September 30, 2025 • 35 mins
Ever look around your business and think, “This is what I wanted… so why do I feel miserable?” You’re not alone. Too many entrepreneurs wake up every day in businesses that look successful on paper but feel like a prison in reality. In this episode, I’m breaking down how to create a values-based business—one that aligns with who you are, attracts the right clients, and gives you back your life.
If you’ve ever felt like success without alignment is failure, this conversation will change how you run your business (and how you feel inside it).
Key Takeaways
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The difference between a reactive business and a values-based business
- Why values aren’t just pretty words on your About page—they’re decision-making criteria
- How aligning with your core values can actually increase profitability
- A simple exercise to uncover your top 3–5 values today
- How to filter clients, offers, and opportunities through your values
- Why it’s never too late to realign your business, no matter how far off track you feel
Thanks for listening!
Connect With Me:
📩 Join my email list: https://www.jenncody.com
📱 DM me on Instagram: @solutonsbyjenncody
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
Hey friends, welcome to this week's episode of the
Create Your Day Podcast.
I'm your host, Jen Cody.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
If it's your first time,welcome.
If it is not your first time,welcome back.
Thank you so much for choosingto spend some of your very
precious time with me this week.
So I want to jump right in and Iwould like to share a story with
(00:35):
you.
And then what I want you to dois see if anything in this story
feels, I don't know, liketriggering for you or brings up
feelings that you may or may notbe able to identify.
But can you relate to any of it?
What sounds familiar?
What makes you stop and say,eesh, I think that might be me?
So this is not a story about areal person, truth be told.
(00:59):
I am just walking through what Isee.
So what I'm going to walkthrough is something that I've
seen with a lot of my clients,but it is not actually one
person's story.
I'm kind of synthesizingsynthesizing them into this
story I want to share with you.
So just imagine that there is aperson.
(01:19):
I'm going to give her a name.
Let's call her Michelle.
So Michelle is really exhausted.
Like the kind of exhausted thatdoesn't matter how much sleep
you're getting, you wake upexhausted, right?
Like that your brain is sooverloaded all of the time that
even though your body isresting, you're still really
(01:40):
tired, even after a good night'ssleep.
And Michelle is reallysuccessful.
She's making a ton of money,she's got the revenue growing,
she's maybe even growing a team,right?
She has people working for her,she can delegate.
She has all of the things, allof the external markers, I
should say, of a success.
(02:00):
But when I sit and I askMichelle how does she feel about
this success?
How does she feel about herlife, about her business?
She just kind of disappears,right?
She she's deflated.
That kind of question asking herto put her attention on how she
feels about her excess, abouther success, makes her feel like
(02:24):
withdrawn if she goes intoherself.
And then what she says is this Ithought this was what I wanted,
but I'm miserable.
I'm working more than I was whenI was working in some corporate
job when I had a nine to five.
I never see my family, I neversee my kids, and to be honest, I
(02:46):
don't even like the people I'mworking with.
Half my clients don't even likethem.
Can you relate to that?
This is something I actuallyhear really often.
And what I've learned throughthese conversations is that
there is a version of successthat is not necessarily in
(03:06):
alignment.
And that type of successactually feels like failure.
So that's what we're going todive into today, the difference
that it makes when you build abusiness that is based on values
versus, well, I guess whateverit is that accidentally gets
created when we just buildthings because we're trying to
(03:27):
survive.
So let's start by talking aboutwhat I mean when I say a
business based based on values.
I'm not talking about havingpretty words on your about page.
I'm not talking about building avision board with your value
words glued to it.
That's not what this is about.
A values-based business is onewhere your personal values, the
(03:50):
things that matter most to youin your life, they are actively
baked into how you operate everyday, how you make your
decisions, how you spend yourtime, who you work with, what
and who you say yes to, and whoyou say no to, and what you say
no to.
It's the difference betweenhaving values and actually
(04:11):
living your values.
Because I can tell you, as anentrepreneur, we are all about
values.
We have got our values writtendown somewhere, probably in a
journal from a workshop that youtook like a couple of years ago.
But those values, they're notnecessarily driving anything.
So instead, maybe your decisionsare being based on fear, or
(04:35):
based on money, or based onwhatever you think you're
supposed to do, whatever fire isburning the brightest that day,
the hottest that day.
And I totally understand thisbecause when you are in survival
mode, values kind of feel like aluxury that's available for
other people, like somethingthat you'll eventually get to
when things calm down.
(04:56):
But here's the thing, and thisreally did change everything for
me.
I there was a moment that Irealized that you know what?
Things don't calm down, at leastnot on their own.
We have to intentionally createthe calm, and that starts with
our values.
So let me talk some storiesagain.
(05:18):
I'm gonna paint you twodifferent pictures.
They're about two very differentbusinesses, but they have
they're in the same industry,they make the same amount of
money, their revenue is supersimilar, but there's two
completely differentexperiences.
So the first one, business A,this business is reactive.
(05:38):
So this person, she starts herday checking her email, she
immediately gets pulled intosomeone else's emergency.
So she says yes to a clientproject that doesn't excite her
because she's worried about hercash flow.
She works through lunch becauseshe's always feeling behind.
She cancels dinner with herfamily or postpones it
indefinitely until theyeventually just eat without her
(06:01):
because of a last-minute clientrequest.
You know what exactly what I'mtalking about, right?
I'm just gonna take five minutesto have this quick client call.
And before you know it, it's 20minutes, 25 minutes, 35 minutes,
45 minutes, 60 minutes later,and your family's sitting at the
kitchen table while you're on aZoom call.
(06:23):
Then maybe you fall asleepchecking the phone, anxious
about what the next day is goingto bring.
This day in the life of areactive business is exhausting.
It's as exhausting as it sounds.
Honestly, even just saying itout loud kind of made me a
(06:44):
little anxious.
And then we have business B.
And business B is a values-basedbusiness.
So this person is starting herday with a non-negotiable
morning routine.
And guess what?
This morning routine, it doesn'thave to start at five o'clock in
the morning, if that's not whatfeels good to you.
But there's a morning routinethat is non-negotiable.
(07:06):
You know why?
Because you value yourwell-being.
Then this person maybe has aclient inquiry, but they decline
it because the money, great, butthe project or the person does
not align with her values.
Maybe it's the impact that shewants to make.
(07:26):
So she protects that space bydeclining something not in
alignment.
This person also has really highvalues about around integrity,
around family.
So when a last-minute requestcomes in, it's easy for her to
uphold her boundaries because ofthose values.
(07:47):
She closes her laptop at the endof her day and is able to be
fully present with her familybecause she built a business
that serves those values.
Business A, reactive, businessB, values-based.
Same industry, same revenue,completely different lives.
And that is the power of avalues-based business.
(08:10):
And I know exactly what you'rethinking: that it sounds great
in theory, but I can't just turnmoney away.
I have bills to pay.
I hear you, I'm not suggestingyou operate recklessly and
ignore your financial reality.
Here's what I've seen happenover and over and over again.
When you get clear on yourvalues and you make your
(08:32):
decisions based on them, I canalmost promise you that
something remarkable willhappen.
