90 | Taking Risks to Grow your Private Practice

Annie: Well, hey there, Leah.

Leah: Hey, Annie, how are you?

Annie: I'm good. You're having an exciting morning with having to scramble to get internet in a surprise.

Leah: It's crazy how the world beyond us can control us, you know, with internet going down and having to be adaptable. You just make it work and roll with it because, you know, life keeps life in.

Annie: What are you going to do, you know? Exactly. So we're here. We're talking about today. We're going to talk about taking risks to grow your private practice, which is something that both Leah and I have a lot of experience with and not just the risk taking part, but like the terror and anxiety and like decision making angst that goes along with taking those kinds of risks. I could say we're very familiar. with all of those feelings, am I right?

Leah: So right. And I know about myself that I am a more risk adverse person. And so anytime something comes up with my business where I feel like, Whoa, this, this would be kind of risky to do, do I want to do it? Do I not? I feel like I spiral out into a lot of overthinking. And I always think it's so funny. I laugh so hard when you see all these influencers, like on Tik Tok and everything. And they're like, Overcome your fear, take the risk failure. It's the only way to learn and then I'm like, that's good and all but like I still gotta pay my bills friends like we can't just be like I'm gonna do whatever I want and Overcome every fear like to me. There's like such a tight balance between like taking risk, but also like smart risk-taking and not like too wild and willy-nilly and like I I'm just going to throw all caution to the wind and do something crazy and invest a million dollars into, I don't know, my dream would be building a postpartum care center and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I'm like, okay, Leah, let's think about this. I can't just throw all caution to the wind. That might not be the best plan.

Annie: Well, I'm like your polar opposite, as you know, because I'm like, it'll be fine. I have an idea. And I'm like, I'll just do it. I'll figure it out later. I'm sure it's gonna work out. And I would say like, to my credit, A lot of times it does work out, but I've also definitely had mistakes, plenty of mistakes to learn from and have gone down wrong paths and maybe not even so much gone down a wrong path, but more. didn't think through how to execute things and then have to go backwards and kind of fix, like, oh, I should have done this and I should have done that. And then I'll do it for the next time, but then kind of playing catch up on the things I didn't think about. So, yeah. And I don't know which is better. I really literally feel like I am allergic to, like, just thinking anything through. Like, it just doesn't occur to me to do it.

Leah: But it's nice that we have like this balance between us because I like, I want to like, consider a bunch of angles, like trying to think about how it impacts this or impact that and that I can get myself stuck, though, you know, and that's what the influencers are talking about, like, hey, don't get yourself stuck and overthinking all the possible outcomes and all the possible angles and da da da da da. But, you know, there can be a lot of life school that happens if you just kind of throw yourself out there and then maybe you have a lot more stress than you expected or a lot more work related to it that then impacts your life other ways, you know? So I think there is a real balancing act in like one, just kind of understanding yourself. Like if I did what you did, I think I would be like, It's so incredibly anxious all the time. Maybe not. Maybe I would figure out that like, just go for it, Leah. It's fine. We'll figure it out later. But with working with you for all these years, I've found that I can be a bit more just like, let's just do it. Let's just see what happens. I mean, sometimes that's like, the funnest part is like, we'll just get on a podcast and we'll be like, you know what we planned? Like, let's forget that. Let's just do this other thing. Let's just talk about this." My wants to be like, well, let's think about that and then we'll just do it. Then it'll be like one of our best podcasts. We'll be like, oh my gosh, that was awesome. We had no plan and we just threw it out there. I have learned over the years that for me to stay in a good mental headspace, I have to walk that line. I think you've probably learned about yourself too. There's some walking this line that I can do where I don't make my life so chaotic and crazy because I'm always playing catch up. But I'm also like, I have this dream and I want to do it and I'm going to make it happen. And I just admire and love that about you so much is that you'll just like, thought came in my mind, execute.

Annie: Well, you know, you, you mentioned like anxiety, like for you, the anxiety comes in about making the decision and then you want to do the research to alleviate your anxiety. My anxiety is about not making the decision. And I'm like, I feel anxious until I do it because I have to get it done. Like, if I have the idea, I have to get it done. So I've had to learn, like, definitely to… It's okay to sit with things. And a lot of times, like, I'll have an idea, and if I, like, I'm like, okay, just sit with that one, and it'll go away, because it wasn't a great idea in the first place, instead of just trying everything.

