Intention to Go Dormant in your Business for a while
As we enter into October, the month for women in business ownership, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the role of a woman in both her entrepreneurship journey, and in her household, specifically how the need to constantly be “on”!
And I specifically want to talk about women because of the gender differences in typical roles and expectations. Sure, there are situations where the dad stays home and mom is the financial producer, but that doesn’t take away from our role as nurtures and often times our child’s first pick when they are sick or in need- not to mention, our elderly relatives as well.
If you have felt the need to take a long nap, take an extra week off, ‘just Cuz!’ or needing to plan a vacation that doesn’t necessarily have the return trip details figured out, you may be ready to be dormant for a bit. This is not unusual completely part of nature!
Just like the 9 oak trees on my yard, the need to stop growth and take a long sleep is essential in entrepreneurship and caretaking.
As a mom of two small children, when business coaches or other peers are constantly talking about growth, I find myself rolling my eyes and feeling like I have zero effort or energy to even think about growing!
All I wanna do is hang out, do what I do best, and keep my business alive, not necessarily needing to maximize any part of it at this given moment. I believe that the season I’m going through is temporary, and also essential, and my biggest fear right now is getting burnt out and not being able to show up for both my household and my clients.
Embracing the dormancy of winter is essential for survival- but how can the season of dying be good for growth and up thrive?
Let’s dive in with an example of biomimicry- mimicking nature as a way to seek patterns and parallels for our perspective as a caretaker – entrepreneur and the concepts of dormancy in trees
1. Balancing Multiple Roles:
- Just as caretaker-entrepreneurs juggle our responsibilities as parents or caregivers with their business endeavors, trees go into dormancy to balance their energy allocation between growth and survival during harsh winter conditions.
2. Resource Management:
- Trees in dormancy conserve resources, redirecting them to essential functions. Similarly, entrepreneur-caretakers can learn from nature by prioritizing our time and resources between family and business needs.
3. Sustainability and Resilience:
- Dormancy helps trees survive environmental challenges and emerge stronger in the next growing season. Entrepreneur-caretakers can adopt this resilience by recognizing the importance of self-care and balance to sustain our ventures and well-being over the long term.
4. Adaptation:
- Trees' ability to enter dormancy is a form of adaptation to changing seasons. Entrepreneur-caretakers can adapt to shifting demands by temporarily stepping back or adjusting our business strategies to accommodate all of our unendless caregiving responsibilities.
5. Support Systems:
- Trees in forests often benefit from mutual support and cooperation among neighboring trees. Likewise, caretaker-entrepreneurs can seek support from family, friends, or support networks to help us navigate the challenges of balancing entrepreneurship and caregiving.
inspiration from nature's wisdom has guarded me in many ways, and is always challenging me to think about the systems we are conditioned to follow and how they just simply don’t work all the time.
This includes recognizing the importance of resource management, self-care, and adaptability to thrive in both our roles as business leaders and caregivers while fostering resilience for future growth.
If I can encourage you to seek moments of dormancy around this time of year, take full advantage.
Watch how you emerge into your own “SPRINGTIME," to follow with an elevated production and BLOOMING of your creativity, productivity, and preparedness for what's next for you in your business.