You will make more money and notless.
And I'm going to tell you why,because clarity is magnetic.
When you're clear about who youserve and why you serve them,
you attract the clients that arealigned with you.
(08:55):
When you're clear about yourboundaries, you're commanding
the time that belongs to you tobe protected.
When you're clear about yourworth, you feel comfortable
charging the prices that youknow will sustain your business.
When you're clear about yourworth, you will also stop
undercharging andover-delivering, which is an
(09:17):
exhausting cycle.
How many of you are afraid toraise your prices?
But in order to then be okayfinancially, you need to work so
much more, so much harder,because the work that you're
doing is not bringing in therevenue that you know that you
need because you're notcomfortable yet with your worth.
(09:40):
Okay, so let's talk about howvalues actually need to function
in business.
Because I said earlier, it'ssuper common for entrepreneurs
to be based in values somewherein their life.
They have explored it.
They know that it's part of theprocess when they want to create
a business that is aligned withwho they are and how they want
(10:01):
to live their lives.
So values come up often inentrepreneurship, but are they
actually functioning in yourbusiness?
Or, like we said before, arethey just written in a journal
somewhere from a workshop thatyou took?
This is where we have to figureout practically how to make
things work.
So our values need to be thedecision makers.
(10:21):
They need to be the criteria,the filter that we're putting
every opportunity, every client,every project, every commitment,
they have to pass through thesefilters to see if they are
aligned with the values that wehave.
So so many conversations that Ihave about values always end up
bringing in the word family.
Every entrepreneur I speak to,part of their thought process in
(10:45):
actually becoming anentrepreneur was the freedom to
spend more time with theirfamily.
So, what does that actuallymean, though, if that's your
value?
It pretty much means that you'renot going to schedule a client
call during an activity thatyour child has that you want to
be at.
You're going to build a businessthat offers allow for family
(11:07):
time, not working around familytime.
So maybe that means you do needto charge a little bit more so
that you can have fewer clientsto hit your revenue goals.
And maybe it means you'returning down opportunities that
were would require you to, Idon't know, maybe travel too
much or um be on the phone atdifferent hours, right?
Like working in different timezones.
(11:29):
So if you're working in a timezone that is not the same as
where you are, it can present achallenge if your client is
always only available during,you know, like your dinner time
or your time that you're drivingyour kids to basketball
practice, that kind of thing.
So you want to create boundariesthat protect family.
And how does that work in yourbusiness?
(11:51):
The value isn't just a word onthe wall.
It needs to actively shape howyou operate.
And that's just with family.
There's so many other things.
So let's say you value honesty,integrity, things like that.
That means that maybe you'reonly selling services that you
genuinely believe will behelpful to people.
You're honest about yourtimelines, what results people
(12:13):
can expect.
You address problems head oninstead of avoiding like those
funky, difficult conversationsthat nobody enjoys, um, but many
people actively avoid themaltogether.
You're not going to bemanipulative in your marketing
tactics.
You're going to honor yourcommitments even when it's
inconvenient.
So your values must become theframework for everything.
(12:37):
Now, I want to put a littlecaveat in here because does this
mean that you are never going tohave to take a call during a
soccer game?
No.
Of course, there are going to bethings that happen.
But if you put this filter inplace and start to create your
business and make your decisionsthrough this filter, those
things will happen less and lessand less.
(13:01):
So I actually held a retreatlast week and one of the women
that was there really had neverthought too much about her
values.
She was like, I don't even knowwhat words do I have to choose
from when it comes to my valuesand how do I decide which ones
are important and which onesaren't.
(13:21):
So if that's something thatyou're thinking, it's okay.
There are a lot of people whodon't know where to go with this
values work because we're sobusy reacting to our life that
we never really stop to identifythe things that matter.
So I'm going to walk you througha little bit of an exercise.
You could do this right now ifyou're in a place where you can,
or save it for later.
(13:41):
Not a big deal.
But make sure you come back toit if you're not going to do it
with us right now.
So I want you to think back to atime that you felt really
aligned and energized by yourwork.
And I don't mean happy, I meanenergized, alive, like, ah, this
is what I want to do.
This is, you know, when you'rein that flow state and time just
is, you don't even know sixhours went by while you were
(14:04):
doing something.
So do you have a moment in yourmind?
Can you picture something youwere doing at that time?
Yes?
Great.
Okay, so ask yourself, whatvalues were being honored in
that moment?
So think about someone who ummaybe is a photographer or I
(14:25):
don't know why this just came tomy mind, but like somebody, a
baker who makes beautifulwedding cakes, things like that.
So when they are in that momentwhere time is just flowing and
they're not even realizing itbecause they're so aligned with
what they're doing, there'sprobably a value of creativity
that exists for them.
(14:47):
Right?
So think about for you whatvalues are being honored in the
moments where you feel mostenergized.
If you were having someone likehave a breakthrough, that might
point to a value like impact,growth, service.
Like I said, with the weddingcakes, and that could be
creativity, artistry, um, orsomeone who is a little more uh
(15:11):
cerebral, right?
Solving a really complexproblem, maybe in financial um
spreadsheets or coding on thecomputer, you know, like there's
there's so many things thatpeople do spend their time on,
that can point to innovation,challenge, mastery.
You know, there's so manythings.
And when you think about beingenergized with your work, that's
(15:35):
one way to do it.
Now think about the peoplearound you.
When you're around other people,who makes you feel energized
there?
You know, so when I had thisconversation with this woman on
the retreat, I was explainingthat one of my core values is
growth, evolution, expansion.
Um, I just, it's something thatalways makes me feel good.
(15:58):
When I'm doing work on an offerfor my business that I know will
help someone grow, I am just litup by that.
When I am doing work on myselfthat helps me to grow and
evolve, I am lit up by that.
And when I spend time withpeople who share that value, I
also feel super very, veryenergized.
(16:19):
It's hard for me to spend timearound people who don't value
their growth and evolution andexpansion, people who are just
happy to be where they are,comfortable, staying in that
comfort zone.
I don't really feel aligned withthat.
So that would not be someonethat I choose to spend a lot of
my time with.
So think about the people andthe things that make you feel
(16:42):
energized.
That will help you figure outlike what those value words may
be for you.
And then at the same time, wewant to spend time thinking
about the opposite.
So, what is a time in yourbusiness or a person that you've
been around that just drainsyou, makes you feel resentful,
like, oh, why the heck am I evendoing this?
Why am I spending any time withthis person?
(17:05):
Why am I spending any timetrying to make this work in my
business?
What values were beingcompromised in that moment?
Because it's not always, youknow, just recognizing what
lights us up, it's alsorecognizing what drains up, what
the excuse me, what drains us.
So what are the values that maybe compromised in those moments?
If you're doing work that feelsmeaningless, then valuing your
(17:30):
purpose is being ignored.
If you are working with adifficult client, maybe there's
somebody who always just callsduring dinner time or doesn't
respect your time when you say,okay, I have 10 minutes to
speak, and then they're stillrambling on 15 minutes later, 20
minutes later, your values ofrespect, autonomy, um,
(17:51):
boundaries, those are all beingviolated.