Leah: But, like, you know, like building a website at 2 a.m., like, I had this idea, I'm building a website now, I'm gonna execute it tomorrow.
Annie: I've done that, and it's not great. I can see you doing that. I don't know. I, I've never been good at preparation. That's why you are the one that writes up all of our, all of our like outlines for the podcast episodes for our topics. You write the questions that we're going to ask our deeper dive guests, because I'm just like, I don't know, like whatever, it'll be fine. All I had, I had the idea. I built a sales page. Like what, what more do you want from me?

Leah: It is so true. And I think, When you're faced with this, like I had this idea, like either, you know, either way you do it, like whether you're going to be more risk adverse and careful approach, or if you're going to like, Hey, had this idea, I'm going to jump into it. Like both sides of that do require. looking, you do need to think through at least, okay, I had this idea, what would be the steps? Even if you're just going to jump in, well, you got to know where you're going to jump, where. You can't just pull into the deep end because you wouldn't land anywhere. You have to at least know a few of the steps in that direction. Then for somebody like me, it might be I need to know Every teeny inch of the steps for that direction and all the potential outcomes, but I think this mindset of like I know myself enough to know like. okay, I have this risk averse, not risk averse, jump in, not jump in. But I do know that I have to break this down, whatever big exciting thing I might have for my business in my mind. Like there is some breakdown to that. And that's where like planning and just having a little bit of understanding of steps and things like that, I think is a great place to start when you have a big idea, because these big ideas have made your business really successful when you come up with like hey, random thing I'm going to do. And then it works out like that makes your business can make your business really successful. So I think it's worth us taking these risks. We just have to, like, approach it and a thoughtful way, maybe.

Annie: Well, I think there's bravery involved in both approaches. And it's I think it's easy to look at somebody who somebody like me who just jumps in and it's like, wow, that takes a lot of courage and like confidence to just do something. And I think it also takes courage and confidence to actually sit down and look at all of the pros and cons and to really think it through. Because the kind of easy to see confidence is like, I just believe that it will work out because most of the time it does. But I'm not necessarily brave enough to think what if it doesn't work out. So when you're doing all this planning, you're actually looking and saying, like, listen, I'm willing to take a look at, I'm willing to consider that this might not be a good idea. I'm like, yeah, my ideas are great. Like, I have a lot of, like hubris, I guess around that, you know, but not all of my ideas are great by the way . I've had tons of terrible ideas like don't get me started but i mean i think we think a little bit like. If you're taking the time to think things through then that means you're not confident like those influencers and i just think they're full of it because. you know, especially in that world, which is like, well, if you just want it, if you just want it bad enough, well, that doesn't always work. We have seen like, you know, in the, in the influencer space and in the world of like online businesses, and even in, you know, lactation, you see a lot of ideas that don't come to fruition or things falling apart when people haven't thought through the, you know, kind of all the ramifications, you know, thinking about some, you know, popular conferences that have imploded because the leaders took a stand that they didn't think through the consequences of, and it doesn't exist anymore.

