Do you value what you bring to the table in business? Or are you more likely to defer to someone else, because they have a higher education degree, or more years of experience? It’s time to trust your intuition and listen to what it can teach you about your business and how to make the best decisions for YOU.
You have three of the most important tools that you need, right inside of you.
That’s your head, your heart, and your gut!
When you make the wrong decision, at least one of these is going to hurt, and let you know that you’ve made the wrong choice.
Judi Missett, a guest on the Success Unfiltered Podcast, may be a familiar name to you: she’s been in business for 50 years! If you’ve ever danced for fitness, then you’ve been influenced by her: she’s the founder of Jazzercise. When it comes to making business decisions, she believes that you need to use the three tools that you already have: your head, your heart, and your gut. If you make the wrong decision, any one of those will begin to ache, and then you’ll know you’re not listening to your gut.
Value Yourself
Before we talk about listening to your head, your heart, and your gut, we have to talk about something even more important first.
You have to value yourself in your business. It’s your idea. It’s your business.
If you don’t value what you bring to it, you’ll never be able to fully use the tools that you have.
There will always be people who are going to put you down, and say that you don’t know what you’re doing. That you don’t have what it takes to be successful.
Say NO to those naysayers, and dig deep and trust your intuition. Listen to your head, your heart, and your gut. They are yours for a reason, and will help guide you in running your business.
YES, you will need an outside opinion and advice at some point. However, when you own your worth, you will know whether those opinions will be helpful or a hindrance.
Now we can talk about listening to your head, your heart, and trusting your gut.
Listen to Your Head
We’ve all heard it: knowledge is power. You know your business. You know what you want it to do. You may not always know the how, the why, and the when, but you know what you want.
You also know what you don’t want, and when things aren’t working right.
Listening to your head in business helps you to make those logical decisions; to be able to emotionally detach when hard times come.
You’re able to look at that top line revenue; and then know when to pull the plug on something.
Listening to your head helps you make those logical decisions.
- Which investor should I choose?
- Which CEO should I hire?
- Which product line should I launch first?
Your gut can come into play with these (see more later!) but you can make these decisions based on logic and data.
Listen to Your Heart
What is your dream for your business?
When you think about it, and make your wildest plans and goals, what are you thinking of?
That can be a sign, and you should listen to it.
The best thing about your business is you. Someone else could make it happen, but you are the person who has the spark and the fire to make it happen. You have the goal and the vision and you’re going to trust your intuition.
Remember, when an investor chooses to support you, they aren’t investing in your business… They are investing in you.
This is why it is so important to spend some time listening to your heart in your business.
Now I will warn you: sometimes the heart can be a fickle thing, and you have to practice emotional detachment to be successful.
Trust Your Intuition
When Jazzercise was growing, Judi was approached about an infomercial.
She felt like it didn’t fit their target clientele, but said ok anyway. After all, these people advising her had marketing degrees and did this every day for their job.
It turned out, Judi should have listened to her gut. As the ad campaign continued, it was clear that it was not working.
Jazzercise is all about connecting, and shared experiences. Infomercials sell products. The two were clearly not a good fit, so Judi pulled the plug.
This lesson cost her $500k: but it was a priceless lesson for Judi. She learned to trust her intuition, and this can be an important lesson to all of us watching.
There will always be someone who claims to know more than you, or have more experience than you. But at the end of the day, your business belongs to you! It’s up to you to say YES or NO and make the best decisions for it.
You may not be the most educated person, or the world’s leading expert on your industry. But your gut has a pretty good idea of what is right and wrong for your business, and will tell you clearly: if you only choose to listen.
In Conclusion
When it comes to running your business, you’ve got all of the tools that you need right inside you. Listening to your head, your heart, and your gut will help you. Valuing yourself and what you bring to the business will enable you to unlock those tools. Be sure to trust your intuition!
Are you using your head, your heart, and your gut in your business? Have you ever made a business mistake that you knew, had you listened to any of these, you wouldn’t have made? What did it cost you? Share the experience with us in the comments!
