Last week, I sat down to plan my weekly goals. Then, at the end of the day, I glanced at my calendar.
I saw I had 3 calls booked with people I didn't recognize. People I didn't know would invest in my services or not.
And I realized I did the one thing I tell my audience and clients NOT to do:
Schedule sales (or discovery) calls with complete strangers.
I talk a lot about building a business that works for you. One that gives you energy instead of draining it.
But there I was, staring at tomorrow's schedule, which I knew would drain me. A schedule that I dreaded waking up to.
This irony reminded me of something happening in the corporate world right now.
Companies that embraced remote work during the pandemic are now forcing employees back into offices. Deloitte is even tying bonuses to office attendance!
They're essentially saying: We don’t trust you to do your work unless we see you doing it.
What comes with this message is people dreading their jobs. They're losing the flexibility that allowed them to feel human.
And that same "dreadful" feeling sneaks into how we run our businesses:
- The endless LinkedIn messages.
- The daily content grind.
- The 5-8 calls a day that leave no time for deep work or, you know… actually enjoying life.
Every entrepreneur I speak to doesn't want to do anything on the list above. They don't find joy in those tasks.
They find dread.
Is Your Business Just Another Job?
Let’s be real: If you’re waking up dreading your own business, something’s off.
Your business should be built around you.
If it’s turning into a never-ending cycle of to-dos, you haven’t built freedom. You’ve built a job with a possibly more demanding boss (you!).
So, what’s the fix?
For me, it meant stepping back and asking: What would my business look like if it actually gave me energy?
The answer wasn’t sending more DMs. It wasn’t cramming my calendar with calls.
It was about building smarter systems: ads, automation, and streamlined offers.
Systems that let me focus on the parts of my business that I actually love.
And what I love is helping entrepreneurs free up their calendars.
For you, it might mean setting stronger boundaries with your calendar. Or automating the lead gen that’s eating up your time. Or rethinking your pricing so you can work with fewer, higher-quality clients.
What You Can Do Right Now
Whatever the shift is, the goal is simple: Build a business that works for you, not one that keeps you stuck in a grind you resent.
So, take a look at your schedule this week. Does it make you excited? Or does it make you want to throw your laptop out the window?
If it’s the latter, it’s time to make a change.
Because we don't build businesses to be trapped by them. We build them to own them.
That's it for today.
P.S. I'm still working on this goal for my business. This article is a reminder to myself of what I'm building.