Welcome to Quarter TWO of 2023! Holy cow! How did we already get here? I don’t know about you, but time is truly flying by this year. I’m so excited to be wrapping up quarter one and moving into quarter two of 2023! This specific time of year is a sweet spot of excitement for what’s to come. The seasons are changing, and the energy of Spring and Summer is arriving. I’m so excited about the warm weather, brunches outside, yoga in the park, long walks with friends, and the warm sun shining. Something about this energy has me revved up for this challenge, 2023 Your Best Year Yet, April edition! This year, I promised to offer monthly updates on my goals and progress to help hold each other accountable for our goals and resolutions for all 365 days.

I’m particularly excited about this month’s update because I’ve had some recent revelations that I’m excited to implement/ take action on. In the last few updates, I highlighted where I was falling short. I couldn’t come to one specific conclusion as to why until recently. Over the last two weeks, I’ve felt a little sad about my work. I was angry that I felt sad because I realized I was achieving everything I had wanted, but it didn’t feel as fulfilling. I realized I was spending far too much time on the client side of things. It left me little to no time for myself and my personal business goals. So, my goal for Quarter Two of 2023 is to rediscover my spark and continue seeking balance (my word of the year) in my personal and business life.

March Reflection & April Progress

Mindset

My mindset is definitely where I’ve been struggling the most in terms of progress. I’ve been in a very ebb-and-flow state recently due to the client overload I’ve been facing. After the first of the year, things really took off for La.Rue. In less than three weeks, I signed almost a dozen clients to the Creative Studio and coaching packages. I was so gungho about signing clients and growing my portfolio that I didn’t think about the actual amount of work I was taking on. In February and March, I was putting in over 60 hours a week of work, trying to keep up (and always excel) with client goals and expectations. I bit out far too much than I could chew. But, I recently realized the wonderful lesson I’ve learned in this short time. I do not want to only work with clients.

I have such enormous goals for La.Rue long-term. If I don’t leave myself any time in the week to dedicate to both personal and business growth outside of signing clients, I will never achieve those goals. It felt awkward admitting that I didn’t want to sign as many clients. But that’s an amazing part of business growth. As I lean further into the luxury (and intentional) market, I’m allowed to be more selective with the clients I take on. So even though these last two months felt completely draining on me physically and mentally, I’m so proud of myself for learning this lesson and seeing my worth. This, in turn, has given me the liberty to raise my rates again, which is very exciting.

Resistance

I think the resistance I’ve been facing was and continues to be to growth because I was leading myself on a path to burnout. I’ve just felt so overwhelmed with client work that I feel exhausted when I finally have time to work on anything else. I’ve noticed recently even with content creation, I’ve had a lackluster attitude toward it. It feels like I’m just throwing in the time to write a blog or record the podcast when I can. This morning when I was journaling, I was writing out my ideal life as it is with circumstances now. I realized I miss the wellness side of my life. I miss the girl who dedicated her day to intentionality—who read, meditated, journaled, and practiced EFT daily.

In this honest journaling, I saw that I missed the freedom I had before the success came in. And even admitting that feels a little weird, but it’s part of the growth. I’ve resisted progress because the only progress I’m making is for my clients and their businesses. I want to find that balance between the client and myself and zoom out even further to business and myself. Over the next quarter, I will limit myself to six active clients at once, giving myself the time, space, and energy to explore my goals. This is achievable. The world of intentionality teaches us this. We can have it all.

How I’m Growing in April

April 1st falls on this upcoming Saturday (I know this comes out after). It will be a rainy and gloomy day here, and I’m looking forward to spending the day organizing, planning, and reprioritizing. I’m going to take a nice wellness day to myself to go over my goals, progress, and figure a few things out. I want to be intentional with my time and make sure I’m setting myself up for success. Entering into a new quarter of the year is a perfect time for a hard evaluation of yourself. I’m going to set new goals, switch up my routines a bit, and rearrange my schedule to ensure I’m working toward that balance I seek.

Want to follow along even more on the journey to make 2023 your best year yet: April edition? I’m also updating you and going into far greater detail once a month on the podcast! You can follow along there and subscribe to the La.Rue Thrive Hive Newsletter as well to follow along for updates on my 2023 progress. I’ll update you on the podcast on how I plan to improve next month. I’ll continue talking about what resistance I’m facing and what solutions I plan to find! I encourage you to comment below on your progress so far in 2023 and how you plan to improve. Feel free to drop any questions in the comments, and I’ll see you next month!