Self-Care for Business Success: What it Means?

By Erin Daniels, The KNOW Women

As high-achieving and ambitious businesswomen, the desire to consistently achieve more is always on the forefront of our minds. From scaling and expansion to brand new business ventures, there is consistently a goal we are trying to reach. This determination is what leads us to be highly successful.  Nonetheless, this willpower also often leads to the struggle to achieve work-life balance and maintain a healthy relationship with our career. Taking time for yourself and your health is vital to living a successful life as well as running a successful business.

When people think of self-care, images of manicures, facemasks, and mimosas often pop into their heads. While these activities can definitely be a part of it, true self-care is carried out on a much deeper and more consistent level.  Are you staying up too late working and not allowing yourself proper sleep? Are you interacting with friends and family, or canceling plans to focus on work? Do you allow yourself time to engage in your hobbies? Answering these questions honestly can help you start evaluating where in your life you could use more balance. We often hear the excuse “I don’t have time,” but there are plenty of ways to weave daily self-care into your routine that will help you consistently be the best version of yourself.

We asked our high-achieving KNOW women different ways they work toward work-life balance. Follow along on our four-part mini-series to learn about implementing self-care through intentional morning routines, journaling and meditation, and various applications and tools.

What does self-care mean to you?

I believe that self-care is all about being selfish. It means putting yourself first in all things, so you are able to prioritize yourself, and then show up in every other aspect of your life. Once you prioritize yourself, you will then be able to show up for your students when they need you most. You are also able to show up for your peers/fellow teachers and show them how to be their most effective selves.

-Dr. Paulette J. Evans, Evans Efficiency Experts, LLC

Self-care is giving yourself permission to fully step into who you want to be and do what you desire to do without allowing guilt or shame to take hold. It’s about being unapologetic about doing YOU!

-Gabriella Galante, GG & CO

Self-care, for me, is about identifying what I need and being intentional with making it happen. For many years I was either unclear on my needs or I just didn’t verbalize them. One day would lead to another and I would eventually wake up feeling frustrated or overwhelmed. Present-day, through self-work and consistency, I have a self-care routine preventing those feelings of frustration and overwhelm. I practice my routine on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.

-Jen Smith, Jen Smith Consulting

Self-care is scheduling 1 hour out of each day to indulge in a romance novel or sit outside on the patio uninterrupted while listening to nature. Ultimately, self-care is remembering that we cannot be anything to anyone else without meaning something to ourselves.

–Schatzi Borgella, Treasure Tresses

As a busy mompreneur with four kids, self-care is a necessary part of my day-to-day routine. Each day encompasses designated time to be intentional about what is needed in order for me to give back to others in the best possible way. When we tend to our personal needs we can better serve our communities, colleagues, and loved ones. So, prioritizing the time necessary to fill up our cup gives us the means to show up in all areas; emotionally, physically, and mentally. Self-care can differ from person to person but it always goes back to the same idea; it allows us to be the best version of ourselves.

–Genesis Hey Krick, Dream Ignite Build Inc.

To me, self-care means taking time out from the hustle of life to care for yourself in the way you would care for your sister, friend, or child. It means pressing pause on all the day-to-day deadlines to listen to your body and do the things you need to do to take care of yourself. This might mean going to yoga, taking a nap, nourishing your body, reading a book, binge-watching a TV show, or calling an old friend.

–Juliet Burgess The Burgess Law Group

Self-care means doing things and engaging in experiences that bring me joy, peace or contentment. Sometimes my self-care looks like being organized, planning or purging. Other times it looks like relaxing, resting or playing. Whatever it is in any given moment, it is a vital and necessary component of each and every day.

–Dr. Lisa Folden, Healthy Phit Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants