Quiet Confidence With Dr Tess Crawley

I don’t care if you’re a “solopreneur” or running a team of 50, if you’re not able to fully own your role as the CEO of your business, you’ll stay stuck in overwhelm and the never-ending to-do list.   Why?   Because if you’re still stuck in the daily grind of the daily operations of your business, how will you see your big-picture vision?   And if you can’t see your big-picture vision, how will you know where you’re heading?   And if you don’t know where you’re heading, how can you possibly be strategic?   Without big-picture goals and strategic thinking, you’ll just keep spinning your wheels, feeling stuck, isolated, overwhelmed, exhausted, and ultimately burnt out.   So, you do need to make time in your week - EVERY week - to dedicate yourself to CEO thinking. To put on the big picture goggles, and find ways to get strategic. Step away from the daily operations, even if only for an hour initially. Make sure you’re uninterrupted.   It requires you to fully adopt a CEO mindset.   Own you RIGHT to take time aw

What being a finalist means to me and why I’m so excited for the awards ceremony tomorrow night, regardless of the outcome.  Firstly let me just say that I was always the kind of kid that had a rather Pollyanna-ish approach to things like awards,  “Someone has to win, it could be me, right?” ... but have never really been invested in the outcomes to things like this.  When I think back on this, I think I learned as a kid not to expect to win awards (because I never did).   School talent contests... sure I’d go in them, but never won National acting schools ... yep, auditioned aplenty, but never got in Photography prizes ... gotta be in it to win it, right? But never did.   It’s only since making the decision at 25 years of age to go to university to study psychology that I’ve found “success”, however you wish to interpret that word. And it wasn’t because “someone’s gotta win”, it was because of two simple things:  a) It was the right calling for me, a perfect fit. b) I worked blo

Today I had a great conversation within my Quiet Confidence Foundations mentoring group about (amongst other things) business niching. I know you’re familiar with the concept of niching your clientele … focussing on your ideal client - the one’s that really energise you. And honing your message so they’ll recognise themselves and their own needs as a match for your service. But something else struck me during this discussion. It’s easy to inadvertently blinker your vision and assume that this is the only element of your service that is niched - the bit that matches your clients’ obvious needs (the reason they need your service in the first place). It’s easy to forget that your niche also includes other aspects of your business structure that might appeal to specific sectors of your broader audience. For example, are you open after hours? Do you currently run without a waiting list? Do you provide online services? Do you offer longer sessions than the average? What else about your service is a bit unique? You

Have you actually seen ducks?  Have you tried to get them to get (let alone stay) in a row?   No.    Well, it is never gonna happen!    Meanwhile … you could be taking action towards your goals!    Are you one of those people (I know I have been in the past) one of those people who waits until they’re a little fitter before starting an exercise program?    Never gonna happen!    Meanwhile … you could have been taking action towards your goals!    Or those who wait until they’re feeling better before seeking the help they need?    I get it.    Change is hard.    But if you are STILL waiting for all your ducks to get in a row, nothing will change.    Nothing.    SO you’re not silly. I know you know these things. I know that you know that you could take a nibble at taking action.   What if you took one baby step in the direction of change?  And then tomorrow you took another step forw

HOW DOES YOUR DAILY ROUTINE SUPPORT YOU? I noticed yesterday that I was completely “off”. It was raining when I woke up, so I didn’t go for my morning walk. When did a morning walk become central to me starting my day right? When did this become a habit that I needed to maintain? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that not going yesterday made it even more tempting to stay in bed this morning. But I got up and went anyway. And thank goodness I did! Did you see the sun coming up over the Derwent River this morning (check out my Stories, I shared it for your benefit). Just glorious, and it set me up to be more productive today … and find time to build a snowman. Yes. A snowman. Something you may not know about me is that I’ve recently embarked upon the journey of home education. One of my kids has specific learning needs, the other decided to come along for the ride (why wouldn’t he, right?). This has meant two key things: 1. Intense gratitude for the work I’ve put in over the years to build a busin

YOU WOULDN’T STAND IN THE RAIN EXPECTING NOT TO GET WET … and yet you go into business ownership expecting smooth sailing!  It is not a statement on YOU if you hit rough patches in your business.  It is not a statement on YOU if you have unexpected staffing changes.  It is not a statement on YOU if economic forces necessitate a change in direction for your business.  It is not a statement on YOU if you can’t find the perfect new recruit.  It is not a statement on YOU if you experience ups and downs and sudden sideways twists in your business.  It is the very nature of BUSINESS that these things happen.  The ups. The downs. The floods. The droughts. The sideways lurches.  This is what you signed up for. Sorry to break it to you.  But it is not a statement on YOU.  HOWEVER, it absolutely is on you if you don’t learn and grow from these experiences in your business.  If you don’t generate multiple revenue streams, instead of all your eggs in one basket …&nbs

People tell me they are amazed at what I manage to achieve in a day. That I manage to get my message out and share my knowledge and still run two businesses … the list goes on.  But the reality is I’ve really had to wind back to simple basics over the past few months.  As I’ve gotten busier and my businesses have shifted and changed, I’ve been drowning a little. What previously seemed so simple to stay consistent with, has become a struggle.  Little things … Like doing a live stream and ensuring it ends up in all the places or putting out blog posts, or regularly keeping the podcast updated.  Each task on its own takes very little time. But when I fall behind, it snowballs like you wouldn’t believe it!   And don’t even get me started on my email inbox!  So, at last, I’m doing something about it!   Tomorrow my new virtual assistant starts her work trial with me.   This has been months in the making, because I was too busy to put together a job description for the agency

I will repeat this message until I’m blue in the face. The stress, responsibility, financial risk, and sense of isolation common among business owners are not to be taken lightly.   If you struggle with isolation, if you struggle with finances if you struggle with the burden of responsibility if you struggle with the isolation if you struggle with ANY of it. Please know you are not alone.   I have struggled in the past, and no doubt will again. What has helped me get through the roughest patches is support from others who get it.   And here’s where I’m going to go all broken record on you.  You Do Not Have To Struggle Alone. Find peers. Find a mentor. Find a colleague. Find a support network. Find professional help if you really can’t pick yourself back up.   Please believe you are not alone. Please believe the struggle is not a statement on your competence. Please believe there are many others like you. Please believe in tomorrow. Please. Believe.   The roller coaster of busines

TIME SCARCITY  What it is, what it’s not, and how it’s screwing you over! 

FIND A WAY FORWARD   I know you’re tired. If you’re anything like me, you’re bone-tired! But there is still a way forward.   I know you struggle to find the time to do all the things. If you’re like me, you’re juggling business ownership with family life and wondering why you never find time for a haircut.  And who created all this washing??   Like me, you’re human.   Also, like me, you’ve got the same 24 hours as we all do.   If you’re tired of feeling like you’re always complaining about how tired you are or how little time you have, shake things up a bit.   You don’t have to join the 5 am club, but maybe even half an hour earlier would let you start your day feeling more organized.   I know we shouldn’t “eat lunch at our desk”, and we should take proper breaks, but maybe as a business owner, you need to combine things a little to stay afloat. Perhaps eating your lunch in a park or a cafe with some time to think (without all those damned interruptions!), would allow y

his is a nugget of wisdom I gained during my discussion with Anthony Trucks last week. (Check out the Finding Proof podcast episode where I interview him about the similarities between parenting and business ownership, and between business coaching and being coached as an NFL player.)   If you are the sole or major revenue stream in your business, how much freedom and flexibility do you have?   If you don’t have others around you sharing the responsibility, how much freedom and flexibility do you have?   If your business can’t cope in your absence, how much freedom and flexibility do you have?   If these questions make you wince, do you really have a thriving business? Or do you have a job?   And it gets worse … If your business can’t pay you a decent income (in addition to keeping its nose clean), do you really have a business, or do you have a hobby?   Think about the systems and team you need to support you in order to ensure that (a) your business can not only survive, but th

