This is something I’m good at, and there’s a need for it. There were so many kids and families in my neighborhood, so I just started offering the service and ended up getting fully booked. When I say fully booked, I mean from age 11 through age 14 when I was able to get a job job.

’cause I got a worker’s permit and started working at a produce stand until that time. I had my babysitting business, so I would babysit weekends, like all weekend, Saturday nights. I was always booked. I worked all through the summer, like Monday through Friday. I was full-time watching kids who had, you know, parents who were at work and I was.

Thriving. I made so much money doing this. By the time I was 16 years old, I was able to buy my first car in cash and majority of that came through my money that I made with [00:04:00] my babysitting business. Right? And that was honestly my why behind it because freedom is one of my highest values. And I wanted a car when I turned 16 and I knew my parents weren’t gonna buy one for me.

So at 11 years old I was like, I better get started saving ’cause I really want a car. And by the time my 16th birthday hit, I went to a used car lot and I bought a car in cash. So that was super fun. And that was my first kind of entrance into entrepreneurship. And I’m pretty sure I got hooked because I started my second business at 18.

So I was working retail as uh, at a makeup store. And with that job we got trained to do makeup and learned how to do makeup and understand skincare and all of that because we sold it. And so I started getting people who would ask me like, Hey, can you do makeup for events for prom for Halloween? Right.

And I [00:05:00] would just. Started saying yes and started saying yes. So even though I was in college and working part-time at that makeup job, um, at the makeup, the retail store on the side, I would do makeup and I made good money doing it, and I honestly loved it. I loved it so, so much. I felt like it was something I was really good at.

And that’s always how I’ve done business is I’ve taken something that I like. Enjoy or that I’m good at. Not that I liked babysitting that much, but I’m like, I’m good at it. I can do this and I see a need and I offer it. Right? That’s what business is. So then after I graduated college, I had built up that business so much that I realized like, I don’t think I actually wanna go out and get a quote unquote real job with my degree.

I was like, I think I wanna move to LA and become a makeup artist and really do this thing. So that’s what I did. I saved up my money working that retail job and doing makeup on this [00:06:00] side. Moved out to la, went to makeup school. And within two years I had had a full-time freelance makeup business. And of course the first two years I had a full-time job and was building it on the side.

But after two years, I built it up enough to where I could quit my job. And you know, I did make up full-time and as I shared, I didn’t make a lot of money doing it, but I made enough to like get by in la. So by the time I was, I think 23 years old, I was like, full-time entrepreneur, full-time, c e o, which looking back I’m like so proud of myself.

How cool is that? And um, yeah, it was a really, really amazing business. But I did find after a few years that it just wasn’t fully aligned for me. Only because I hadn’t cleaned up my relationship with money, so I was undercharging and [00:07:00] overworking. I also found that I had kind of reached the dream, the vision of what I had wanted.

Which was doing makeup for film, television, commercials, fashion celebrities, doing all of that. And, um, I felt like the, the, the higher up I got and the, the more that I reached the dream, it was like the less of what I actually loved. I was doing, ’cause I loved doing makeup, I loved connecting with the people.

Right. It’s kinda like coaching, honestly. ’cause you’d be like talking to them, they’d share everything with you and then you’d be doing their makeup and that’s what I totally loved. But I would get jobs working like. Doing makeup for like news anchors. So I would honestly like just powder the man at the beginning of the job, do a little bit of eyebrows, and then be sitting there on set for hours and hours and hours.

And I am not someone who likes to just sit and do nothing. And that was me. Like every day I’d be. Sitting on set, watching behind [00:08:00] the scenes, waiting for someone to be powdered. And I realized this just really isn’t in alignment. And it also wasn’t alignment in alignment with that value of freedom, because I felt like, and this was probably because I was undercharging, but I felt like in order to make enough money to survive, I had to say yes to every job that was offered to me.

So I couldn’t plan things in advance. A friend would ask me, Hey, do you wanna go on vacation? And I’d be like, I really don’t know. I, I can’t know because what if a film calls me? What if a commercial calls me? So I always felt like I was at the whim of like a job, and that energy did not sit right with me.

