I have been running my own business for 7 years now after a long stint in corporate senior management. Don’t get me wrong running your own business is amazing and a rollercoaster of course but from time to time I do think that it would be nice to have someone sit me down and just tell me that because I worked my socks off, I will get XX% pay rise and bonus. Instead like any entrepreneur and business owner I do pay myself but rewarding myself is something that took me a while to figure out and actually do!
Being Rewarded Works
Most of us have used rewards with our kids or personal lives to feel better and get that warm fuzzy feeling for achieving something great. To this day I remember the amazing cake I got it in primary school from my grandma when I aced my times tables test – that is a precious memory that has stayed with me for over 35 years.
So, it did take me by surprise that I had to literally practice being kind to myself and rewarding myself for ‘job well done’ once I started my own business. Now I do it regularly and I have even given myself targets to beat to then get an even nicer treat.
So Here Are My Top 5 Rewards:
Proper Nice Coffee
During the week now I make sure I plan in visiting some of my local independent coffee shops to work from there or meet clients there. I was fortunate enough to be already working from home prior to the pandemic so the life of ‘zoom’ was nothing new to me – but I am craving the real people connection again and having a proper coffee is my reward.
Hiring A Cleaner
This has been a game changer in terms of my time and energy focus. Given the cost of living and current situation, I am treating this as a reward to myself for having a cleaner help me once a week to get the house in order when you have 3 little people.
Spa Day
Every quarter I have a planning day to set my targets and objectives for my business, for the last 18 months I have done this off site and at a nice hotel spa. If I have met my targets, I have also spoilt myself by staying overnight and having someone else cook me breakfast.
Pampering Treat
I try to have something to look forward to each month in my diary – a massage or facial is something that really relaxes me and allows me to switch off. I schedule this for the last week of the month once I know I have completed the work I need to as a treat.
Holiday
On my big 5 year plan for my business, I have a target and when I will hit that we have decided to go on an all-inclusive holiday to celebrate with my family – a real treat, which I will be able to afford to do for my family and being able to do that for them will be an amazing feeling.
How do you reward yourself in running your own business?
I would love to hear what you do to have a treat.
About The Author
Family has always been the driving force behind everything that Jane de Vos has achieved. One of three sisters, they are not only siblings but her best friends and not a day goes by when they don’t speak. Unflappable and with such a great family foundation, Jane and her husband get additional childcare support from her parents, as they all live together at their family home in Worthing, West Sussex.
It’s meant that Jane can maximise what she’s able to achieve and it’s no wonder that she’s a self-confessed coffee addict, drinking at least ten cups a day, so she can cram everything in.
Never afraid of hard work, Jane sat her annual school exams in both Czech and English at the same time up to GCSE level. Studying History and German at university, she met her husband, who was also on the same course. A Masters in Historical Research followed, which her husband also completed at the same time.
A corporate career in the utility sector followed and after being told she’d never make it into senior management, Jane accepted the challenge and continued to work her way up the ladder, until she was one of the first and youngest women to be appointed in a senior role.
But when Jane decided to start a family, it was a wake up call that she needed. She was being pushed to her limits in her role and if she’d continued as she was, she knew she was heading for burnout.
As a great listener, she provides a safe sounding board to help CEOs become the most effective leaders, showing them how to organise systems and prioritise well-being so their businesses continue to grow. From multi-national companies in the US and Australia to solo entrepreneurs in the UK, Jane is known as the best-kept secret for so much business success.
But at the end of the day, Jane knows that when work is over, nothing is more important to her than her family, and with her six-year-old newly diagnosed with ASD and ADHD, and a baby girl born this month, a fresh set of challenges is about to present itself. Thankfully she’s unflappable and takes everything in her stride as she always has done, and her clients love that about her.
You can find more information about Jane on her website – www.janedevos.com