As I try to focus on all the receipts and black-and-white figures I’m reviewing and recording for my annual tax appointment, my eyes blur. I learned a long time ago as a woman entrepreneur with a small, one-person service business, my annual revenue wasn’t going to rival Oprah’s net income, especially during a year when I announced a semi-retirement from doing business events and taking new paying members
As I winced at the figure, I turned my head and looked outside my window where a very warm February day was calling me. “No, Tracy, you must stay inside and finish this. Sports can wait,” I said to myself. As I made that statement, my mind flashed to all the risk-taking females who joined me in 2023 on my sports adventures, and suddenly that “bottom line” meant more to me than the final accounting line. Sometimes in business, happy customers, new experiences, and living outside the business plan truly reflect the true “bottom line.”
Sure, I could have produced more sporting events to earn more money. Sure, I could have charged more money to make more money. Absolutely I could have tried harder to find monetary sponsors to boost the black and white numbers in my accounting file. But instead, I took a look at my 30-year successful business career and realized it was my choice to decrease my revenue based on some new life decisions.
Being a 59-year-old woman with a high level of vitality left hasn’t made it easy to semi-retire from my business. I still feel my value comes from what I earn. It makes sense since from our first professional jobs onward, making a good, and increasing salary is the goal. So, how does a woman refocus her priorities on what really matters most in business? Is it the money or the amazing client experiences?
This Wednesday Wisdom will not give you the answer to that question quite yet, and perhaps you have some wisdom to share with me on the topic. All I know is that being around the woman I still love to promote and connect with helps me move forward with or without the desired salary. Have you thought about this yourself? Are you making less money because your mindset or place in life has changed? Do you wish you made more than you do? Is your wish strong enough to make you work harder again once you realize it? Do tell.
For me, I’ll contemplate decisions after my tax appointment and running over the Manhattan Bridge and into Times Square on St. Patrick’s Day as I complete the New York City Half Marathon. Until then, I’ll reminisce about the fantastic memories I created in 2023 with fabulous women making me smile no matter what the final bottom line is.
Women TIES 