It did not feel good. And after a while I realized I don’t think this is an alignment. And that’s when I actually found coaching. Um, and I hired my own coach just because I was going through that sort of, is this really what I want? This is the dream. I kind of built it up to where I had envisioned and I don’t.

It’s not what I really wanna do, but what do I wanna do? And [00:09:00] so I hired a career coach and I remember thinking, dang, this is a job. Like I wanna do this. This looks so fun. That planted that seed. And so, yeah, then I made that transition and it took a couple years. ’cause of course I was studying coaching. I went through my own kind of personal journey, my personal healing journey, studying.

Spiritual psychology. Um, but then I would say, yeah, it was about seven and a half years ago that I started my coaching business and. Ever since then, I’ve been absolutely in love and know that this is my jam. This is my dharma. At least for now. I know it. I feel it. I absolutely love it. I love it as a business as a whole, I love what I get to do.

I think it’s so much fun and the business has really grown in those seven years and I’ve learned so [00:10:00] much and I just, it lights me up. It really does. And one other business that I have that I kind of tend to forget is a business as of a year ago when I bought my condo. I now have an Airbnb business too, because when I’m not staying there, I rent it out.

So I also have an Airbnb business, um, which is really for, that one’s pretty hands off because I hired a rental manager who really manages the whole thing. And I really don’t have to be very involved other than looking at what comes in managing, like, oh, do I need to buy something for it once in a while?

But that one’s pretty hands off, so I sometimes forget that that’s a business. But that’s my background in business and I wanna talk about what has kept me going with all of these businesses through all of these years, and why I love it so very much. And I think of these five things that I’m going to share as [00:11:00] my guiding principles, the things that I come back to.

They’re like, my why I do it. And when I come back to these, it infuses me with life and motivation and inspires me to keep going through the thick and the thin and the ups and the downs. So again, I just wanna also share these as, um, uh, a way to inspire you to think about them for yourself. So if some of them resonate that I share, please take them.

Take them for yourselves. And if not, Think about what they are for you, why do you do it? And it can be something that you’ve just come back to, to remind yourself of time and time again just like I do. Okay? So here they are. Number one, I think of business as an opportunity to provide value. Why this matters is because I think as humans, that is just something within us [00:12:00] that.

We all need. It’s what actually makes us feel most alive is being useful, being used, right, being able to help others to serve in some way, to give a part of us, because I believe we were all given unique gifts to share with the world, and I think business can be a great opportunity to do that. You don’t have to be in business to do that, of course.

But that’s what I think about whenever I’m thinking about business is this is really a service project. And one thing that I learned, I shared, I touched on a little bit that I, um, studied spiritual psychology for two years at the University of Santa Monica. One of the programs that I went through was called Consciousness Health and Healing.

And within that program we were actually guided to do what they called a Sacred Service project. And [00:13:00] basically what they taught us was if you are going through it, if you need healing, one of the most healing things you can do is serve others. And it works. It does. I saw the effect of it. It makes such a difference.

And for me, if I’m going through it, or if I’m having a tough day or if I’m in a little bit of a depression or anything like that, I know one. Thing that will definitely boost me is to show up and serve, to kind of get out of my own way and give, and that’s kind of how I think of my business is now I think of it as my sacred service project.

It’s like my dharma, it’s me being able to share something that, a gift that I was given and be able to go share it with others to help them. Right. Um,

The other thing with giving is that there’s a law [00:14:00] of giving and receiving, right? So one thing that I don’t do a lot in business is I don’t focus on my money goals. Funny enough, wait, let me say this again.

And one of the things to think about is the law of giving and receiving. This is like a universal law that says, give and you shall receive, right? So the minute you give, you will receive. So I like to think about that universal law in terms of business because. It makes sense why [00:15:00] it’s so healing because the minute you give, you receive, and it’s not always like you receive money in that moment, but you’re gonna receive something.