So these are the things to payattention to.
You want to see what is beingcompromised and what lights you
up.
And that's how you'll start torecognize your values.
Those patterns in the energizedmoments, those are your values.
The pattern in the drainmoments, those are also your
(18:11):
values that are being ignored.
This is how you can begin tofind them because it is a
process.
It's not something that's goingto happen overnight.
You know, like it may be reallyeasy for some of you to sit down
and just write down what yourvalues are, but for a lot of
people, they need to spend sometime going through the motions
and figuring out what rises tothe top for them.
(18:33):
Okay, so I'd like to walk youthrough a little bit of an
example here, too.
There is a person that I haveworked with and we've done a lot
of work on her core values.
And for her, once we startedtalking about it and seeing what
rose to the top, her three wordsthat she came up with were
freedom, connection, andexcellence.
(18:55):
One thing I want to say here toois there's no wrong answer.
Just be I don't want you to hearlike someone else's value words
and be like, oh wait, shouldmine be different?
What they are is exactly whatthey need to be.
So that's that.
So this person that I workedwith, her words were freedom,
connection, and excellence.
So I want to dive in a littlebit and explain to you what that
(19:16):
means so you can start torecognize how your values should
be operating in your business.
So for freedom, that means sheneeded flexibility in her
schedule, right?
She needed autonomy in how sheworked.
It was all about her controllingher time.
Connection means that she wantsdeep, meaningful relationships
with her clients, not justtransactional interactions and
(19:40):
things that are fleeting, right?
And then excellence.
Excellence to me means that shewants to do exceptional work.
She does not want to be justchecking boxes off and like
crossing the T's and dotting theI's.
She wants to do excellence,rising above really exceptional
work.
So when we sat down and lookedat her current business through
(20:01):
that filter, almost nothingaligned.
She had way too many clientsthat wanted quick and cheap
solutions.
No one was looking for arelationship with her.
It was very, very transactional.
So that actually violated allthree of her values.
But it really, she didn'trealize that that's what was
happening.
She was scheduling calls allhours of the day because she
(20:23):
wanted to accommodate everyone.
This was violating freedom forher.
She was saying yes to projectsthat were outside of what she
normally does because she neededthe money.
And that violated excellence.
You know, she was not able toturn anyone away because she was
so focused on needing thatrevenue that she said yes to
everything.
(20:44):
And so I was like, oh my gosh,you know, no wonder you're
miserable.
We need to rebuild this.
And we don't need to go back andrebuild it from scratch, but we
do need to have strategy.
We need to be strategic on howyou can take these values and
rebuild your business intosomething that is a beautiful
(21:04):
revenue-producing machine foryou that feels good and in
alignment.
So it took some work, but shewas able to get to a place where
she was raising her prices in away that she could work with
fewer clients who actuallyvalued excellence.
This was a huge moment becauseso many people are so afraid to
(21:27):
raise those prices.
You know, they don't want toturn anyone away.
Figuring out how to work withthe people who see your value is
going to be a game changer foryou.
Then what she did was she wasable to create a program that
built in the connection overtime.
So it was no longer theseone-off projects.
(21:48):
She went from like quick andeasy solutions that were super
transactional to still providingthose solutions, but through a
program that invited people into have a relationship with her.
Really, really remarkable, Ihave to say.
And then that all both of thosethings, right?
The price difference and theprogram part made it easier for
(22:12):
her to monitor her time, setwork hours that gave her freedom
to live her life.
So she was in this great place,right?
She was like, oh, I'm I'm doingexactly what I want to do with
the people I want to do it withand making the money that I need
to make.
And things were going alongsuper smoothly.
And then all of a sudden, I sawthat she was kind of creeping
(22:34):
back into that place of likedeflation and withdrawn and just
not lighting up the way that shehad been before.
So we had more conversation, andit turned out that there were
three clients that she hadidentified as really sucking her
dry when it came to her energyand her values.
So we did a lot of work aroundthat, and she needed to let go
(22:57):
of those three people.
So fire the clients, right?
Fire the clients who are suckingyour energy.
These things were not easy, butthey were strategic and they
were necessary.
And within six months, herrevenue was up.
She loved her business again.
She said to me that she wasexcited, not because everything
was perfect, but because sheactually felt that she was
(23:20):
building something that was inalignment with her and reflected
who she was.
This is the power of having avalues-based business.
When we look at our businessesabout just making money, it's
it's not going to work.
We have to figure out how do webuild something sustainable,
something that we can maintainfor the long haul without
(23:41):
burning out.
So when you don't have avalues-based business, I want to
talk about what happens therebecause I really do think this
is important.
Without values as your guide,you will end up making decisions
that are based on whatever feelsurgent in the moment.
Urgency is a terrible framework.
Okay?
Please understand that.
(24:02):
Urgency is a terrible framework.
You will say yes to clients whoare not a good fit.
You'll create offers based onwhat you just think is gonna
sell and have no thought aroundwhat do you actually want to be
delivering?
You know, like I'm sure thereare guaranteed revenue streams
out there that I can go do, butthat's not what I want to be
(24:23):
doing.
This is what I want to be doing.
And if it means it takes longer,I would rather have it take
longer.
So if you find that you're likecopying other people's work
because you feel like you don'tknow how you want to operate
yourself, that's a trigger.
That's that should be an alarmbell for you.
If you're violating your ownboundaries because you don't
(24:43):
want to disappoint anyone, youare slowly over time building a
business that is going to feellike a prison.
And I see this all the time.
People who look so successful onpaper, but they are just
miserable.
Their businesses require them tobetray who they are every single
day.
(25:04):
Eventually, something's going tobreak there.
And that can be a relationshipin your life, it could be your
mental well-being, your health,your physical health, or it the
business, right?
Something has to give in thosesituations.
So I'm telling you today, itdoes not have to be that way.
When you lead with values,everything is going to change.
You'll attract those betterclients.
(25:24):
They're going to resonate withwhat you stand for.
Your decision making is fasterbecause you have criteria, you
have a filter to put thingsthrough.
Your boundaries are being areeasier to enforce because you
know what you're protecting.
It makes sense to you.
You're not having boundariesthat are in place because you
think they're supposed to be.
You actually know why they'rethere.
(25:45):
You're charging appropriatelybecause you understand how much
you're worth.
And of course, you're buildingsomething sustainable because
it's aligned with who youactually are.
Okay, so what do you do?
Right?
This all sounds great, but whatdo you actually do?
Go back to that exercise aboutbeing energized, being drained.
Identify your top three to fivecore values.
(26:07):
Not 20, not 10, 3.
These are your non-negotiables.
The things that, like if they'reviolated, it makes you
miserable.
I will give you some examples,but use Chat GPT.
Get in there and ask ChatGPT.
Tell them what you feel energy,energized by, what you feel
drained by, and ask Chat GPT.
(26:27):
Give me some values, value wordsthat are aligned with this.
Some examples that I see often: integrity, freedom, creativity, (26:31):
undefined
family, impact, growth,excellence, adventure,
authenticity, wealth, service,um, collaboration,
communication.
