The Most Strategic Thing We Do In Our Business Isn't Marketing

Yesterday I spent the day at Norwich Yoga Festival and I came home feeling so full of joy.

Last year I was there too, but in a very different capacity. I was asked to be part of the Q&A panel, which was such an honour (and if I'm honest, slightly terrifying!). I present to groups of people every month, I've been on podcasts and I've stood in front of hundreds of people talking about marketing, but I'd never sat on a panel before. Then someone handed me a microphone...

For about five seconds I completely panicked. Then I started talking and it just felt so natural. Afterwards someone came over to me and said, "You need your own podcast."

Funnily enough, having a podcast is something I've always wanted to do. In fact, I actually already own a podcast microphone. A few years ago I got ridiculously overexcited one day, convinced myself this was absolutely the next thing Coastal Media needed and promptly bought one. It still lives in a cupboard 😂

The funny thing is, I don't actually regret buying it. I still think I'd absolutely love having a podcast one day. I love conversations. I love asking questions, hearing people's stories and understanding why people think the way they do. If you've ever had a strategy session with me, you'll know that's probably no surprise! I could happily spend hours chatting to interesting people and asking them questions that make them stop and think.

Will I have a podcast one day? Quite possibly. Will it be this year? Absolutely not.

A couple of years ago I'd have looked at that microphone and thought I'd made progress. I'd have convinced myself that buying the equipment meant I was one step closer. Then I'd have started thinking about names, cover artwork, intro music and how I could somehow squeeze recording into my week if I just got up an hour earlier on a Tuesday. Now though, it goes in the freezer.

If you've read some of my previous blogs you'll know exactly what I mean by that. If you haven't, the freezer is what Matt and I call the place where ideas go when they're exciting but not right for right now. They're not a "no". They're just a "not yet". It means we don't lose exciting ideas, but we also don't end up chasing every opportunity the minute it appears just because it feels exciting.

Introducing the freezer has probably been one of the best decisions we've ever made in our business. Now, whenever one of us comes up with a new idea (which is usually me), it gets written down and put in the freezer. Then once a month, Matt and I have half a day blocked out in the diary where we work on our business instead of in it. We get all those ideas back out, make a coffee, sit down with our big A3 pad and ask ourselves one very simple question. Does this move us closer to the business and life we're trying to build?

Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes it's no. Quite often it's "not yet".

The podcast has been in the freezer for quite a while now. Not because it isn't a good idea. I actually think it is a really good idea. I'd absolutely love doing it. But when I take my emotions out of it and look at Coastal Media strategically, I know there are other things we could spend that same time and energy on that would have a much bigger impact for our business and, more importantly, for the businesses we work with.

Being able to do this is exactly what we teach on our One-Day Marketing Bootcamp.

One of the biggest misconceptions about marketing is that it's about doing more. More social media. More videos. More blogs. More emails. More, more, more. It isn't. Good marketing is about making deliberate decisions. It's about understanding your audience, knowing what you're trying to achieve and having the confidence to say no to good ideas because they aren't the right ideas for you, right now.

Anyway... enough about my imaginary future podcast 😂 That's not actually what I wanted to write about.

The thing that made me smile the most thinking back to yesterday wasn't the panel, or podcasts, or even marketing. It was how lovely it felt to be at Norwich Yoga Festival simply as... me.

Last year I loved being there as part of the festival, but I was still there working. Yesterday I wasn't. I wasn't speaking, I wasn't mentally writing Instagram captions in my head, I wasn't trying to think about what content I could create or who I "should" go and introduce myself to. I was just there to soak it all in.

I wandered around. I chatted to lovely people. I watched bits of classes, drank coffee, bought a few things from some brilliant independent businesses and generally just enjoyed myself….and I'd forgotten how different that feels.

One of the people I spent some time chatting to yesterday was Alex, the incredible human behind Norwich Yoga Festival. Every year she somehow manages to bring together thousands of people, hundreds of teachers, independent businesses and volunteers and creates something that feels so calm, welcoming and full of joy.

Now, I know enough about events to know that there is absolutely nothing calm behind the scenes. There will have been a thousand moving parts yesterday that none of us attending ever saw because Alex had already dealt with them before they became anybody else's problem.

But that's not actually why she inspires me. I don't admire Alex because she's built an amazing festival, although she has. I don't admire her because she's built a successful business, although she's done that too. I admire her because she has boundaries. She genuinely practises what she teaches. She understands that wellbeing isn't something you squeeze in once all the work is finished. It isn't the reward for working hard. It's part of the work.