Maybe you receive a boost of inspiration. You just receive the gift of like, I gave something. You feel good when you give. So that’s what I think about is how healing it is to have a business, right? It’s very healing because I get to give a lot and I’m always thinking about different ways to give. So that’s one of my principles is really thinking about this as a sacred service project and thinking about how can I serve and thinking about how.

I am a better person. I am a happier person when I serve than when I don’t. That’s why like sometimes whenever I hear people saying like, oh, I have to show up. Oh my gosh. Like, oh, I have to show up today, and I totally get it. Like I have those days too. I. But if you remember that if you show up [00:16:00] and give, you will receive, you will receive a better mood.

That’s how I am a better mood. You’ll receive something from it. So anytime I’m going through something tough, that’s something that I come back to. All right. Number two, I think of business as a creative project that’s ever unfolding. It’s like a puzzle like. It’s so fun to try to fit the pieces together and figure it out and solve it.

And I think the truth is if we don’t give our brain something, Challenges or an obstacle to overcome or something to think about, right? This creative puzzle called business. If we don’t give those things to our brain, our brain will find problems to solve. It will make up problems, right? So that’s why I love keeping my brain.

Occupied with something creative like business. [00:17:00] And I’m always thinking about, Ooh, what’s the next piece of the puzzle? What’s the next thing that I wanna work on? And the way that I actually hold business is I always have kind of like one main project that I’m working on at any given time. And sometimes it’s like, Ooh, this year is kind of about this, or This quarter is kind of about this thing.

And it’s a lot of fun. It’s really creative to try and put that together and try and figure it out. And sometimes it fails, but then you’re like, Ooh, how can I adjust it? How can we make this work? So it’s highly, highly creative and that’s why I love business. And when I remember that when things are hard, it’s like, oh no, this is like a, a game.

This is like a puzzle that we’re putting together. It’s very creative. We’re playing the long game here. We don’t have to get this overnight. It helps ground me and bring me back to this grounded place of like, oh yeah, this gets to be fun. This gets to be interesting. It’s just, [00:18:00] it’s playful and I like to hold it in that way.

It’s like it’s a playful kind of game that we’re putting together. Right. Awesome. Okay, number four.

Alright. Number four is, Business is the most incredible opportunity for personal and spiritual growth. And growth is one of my highest values as well. It’s up there with freedom. I, it’s actually probably even above freedom. I love growing and evolving and becoming, and I think that’s why I love manifestation so much because manifestation is really all about our.

If it our evolvement and us growing as people. And so business is just such a good opportunity to shed what is no longer in alignment because you know, if you’re on business, [00:19:00] business brings our unhelpful patterns, our limiting beliefs about ourselves and the world. All up to the surface, right? It’s like, here it is.

And it’s such a good opportunity to heal those things, to challenge those things and to start seeing it in a new way. So thoughts of unworthiness, questioning our value. Jealousies, impatience parts that lack belief. Um, The parts of us that don’t trust ourself, it’s gonna bring all of that to the surface, and that’s a good thing.

It doesn’t feel good in the moment. It doesn’t, I’m not gonna sit here and say it’s rainbows and daisies, but if you can ask yourself, how is this here for me? What is the lesson in this? What am I here to learn through this obstacle or this challenge, or what’s coming up for me like, In what way am I meant to evolve through this?

Then you suddenly [00:20:00] have purpose in the hard, and when we have purpose in the hard, oh my gosh, it makes it so much better. At least that’s what I find. So I, through a business, it has allowed me to heal literally. All of my beliefs about unworthiness, my beliefs, about how I am not smart enough and I’m not this enough and I’m not that enough.

And the part of me that was so scared of being seen that wanted to hide, that didn’t wanna be on camera, it inspired me to heal my body image because I didn’t wanna be. Scene. I was so ashamed of my body at one point in my life. I didn’t wanna be on camera or have pictures or be like speaking or anything.