At the crack of dawn yesterday morning I had the great pleasure to talk with Anthony Trucks, former NFL player and American Ninja Warrior competitor, foster care survivor, and business coach.    We talked about how business ownership is a lot like parenting. And in fact, he sees his role now as being like a "business grandparent"; helping his clients "birth their businesses" brings him great joy!    Anthony has some great approaches which I will hold onto - "You are not your business", "If you don't have freedom to move in your business, you have don't have a business, you have a job". And more.    To find out more about Anthony on his website: www.anthonytrucks.com

I made an unexpected new friendship today. I love it when life throws joy my way, don’t you? We were supposed to be recording a podcast interview for my podcast, Finding Proof, but instead we just talked and talked and talked.  We talked about our shared journeys of being mothers and business owners. We talked about what it’s like when people let you down in business. We talked about some of the assumptions people make about business owners, and the reality behind that … for example, does it surprise you to know that I’m actually an introvert?  And we talked about what we could learn from each other.  My new friend is Amberly Lago. She’s from Texas, but lives in LA. She’s a Queen of Instagram, but a bit of a Facebook rookie. She’s got an incredible backstory (which we didn’t really cover today, we’ll save that for the podcast). And she’s just so delightful. She’s a mindset coach and a public speaker. And she’s really smart.  Amberly talked about how people often assume that as business own

It's so important to listen to your values when making business decisions ... Unless those "values" are actually fear in disguise.

Copycat syndrome - not what you think it is. It's a scarcity-based fear, and it can keep you playing small!

Long before I was a psychologist and business mentor, I used to be a junior lifesaver (a Nipper) on Queensland's Gold Coast.  Here's the story of what happened when an ocean race went terrifyingly wrong and how it led to my own irrational fear that I still regret letting take hold. Find out what it means for you and your business. #CueTheJawsMusic

At the crack of dawn yesterday morning I had the great pleasure to talk with Anthony Trucks, former NFL player and American Ninja Warrior competitor, foster care survivor, and business coach.  We talked about how business ownership is a lot like parenting. And in fact, he sees his role now as being like a "business grandparent"; helping his clients "birth their businesses" brings him great joy!  Anthony has some great approaches which I will hold onto - "You are not your business", "If you don't have freedom to move in your business, you have don't have a business, you have a job". And more.  To find out more about Anthony on his website: www.anthonytrucks.com

How did you learn to become a business owner? And is that even what you call yourself? How do you describe yourself? A helping professional? A private practitioner? Why do so many of us find it so hard to acknowledge the title "business owner"?  It took me years to accept this title for myself, because it felt "icky" as a psychologist, a helping professional, to think of myself in these terms.  But you know what? Since I've embraced the idea that I am a business owner (because I actually am, just ask my employees!) I've been open to all the other ideas relevant to business owners. Sales. Marketing. Profitability. Customer Service. These aren't terms that psychologists are taught about at uni.  What about your area of business? Were you taught to embrace or shun these terms? How much do these terms trigger you? Why?  Thinking about this might just shed some light on your inner barriers to success.

In this episode of the podcast, I talk with Jeremy Roadruck, Wing Chun master and parenting coach. Jeremy talks openly about the childhood trauma and difficult adolescence that led to making the decision to turn his life around, becoming a martial arts expert and parenting coach along the way.  ***Trigger Warning*** ... There is mention of childhood sexual assault in this episode, so please be aware that this may pose a trigger for some. 

Check out the latest conversation between Evan Carmichael and me ... We talk about the challenge to feel "good enough" as a person versus feeling "good enough" at what we do, and what this has to do with growth ... and much more!