Embracing Joy: Your Business Strategy for Success

Ep. 141 // Embracing Joy: Your Business Strategy for Success

[00:00:00] jamie–she-her-_1_04-06-2026_104506: Welcome back to the podcast my friend. We are going to talk about bringing more joy into your business, so this is gonna be a fun and maybe much needed episode. Alright, so if you’ve been in business for a while and you’ve had success, but lately something feels a little off, like you’ve been doing all the things, you know how to make money, you’ve proven that you can resign.

[00:00:30] You’ve proven that you can create results, but it doesn’t feel as fun as it used to. Like there’s a heaviness, maybe a little resistance, maybe even moments where you’re like, why does this feel harder than it should at this level? And you start wondering like, is this burnout? Do I need a break? Do I need to burn it all down and start over?

[00:00:54] Raise your hand if you can resonate. And my question to you is, what if it’s not that dramatic? I’m not saying something doesn’t have to change, but maybe you don’t have to burn it all down. What if nothing has truly gone wrong and you’ve just outgrown the old way you’ve been doing business or the way you’ve been doing it it up until now?

[00:01:20] Like, what if your next level of business actually requires more joy, not more harsh discipline? That’s what I wanna talk about today because I see this all the time with entrepreneurs who are in that growth phase, where they’ve built something that really works, but now they’re craving something that feels better.

[00:01:42] They’re wanting more alignment, more spaciousness, something that feels more like them. So today I wanna walk you through how to bring more joy into your business, not as a fluffy concept, but as something that actually creates impact. Wait, let me say that again,

[00:02:05] but as something that actually impacts your results, your consistency, and your capacity to grow. So let’s talk about number one. Joy is not. A, sorry, lemme say that again.

[00:02:25] What if you thought about joy as a strategy rather than a luxury? Because a lot of entrepreneurs treat joy like it’s the reward after success, but then we’re always chasing success, success, success, success, more success, and we never actually experience the joy because we tell ourselves we will have it after we have reached a certain level, but that.

[00:02:50] Always changes, right? And here’s the thing. What if joy actually creates momentum, magnetism, and consistency, right? Because if you think about it, when you feel good, when you feel lit up, when you feel joyful. What do you do? You show up more, you sell more, you create more joy, actually increases capacity.

[00:03:14] When you, in joy, your nervous system is more open to receive. And this has, sorry.

[00:03:34] And this ties perfectly into what I talked about a couple of weeks ago with becoming an energetic match to consistency, right? And if you wanna be more consistent, it’s not about pushing yourself harder or giving yourself more pressure, or utilizing more willpower. What if you will naturally be more consistent if you’re feeling more joyful in your business?

[00:04:01] So I say that to say, what if this is an invitation to prioritize joy and make it a part of your business strategy? I just wonder what would be different. I know this. Absolutely something that I prioritize, and I’m not saying that I feel joy in every single moment of my business. Of course not, right? Me and my business, we’re not in the honeymoon phase anymore.

[00:04:27] I’ve been at this for 10 years, so we’ve been through some things, but I will tell you what, when I strategize joy, it makes the shifts and the pivots and what we go through in relationship with our business. So much better, right? So I invite you to think about this for yourself and think, what if Joy is part of my business plan?

[00:04:51] What if it’s part of my strategy? What if it’s actually probably going to make me more successful? Not probably for sure will make you more successful, right? So let’s go through a couple of things that you could strategically look at to increase joy. The first thing is stop focusing on business models that don’t fit you.

[00:05:13] This is a biggie because sometimes it’s not burnout, it’s misalignment. Or you are experiencing burnout because you’re misaligned and it’s making you tired and exhausted, and you’re doing things that really aren’t in your zone of genius, and it just feels like a push. It feels heavy every day. So this is where you wanna say what is out of alignment, and you can ask yourself these questions.

[00:05:42] What part of my business feels heavy and why? And did I choose this or did I inherit, let me say that again. And did I choose this or did I just inherit it?

[00:05:59] Lemme say it again. That word. I dunno. Why inherit. Inherit, yes. And did I choose this or did I inherit it from the online space? Did I think this is what I had to do to be successful? Which happens, or sometimes it’s simply, this is what worked before and I really enjoyed it before, but my life is changing.

