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Today we are talking about the #1 question I get asked…

How do I know WHICH business to start? 

SUCH a big topic that this is the first thing we focus on in The Aligned Female Entrepreneur Business Building course – because it is THE foundation that everything else is built on.

But today I’m going to give you the quick and dirty to help you get clear, get confident, and get PAID.

Here’s the deal… your most profitable business idea is where your purpose, your unique skill set, and what your ideal client is willing to invest in all overlaps.

In other words, if your purpose is to paint seashells and your skillset is painting on small surfaces, but there is not a client pool actively looking for this and wanting to invest in it, this is aligned with your purpose and gifts, but not a profitable business, so we’d call this a hobby. 

On the other hand… where your skillset and what people are willing to pay you for intersects, that is usually a job. For instance, you know how to do interior design and a company needs an interior designer. They will hire you. 

But sometimes, even if your skill set matches the thing people are willing to pay you for, it might not be aligned with your purpose, and no matter how GOOD you are at what you do, you will feel like something is missing. 

But when your purpose, skillset, and what people are willing to pay you for collide… THIS is your SWEET SPOT. This is where you find the most alignment, the most fulfillment, and have the potential to make the most income.

I LOVE helping women figure out what this SWEET SPOT is for them because when you create an aligned business you don’t ever feel like you are working a typical JOB – in fact most women I work with say they can’t believe they get PAID for doing what they do because they love it so much.

When you have a business aligned with your sweet spot, you actually feel ENERGIZED by your clients and your work rather than drained.

Since an aligned business is also something that utilizes your natural gifts, it often feels easy. 

Because it’s aligned with your purpose, it’s deeply fulfilling… you know deep in your bones you are doing the world you were put on this planet to do – literally the BEST feeling EVER. 

The absolute best part is when you are doing powerful work aligned with your purpose and you’re really freaking good at it, people are willing to pay you top dollar, so that means you have an ease-ful energizing career that pays you good money and gives you the ultimate financial freedom.

It is a win-win-win-WIN!

So how do you find this magic combination for yourself?

How do you know which idea to run with and build a business around and which to keep as a hobby or a job? 

Today I am going to walk you through a simple, but powerful exercise… so grab your pen and paper because we are going to get to work! 

Take out a piece of paper and fold it into 3 vertical columns. 

Here we go!

STEP 1: Clarify your Purpose

Your purpose is not something that lands in your lap. Most people think that’s how it works. Either you know it or you don’t. But living in alignment with your purpose is a life-long process of being in direct communication with your inner truth, or the divine.

Clarifying your purpose happens when you look at your life and especially your hardships, as if they have deep meaning. In Yogic Philosophy, we call this ishvara pranidhana – or surrender to the spiritual. 

The truth is, it’s usually the things you LOVE that you are meant to do – it’s not selfish or vain to pursue them, actually those gifts and desires were placed on your heart by the divine. 

So if you love art or dance or music or yoga or helping others, it’s not crazy or naïve to want to weave these into the work that you focus on for 40 hours or more each week.

It just makes sense. 

Again, when you align your business with your passions and passion, you actually have the GREATEST CHANCE FOR SUCCESS.

TAKE ACTION NOW: write down…

1. What you are passionate about? 
2. What do you love?  
3. What are you naturally good at?

Examples:

-Health and wellness

-Meditation

-Trail running

-Helping people find love after heartbreak

The next part of clarifying your purpose is to look at the hardships you have overcome. 

For example, I struggled with a 10 year eating disorder and wanted to make sure that no other woman had to go through the pain and suffering I went through. So I built my health coaching business with purpose as the backbone. The business was the fulfillment of the promise I made to the divine. 

Next, in the same column, write down:

1. What breaks your heart in this world? 
2. What struggles have you overcome that have made you who you are today? 
3. What hard-earned wisdom have you acquired along the way?

Examples:

-Running a Marathon

-Overcoming a heartbreak/divorce

-Finding my connection to God

-Traveling the world on a budget

STEP 2: Clarify Your Unique Skill Set

In the next column, write down all of your skills and talents…

Examples: 

-Good listener

-Highly creative

-Yoga Teacher

-Reiki Master

-Project management

-Breaking down complex ideas and making them easy to understand

These can be natural talents like being a good listener or skills you’ve picked up along the way, like public speaking or presenting complex subject matter really clearly. 

STEP 3: Identify Your People

This is honestly the part most people miss or skip. 

We get so focused on our purpose that we quit our job and say, “ok Universe, I took the leap, now how do I make this into a business!” Or you might take a bunch of training courses without working with many actual clients. 

Without people knowing what you do, trusting you, and wanting to invest in themselves THROUGH you, you do not have a business, you have an expensive hobby!

So ask yourself – who needs what I have? Where is there a proven business model or market for what I want to offer?

Let’s take one of my clients as an example. We will call her Sarah.

Sarah has a deep connection to spirit and has always loved helping others and felt deeply connected to nature and to God for most of her life. She wanted to become a healer and help others. 

Her skill sets were:

-Excel

-Project management

-Deep listening

-Reiki certification

-Holding space

-Yoga

-Social media marketing

-Public speaking

So in this column, for “her people” she would put the following:

-People who want to learn yoga

-People who want reiki healing or energy clearing

-Someone who needs a project manager

-Someone who needs a social media manager

NOW we need to get creative and feel into what is most aligned… for this example, Sarah has some options

Option 1: she could be a project manager or social media manager for a more holistic-type business and probably get paid – that would be a job.this is actually what she did. 

Option 2: She could teach drop in yoga and do reiki – this would be a recipe for soul-centered work but honestly I would probably consider that a hobby because that would be a LOT of yoga classes to teach to make a full-time income. 

Option 3: What would be the best of these? Where would her mission, her skillset, and her people intersect?

Here’s what we came up with for her sweet spot…

Sarah used her project management skills and social media marketing to promote her programs and services, her reiki and yoga skillset became part of her offers, and she used her ability to listen deeply and hold space and manage a project to offer “spiritual coaching,” a high-end offer in addition to the drop in classes. 

When she aligned her business with her sweet spot (her purpose + skill set + what people wanted to pay her for), she went from making around $50k a year in her job + teaching yoga to over $100k in her first year of business as a spiritual coach!

This is exactly what I teach you how to do in The Aligned Female Entrepreneur. My purpose and greatest skill is being able to take in ALL you have done and know and are capable of and channel it into a profitable business that you LOVE AND helps you be of service in the world.

Because the truth is there are people out there right now who are looking for EXACTLY what you have to offer in the WAY THAT ONLY YOU can offer it. 

So right now I challenge you to come up with at least THREE ideas for your business that combine column 1, 2 and 3. Your purpose, your skills, and what people will pay you for. 

Then I want you to rank those in order of what lights you up and what you have seen proof of out in the world that could make you a living. 

THIS is your sweet spot! 

THIS is the business you want to start creating NOW like your life depends on it, because, in fact. It really does.

Of course this is just the TIP of the iceberg… to learn more about how to create a profitable business you LOVE, binge listening to this podcast full of free coaching and business building tips – reach out to me at info@krissyleponard.com if you are interested in learning more about working together! 

I love you and can’t wait to see what you CREATE!

Join us in The Aligned Female Entrepreneur.