Why Simply Showing Up Can Create Huge Results for Mama Business Owners

Sarah Brumley

Sarah Brumley

When it comes to growing a successful business, managing a family, and keeping up with your personal goals, too – it all comes down to the act of showing up in business. Today I’m chatting about why simply showing up can create huge results for you in all areas of your life – now and well into the future. I know this one’s going to be a game changer. So, let’s jump in.

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Why Simply Showing Up Can Create Huge Results for Mama Business Owners

Well hey there and welcome back to another episode of the Mama Business podcast. I had a coach a few years back who told me that it didn’t matter what I did in business – that if I simply showed up, I’d be better than 90% of everyone else. At the time, I couldn’t believe that as truth. I mean, just show up? I couldn’t show up without my perfectly put together proposals and my well-designed freebies or a perfect offer that suited everyone’s needs. How could just showing up be the thing that set me apart from the crowd?

But the longer I’ve been in business, the longer I’ve realized this is true. Because the truth is that, the majority of people don’t show up. They don’t show up for themselves, for their goals, for their dreams, for whatever it is that actually matters to them.

I mean think about it in the terms of health.

  • Obesity in the U.S. affects 100.1 million adults (41.9%) and 14.7 million children (19.7%)
  • It’s expected to continue to increase over the next 10 years.

…and while I’m not going to go on and on about the importance of your own personal health or the example that we, as adults, set for our children, it’s important to notice that – in most of these cases, it’s simply because that person has decided not to show up for themselves. Not to show up when it comes to making smarter choices around food. Not to show up when they should take a walk or go to the gym or…whatever else it might be. Not to show up when it comes to making sure that they are showing a healthy example to younger people who might look up to them.

Why? Well, more often than not, it’s because showing up takes us out of our comfort zone. It means that we have to work harder, do something that’s challenging, or prioritize putting the time and effort in to see the results – potentially at the expense of something else, right – like those cookies that you’ll have to eliminate if you want to lose weight or the sleep you might sacrifice in order to get a workout in?

The same is absolutely true in business. And this could be in the case of actually showing up to meetings or other commitments. In fact, when that coach told me that if I simply showed up, I’d be better than 90% of everyone else – she followed it up with, “Sarah, you have no idea how many people say they’ll show up to meetings or consultations and they never do.” As someone who keeps my commitments, that second statement baffled me as well, but I’ve now spent many years completing consultation calls and interviews with people and I know on my end that one out of every five people will show up to a job interview – and most won’t give you notice if they aren’t going to show up. Also, I ask the majority of my new and potential clients why they chose to work with me and more often than not, I hear that they had several consultations scheduled, but the other service providers didn’t show up.

So…because I SHOWED UP – they choose me. Among other things, obviously, I do know what I’m doing when it comes to systems, but showing up is half the battle. Or maybe more.

Another business example of showing up could be putting something out into the world without it being perfect. I spoke with a fellow business owner this morning and she mentioned that she might want to create a freebie for her audience. She knew exactly what content to include – it’s a recipe that’s highly coveted by her audience – but she wasn’t sure how to go about making it look pretty. I told her not to. Sure, she could spend time worrying about how pretty the paper might look, but does that change the fact that the recipe she wants to offer her audience is important to them? They don’t care how it looks. They just want that recipe.

So…by putting the recipe in PDF form and allowing them to sign up to get it, she showed up for them and, in return, she’s going to see huge returns on that small investment when it comes to the growth of her email list.

Growth and success in any area comes down to showing up. Simple as that.

So I have a couple of questions I want you to think about today.

Where do you need to show up?

When you think about your goals and dreams for the future – even in the short term, where do you have to show up in order to achieve them?

If your dream is to earn enough money in business to take your family on a cruise next year – then where do you need to show up in order to make that happen? Do you need to write a blog post each week with a clear CTA to the services you offer? Do you need to get out there to networking meetings so that you can enlarge your sphere of influence and get word of mouth referrals? Do you need to ask your current clients for reviews and referrals? Do you need to jump on a strategy call to determine your next steps? Do you need to engage an expert who can help you get your systems in place so that you don’t feel overwhelmed each day? Where do you need to show up?

If your dream is to get your weight under control so that you can be a good example for your kids, do you need to show up to the gym each morning? Do you need to eat more vegetables or drink more water or lift more weights or even make it a family event to go on a walk after dinner? Where do you need to show up?

Because, if the key to success starts by showing up – then identifying where to show up is the first step in the process of getting to where you want to be. And then, obviously – ACTUALLY SHOWING UP.

Where are you showing up that you don’t belong?

The flip side of this question is equally important and that’s “Where are you showing up that you don’t belong?”. And by don’t belong, I mean – by showing up there you are preventing yourself from achieving your goals or dreams.

Maybe you need to stop showing up to fast food restaurants. Maybe you need to stop showing up in the cookies aisle at the grocery store. Maybe you need to stop showing up on Facebook when you should be working on client projects or spending time with your family. Maybe you need to stop showing up to the couch to watch television when you haven’t taken a walk yet today.

Because if showing up is the key to success, you know that showing up where you don’t belong is going to lead you on a path to where you don’t want to be.

So, where are you showing up that you don’t belong? By identifying where not to show up, you’ll set yourself up for the success you want long-term.

Take Action: Where are you showing up in business?

And that brings us to the action part of this episode. And we all know that action is where the dreams turn into the reality. And today’s action step is pretty clear, I think.

ACTION: Take some time over the next couple of days to consider these two questions:

  • Where do you need to show up – whether in your business or personal life? How can you make these things a priority in your schedule, workflows, and task lists going forward?
  • Where are you showing up that you don’t belong and how can you eliminate or scale back on these things?

Make a plan and make it happen. And remember it doesn’t have to be perfect. Doing something in the right direction is better than nothing at all. And the sooner you get started showing up for yourself, for your business, for the things that really matter to you – the sooner you’ll see results.

And mama – just know that you aren’t alone! I’m cheering you on. You’ve got this! Have an amazing day and I’ll chat with you again next time.

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