Leah: I think one of the things that really comes to mind for me when I take a moment to step back is I'll hear something maybe somebody else is doing. And I'm like, Oh, that sounds so good. And it could build my business. And oh my gosh, that would be so amazing. I'll make more money. And I'm like, I'm like, yeah, yeah. And then when I give myself a minute and think about, okay, maybe what are the steps? What would I have to do? I start to get to reflect on like, does this actually align with my values and like my vision for my business? And that has, has helped me a lot because there's a few times opportunities have come my way and they sound amazing. And I'm like, this is it. This is the thing that's going to blow up my business, going to be the first lactation millionaire. Just kidding. I'll sit with it for a second because I am like, I got to think this through. I got to check all the boxes and see what they're really asking me to do, see what they're really requiring of me. see what all the inner workings are, ask the questions. And then I realized, like, maybe that other company I'm trying to align with or something does not match up with my values. And this is so helpful when we went through that with Joy McTavish, when we thought about values. I didn't realize that I was doing that as much as I was until she talked about it. And I was like, this is what has steered me away from things in the past. And I didn't connect that that was like exactly what I was tapping into where she had that wonderful list and I was like Oh, I you know knew that I was had some you know awareness, but not a word to go with it I guess was so helpful when we went through that on that deeper dive but One of the things that it always helps me do is like to come back and like check with my gut almost like is this really a line because it sounds fantastic and super exciting and like maybe could be a way to grow my business. But then I get a real reality check when I dig a little deeper and I'm like, Oh, maybe these people aren't aligned with my values. Or maybe this would draw me away from what I know I want my business to be about or what is so important to me or the care that I can give. I think it's so important to take those extra steps. And like, if you didn't look to that deeper time with Joey McTavish, please do because it was so helpful. And it can really help you in situations where you want to take a risk. And then you're like, wait a second, is this right for me? Does it really align with me? Have you ever had that where you thought something might be really good, but then you realize like, hey, maybe this doesn't align with me. And that's what helped you decide to take the risk or not.

Annie: Oh, yeah, I mean, definitely once I identified that I also am somebody that will say yes, if I'm asked to do something. And especially if I perceive that, like, I get to be a part of something. So like, just thinking about how many years it took me to actually retire from being a La Leche League because I felt like I owed them something and I was like, and I'm a part of something and I have this, you know, job that's important to the organization. And like, they asked me to do another job. I was like, sure. and then leaving that and kind of realizing that it was a mess that I'd gotten myself into by just continually saying yes, but that I was not aligned with the mission of La Leche League anymore, it didn't fit into my life. And they're, you know, thinking of like those values of like, I guess, like, I don't know, there's not really a word for it, but the value, you know, that I need to, that I'm really always working on is just protecting my time and protecting my energy. I'm not really great at that, but I've gotten a lot better at saying no to things. I was asked to speak at a virtual conference this year, and it was a talk that I've done before. It's a talk that I really like, but it's a talk that would require updating. And I said no, because I said, I don't have the time and energy to give this what it needs to be updated for the present. So I was very proud of myself for doing that, because I was like, well, you have to say yes, because if you don't say yes, they're never going to ask you again. And I had to sit and think, that's fine. Like, preserving my time and energy in this moment is better for me to do the wiser choice than protecting any potential future thing I might want to do. That I maybe don't want to do at all.

Leah: Yeah, I'd say I had the same experience like got asked to speak and it was just like, I knew for where I was that I just couldn't commit the time. And it was so hard to say no, because I was like, this is something I really, really want to do. But you sometimes have to think about how much capacity do I have? We sometimes believe that we can always figure it out and have infinite capacity. And maybe I had infinite capacity when I was 25, but I for sure do not have infinite capacity anymore. I am guaranteeing you that like the late forties, they are taking me down to like minimal capacity these days. But it's been so helpful because I'm like, I'm thinking more like you about, I want to protect my time and my energy. And as your kiddos get bigger and you know, like, oh, the time feels so finite now. It's like, oh, they're only going to be here. I just want to give, like, have enough energy to give them my best, you know, and, and make them be the receiver of the best parts of me versus like, you get what's left over after I've committed myself to 5,000 things. So I feel like we, you know, we're tying this into like, we can take risks to grow our business. But we can also choose not to take risks to protect ourselves and to continue to grow our business. Because if we take too many risks, and we throw ourselves into the depth of like, we're working constantly 24 hours a day, that can actually be harmful, not only to yourself, but to your business, too, because you will figure out that if you're spread so thin, you can't give your best like to your family, but also to maybe the clients you're trying to serve or your contractors or whatever commitments you've made. If we get too thin on our capacity, then we can't even give our best. And that can be really detrimental because you know, everything's like word of mouth. So people need to have good experiences with you to continue to work with you.

