#13 - Revive Your Business

Hey there!

This past week was a rollercoaster, partly because I got sick and partly because I had to stop drinking coffee (due to being sick), which gave me two days of intense headaches. It literally felt like the sky was pressing my head down to the ground with no mercy. Now, I'm considering taking the chance to quit drinking coffee… bur whatever. Let’s get to the point.

So, that was the bottom of the rollercoaster. The top of the rollercoaster was that I gave my first workshop for multiple brands at the same time! It was so much fun, and it turned out to be more of a group mentoring session than a workshop. This was part of an experiment for something I'm building this year.

“Discover Your Unique Story” was the title of the workshop. One thing I knew, and the workshop proved me right again, was that behind an “I need a defined identity” exist two main pressing questions: “What do we do next?” or “How do I communicate that?”. You know, identity is how we navigate life, and for business, it is how we navigate decisions.

That's why a good portion of clients I've worked with, doing brand strategy and business alignment, were in the midst of changing their business model. This is a situation where BOTH of those pressing questions are extremely relevant.

There are many reasons that drive a change in a business model. But from what I've seen, for businesses that have been around for 10+ years, I could summarize them into two: expansion and disconnection.

Expansion: They want to scale the business, usually to the digital realm.

Disconnection: The company was mainly operationally focused. They've been doing, doing, doing, until there's a moment when the founder looks around and thinks, "I don't want to keep doing this for the next 10 years." This was not what we were supposed to become.

Either way is not an easy decision. It takes time to process it all and let it sink in. After all, we all want what is on the other side of change, but only a few of us are willing to go through it to get there.

Even if you’re not considering a change in your business model, today’s question will help you gain perspective and refine and realign what you’re doing moving forward.

Changing how you see your business changes everything.

If you could start it all again, what would you do differently?

How does this question help you?

1. This question gives you perspective by helping you to see the bigger picture when looking back.

2. It helps you to reconnect with the original intention of what you wanted your company and brand to become.

3. It helps you to reassess what you've built up to this point and what the path forward is that you want to pursue.

Let’s discover your answer by breaking down the question:

Part 1: "If you could start it all again”

• Knowing what you know now, reflect on your business journey from the very beginning to this point:

  • Brainstorm what worked really well that you're proud of.

  • Brainstorm what didn't work so well, and why.

  • Brainstorm what did work well in theory but for some reason you didn't feel proud or fulfilled about that happening.

Part 2: “What would you do differently?”

• Based on the first part of the question, consider what you would have done differently and why.

• Perhaps you would have put even more focus and energy on the things that worked well, or maybe you wouldn’t have made certain decisions. Maybe you would have taken more risks?

• By looking back and noticing what you would have done differently, it is very likely that you will gain some insight into what your next steps should be moving forward.

So the real question we're trying to answer is:

What does the path you have taken so far tell you about the path you want to take moving forward?

Now, it’s your turn…

Action step

👉 Set aside 20 min to work on your version of this prompt to get the clarity you need to set your business for authentic growth.

Warmly,

Nathalia Montenegro

P.S : Ready to find out exactly what you need to do next to grow your business?

Here's how I can help:

• If you haven't yet - connect with me on Linkedin or Instagram to get weekly insights on aligning your brand and business for authentic growth.

• Want guidance to reposition, realign or consolidate your brand & business? Book a complementary clarity call with me here.

PS2: New here? Read the previous issues of this newsletter here.