When I woke up this morning, I realised that somewhere over the last couple of years, that's become one of the biggest lessons Matt and I have learnt too. In fact, I'd probably go as far as saying it's become the most strategic thing we do. And it has absolutely nothing to do with marketing.

It probably sounds strange that the thing I admire most about Alex isn't the festival itself. Of course it's incredible. The amount of work that must go into organising something like that every year doesn't even bear thinking about. There are thousands of people there, hundreds of teachers, independent businesses, volunteers, talks, classes, workshops... and somehow it all just flows. One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that if something looks effortless, it almost certainly isn't.

But that's not what inspires me. What inspires me is that Alex genuinely practises what she teaches. She doesn't just talk about wellbeing. She has built a business that allows her to prioritise it.

The older I get, the more I realise that wellbeing and business aren't two separate conversations. They're exactly the same conversation. If you're not looking after yourself, your business won't be well either. It's something I feel really passionately about, partly because I've lived the opposite.

If you've read my blog about personal growth and putting strategy into practice, you'll know that a few years ago I was completely burnt out. Looking back now it's so obvious, but at the time I honestly thought that was just what running a business looked like. I thought constantly feeling overwhelmed, saying yes to everything, trying to keep everybody happy and spending every evening exhausted was just the price you paid.

Now don't get me wrong, do I still get it wrong sometimes? Absolutely. There are still Fridays where I'll suddenly realise I've pushed a bit too hard that week and I don't have much left in the tank. Matt gets a version of me that's quieter than usual and quite honestly just wants to put her pyjamas on and watch something mindless on the sofa.

The difference now though is that those Fridays are the exception, not my whole life. I'm not living in a constant boom, busy, burnout cycle anymore. I'm not spending weeks trying to drag myself back out of a hole wondering why everything suddenly feels hard. Instead, I'm learning to notice the signs much earlier.

Sometimes that means saying no to something that sounds really exciting. Sometimes it means moving a meeting. Sometimes it means admitting that I've filled my diary a little too much and asking myself why I've done that. And sometimes it simply means going for a walk instead of trying to push through.

The biggest thing that's changed though is that Matt and I have stopped treating looking after ourselves as something we do outside of work. It's become part of the job.

That probably sounds like a strange thing to say, but hear me out. People often ask why I only run a certain amount of half-day strategy sessions a week. The honest answer is because I know that's where I do my best work. Could I squeeze another one in? Probably. Could I fill it? Almost certainly. But should I? No. Because by session six or seven I wouldn't be showing up as the same person who walked into session one. The businesses I work with deserve my best thinking, my full attention and my energy. Not the version of me who's secretly hoping the session finishes five minutes early because she's exhausted.

The same goes for Fridays. From September, Matt and I won't be working Fridays anymore. Whenever I tell people that, I can almost see them thinking, "well, that must be nice." But we’re not seeing it as a day off.  Some Fridays I'll probably still be doing things that look like work. Reading. Thinking. Planning. Visiting places. Meeting interesting people. Other Fridays I'll be at a weights class, walking Luna 🐶, having a massage or doing absolutely nothing at all.

Every single one of those things is still an investment in Coastal Media. Because I am half of Coastal Media. If I turn up to work exhausted, overwhelmed and running on empty, that's the version of Coastal Media our clients get. If I turn up feeling calm, rested and able to think clearly, they get a completely different experience. Working on me is working on the business.

I don't think I'd have believed myself if you'd told me I'd be writing that a few years ago. Back then I genuinely thought the answer to every problem was to work harder. Need more clients? Work harder. Need more money? Work harder. Need to grow? Work harder. Now I know that sometimes the most productive thing I can do is the exact opposite.

Every Tuesday morning I go to a weights class with Em’s Fitness & Wellbeing. I go with one of my lovely friends. Afterwards we head to the tearoom at Letheringsett Watermill for coffee and a catch up.

To somebody looking in from the outside, that probably looks like I'm taking a morning off. I honestly couldn't disagree more. Those Tuesday mornings make me happier, they clear my head, I have better ideas and subsequently I make better decisions. I'm more productive for the rest of the week. I don't come back thinking, "I really shouldn't have done that." I come back wondering why I ever thought I didn't have time.

It's exactly the same with the EFT tapping sessions I have every other week with Stella from Soul Space Unlimited. Again, somebody else might see an appointment in the middle of the working day. I see an investment. Not because I'm answering emails whilst I'm on the Zoom call with her or squeezing in phone calls before and after. But because afterwards I'm a better business owner than I was before I started the session.

and….isn't that the whole point?

