I can’t tell if it’s because I have small children or if it’s my busy schedule, but this year is flying by. Even though the 1st quarter is gone (girl bye), I’m going to pretend we’re still in the goal-setting part of our business journey for 2018—because Melody and I still are! To be honest, this is the time of year when I look up and think, “Shit! It’s not January anymore!”

Anybody else?

I’m always fascinated by other people’s goals or “intentions” setting practices. And the people who actually meet their goals? They are an anomaly to me. At our last meeting, Melody and I were wrapping up an extra-long “squirrel chasing” conversation, which left us laughing about the chaotic year we’ve had so far. We concluded that the universe always has different plans than we do, which makes the idea of setting goals seem almost laughable.

As a business owner, it makes sense to set goals, and over the years I’ve learned that you need to have data in order to set those goals. But where do you fellow mompreneurs find the headspace for this process? Let alone the time it takes to keep up with the goals as the year flies by?

Luckily, Melody and I each have a personal connection to HerDataMethod, and despite our respective life crises, pressing on does not feel optional at this point. We are literally on a mission to bring this project to life.

But what if I didn’t feel so passionately? Would I bail?

When you’re a mother, life is about sacrifices and balance. How do you “press on” when things at home are pulling you so far in the opposite direction? This got me thinking about balance. Work and life balance. Even when you find a stride that seems to work, it only takes one crisis to throw everything into a tizzy.

However, I have learned that these blows to the day-to-day routine are a little less traumatic when I feel healthy. Not just eating right, but when I’m in a good place in my mind and heart. I recently started a new daily routine that allows for some “me” time every morning: time to set intentions for both work and life. Time to clear my head and start the day focused on what needs my attention.

I know what you’re probably thinking: “I have enough on my plate. I don’t have time to learn anything new right now!” And trust me, I know—attempting to balance all the moving parts of life is straight up overwhelming. But figuring out how to keep up with the world of online marketing is a necessity if you want to grow your business. I’ll admit, it was extra haunting for me because I’m the organized one. Melody is the smart one. That’s honestly what I used to think. But let me tell you, I’ve been watching the clients who refuse to adapt suffer for long enough. Understanding data has moved from my “one day I’ll learn this” task list to my “urgent” task list. People with the data make the decisions. That’s true not only for business owners but for anyone in marketing.

Yea, there’s that scary word again. Data.

Setting up a data collection framework for your brand will result  not only in giving you a louder, more authoritative voice in making big decisions for your business, but it will also free up that part of your brain that’s constantly nagging at you: “You have to start being strategic about your brand.” How many of us have completely jam-packed calendars and to-do lists that, at the end of the day, aren’t resulting in more sales? I can’t tell you how many times we used to get through a month full of website tasks, email newsletters, blog posts, and social media content with no new leads.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew exactly who you were targeting with those tasks? If you knew exactly what problem only you could solve for these customers? And what if, at the end of the month, you had a beautiful report that told you exactly what worked and what didn’t? How much anxiety and mental energy would that free up for you to focus on other things?

We designed this course exactly for that reason. We want to give other female business owners what we never had. We want to help other women start their workday with one less thing to worry about. I know it’s scary to try something new. And if you are a creative, it’s even harder to imagine yourself spending time learning about data. But please, trust me and know that I am the last person to spend over a year creating something that I didn’t think would be beneficial. I am first and foremost a project manager, so wasting mine and other people’s time is a big No-No.

I want to encourage you to try it out. Come to one of our workshops, or sign up for our newsletter so we can share more about this course. You’ll be able to get familiar with our teaching style and feel a little more comfortable with the lessons. Or, better yet, ask us your questions. Sign up for a free 30-min consult and give us your hardest question. As much we hate to admit it, sometimes as women, we need permission to ask the questions. I might not have all of the answers, but I promise I will get you closer to an answer.