Like there's so many differentwords.
And so I want you to pick theones that make you feel
something, not the ones youthink you should have.
(26:54):
Okay?
The ones you actually do have.
And then you're going to runyour current business through
the values filter.
Look at your clients, look atyour offers, look at your
schedule, the way you operate,and ask yourself honestly, is
this aligned with my values ornot?
You're probably going to findsome uncomfortable things that
are not aligned.
And that's okay, it's normal.
(27:15):
Don't panic, just notice them.
And then I want you to make onevalue-based decision this week.
So, what could that be?
Do you need to say no to anopportunity that doesn't align
with you?
Is it setting a boundary thatyou've been afraid to set?
Maybe there's a difficultconversation that you've been
avoiding, or do you need tocreate some space in your
(27:36):
schedule for something thatmatters?
Like one decision based onvalues and just see how that
feels.
Then you're going to buildvalues into your systems because
this is where it actuallybecomes permanent and part of
your operations.
Your values shouldn't just livein your head or in your journal.
They need to actually beembedded in how you operate your
(27:57):
life and business.
So if you value family, buildyour calendar around family time
first.
You know how you plot a doctor'sappointment on your calendar and
then you just do things aroundthat block.
We could do the same thing forour family.
You want to have dinner withyour family every single night
at 6.30?
Put it on your calendar.
(28:18):
And if that means you need totake a call after dinner or
before dinner, fine.
But protect that time if it is avalue of yours.
If you value excellence, whatare the systems that you need to
put in place that can createquality control?
What's going to ensure thatexcellence?
So many people value freedom,right?
But we need to design offersthat don't trap us in hourly
(28:41):
work.
What are the things that aregoing to give us that freedom?
Connection, client experience.
What's going to deepen thatconnection, deepen the
relationships?
Your systems should make it easyfor you to honor your values,
not hard.
Okay?
Easy, not hard.
So when I talk about value-basedbusiness, people worry that they
(29:02):
are going to make less moneybecause somehow we've been
conditioned to think that valuesand profit are somehow opposing
forces.
I can only speak to my ownexperience, and in my
experience, the opposite istrue.
Values-based businesses are moreprofitable because of so many
things.
But let's just name the topthree.
One, you attract the people whoare going to pay the prices that
(29:25):
you demand because you believein your worth, and that attracts
the people who also believe inyour worth.
When you're clear about what youstand for, you magnetize people
who share those values.
And guess what?
Those people, they're not goingto nickel and dime you.
They invest because they believein what you are building.
Number two, you waste less time,less energy on misaligned work.
(29:50):
Every single hour you spend witha client that's violating your
values is an hour you can'tspend on energizing work that is
aligned.
So cut out the misaligned.
Stuff, you're freeing up yourcapacity for better
opportunities.
You know, when you're so focusedon filling every hour because
every hour is tied to a dollaramount, you're missing the
(30:11):
opportunities out there that arebetter for you.
And third, you're gonna makefaster decisions, you're gonna
make better decisions.
Decision fatigue, we have talkedabout it.
It's real and expensive.
When you have clear values, youare not going to agonize over
these choices.
You're gonna know what alignsand what doesn't.
Speed is valuable.
Fourth, build somethingsustainable.
(30:33):
This is so important becauseburnout, probably the most
expensive values killer, spiritkiller.
When you quit and have to takemonths off to recover, that
costs money.
A values-based business preventsburnout, keeps you aligned and
energized.
So, no, leading with values, itshould not hurt your
(30:55):
profitability.
It enhances it.
Even more importantly, it makesthat profit so much more
meaningful.
Because honestly, what is thepoint of making six figures?
What's the point of making sevenfigures if you are miserable, if
you never see your family, yourhealth is falling apart, you're
dreading every Monday morning.
This is not success.
That's a well-paid prison.
(31:15):
Get out of it.
Before we wrap up, I want onemore thing I want to address.
So some of you might bethinking, what if my business is
built already?
What if I've already madedecisions that don't align?
Is it too late?
And it is never too late foranything.
Absolutely not.
I have worked with people who'vecompletely pivoted to align with
(31:37):
their values.
We spoke about that last week,right?
When to pivot, when to persist.
If nothing's aligned, it's timeto pivot.
That takes courage and it takestime, but it's always possible.
So some of the things you mightneed to do if you are someone
who's living in this prisonalready, there's difficult
conversations with existingclients.
(31:58):
You have to have them.
You have to get rid of offersthat are not aligned with what
you want to be doing and rebuildyour marketing around that,
right?
And around your values.
Does your marketing now reflectwho you are at your core?
Does it reflect anything aboutyour values?
Relook at that.
Set new boundaries.
Uncomfortable, right?
(32:18):
Boundaries are uncomfortable.
We have to enforce them.
And if there's revenue in yourbusiness that is costing you
your soul, walk away from it.
It is not worth it.
It's so hard to do.
But making room for the revenuethat is aligned is a
life-changing thing for you todo.
None of it is easy.
(32:38):
But what's harder is spendinganother year, another five
years, another 10 years buildingsomething that doesn't reflect
who you are.
Every single day that you spendout of alignment is a day you
can't get back.
The sooner you start therealignment process, the sooner
you get your life back.
You don't have to burneverything down.
You don't have to start overfrom scratch, but you do have to
start making differentdecisions.
(33:00):
Decisions based on values, noton fears.
All right, so let's wrap thisup.
What is the actual differencebetween a values-based business
and one that's just existing?
Values-based feels likealignment.
You're energized, you're notanxious.
Values-based, attracting theright people.
The clients find you becausethey resonate with who you are,
(33:20):
what you stand for.
Values-based decisions areeasier.
There's a criteria, a filter foryes and no.
Business is sustainable thisway.
You can maintain it for years.
There's no burnout.
And a values-based businessserves your life.
It does not consume it.
That is the difference.
And honestly, that's everything.
That is everything.
(33:42):
So if you take nothing else fromtoday's episode, take this.
Your business should amplify whoyou are in a positive way, not
require you to betray yourself.
If you're building somethingthat demands you compromise
every single day, what'simportant to you, you're
building a prison, not abusiness.
You deserve better.
Okay, so you want some homework?
(34:03):
I'm going to give it to you.
This week, I want you toidentify your top three core
values.
Look at one decision you'refacing, run it through that
values filter.
Does it align?
Does it not?
Make the values-based choice,even if it's scary, even if it's
risky, and even if it meanssaying no to money.
Make one values-based decisionand just see what happens, see
(34:25):
how it feels.
I would love to hear how itgoes.
So you can reach out to me onInstagram, reach out to me in
email, just reach out.
Let me know.
I read every single message.
Thank you so much for being heretoday.
Hopefully, you can take thisinformation, go out there,
create your day, create yourlife, create your business in
the best way possible.
And do me a favor, if thisepisode resonated with you,
(34:46):
please share it with someoneelse who needs to hear it.
Screenshot it, post it to yourstories, link a friend, leave a
review.
Honestly, that's like thegreatest thing you guys can do
to help this podcast reach morepeople.
Rate it, leave it a review.
It will help it get into theears of more people who need to
hear what we're sharing.
