The past few days I have shared my heart for doing business well as a mom, wife, and believer. (You can view posts 1 & 2 here!) Today I am wrapping up my thoughts and encouraging you wherever you are at in this journey of working, following God’s lead, and loving your people well.
As a mom, wife, and believer, I’ve chosen to do things differently because I want to be able to put my family before my work. My family does make some sacrifices so that I can work, but as a business owner, I can also make my schedule and choose when I want to work. This might seem like a poor time to begin a business with the ages of my kids, but for our family, it’s been a great time because the business is growing slowly just as my kids grow up. I’m hopeful that as I’m ready to add in more hours, they’ll be in a better place where that is possible, and at the same time, because of my priorities, I continue to remind myself that I don’t need to push.
I don’t have to have this big business. Small is GOOD because small is what my family needs right now. And I can trust God to grow it in His time as He sees fit with where my family is at. There are certainly things I could do to grow it, but I’ve chosen not to. I’ve said no to good opportunities bc I feel strongly about the priorities God’s given me and I want to remain obedient. I won’t build an empire and sacrifice my family for it.
At the end of the day, I don’t want my legacy to be, “She built Refine PT.” I want my legacy to be, “She followed after Christ.” If that means it stays small…then it stays small. I trust that He will bring the people who need my help, and that’s good enough for me.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “I’d love to start my own business, but I am surrounded by little kids and a messy house and I just don’t think it’s for me,” I have two things to say:
- If you’ve been given big dreams but find yourself smack dab in the middle of motherhood, He may be saying “Wait.” Or He may be saying, “Think outside the box.” There is actually more than one way to do something. This business is so non-traditional, but it works for me, for my family, and for the kind of life we want to live. Don’t discount your dream because you’re a mom, but you must listen to the Spirit.
- You don’t need to follow the world’s words that “Bigger is Better.” Bigger is not better if it sacrifices your family or it makes your work an idol. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. You don’t have to be the biggest. Yes, we do have a bottom line we need to meet, but the world is going to constantly tell us to strive, grind, push harder, and keep growing. But what if you don’t? What if you say, “I’m going to trust God to lead me and my business, and know that He’s taking care of it even when I rest. Or even when I play with my kids. Or even when I take a vacation. Or even when I put my phone down.” He’s got it.
Over Thanksgiving break, I took 4 whole days off and did nothing with work. I didn’t post on stories. I didn’t write any posts. I didn’t correspond with patients or see patients. I let it sit. And guess what? I had 3 new patients by the beginning of the next week. God keeps telling me to obey the margins He’s put in place, and trust that He is the best at growing my business. He can grow it while I sleep and while I rest. Should I work hard? Yes. Should I ignore my family and constantly be on my phone? No. He’s got it, so I don’t have to work 24/7. And I’m always evaluating – is now a time to add something on? To develop something new? Or is now the time to scale back, to give something up? What does my family need from me right now and how does that affect my work and current commitments? It changes with different seasons and it’s ok if some seasons look different than others.
God is the best business planner, and He wants to write your story. I never in a million years could have dreamt this up, and I have no idea how it will end up. Maybe it will grow like crazy and I’ll get to have a great team of amazing women to work with. Maybe my classes will spread over the world and help millions of women…or maybe it will always just be me, working in my cute little clinic, seeing patients a couple of days a week and teaching this one online class, or maybe it will all be over next year and God will call me to something else.
Whatever way it ends up, I pray that it is said, “She followed after Christ.”
