"The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart – this you will build your life by, and this you will become."    
                                                                                         ~ James Lane Allen

 Fireside Chat - a personal note from Teresia & Sonia

Hello Ladies,

We’d like to welcome you to the first edition of the Sassy and Savvy Women newsletter! Each month we’ll bring you a new Savvy business tool – with a side dish of Sass! We’ll give you the insights you need to make the changes you want, and we’ll follow it up with the practical steps that make it all come together for you.

Don’t miss out on this month’s “Savvy Conversations” a *fre'e* teleconference call that will help you learn and utilize powerful tools for your own business.
JOIN US and other like-minded business women on June 22 at 9 AM PST to dig into the nitty gritty details of how to build a thriving business and live an ideal life.

Click here for more details and to register!

As many of you know, this venture was born from passionate (and sometimes painful!) real-life experiences of your Sassy and Savvy Coaches, Sonia and Teresia. We share because we’ve been there, and this month’s topic is no exception.

It wasn’t so long ago that we were both certified slaves to our businesses. The hamster-wheel hours, the sky-high stress levels, the “secretarial spread” across the chair – the whole, unsatisfying, self-employed enchilada. And we were bummed. What the heck were we working so hard for, if this was the payoff?

It’s a sad fact, but most self-employed women get into this position sooner or later. When you feel like the juggling clown, the balance artist and the dancing bear – it’s time to quit this circus! But once you’re there… how do you find your way out?

The following article will help you get clear on the way you want your life to look – AND it’ll help you take action to start living a life that’s more in alignment with your ideals. We’re giving you the very same steps we used to haul ourselves out of the swamp, and this is the same process we recommend to our clients. Your ideal lifestyle is only 4 steps away, so read on to find out how you can make the most gratifying changes to your business and life.

Your Sassy Catalysts  

Teresia LaRocque & Sonia Stringer
SassyandSavvyWomen.com

 In this issue:  

·    Feature Article

·    Sassy Breakthroughs – Success Stories of Women Like You  

·    Savvy Tools – Steps to Help You Create An Ideal Lifestyle

·    Savvy Conversations – Join Us for A Live Coaching Call

Feature Article 

Live your ideal life now – and stop being a servant to your business!

A wise businesswoman once said, “Success looks like I thought it would look, but doesn’t feel like I thought it would feel.” Can you relate?

According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, the main reason women start a business is to gain more freedom and independence in their lives. And the biggest complaint of self-employed women? They don’t have enough freedom from their businesses. Why is that? How did we get here?

If you ask any ambitious woman about her career goals, she’ll have an answer for you. But if you ask this same, intelligent, focused woman about how she wants her life to look, she’d probably be short on details. Um… more money? More time? Thinner thighs? I don’t know…. Most women just aren’t clear on the details of their ideal life. They’re too focused on business to think about it.

We create what we focus on, and if you don’t take time to focus on creating a great lifestyle for yourself… it’ll never happen. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, or how many opportunities you discover... it’s just not satisfying unless you have a well-rounded life to support it.

 A Sassy Breakthrough…

Is your professional success crowding out your personal life? Unfortunately, it’s all too common.

Jodi Whittemore of Phoenix, Arizona, was excited when her new business suddenly took off. But her success came with an unexpected price. “My business quickly grew beyond what I could handle. I was doing everything myself, working long hours, trying to be everything to everyone.

I remember pushing my kids on the swings and being on the cell phone with clients, so I wasn’t really ‘there’ for either part of my life. I was frustrated and alone, and because I was so committed to my success, I felt trapped.” That’s when Jodi joined our coaching program for self-employed women and learned to restructure her business around her ideal lifestyle.

“My definition of an ideal lifestyle is spending my time in a way that honors my highest priorities: being with the people I care about; appreciating and enjoying my life; and adding value to other people’s lives. I decided to be more aware of how I spent my time, and I made a commitment to book my personal priorities before anything else.”

This was no easy task for an overcommitted business owner, so Jodi started with baby steps: a weekly yoga class and massage; a weekend getaway with her spouse; and “family time” with the kids each week. And she started establishing more support within her business so she could make the most of her work hours.

“Now when I step into my personal life, I am 100% present. And because I’m living such a rich life beyond my business, I feel much more inspired at work. I feel in control for the first time, and my gross income has grown by 300%!

“I think I believed that having both a successful business and a personal life wasn’t possible for me. I want to tell everyone, ‘There is a better way. You can learn how to make it work!’”

If you’re inspired by Jodi’s experience, we encourage you to take the following Savvy Steps to create your own success story. What are you waiting for? 
 

 Savvy Tool of the Month 

Savvy Steps: Hitch up your pantyhose and get moving!

1. The first step in moving toward your ideal lifestyle is to get clear on what it looks like! So take some time to sit with a journal and start listing ideas. What would make your life even richer and more fulfilling? How many hours would you like to be working? How would you spend your time off? How often would you like to take a vacation? Which chores and tasks would NOT be your responsibility?

Worksheet From Our Website: To help you get your ideas flowing, click here to download a worksheet from our website. This will help you create a blueprint for your ideal lifestyle, and what actions to take to start living it now!

2. The second step is to write up a detailed description of your ideal lifestyle. What kind of life do you most want to live? Write as if it is already a reality:

“I am thrilled to be taking time each day to work out. It feels exhilarating to take such good care of my body, and I feel completely energized and vibrant. I am also excited to be taking Fridays off to connect with my kids. I feel so fulfilled by “date nights” with my husband, and I love our stronger connection.”

Write a detailed description that feels inspiring, and post it where you can easily see it every day. Remember, what you focus on, you create!

3. The third step is probably the toughest one, but also the most important. Make a commitment to start living your ideal life now, and choose 2 or 3 simple things you can do immediately to come closer to your vision.

Like Jodi, you might have to start small, but your goal is to get moving in the right direction. Maybe you don’t have time to get to the gym 5 times a week, but what about twice? You may not be able to fly off to Europe for a month, but you might be able to devote one afternoon each week to your family. Be realistic, but take steps that count. Even small steps create momentum, and you’ll feel empowered to keep moving.

4. The final step in creating an ideal lifestyle is: get support! Old habits can be hard to break, so ask your spouse, family, and friends to keep you on track. You could get support from a coach or a mastermind group, or even a colleague.

Better yet, join other self-employed women who are working to create an ideal lifestyle! The Sassy and Savvy online community is a powerful resource on the road to Leveraging Your Business and Loving Your Life, so be sure to visit www.SassyandSavvyWomen.com to find the support you need.

Savvy Conversations – You Are Invited! 

If you’d like to explore topics in more depth, get coached, and experience the momentum of other like-minded women who are building ideal lives then you are invited to join us. Find out more here.

In this *free* teleconference, we’ll be sharing some of the most important details about this work and really explore what it takes to build an ideal life. Hope to “see” you there!

Stay tuned for more developments from the Sassy and Savvy Women! We are eagerly anticipating the growth of our community, full of resources and guidance for the self-employed woman.

And we’re burning the midnight oil to wrap up our book: Sassy and Savvy Self-Employed Women: The Ultimate Guide to Leverage Your Business and Love Your Life. If you’d like to preview a chapter, click here!