Okay, let's spread the message.
(35:07):
Business does not have to besoul crushing.
So if you want more things likethis, deliver it into your
inbox.
You can absolutely get my weeklyemail.
Just go to gencodysolutions.com.
I share insights, frameworks,real talk about businesses that
are actually going to serve yourlife.
So until next time, remember youare building something that
should honor who you are, noterase you.
(35:27):
Take care of yourself, take careof each other, and I will see
you guys next week.
Have a good one.
Hey friends, welcome to this week's episode of the
Create Your Day Podcast.
I'm your host, Jen Cody.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
If it's your first time,welcome.
If it is not your first time,welcome back.
Thank you so much for choosingto spend some of your very
precious time with me this week.
So I want to jump right in and Iwould like to share a story with
(00:35):
you.
And then what I want you to dois see if anything in this story
feels, I don't know, liketriggering for you or brings up
feelings that you may or may notbe able to identify.
But can you relate to any of it?
What sounds familiar?
What makes you stop and say,eesh, I think that might be me?
So this is not a story about areal person, truth be told.
(00:59):
I am just walking through what Isee.
So what I'm going to walkthrough is something that I've
seen with a lot of my clients,but it is not actually one
person's story.
I'm kind of synthesizingsynthesizing them into this
story I want to share with you.
So just imagine that there is aperson.
(01:19):
I'm going to give her a name.
Let's call her Michelle.
So Michelle is really exhausted.
Like the kind of exhausted thatdoesn't matter how much sleep
you're getting, you wake upexhausted, right?
Like that your brain is sooverloaded all of the time that
even though your body isresting, you're still really
(01:40):
tired, even after a good night'ssleep.
And Michelle is reallysuccessful.
She's making a ton of money,she's got the revenue growing,
she's maybe even growing a team,right?
She has people working for her,she can delegate.
She has all of the things, allof the external markers, I
should say, of a success.
(02:00):
But when I sit and I askMichelle how does she feel about
this success?
How does she feel about herlife, about her business?
She just kind of disappears,right?
She she's deflated.
That kind of question asking herto put her attention on how she
feels about her excess, abouther success, makes her feel like
(02:24):
withdrawn if she goes intoherself.
And then what she says is this Ithought this was what I wanted,
but I'm miserable.
I'm working more than I was whenI was working in some corporate
job when I had a nine to five.
I never see my family, I neversee my kids, and to be honest, I
(02:46):
don't even like the people I'mworking with.
Half my clients don't even likethem.
Can you relate to that?
This is something I actuallyhear really often.
And what I've learned throughthese conversations is that
there is a version of successthat is not necessarily in
(03:06):
alignment.
And that type of successactually feels like failure.
So that's what we're going todive into today, the difference
that it makes when you build abusiness that is based on values
versus, well, I guess whateverit is that accidentally gets
created when we just buildthings because we're trying to
(03:27):
survive.
So let's start by talking aboutwhat I mean when I say a
business based based on values.
I'm not talking about havingpretty words on your about page.
I'm not talking about building avision board with your value
words glued to it.
That's not what this is about.
A values-based business is onewhere your personal values, the
(03:50):
things that matter most to youin your life, they are actively
baked into how you operate everyday, how you make your
decisions, how you spend yourtime, who you work with, what
and who you say yes to, and whoyou say no to, and what you say
no to.
It's the difference betweenhaving values and actually
(04:11):
living your values.
Because I can tell you, as anentrepreneur, we are all about
values.
We have got our values writtendown somewhere, probably in a
journal from a workshop that youtook like a couple of years ago.
But those values, they're notnecessarily driving anything.
So instead, maybe your decisionsare being based on fear, or
(04:35):
based on money, or based onwhatever you think you're
supposed to do, whatever fire isburning the brightest that day,
the hottest that day.
And I totally understand thisbecause when you are in survival
mode, values kind of feel like aluxury that's available for
other people, like somethingthat you'll eventually get to
when things calm down.
(04:56):
But here's the thing, and thisreally did change everything for
me.
I there was a moment that Irealized that you know what?
Things don't calm down, at leastnot on their own.
We have to intentionally createthe calm, and that starts with
our values.
So let me talk some storiesagain.
(05:18):
I'm gonna paint you twodifferent pictures.
They're about two very differentbusinesses, but they have
they're in the same industry,they make the same amount of
money, their revenue is supersimilar, but there's two
completely differentexperiences.
So the first one, business A,this business is reactive.
(05:38):
So this person, she starts herday checking her email, she
immediately gets pulled intosomeone else's emergency.
So she says yes to a clientproject that doesn't excite her
because she's worried about hercash flow.
She works through lunch becauseshe's always feeling behind.
She cancels dinner with herfamily or postpones it
indefinitely until theyeventually just eat without her
(06:01):
because of a last-minute clientrequest.
You know what exactly what I'mtalking about, right?
I'm just gonna take five minutesto have this quick client call.
And before you know it, it's 20minutes, 25 minutes, 35 minutes,
45 minutes, 60 minutes later,and your family's sitting at the
kitchen table while you're on aZoom call.
(06:23):
Then maybe you fall asleepchecking the phone, anxious
about what the next day is goingto bring.
This day in the life of areactive business is exhausting.
It's as exhausting as it sounds.
Honestly, even just saying itout loud kind of made me a
(06:44):
little anxious.
And then we have business B.
And business B is a values-basedbusiness.
So this person is starting herday with a non-negotiable
morning routine.
And guess what?
This morning routine, it doesn'thave to start at five o'clock in
the morning, if that's not whatfeels good to you.
But there's a morning routinethat is non-negotiable.
(07:06):
You know why?
Because you value yourwell-being.
Then this person maybe has aclient inquiry, but they decline
it because the money, great, butthe project or the person does
not align with her values.
Maybe it's the impact that shewants to make.
(07:26):
So she protects that space bydeclining something not in
alignment.
This person also has really highvalues about around integrity,
around family.
So when a last-minute requestcomes in, it's easy for her to
uphold her boundaries because ofthose values.
(07:47):
She closes her laptop at the endof her day and is able to be
fully present with her familybecause she built a business
that serves those values.
Business A, reactive, businessB, values-based.
Same industry, same revenue,completely different lives.
And that is the power of avalues-based business.
(08:10):
And I know exactly what you'rethinking: that it sounds great
in theory, but I can't just turnmoney away.
I have bills to pay.
I hear you, I'm not suggestingyou operate recklessly and
ignore your financial reality.
Here's what I've seen happenover and over and over again.
When you get clear on yourvalues and you make your
(08:32):
decisions based on them, I canalmost promise you that
something remarkable willhappen.
You will make more money and notless.
And I'm going to tell you why,because clarity is magnetic.
When you're clear about who youserve and why you serve them,
you attract the clients that arealigned with you.
(08:55):
When you're clear about yourboundaries, you're commanding
the time that belongs to you tobe protected.
When you're clear about yourworth, you feel comfortable
charging the prices that youknow will sustain your business.
When you're clear about yourworth, you will also stop
undercharging andover-delivering, which is an
(09:17):
exhausting cycle.