[00:06:20] I’m in a. Season, I need to shift the way that I’m doing things. I need to shift my business model in a way that’s more aligned with where I am in this particular season. So, for example, posting every day versus deeper, less frequent content. It could be launching versus evergreen. Maybe you’ve had a launch model for a long time and that launch model is causing some fatigue for you.

[00:06:47] Maybe you are done with that kind of model and you wanna shift into something that’s more evergreen or vice versa. Maybe you’ve been evergreen and you wanna kick up launches and pick up doing some live launches and maybe bring some more, you know, live energy into your business. Maybe you’ve been, you know, telling yourself you have to scale and do one to many versus more intimate containers.

[00:07:13] It’s really important that you ask yourself, what do I love? Right. I know for me, I love. Big containers. I really love having a business with big containers where I’m coaching a group of people, but I have friends who love having a boutique one-on-one business, and they just love that one-on-one going deep, and I love that from time to time.

[00:07:37] But for me, I much prefer having a business where I might have just a handful of one-on-ones. Mainly I’m working with people in bigger containers, and the only reason that I know that is because I watch my energy. Another question that I have asked myself in the past is what makes me feel most alive?

[00:07:57] Right? That’s such a powerful question because that’s when you feel most connected. That’s when you are most you. So you could actually do an aliveness audit. I did this for like a month straight. Where at the every single morning, I would ask myself and I would audit the previous day, and I would say, when did I feel most alive yesterday?

[00:08:19] And you know what? That really helped me hone in on my joy and on what I am best at, what my zone of genius is, and what I need to double down on. Because it made me aware. Until then, I didn’t really notice until I asked myself for 30 days straight every morning, when did I feel most alive yesterday? And if you start prioritizing those things that make you feel most alive.

[00:08:46] Oh my gosh. Your whole life is gonna light up and it’s gonna impact your business. And sometimes it’s gonna be something that had nothing to do with your business. And that’s okay, because just being in the energy of joy is magnetic, right? So even if you’re experiencing more joy outside of your business, let’s say.

[00:09:06] You’re doing something you don’t totally love, but it’s working, it works for your family. Um, it’s a good lifestyle for you, right? And it just makes sense to continue. And some, for some people that’s having, you know, a side business, a job, or even in their business, they’re like, it’s isn’t the ultimate thing that lights me up for, but it just makes sense.

[00:09:26] I love serving people, but it doesn’t bring me a ton of joy. Here’s what you can do. Find joy outside of it. That’s totally okay too, right? Make sure that your weekends are packed with things that bring your you joy. Make sure that you’re taking breaks and doing the things that really light you up so that you do have a well-rounded life and you can see your business or your work as an active service, right?

[00:09:54] So that’s another way to look at it if it’s hard to get to the place where you find complete joy in your business. Right. Okay. The other thing is.

[00:10:18] Okay, so another part that kind of goes hand in hand with this, another strategy I should say. Say is to infuse play into the boring parts. This is what I do. Because inevitably right, we can try and spend as much time in our zone of genius as possible, but there’s gonna be parts of business that are the, this is not my favorite part, this is something I just kind of gotta do and I’m the one to do it.

[00:10:44] And I can’t exactly find the joy in it because it’s. Just boring. Right? Can you agree? I know I’ve got those days, but here is what I do is I actually turn it into a game and I ask myself the question, how could I make this more fun? Or how could I make this the most fun possible? Right. So you set the vibe.

[00:11:13] No, let me say that again.

[00:11:21] So maybe you set vibe goals instead of just outcome goals, right? So instead of just, I’m gonna get this done, it’s, I want to feel more joyful as I get this done, right? Or I wanna, I wanna feel better, I wanna make this easier, or I wanna just like there, no, let me restart that. Sorry. I will just start it from the top.

[00:11:47] So this is what I do. I turn it into a game and I ask myself, how can I make this more fun? Right? That question alone will take you very far because it can sometimes be the simplest of things that make these tasks more enjoyable, right? Sometimes it’s just putting a little music on in the background.