Matt's version of this looks completely different to mine. If you know Matt, you'll know he's brilliant at pausing. I'd actually go as far as saying he's the reason I'm any good at it now because, left to my own devices, my natural instinct is still to run at things. I'll have an idea and want to do it immediately. I'll read something and convince myself we should completely change direction. I'll have a conversation with someone and come home wondering whether we've missed an opportunity. Matt has this wonderful ability to say, "Let's write it down and look at it properly." It sounds so simple, but it's changed everything.

In fact, if you've ever had a strategy session with me and I've encouraged you not to rush into something, you can probably thank Matt for that. He's taught me that very few business decisions need to be made there and then. Most of them are actually better after you've slept on them, talked them through and looked at them alongside everything else that's going on in your business.

He's also brilliant at taking breaks. If you tracked him for a day, I'd guess he probably spends a third of it walking. Years ago I'd have found that really frustrating. I'd have looked out of the window and thought, "How can you possibly be going for another walk? We've got so much to do!" Now I completely get it.

Those walks aren't time away from work….that's where some of his best thinking happens. It's where problems get solved, it’s where ideas settle, and it’s where he works out what actually matters and what can wait. Then he comes back to his desk and somehow gets four hours' worth of work done in one because he's completely focused. I don't think it's a coincidence.

Whenever I'm working with a business owner and I can see they're overwhelmed, pushing too hard or trying to do everything at once, I usually know two things. Either they're already burnt out, or they're heading there. Almost every single time I explain how Matt and I work now, I get exactly the same response. "I just don't have time." And every single time I completely understand why they say it because I used to say exactly the same thing.

The trouble is, burnout is really convincing. It tells you that you don't have time to stop. It tells you that everyone else is managing. It tells you that if you could just get through this week, or this month, everything will calm down. The problem is, next week arrives and somehow you're even busier. Everything starts taking longer because your brain is constantly switching between tasks. You can't think clearly, so simple decisions suddenly feel hard. You procrastinate because you're overwhelmed, then feel guilty because you've procrastinated. You pick your phone up for five minutes to give your brain a break and somehow it's forty-five minutes later and you're still scrolling.

Please don't read this as me judging you if that's where you are. I'm really not. I've been there. I know what it feels like to logically understand that you need to slow down whilst simultaneously feeling completely incapable of doing it. Logic doesn't always win.

Sometimes you have to make it easier for yourself…that's actually one of the reasons we started our Wellness Mornings at The Space in Burston.

The idea was never to create another networking event or another workshop where everyone sits in rows taking notes. There are already lots of events like that (in fact we run once ourselves monthly at The Cliftonville in Cromer). We wanted to create something that gave people permission to pause. Nothing more complicated than that.

The format is exactly the same every month. From 9.30am until 11am we do some kind of wellbeing activity in the studio. So far we've had Pilates, yoga and meditation. Every session has been led by a different local teacher and every single one has been completely beginner friendly because I never wanted people to think they had to be "good" at yoga or meditation before they came. 

Afterwards everyone heads into the cafe where Lisa and Izzy make tea and coffee and we all just chat. Some people head off then. Others stay for lunch. Some stay all afternoon and co-work together. There isn't a right way to do it. The point is simply to give yourself the space to breathe.

Last week was our third Wellness Morning and we had a full house. Ten people. What made me smile though wasn't that we'd filled the places, it was the conversations I had. I know that several of those people almost didn't come. Every part of them was telling them they didn't have time, that they should be at their desks, that Monday morning wasn't the right time to be doing a mindfulness class. And yet they came anyway.

Some of the people who've now been to all three have told me that those feelings are starting to disappear. They're beginning to see those mornings differently. Not as time away from work….but as work. Because somewhere along the way they've realised exactly what I have…

Working on yourself IS working on your business. You just don't always see the return immediately.

Last week was one of those weeks where lots of wonderful things happened. Some frustrating things happened too because that's life. But I reacted to them completely differently than I would have a few years ago. I didn't make rash decisions, I didn't panic, I didn't convince myself I needed to change everything.

Instead, I kept coming back to something (Norwich Yoga Festival) Alex and I spoke about a lot when we ran our goal-setting workshop together at the end of last year…your anchor.

If you came to our goal-setting workshop at the end of last year, you'll probably remember Alex and I talking a lot about finding your anchor.