How many of you are afraid toraise your prices?
But in order to then be okayfinancially, you need to work so
much more, so much harder,because the work that you're
doing is not bringing in therevenue that you know that you
need because you're notcomfortable yet with your worth.
(09:40):
Okay, so let's talk about howvalues actually need to function
in business.
Because I said earlier, it'ssuper common for entrepreneurs
to be based in values somewherein their life.
They have explored it.
They know that it's part of theprocess when they want to create
a business that is aligned withwho they are and how they want
(10:01):
to live their lives.
So values come up often inentrepreneurship, but are they
actually functioning in yourbusiness?
Or, like we said before, arethey just written in a journal
somewhere from a workshop thatyou took?
This is where we have to figureout practically how to make
things work.
So our values need to be thedecision makers.
(10:21):
They need to be the criteria,the filter that we're putting
every opportunity, every client,every project, every commitment,
they have to pass through thesefilters to see if they are
aligned with the values that wehave.
So so many conversations that Ihave about values always end up
bringing in the word family.
Every entrepreneur I speak to,part of their thought process in
(10:45):
actually becoming anentrepreneur was the freedom to
spend more time with theirfamily.
So, what does that actuallymean, though, if that's your
value?
It pretty much means that you'renot going to schedule a client
call during an activity thatyour child has that you want to
be at.
You're going to build a businessthat offers allow for family
(11:07):
time, not working around familytime.
So maybe that means you do needto charge a little bit more so
that you can have fewer clientsto hit your revenue goals.
And maybe it means you'returning down opportunities that
were would require you to, Idon't know, maybe travel too
much or um be on the phone atdifferent hours, right?
Like working in different timezones.
(11:29):
So if you're working in a timezone that is not the same as
where you are, it can present achallenge if your client is
always only available during,you know, like your dinner time
or your time that you're drivingyour kids to basketball
practice, that kind of thing.
So you want to create boundariesthat protect family.
And how does that work in yourbusiness?
(11:51):
The value isn't just a word onthe wall.
It needs to actively shape howyou operate.
And that's just with family.
There's so many other things.
So let's say you value honesty,integrity, things like that.
That means that maybe you'reonly selling services that you
genuinely believe will behelpful to people.
You're honest about yourtimelines, what results people
(12:13):
can expect.
You address problems head oninstead of avoiding like those
funky, difficult conversationsthat nobody enjoys, um, but many
people actively avoid themaltogether.
You're not going to bemanipulative in your marketing
tactics.
You're going to honor yourcommitments even when it's
inconvenient.
So your values must become theframework for everything.
(12:37):
Now, I want to put a littlecaveat in here because does this
mean that you are never going tohave to take a call during a
soccer game?
No.
Of course, there are going to bethings that happen.
But if you put this filter inplace and start to create your
business and make your decisionsthrough this filter, those
things will happen less and lessand less.
(13:01):
So I actually held a retreatlast week and one of the women
that was there really had neverthought too much about her
values.
She was like, I don't even knowwhat words do I have to choose
from when it comes to my valuesand how do I decide which ones
are important and which onesaren't.
(13:21):
So if that's something thatyou're thinking, it's okay.
There are a lot of people whodon't know where to go with this
values work because we're sobusy reacting to our life that
we never really stop to identifythe things that matter.
So I'm going to walk you througha little bit of an exercise.
You could do this right now ifyou're in a place where you can,
or save it for later.
(13:41):
Not a big deal.
But make sure you come back toit if you're not going to do it
with us right now.
So I want you to think back to atime that you felt really
aligned and energized by yourwork.
And I don't mean happy, I meanenergized, alive, like, ah, this
is what I want to do.
This is, you know, when you'rein that flow state and time just
is, you don't even know sixhours went by while you were
(14:04):
doing something.
So do you have a moment in yourmind?
Can you picture something youwere doing at that time?
Yes?
Great.
Okay, so ask yourself, whatvalues were being honored in
that moment?
So think about someone who ummaybe is a photographer or I
(14:25):
don't know why this just came tomy mind, but like somebody, a
baker who makes beautifulwedding cakes, things like that.
So when they are in that momentwhere time is just flowing and
they're not even realizing itbecause they're so aligned with
what they're doing, there'sprobably a value of creativity
that exists for them.
(14:47):
Right?
So think about for you whatvalues are being honored in the
moments where you feel mostenergized.
If you were having someone likehave a breakthrough, that might
point to a value like impact,growth, service.
Like I said, with the weddingcakes, and that could be
creativity, artistry, um, orsomeone who is a little more uh
(15:11):
cerebral, right?
Solving a really complexproblem, maybe in financial um
spreadsheets or coding on thecomputer, you know, like there's
there's so many things thatpeople do spend their time on,
that can point to innovation,challenge, mastery.
You know, there's so manythings.
And when you think about beingenergized with your work, that's
(15:35):
one way to do it.
Now think about the peoplearound you.
When you're around other people,who makes you feel energized
there?
You know, so when I had thisconversation with this woman on
the retreat, I was explainingthat one of my core values is
growth, evolution, expansion.
Um, I just, it's something thatalways makes me feel good.
(15:58):
When I'm doing work on an offerfor my business that I know will
help someone grow, I am just litup by that.
When I am doing work on myselfthat helps me to grow and
evolve, I am lit up by that.
And when I spend time withpeople who share that value, I
also feel super very, veryenergized.
(16:19):
It's hard for me to spend timearound people who don't value
their growth and evolution andexpansion, people who are just
happy to be where they are,comfortable, staying in that
comfort zone.
I don't really feel aligned withthat.
So that would not be someonethat I choose to spend a lot of
my time with.
So think about the people andthe things that make you feel
(16:42):
energized.
That will help you figure outlike what those value words may
be for you.
And then at the same time, wewant to spend time thinking
about the opposite.
So, what is a time in yourbusiness or a person that you've
been around that just drainsyou, makes you feel resentful,
like, oh, why the heck am I evendoing this?
Why am I spending any time withthis person?
(17:05):
Why am I spending any timetrying to make this work in my
business?
What values were beingcompromised in that moment?
Because it's not always, youknow, just recognizing what
lights us up, it's alsorecognizing what drains up, what
the excuse me, what drains us.
So what are the values that maybe compromised in those moments?
If you're doing work that feelsmeaningless, then valuing your
(17:30):
purpose is being ignored.
If you are working with adifficult client, maybe there's
somebody who always just callsduring dinner time or doesn't
respect your time when you say,okay, I have 10 minutes to
speak, and then they're stillrambling on 15 minutes later, 20
minutes later, your values ofrespect, autonomy, um,
(17:51):
boundaries, those are all beingviolated.
So these are the things to payattention to.
You want to see what is beingcompromised and what lights you
up.
And that's how you'll start torecognize your values.
Those patterns in the energizedmoments, those are your values.
The pattern in the drainmoments, those are also your
(18:11):
values that are being ignored.
This is how you can begin tofind them because it is a
process.
It's not something that's goingto happen overnight.
You know, like it may be reallyeasy for some of you to sit down
and just write down what yourvalues are, but for a lot of
people, they need to spend sometime going through the motions
and figuring out what rises tothe top for them.