[00:12:06] Maybe it’s putting on, um, I don’t know, some kind of noise machine or something like that. Soothes you as you’re doing work and just helps you get into the zone, right? Maybe it’s taking it outside. If it’s a sunny day, bring your laptop outside and get some work done out there. That I do a lot, and it’s something that I don’t think about naturally, but when I ask myself, how can I make this a little more joyful, just taking it outside.

[00:12:34] Getting the fresh breeze so nice. Or I also love changing locations, so going to a coffee shop. I’ve also gone to the lobby of a high-end hotel, got myself a nice beverage and sat there and got that work done, which makes it way more enjoyable for me. That’s huge. Environment is big. So. Some of those tasks, like for me, reviewing emails or reviewing content or just going over like for launches, going over details and things like that, and just double checking content.

[00:13:06] It’s not like the most joyful thing in the world. It’s not like my zone of genius, but I gotta do it. I’m good at it. And I really like taking that kind of work outside of my normal office so I’m not just sitting in the space that I’m always in where I coach and I’ll take it to a coffee shop or something like that.

[00:13:24] It definitely increases joy. So that’s one way to think about it. Another in terms of the joy game is giving yourself little timelines. So you might say something like, oh my gosh, okay, if I can get this done by four o’clock, then I get to watch my show before. You know, dinner starts, which I have alone time from four to five.

[00:13:45] So I’m like, Ooh, let’s, let’s play a game. Let’s try to get this done by four. Then I have an hour of like alone time with just me and Millie, where we just get to like watch tv, enjoy ourselves, and we don’t have anything else that we quote, unquote have to do. It’s just an hour of downtime. So I’ll play little games like that.

[00:14:02] Right. Um, and it just increases joy. It doesn’t mean I. Still love that activity, but I play a game with myself to just make it better, right? So try to infuse, play into the boring parts of your business. Make it a little strategy. Make it a little practice. The other thing is let yourself evolve. Now, this one’s.

[00:14:23] Big for a lot of you right now, sometimes joy disappears because you’ve outgrown your current version of your business. So why don’t we normalize that sometimes wanting something new is totally okay and not loving what used to work is totally okay. And you can pivot without making it mean something has gone wrong.

[00:14:50] Right. So you just wanna be really honest with yourself. Like, do I still love this? Do I still wanna do it in this way? If I could do something new, what I want to, also, another question that I really like is, if I were just starting over today, is this what I would choose? That’ll tell you a lot, or which way would I choose to do it?

[00:15:12] Because pivoting is absolutely okay and we just wanna normalize change, right? I think a lot of us are stuck in this like, I shouldn’t change, I shouldn’t change, I shouldn’t pivot. But I mean, it is normal. The average person, the average adult change is careers. I don’t know exactly how many, like something like six times in their adult life, right?

[00:15:34] That’s the average. So like. Why don’t we just give ourselves permission that we are going to evolve and we’re gonna change and shift things up, and that’s actually a part of life. It’s natural. So just ask yourself, are you letting yourself evolve? Now, I would also recommend creating Joy anchors in your week, especially in your work week.

[00:15:57] So instead of waiting for joy, why don’t you design it? Why don’t you design and calendar this in a day where you only do creative work, non-negotiable, only creative work, or maybe you get your admin stuff the first hour of the day and then you only do creative work for the rest of that day. Or maybe you do a weekly CEO date.

[00:16:25] This is something that I have, I wouldn’t say I do it weekly, but I would say I probably do it twice a month and I absolutely love it. And it’s where you take yourself to coffee, you do visioning, you do. Thinking. Um, sometimes I go to the beach and do my visioning there or do a meditation, which I focus in on my business and the vision.

[00:16:48] Um, and really think from like a higher level. So you can carve that in weekly CEO dates or even do it once a month, right? When we start carving these things in and then prioritizing ’em. It’s gonna make you enjoy your business so much more. And then.

[00:17:17] And then another aspect is creating joy outside of your business like. Not putting all the pressure on your business to be your joy. I do think 100% using these strategies, you can increase the joy in your business, but I also think there’s something to taking the pressure off of it being your everything.