We described it in the workbook like this:

"Your anchor is the thing that holds you steady, no matter what the year brings. It is the clear focus, feeling or outcome that keeps you grounded whether the waters are calm or choppy. Just like a real anchor, it is not there to restrict you or keep you still. It is there to stop you drifting too far off course.

When opportunities, challenges or ideas come your way, your anchor helps you decide whether to move forward, pause or let something go. It is a simple, reliable point of reference that keeps your year aligned with what matters most to you."

I've thought about that so many times since we ran that workshop because I honestly believe it's one of the biggest reasons I don't make so many rash decisions anymore.

A few years ago I'd have said yes to things because they sounded exciting. I'd have signed up for things because everybody else seemed to be doing them. I'd have launched things because I felt like I should. Now, everything gets held up against our anchor.

• Does this help us build the business we want?

• Does it fit the life we want?

• Will it bring us joy?

• Will it genuinely help the businesses we work with?

If the answer's no, it's really easy. We don't do it. If the answer's "not sure", it goes in the freezer until we're ready to look at it properly.

I know that probably sounds very calm and sensible written down. The reality is that it takes practice. I still have days where I get excited about a new idea and have to stop myself running off with it. I still have weeks where I overfill my diary and wonder why I feel exhausted. I'm still learning. The difference is that now we have a process. We don't make emotional decisions anymore. We make considered ones….and I genuinely think that's one of the biggest reasons our business feels so different now.

Everything flows. Nothing feels forced. We aren't trying to be on every platform because someone told us we should be. We aren't launching things because everybody else is. We're building a business that feels like us.

Sometimes that means saying no to things that would probably make us money. Sometimes it means taking an entire Friday away from client work. Sometimes it means spending a Tuesday morning lifting weights and drinking coffee with a friend instead of sitting behind a laptop. Sometimes it means leaving a podcast microphone in a cupboard for another year 😂

But every single one of those decisions comes back to exactly the same thing. We're protecting the people who run the business, and I genuinely believe that's one of the most strategic things we've ever done.

If you've read this and found yourself thinking, "I wish I could work like that," I just want to say one thing. Please don't think I woke up one day and suddenly became brilliant at boundaries. I didn't. It took years. It took burning out. It took making lots of bad decisions. It took saying yes far too many times before I learnt that saying no can actually be the kinder thing to do. It took lots of tiny changes that, on their own, didn't seem very significant at all….

• A walk.

• A coffee.

• A strategy morning.

• Putting an idea in the freezer instead of acting on it immediately.

• Booking a massage.

• Going to a weights class.

• Starting my week with yoga instead of emails.

  
  

None of those things changed my business overnight. But together? They completely changed the way I show up in it.

So if you're reading this and feeling like you're constantly running, please don't feel like you have to copy everything Matt and I do. Some of it won't work for you. Some of it won't fit around your life. Some of it might not even interest you. That's absolutely fine.

The point isn't to copy somebody else's routine. It's to create your own.

If you're looking for somewhere to start though, here are a few things that have genuinely helped me.

• Join our newsletter so you hear about our free monthly community events. Our next Wellness Morning at The Space in Burston is on Monday 28th September and there are still spaces available if you'd like to come along (just email me or send me a DM on Insta if you’d like to.

• Join Alex's Align with Alex community.

• Book an EFT tapping session with Stella at Soul Space Unlimited. 

• Try one of Em's Fitness & Wellbeing classes.

• Treat yourself to a massage with Steve at Beachside Massage. (Matt and I both go every month and he is an absolute magician!)

• If your business feels noisy and you can't quite see the wood for the trees, book a half-day strategy session with me. From September they'll all be held in our newly renovated barn at Letheringsett Watermill, which we're intentionally designing as somewhere business owners can step away from the day-to-day and actually think.

Or, if none of those things feel right, simply block half a day out in your diary this month. Take yourself somewhere you enjoy being, grab a big pad of paper and some coloured pens, leave your laptop in your bag, ask yourself what's working, ask yourself what isn't, ask yourself what you're enjoying, ask yourself what you're doing simply because you think you should. And most importantly..work out your anchor. Because once you know what really matters to you, making decisions becomes so much easier.

As I was on my way home from Norwich yesterday, I realised I hadn't come back with a notebook full of new ideas or another project I wanted to launch. I'd come back with something much more valuable….a reminder that the most strategic thing we do as business owners isn't our marketing. It's looking after the people who make the marketing, the decisions and the business possible in the first place. Everything else grows from there.