(18:33):
Okay, so I'd like to walk youthrough a little bit of an
example here, too.
There is a person that I haveworked with and we've done a lot
of work on her core values.
And for her, once we startedtalking about it and seeing what
rose to the top, her three wordsthat she came up with were
freedom, connection, andexcellence.
(18:55):
One thing I want to say here toois there's no wrong answer.
Just be I don't want you to hearlike someone else's value words
and be like, oh wait, shouldmine be different?
What they are is exactly whatthey need to be.
So that's that.
So this person that I workedwith, her words were freedom,
connection, and excellence.
So I want to dive in a littlebit and explain to you what that
(19:16):
means so you can start torecognize how your values should
be operating in your business.
So for freedom, that means sheneeded flexibility in her
schedule, right?
She needed autonomy in how sheworked.
It was all about her controllingher time.
Connection means that she wantsdeep, meaningful relationships
with her clients, not justtransactional interactions and
(19:40):
things that are fleeting, right?
And then excellence.
Excellence to me means that shewants to do exceptional work.
She does not want to be justchecking boxes off and like
crossing the T's and dotting theI's.
She wants to do excellence,rising above really exceptional
work.
So when we sat down and lookedat her current business through
(20:01):
that filter, almost nothingaligned.
She had way too many clientsthat wanted quick and cheap
solutions.
No one was looking for arelationship with her.
It was very, very transactional.
So that actually violated allthree of her values.
But it really, she didn'trealize that that's what was
happening.
She was scheduling calls allhours of the day because she
(20:23):
wanted to accommodate everyone.
This was violating freedom forher.
She was saying yes to projectsthat were outside of what she
normally does because she neededthe money.
And that violated excellence.
You know, she was not able toturn anyone away because she was
so focused on needing thatrevenue that she said yes to
everything.
(20:44):
And so I was like, oh my gosh,you know, no wonder you're
miserable.
We need to rebuild this.
And we don't need to go back andrebuild it from scratch, but we
do need to have strategy.
We need to be strategic on howyou can take these values and
rebuild your business intosomething that is a beautiful
(21:04):
revenue-producing machine foryou that feels good and in
alignment.
So it took some work, but shewas able to get to a place where
she was raising her prices in away that she could work with
fewer clients who actuallyvalued excellence.
This was a huge moment becauseso many people are so afraid to
(21:27):
raise those prices.
You know, they don't want toturn anyone away.
Figuring out how to work withthe people who see your value is
going to be a game changer foryou.
Then what she did was she wasable to create a program that
built in the connection overtime.
So it was no longer theseone-off projects.
(21:48):
She went from like quick andeasy solutions that were super
transactional to still providingthose solutions, but through a
program that invited people into have a relationship with her.
Really, really remarkable, Ihave to say.
And then that all both of thosethings, right?
The price difference and theprogram part made it easier for
(22:12):
her to monitor her time, setwork hours that gave her freedom
to live her life.
So she was in this great place,right?
She was like, oh, I'm I'm doingexactly what I want to do with
the people I want to do it withand making the money that I need
to make.
And things were going alongsuper smoothly.
And then all of a sudden, I sawthat she was kind of creeping
(22:34):
back into that place of likedeflation and withdrawn and just
not lighting up the way that shehad been before.
So we had more conversation, andit turned out that there were
three clients that she hadidentified as really sucking her
dry when it came to her energyand her values.
So we did a lot of work aroundthat, and she needed to let go
(22:57):
of those three people.
So fire the clients, right?
Fire the clients who are suckingyour energy.
These things were not easy, butthey were strategic and they
were necessary.
And within six months, herrevenue was up.
She loved her business again.
She said to me that she wasexcited, not because everything
was perfect, but because sheactually felt that she was
(23:20):
building something that was inalignment with her and reflected
who she was.
This is the power of having avalues-based business.
When we look at our businessesabout just making money, it's
it's not going to work.
We have to figure out how do webuild something sustainable,
something that we can maintainfor the long haul without
(23:41):
burning out.
So when you don't have avalues-based business, I want to
talk about what happens therebecause I really do think this
is important.
Without values as your guide,you will end up making decisions
that are based on whatever feelsurgent in the moment.
Urgency is a terrible framework.
Okay?
Please understand that.
(24:02):
Urgency is a terrible framework.
You will say yes to clients whoare not a good fit.
You'll create offers based onwhat you just think is gonna
sell and have no thought aroundwhat do you actually want to be
delivering?
You know, like I'm sure thereare guaranteed revenue streams
out there that I can go do, butthat's not what I want to be
(24:23):
doing.
This is what I want to be doing.
And if it means it takes longer,I would rather have it take
longer.
So if you find that you're likecopying other people's work
because you feel like you don'tknow how you want to operate
yourself, that's a trigger.
That's that should be an alarmbell for you.
If you're violating your ownboundaries because you don't
(24:43):
want to disappoint anyone, youare slowly over time building a
business that is going to feellike a prison.
And I see this all the time.
People who look so successful onpaper, but they are just
miserable.
Their businesses require them tobetray who they are every single
day.
(25:04):
Eventually, something's going tobreak there.
And that can be a relationshipin your life, it could be your
mental well-being, your health,your physical health, or it the
business, right?
Something has to give in thosesituations.
So I'm telling you today, itdoes not have to be that way.
When you lead with values,everything is going to change.
You'll attract those betterclients.
(25:24):
They're going to resonate withwhat you stand for.
Your decision making is fasterbecause you have criteria, you
have a filter to put thingsthrough.
Your boundaries are being areeasier to enforce because you
know what you're protecting.
It makes sense to you.
You're not having boundariesthat are in place because you
think they're supposed to be.
You actually know why they'rethere.
(25:45):
You're charging appropriatelybecause you understand how much
you're worth.
And of course, you're buildingsomething sustainable because
it's aligned with who youactually are.
Okay, so what do you do?
Right?
This all sounds great, but whatdo you actually do?
Go back to that exercise aboutbeing energized, being drained.
Identify your top three to fivecore values.
(26:07):
Not 20, not 10, 3.
These are your non-negotiables.
The things that, like if they'reviolated, it makes you
miserable.
I will give you some examples,but use Chat GPT.
Get in there and ask ChatGPT.
Tell them what you feel energy,energized by, what you feel
drained by, and ask Chat GPT.
(26:27):
Give me some values, value wordsthat are aligned with this.
Some examples that I see often: integrity, freedom, creativity, (26:31):
undefined
family, impact, growth,excellence, adventure,
authenticity, wealth, service,um, collaboration,
communication.
Like there's so many differentwords.
And so I want you to pick theones that make you feel
something, not the ones youthink you should have.
(26:54):
Okay?
The ones you actually do have.
And then you're going to runyour current business through
the values filter.
Look at your clients, look atyour offers, look at your
schedule, the way you operate,and ask yourself honestly, is
this aligned with my values ornot?
You're probably going to findsome uncomfortable things that
are not aligned.
And that's okay, it's normal.
(27:15):
Don't panic, just notice them.
