Badassery Magazine May 2018 Issue 24 | Page 19

W omen having it all. Wearing all the hats. Daring to dream. Rais- ing children, walking dogs. Losing weight, eating better or working out harder. Meditating, smiling and practicing self care. Shopping and sunbathing. Upleveling image and personal appearance. Launching brands and attracting soul aligned clients. Healing, teaching, crafting solutions. Claiming your worth. Manifesting. Booking photoshoots, blogging, making videos and com- manding visibility. part of your dream? As a female entrepreneur with her own big ideas, I scroll through my social media news feed and it’s impossible to ignore all these mes- sages for women about what we should do, what we could achieve and how we can rise - because we know it’s all there for the taking, right? You’ve got to stay on the same page But it’s so damn easy to get lost in the overwhelm and exhaustion of trying to do ‘all the things’ even though we thought we knew ex- actly where we were going. There are times when running an online business feels a world apart from the flexible, family friendly, three day week I imagined when I began this journey nearly a year ago. My zone of genius is relationships - helping my clients find them, nurture them and maintain them - and one thing that’s become crystal clear since I began working with women entrepreneurs is that this business of crafting the lives of our dreams can often manifest re- lationship nightmares. So here are my top relationship tips for women in business who really do want to have it all. Couples often feel strained when roles change. So if you’ve previ- ously worked a 9-5 or stayed at home with the kids your new rou- tines may come as a shock to your partner and it can take time to ad- just. It’s crucial to communicate your needs clearly, negotiate new ways of managing the day-to-day and shift your partner’s expectations of you to be sure you both cope with the changes and embrace your new priorities as a team. Plan a date night and talk it through. It takes a bit of work to create a new schedule - but it’s worth it. It’s never all about the money Financial changes can also exert pressure on relationships, espe- cially if you’ve given up a regular monthly salary and your business is in the building phase. If your partner measures the success of your purpose-driven venture by cash flow and income generation there could be friction between you at times. I’ve also met wom- en trying to understand big shifts in the power dynamics within their relationships once they’ve started to enjoy high financial returns on their work. It’s important to be prepared to take an honest look at what’s going on beneath the surface when the cracks start to appear in your once solid partnership. Money is one of When you’re trying to wear all the hats AND rock your business it’s easy for your couple relationship to fall out of balance. It sounds like a cliche but what we focus on ex- pands. So while you’re busy over there pulling all nighters creating content, getting up an hour earlier to fit in that morning routine and feeding your family off take-out because you just need to get on and schedule those social media posts what’s happening to your re- lationship? Wasn’t that once a big 18