Soft life ERA: HOW TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITHOUT LOSING YOURSELF
If you’ve found this article while searching for ways to create a soft life, welcome and congratulations!
It takes a brave soul to admit and commit to looking for a different way to do things in our personal and professional lives. The decision we make to live a different way and the unknown road to get there is a scary one.
You’re searching for a change because you know life must be worth more than hustle culture. You’re not alone – there are lots of other people just like you, on the brink of burnout (again).
I’m here to introduce you to a different way of doing things, and when you’re ready to radically shift your worldview and your outlook towards a life of simplicity and contentment, I’ll be here to share my ‘whys’ as a coach for small business owners.
Maybe something in what follows will be the change you need, the validation that there is a different way to do things, or maybe it is the seed that will slowly, steadily grow roots until you’re ready to take the step towards a richer, softer life.
If you’re looking for a small business marketing coach or a coach who can help you take quantum leaps to tap into your authentic offering, you’ve come to the right corner of the internet.
The term soft life came to life in 2022 and has gained significant traction in the last couple of years. Millennials and Gen-Z’ers are waking up to the effects of hustle culture and negative institutional structures in the capitalist structure of labour economies.
Practically every other day, I come across accounts online or people in real life, talking about their awakening to lead a different kind of life.
I’ve strived personally since having my first kid in 2018 to find a way to live my life, free of bosses and arbitrary multi-6 and 7-figure financial goals, but full of contentment, freedom to travel, enjoy my kids and pay the bills. It is possible; you might not believe it yet, but you will.
Why are we searching for a soft life?
Soft life is the rejection of modern capitalist ideals of “hustle culture” and bro marketers who advocate a very specific formula for creating wealth. One that perpetuates the toxic cycle of worth and wealth as synonymous, with very little room for any other definition of success.
This toxic social concept of meritocracy has caused many problems amongst Millennials and Gen-Z populations who are steadily awakening to the idea of reconnecting with our environment.
There has been a resurgence of social loneliness in the wake of COVID. We are fatigued by the superficial reactions to our perfectly curated online micro-systems.
This applies to business owners – particularly solopreneurs and micro teams who are competing for space online with industry giants. But people are waking up, and there is a burning desire for us to rediscover our humanity in the way we shop, socialise and perceive success.
People are craving real-life interactions and a slower, more human-centric approach to working in harmony with our natural cycles and rhythms. We are stepping out of gruelling, demanding corporate work structures that are a precursor to co-morbidities, sickness and imbalanced stress systems.
What does ‘soft life’ even mean?
Soft life means stepping away from hustle culture, prescribing to a lifestyle that promotes ease, and balance in our health and our work, leaning into well-being, leaning out of toxic money chasing and centring contentment – not cash at all costs.
A life without struggle and stress. I use the term ‘Rich Life, Soft Life’ as the name of my twelve-week course for business owners at the beginning of their journey.
I teach people that their intuition and their desires are not unfathomable, unobtainable or unachievable – but we can very often mask our true desires by seeking the success of our neighbours.
To lead a life that feels full of space, abundant in non-materialistic wealth, fun to lead, that centres human connection and says a big ‘NO’ to burnout – we’ve got to tap into all of who we are.
That might mean exploring our shadow-self and identifying our strengths and our weaknesses. All too often, people think we cannot do the thing we desire because we lack something- this individualistic world lens has dazzled us when we were made to build within and for the community.
We have become so stuck within the realms of our own immediate needs that we are unable to pool resources to collectively move forward in our business.
What is small business burnout?
Small business burnout is the lack of focus, drive and performance from small business owners due to the myriad tasks they’re often faced with trying to “get ahead” in business.
There has been a sharp upturn in claims from entrepreneurs online about six-figure, seven-figure and multi-figure success in the online social media world in the last couple of years, due to a toxic implication of working from home.
For the wide range of small businesses online that are working in a way that supports different goals or value different metrics, seemingly incomparable to the financial milestones of other self-proclaimed small businesses meeting the six and seven-figure goals.
The reality is that no one size or formula is guaranteed to bring every single business this kind of financial success, but the inability to step away from comparison can cause distress and anxiety for those who want to do things a different way or have different reasons and values for their business and its purpose.
Small business burnout is common amongst a shockingly high number of people with small businesses. It seems that every other day, someone is speaking about the physical and mental burnout they experienced from various stressors in their lives.