And then I want you to make onevalue-based decision this week.
So, what could that be?
Do you need to say no to anopportunity that doesn't align
with you?
Is it setting a boundary thatyou've been afraid to set?
Maybe there's a difficultconversation that you've been
avoiding, or do you need tocreate some space in your
(27:36):
schedule for something thatmatters?
Like one decision based onvalues and just see how that
feels.
Then you're going to buildvalues into your systems because
this is where it actuallybecomes permanent and part of
your operations.
Your values shouldn't just livein your head or in your journal.
They need to actually beembedded in how you operate your
(27:57):
life and business.
So if you value family, buildyour calendar around family time
first.
You know how you plot a doctor'sappointment on your calendar and
then you just do things aroundthat block.
We could do the same thing forour family.
You want to have dinner withyour family every single night
at 6.30?
Put it on your calendar.
(28:18):
And if that means you need totake a call after dinner or
before dinner, fine.
But protect that time if it is avalue of yours.
If you value excellence, whatare the systems that you need to
put in place that can createquality control?
What's going to ensure thatexcellence?
So many people value freedom,right?
But we need to design offersthat don't trap us in hourly
(28:41):
work.
What are the things that aregoing to give us that freedom?
Connection, client experience.
What's going to deepen thatconnection, deepen the
relationships?
Your systems should make it easyfor you to honor your values,
not hard.
Okay?
Easy, not hard.
So when I talk about value-basedbusiness, people worry that they
(29:02):
are going to make less moneybecause somehow we've been
conditioned to think that valuesand profit are somehow opposing
forces.
I can only speak to my ownexperience, and in my
experience, the opposite istrue.
Values-based businesses are moreprofitable because of so many
things.
But let's just name the topthree.
One, you attract the people whoare going to pay the prices that
(29:25):
you demand because you believein your worth, and that attracts
the people who also believe inyour worth.
When you're clear about what youstand for, you magnetize people
who share those values.
And guess what?
Those people, they're not goingto nickel and dime you.
They invest because they believein what you are building.
Number two, you waste less time,less energy on misaligned work.
(29:50):
Every single hour you spend witha client that's violating your
values is an hour you can'tspend on energizing work that is
aligned.
So cut out the misaligned.
Stuff, you're freeing up yourcapacity for better
opportunities.
You know, when you're so focusedon filling every hour because
every hour is tied to a dollaramount, you're missing the
(30:11):
opportunities out there that arebetter for you.
And third, you're gonna makefaster decisions, you're gonna
make better decisions.
Decision fatigue, we have talkedabout it.
It's real and expensive.
When you have clear values, youare not going to agonize over
these choices.
You're gonna know what alignsand what doesn't.
Speed is valuable.
Fourth, build somethingsustainable.
(30:33):
This is so important becauseburnout, probably the most
expensive values killer, spiritkiller.
When you quit and have to takemonths off to recover, that
costs money.
A values-based business preventsburnout, keeps you aligned and
energized.
So, no, leading with values, itshould not hurt your
(30:55):
profitability.
It enhances it.
Even more importantly, it makesthat profit so much more
meaningful.
Because honestly, what is thepoint of making six figures?
What's the point of making sevenfigures if you are miserable, if
you never see your family, yourhealth is falling apart, you're
dreading every Monday morning.
This is not success.
That's a well-paid prison.
(31:15):
Get out of it.
Before we wrap up, I want onemore thing I want to address.
So some of you might bethinking, what if my business is
built already?
What if I've already madedecisions that don't align?
Is it too late?
And it is never too late foranything.
Absolutely not.
I have worked with people who'vecompletely pivoted to align with
(31:37):
their values.
We spoke about that last week,right?
When to pivot, when to persist.
If nothing's aligned, it's timeto pivot.
That takes courage and it takestime, but it's always possible.
So some of the things you mightneed to do if you are someone
who's living in this prisonalready, there's difficult
conversations with existingclients.
(31:58):
You have to have them.
You have to get rid of offersthat are not aligned with what
you want to be doing and rebuildyour marketing around that,
right?
And around your values.
Does your marketing now reflectwho you are at your core?
Does it reflect anything aboutyour values?
Relook at that.
Set new boundaries.
Uncomfortable, right?
(32:18):
Boundaries are uncomfortable.
We have to enforce them.
And if there's revenue in yourbusiness that is costing you
your soul, walk away from it.
It is not worth it.
It's so hard to do.
But making room for the revenuethat is aligned is a
life-changing thing for you todo.
None of it is easy.
(32:38):
But what's harder is spendinganother year, another five
years, another 10 years buildingsomething that doesn't reflect
who you are.
Every single day that you spendout of alignment is a day you
can't get back.
The sooner you start therealignment process, the sooner
you get your life back.
You don't have to burneverything down.
You don't have to start overfrom scratch, but you do have to
start making differentdecisions.
(33:00):
Decisions based on values, noton fears.
All right, so let's wrap thisup.
What is the actual differencebetween a values-based business
and one that's just existing?
Values-based feels likealignment.
You're energized, you're notanxious.
Values-based, attracting theright people.
The clients find you becausethey resonate with who you are,
(33:20):
what you stand for.
Values-based decisions areeasier.
There's a criteria, a filter foryes and no.
Business is sustainable thisway.
You can maintain it for years.
There's no burnout.
And a values-based businessserves your life.
It does not consume it.
That is the difference.
And honestly, that's everything.
That is everything.
(33:42):
So if you take nothing else fromtoday's episode, take this.
Your business should amplify whoyou are in a positive way, not
require you to betray yourself.
If you're building somethingthat demands you compromise
every single day, what'simportant to you, you're
building a prison, not abusiness.
You deserve better.
Okay, so you want some homework?
(34:03):
I'm going to give it to you.
This week, I want you toidentify your top three core
values.
Look at one decision you'refacing, run it through that
values filter.
Does it align?
Does it not?
Make the values-based choice,even if it's scary, even if it's
risky, and even if it meanssaying no to money.
Make one values-based decisionand just see what happens, see
(34:25):
how it feels.
I would love to hear how itgoes.
So you can reach out to me onInstagram, reach out to me in
email, just reach out.
Let me know.
I read every single message.
Thank you so much for being heretoday.
Hopefully, you can take thisinformation, go out there,
create your day, create yourlife, create your business in
the best way possible.
And do me a favor, if thisepisode resonated with you,
(34:46):
please share it with someoneelse who needs to hear it.
Screenshot it, post it to yourstories, link a friend, leave a
review.
Honestly, that's like thegreatest thing you guys can do
to help this podcast reach morepeople.
Rate it, leave it a review.
It will help it get into theears of more people who need to
hear what we're sharing.
Okay, let's spread the message.
(35:07):
Business does not have to besoul crushing.
So if you want more things likethis, deliver it into your
inbox.
You can absolutely get my weeklyemail.
Just go to gencodysolutions.com.
I share insights, frameworks,real talk about businesses that
are actually going to serve yourlife.
So until next time, remember youare building something that
should honor who you are, noterase you.
(35:27):
Take care of yourself, take careof each other, and I will see
you guys next week.
Have a good one.
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