Episode 41: Hustle NOT Required

Yes, You CAN Build a Business Without Getting Trapped in Hustle Culture

Hustle culture has dictated the entrepreneur world for so long, most people think they have to hustle and grind to be able to make it in business.

I remember the moment I turned in my keys to my office at my 9-5. I was excited to have this freedom and life I’d been working so hard for! It wasn’t until months later that I realized I traded in my 9-5 for a 24/7. Somewhere along the way, I actually thought it was a good thing… but it wasn’t.

Thankfully, I figured out how to build a business that lights you up without hustling 24/7.

Here’s the thing: what I envisioned for my future, I wanted so badly that I was sacrificing my life in the present. I thought it was just a part of being an entrepreneur. Turns out, that’s not the case! I still believe you have to work for your dreams but hustle is not required to make that a reality.

What Is Hustle Culture?

You’ve heard this word a lot and I’m sure you’ve heard it used as a badge of honor. I want to dive into the real meaning of hustle and why I am so adamantly against it.

When people talk about hustling, they talk about forcing a result, forcing a schedule, forcing their bodies, and neglecting everything else just to accomplish everything for their future goals.

But when you focus only on the future (like I did in the beginning), you miss out on all the joy and fulfillment you can have right now in your business. And even more importantly, if you build your business on the foundation of hustle culture, it makes it very hard to get out of hustle mode as you grow and continue scale. It can set you up in a spiral of hard work and exhaustion that leads to burnout, health issues, and a lack of satisfaction in what you do.

What I know from my journey and from my clients’ businesses, is that when you force something to get a result, you end up overwhelmed, no longer enjoying the work you do, and even fear taking a break or a vacation. You connect working to the result and feel you have to work to get the result. This mentality can make it very difficult to scale as you become more successful.

How often do we hear this conversation:

Person 1: “Hey, how are you?” 

Person 2: “Busy!” 

Person 1: “Oh that’s good! Busy is good right?” 

Busy is not good!

Not unless it’s an effective kind of busy.

“Hustle” is not good busy.

How to Tell if You’re Hustling or Being Effective

If you’re not doing the things that light you up. For you, that might include a good portion of work. I’m not here to tell you that there is a magic number of hours you should or shouldn’t work in your business. It’s about how much you want to work in your business.

Your business should support the life you love. In my course, Hustle NOT Required, I’m diving into the exact steps to cut out what’s not working and what’s not lighting you up…and focus only the things that are.

Get instant access right here.

In the meantime…

Here Are 3 Ways to Get Out of Hustle Culture and Into Fulfillment and Satisfaction

1. Know what is getting results and cut the rest.

• First things first, know what’s working in your marketing and client acquisition process. Then make a data-driven decision based on what’s working and what’s not.

2. Create efficiency for any repetitive task.

• For all the repetitive tasks in your business, you need systems or automation. This means, not rethinking a process, but having them written down and knowing exactly how you will handle things that come up.

3. Build a team and delegate.

• Imagine if you had even a few more hours each week! You can do that as soon as you get someone on board and up to speed on some roles in your business. Often, there is a major objection to that. You may think you don’t have the budget for a team member, but I want to challenge you to rethink that mindset. You absolutely can outsource at any level. There are options to outsource: Internationally, online, or even hiring a team member. It’d surprise you how affordable and profitable it can be.

Resources:

• Hustle NOT Required (Sign Up Now!)
• Asana – a project management tool

Let’s Connect

1. Glean from our library of CEO resources at kathrynbinkley.com
2. Connect more with Kathryn on Instagram!

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