With a mixture of personal and professional commitments to leave perceived “employed security”, high financial stakes to transition from side hustle to fully fledged business boss, the precarity of finding customers and clients and the one-person source of innovation and creativity; it’s no wonder millions of people in the realm of self-employment face burnout.
Social media has to be understood as a source of some of the dissociation many business owners feel. The reality is, there’s immense stress and burden for anyone who subscribes to the modern-day measure of entrepreneurial success.
As a Millennial baby myself, I’ve experienced many symptoms of modern society and have taken steps to dig into my purpose on this earth to work in a way that brings me harmony – not chaos.
As a business owner, small business marketing expert and entrepreneur, I’m already somewhat used to redefining my working life. After five years in business and two children, the shape of what works and doesn’t has led to radical shifts and quantum leaps in who I am, the morals I stand upon and who I’m here to serve.
Small business success strategies for a soft life
One of the simplest ways we can experience small business success is by really taking the time to centre ourselves in our marketing strategies (yes, probably against everything you’ve ever been taught), but hear me out.
Meeting your ideal customer where they’re at is crucial, but who you are and how your energy is showing up online is just as important in helping you attract the customers you want.
I meet with business owners every week who have absolutely no idea why they are on Instagram – or even if their ideal client can find them there. As a small business marketing consultant, I spend time reviewing the marketing strategies of small businesses.
First, taking time to understand the personal position of the client in front of me. It can be a steep learning curve for many business owners, but doing something because everyone else is, is a surefire way to freeze, not foster connection.
Understanding why you’re the right person to help is part of the formula, but how and where that’s communicated could be on lots of different forums. This is where your research is critical to know what it says about where “your people” are showing up.
Not only is it important to look at our external environment when showing up to “lay out our stall” of services or products, but it’s also critical to listen to what our body is saying feels good. Not everybody is best placed on camera; some people are better at formulating emails or evidencing their skillset by offering a “clinic” or advice on an audio podcast or at an in-person event.
Small business marketing expert
If you’re ready to build a business or make a radical transformation in how you market your business, aligning with the right kind of community is important.
Your values need to be considered in the next steps you choose to take. Stepping away from prescriptive safety is a tough pill for small business owners to swallow – maybe even an act of bravery.
I launched Rich Life, Soft Life because it was very obvious that the types of business owners I love to work with were struggling with going against the grain when trying to build their businesses. Particularly during the first couple of years of entrepreneurship, standing tall in your brilliance can be daunting.
As a holistic, human-first copywriter, I centre true connections across all of my offerings. I’m not a demi-god, nor am I trying to be one. I’m here to hold you accountable, every step of the way, but I’m also here to help you build something based on your image of happiness and contentment, not mine.
The coaching course runs for 12 weeks and is delivered on a one-to-one basis. Your very own expert helping you build your business and get visible in a way that works in harmony with you!
What is a life coach?
As a copywriter, unearthing the passion of people in their business has gone hand in hand with them sharing their fears, too. Feelings of unworthiness, precarity, uncertainty, fear and failure.
I’ve had the honour of supporting these business owners to find brand clarity – and it opened the door for me to expand my offering as a small business coach for women.
I was so uncertain and so unsure about how to show up and sell myself as a multi-hyphenate, for so many years and so many reasons. It’s daunting to not fit in any box – especially at the start of your business journey.
Having a small business marketing expert support you with your mental blocks, challenging you with compassion about how you show up and what you’re worth, combined with steps to create your best marketing efforts, align with your soul calling and your ideal client, is transformational (even if I say so myself).
A life coach is someone who will hold space for you to open the door on those disavowed parts of yourself and hold the mirror up for you to find the truth of your circumstance. We rarely, truly need the answers from an outside source; we simply need someone to hold our hand while the inauthentic parts we are so committed to fall away.
Small business branding
There is so much opportunity to play with your small business branding when you set out. It makes me bubble with excitement! Nobody is doing what you do, or how you do it, but do you believe it?
Digging down into what feels good for you in terms of how you show up and where is equally important, if not more than, who you’re trying to reach. The feelings of ambivalence and fear that make us freeze are often attached to a feeling of being found out as a fraud when we are unsure of who we really are.
It’s important to do your research before launching into every venture about the audience you intend to serve, but we’ve also got to nail down what makes us feel worthy and connected with what we’re offering, too.
Building your business with the visualisation of the feeling you want it to give you whenever you establish yourself is key to making sure your principles are centred on contentment and joy, not just toxic comparison. This is one of the biggest steps you can take towards building your soft life.