So I held back and I didn’t share what. I’m here to share because of all of this limiting stuff that I had been holding inside of me. And honestly, without starting a [00:21:00] business, I don’t know if I would’ve healed those things. Maybe some of ’em. But having a business is what brought them to the surface to be healed and cleared, and I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about business.

And it doesn’t end, it hasn’t, at least for me, because there’s layers and we’re always like, You know, growing and evolving in our business, and while it expands, there’s new layers of this healing that we have opportunities to clear up. And so when I think about it in that way, it just makes it so much better.

And it’s like, oh yeah, there’s a purpose to this challenge. There’s a reason that I am sticking through this and staying in it. And it’s really fun to even reflect on the past and think about if I had never started a business. What I wouldn’t have healed or done. So it’s pretty miraculous. It’s amazing.

So one of my favorite questions, again, I’m gonna say this again, is how is this here for me? When you’re [00:22:00] in the middle of an obstacle or a challenge or you feel blocked, how is this here for me? What’s the opportunity for my growth and my evolution? Right. What do I need to heal up to get to the other side of that?

So then we grow both personally, spiritually, and become better people. Become closer to our highest selves. Right? All right. Number five. Business is, I think such a fun way. To see the power of our own minds and of manifestation. It is so fun to watch it grow. It’s so fun to see something that was once a dream or a thought or an intention.

Become real and become real lies. I think about that for, oh my gosh, so many of the [00:23:00] things that, so many of the intentions that I planted for my business and so many of the goals that I set that have come to life and actually happened. It’s so fun to celebrate that and see. It’s growth and its own, you know, it takes on its own life.

It’s amazing. Most recently I’ve been really basking in the like fun of what I have created around with my program, the Money Manifestation Move movement, because just a year and a half ago, that was an idea. Something that I knew I wanted to create. I had this. Download of exactly what I wanted to do.

Probably, actually, probably at least two years ago, if not more, but it was like a year ago where I was like, yes, it’s time to do it, and I created the whole program. It was challenging showing up, recording those videos, like every day, redoing the videos, like feeling like, oh my gosh, [00:24:00] is this enough? Do I have it all?

Do I need to cover more? It just was like, It was not easy creating that entire program, but it’s come together and now I’m actually seeing. The whole garden that I had just initially planted, like it’s all coming to life. It has a energy of its own. It’s so amazing. I have so many incredible clients in there that are getting amazing results and it’s like, it’s just so fun seeing that, oh my gosh, just a year and a half ago, that was an idea and I just decided.

I’m gonna make this happen. It was a thought, it was a manifestation, and it’s so, so fulfilling to see something come to life and knowing that it wasn’t just an easy breezy ride, like I had to grow through that experience. I had to become the next version of myself, an order to create that program, and I’m so proud of myself and it’s been so, so fun to watch [00:25:00] it grow.

So these are a few of my foundations, which actually I said they’re five, but there’s actually four I just realized. So I’m gonna go over them just one last time. And then I want you to think about what yours are. Why do you do business? So number one, again, it’s an opportunity to give, to share with the world, to give your dharma what you came here to give.

Or maybe one of the things that you came here to give, to share your gifts and serve and serving is healing. Number two, it’s a creative project that’s ever unfolding. Our brain loves things to solve, so you might as well give it something expansive to solve. So that it doesn’t go and find problems on its own ’cause it will.

Number three, it’s a beautiful opportunity for incredible personal and spiritual growth. And then number [00:26:00] five is, it’s just so fun to watch it grow and see that thoughts can become, things in tensions can come to life. So, so awesome. All right, so think about these for yourself and.

All right, so that’s my episode on business. I have so much more to share and I will be sharing them all throughout this podcast, but I thought that would be a fun one to start with. So think about these for yourself. What are your foundations? And I’m exec. And if you wanna share with me, connect with me on Instagram.

I love me some Insta. I’m Jamie Berman underscore. I love getting messages from y’all, hearing from you, so feel free to share if there’s anything that inspired you or anything that you thought of due to this episode. All right, I’ll see you next week.[00:27:00]