[00:17:42] And this is something that I’ve been prioritizing this year because. S up until I moved to Hawaii, business was really, really, really just a massive. Priority in my life, it still is. Obviously it’s still a massive priority, but when I moved, one of my intentions was I really want a fuller life. I want to do a lot of things that light me up.

[00:18:10] I want my life to be the jam version of life. It can. So I really want to do all the things that my soul feels called to do, even if it’s not productive. So business is a part of that because business is a soul calling for me. But there’s also. So much more. I do ocean conservation. I volunteer, I do things like two weekends ago I did the whale count for the Pacific Whale Foundation and worked with scientists to help them count the population of whales on Maui.

[00:18:46] Like what? So fun. I’m like, I love that I get to volunteer and do this. You could probably hear, I’m automatically lit up thinking about it, which a lot of people are laughing ’cause they’re like, you love counting whales, Jamie? I’m like, yes. And I get to count the behaviors and how many babies. And if you follow me on Instagram.

[00:19:04] You know, I’m obsessed if you watch my stories, because I go whale watching every other week in the winter and I’m obsessed with whales, so I bring that into my life and I prioritize it, right? Also, downtime with my husband. This was a big one, and for many years we struggled with this because we are both business owners.

[00:19:24] My husband. As a musician, and I’m a coach and I’ve owned my coaching business for 10 years, and in the beginning we struggled with making time for just being together and dating and hanging out, and like having a whole weekend off together. Now we don’t work on weekends. We make that time. Time for joy.

[00:19:47] Of course, we gotta catch up on some things, but we also prioritize joy every single day, right? So we make sure that we’re doing at least something that is super fun. Every single weekend, which for us, we go to the beach, we’ll go hiking, um, we might go to the farmer’s market, right? And so for you, you just gotta start exploring what are the things that you love most?

[00:20:10] And are you prioritizing them? Are you making time for play? Are you volunteering and doing the things that really matter to you? Um, what are your values and are you living into those? Fully. So I do believe that business just gets so much better when we live our full authentic selves and we don’t make business our everything.

[00:20:35] ’cause I think business just feels the pressure when we make it our everything. Just like in relationship, if you’re married, imagine if you made your partner your. Everything and put all the pressure on your partner to fill up your joy cup, they would feel immense pressure. I don’t think they would like being in relationship with you, and business is the same way, right?

[00:20:58] So I highly, highly recommend. That you explore a fuller life and prioritize the things you really enjoy outside of your business, and then take off some of the pressure that business has to be everything, right? A lot of people work nine to five jobs, and they don’t expect themselves to feel joy, right?

[00:21:20] They’re like, I like my career. I like what I do. Really good at it. I make a great living and it supports my lifestyle and I love to get off and whatever, go to happy hour and go meet up with friends and on weekends do this or that. And they don’t even have pressure on their business or on their, sorry, on their jobs.

[00:21:37] So I mean, business can be looked at the same way. You don’t have to be in love with it every single second for it to work. Now it’s a different thing if you feel completely misaligned, right? That’s not what we’re talking about, but. In business, you’re gonna go through a season. So there may be times where you’re just not as lit up about it.

[00:21:57] So make sure that your life around it is more lit up and that’s gonna help. That was really gonna help, and my instinct is that’s really gonna infuse into the business as well. Okay, so to wrap things up, I just wanna say your business is allowed to feel as good as the life.

[00:22:23] So to wrap things up, I just want to reiterate that joy isn’t necessarily going to happen on its own. If you want a more joyful business or a more joyful life, I highly recommend prioritizing it and strategizing. To make that a reality and do some of these practices. And if you think of others, first of all, I would love to hear, ’cause I love this stuff.

[00:22:52] So come Instagram, me or you know, leave a a five star review and share it with everyone in your review. What else this made you think about? No, let me say that again.

[00:23:10] Or leave it as a suggestion in our reviews, if you could review the podcast and leave me a five star review and share what your favorite takeaways were from this episode. And if you have any ideas or things that you’re trying out, leave it in the reviews because other people are gonna love to see that as well.

[00:23:29] So anyways. I am wishing you a joyful business, a joyful life, a joyful day, and I’m excited to see where this takes you as you begin strategizing joy, happy manifesting my friends. Talk to you next week.