Annie: It's so true. It's so true. I really like how you made that distinction, you know, that there is always a trade we're making between what we have right now and what we might have in the future. And I think that is a great way to think about you know, an approach to taking risks and to get that balance of acting fast, because, you know, there are some things that you do have to act fast on that you don't necessarily have the time or the luxury, you know, maybe there's a deadline to make a decision or give an answer or you know, you have an idea and you want to be the first one to do it. And so there's, you know, that's legit to put some, you know, like, the pressure on. And just really kind of putting it in that perspective of like, how much work is it gonna take right now? What kind of time do I have to figure this out? And is this something I actually want? Does future Annie or future Leah want this thing? that I'm working so hard to give them. So like what I would have told like past Annie would have told future Annie, future Annie does not want to build websites. She thinks she does, but she actually doesn't. And you know, if I built your website, I did enjoy working with you and I'm happy that we did it. But I also, there's a sliding doors moment where I never launched that arm of my business. And I think that was a place where I jumped in too fast and took on more than I had capacity for.

Leah: And I think this is where it can be really important because we might have to make quick decisions. People might, you know, give us an opportunity and we need to like really quickly be able to say yes or no. And this is where I think, you know, having some kind of frequent reflection, whether that's quarterly or monthly for you about, Where are you at? Where's your business? You know, what things are coming up that are hard or easy? And if we're just kind of like rolling down the mountain, sometimes I feel like that's happening for me. I'm just like on a snowball, like rolling down a mountain, just collecting more things. And sometimes you need to stop and say, okay, where am I at? What's working? What's not working? And then what am I already planning for? And this is where I'm like, so excited about our deeper dive, uh, because we're talking about planning. And I think if you know the direction that you're taking your business this year, or this month, or this quarter, and you know what your to-do list already is, or what areas of friction that you're trying to already figure out, you might be able to see, Oh, I would totally have capacity for that. Because I've planned out this time, and I know this is going to be a lull. I'm definitely going to take this opportunity. I'm going to take this risk because it fits because I've already thought through a lot of aspects of my business or planning pieces of my business versus like, you know, just having no awareness, you're tumbling down a mountain and you're just collecting more things as you go, you know, and you're going to hit that end and boom, it's all going to explode. And so I love this idea really so much. And I'm so excited that we're going to have a talk about it because I think it's so important for us to have places where we're going to stop and plan and reflect and like understand where business is going in our, we've already kind of tied in all the values pieces. So now I can't wait to tie in the actual act of planning.
Annie: Definitely. And that is going to be our deeper dive into planning with Denise N. Horde, who is an IBCLC and an MBA. That is Master of Business Administration. And we are going to have her come on a deeper dive on May 20th at 3pm. And you can, as always, you can register to just join live. It is also part of our deeper dive subscription. So for $15 a month, You get automatic registration in all of our live events, and you get all of our past archive going all the way back to January 2020, which was 10 million years ago at this point. And there's a lot of great stuff in there. You'll find the deeper dive into values that we did with Joy McTavish that Leah talked about. It's all in there. Everyone who registers for a deeper dive gets the recording, so you don't have to be there live. But as we always like to say, the magic happens when you show up. Our deeper dive attendees ask amazing questions and always have a good time. So we really hope that you will make the time to come live. But don't worry if you can't. The recording will be there for you to watch and rewatch to your heart's delight.
Leah: And those are so amazing to rewatch. I have definitely done that myself because there are some that I'm like, there's so much gold that can be dug out of this that in the moment, I can't capture it all. But then when I go back, I'm like, I heard a new thing this time or a new trick or a new whatever that I really wanted to capture again, it's just so valuable. I always say that, like, we make all these deeper dives and things, not only just for our community, but for us too, because I get so much value out of it. And I love hearing, like, all the questions. So many times I'm like, I'm so glad somebody else is thinking that and I was thinking that too, or Whoa, I had never put that together. And then somebody just like blew my mind because they put something together that I hadn't even considered yet. And then it's like a whole new level gets opened up, you know, gets a level up there.

Annie: Well, we hope you'll join us for the next deeper dive and check out our past deeper dives. And until next time, it was great chatting with you, Leah.
Leah: It was great chatting with you too, Annie, and go out there. Think about the risk you might want to take and think about how that might impact your business, but also don't be too fearful. Jump in, take some of Annie's vibes.

Annie: Take a lot of Leah's measured approach. Balance it out. I think hers is probably better than mine. I'm just saying. In my experience, but I think we all need a little bit of everything. So all right. Bye everybody.

Leah: Bye.