Winter: hibernation & regeneration.
Oh my love, it’s a deep Winter for you right now. This can sometimes feel like a dark, slow time – but I promise you that there is magic and light to be found even when it feels hard to notice.
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Winter seasons in business are seasons of introspection, regeneration, and deep pauses. As creative business owners, we can embrace the season of Winter in a couple of ways.
First of all, reflecting on what led us here and how we can move through it is vital in helping us acknowledge what we need to learn from, but also help us take steps forward to move into another season. Strategic, well thought through decisions and choices are what matter most in Winter.
Although Winter seasons might not be everyone’s favourite, I also think that they are sometimes a necessity. They don’t have to happen often, or even every year, but when they do embrace it in every way that you can.
In nature, Winter is necessary for the plants to have time to completely shut down and then start to regenerate. They need rest as much as we do, so that they are more able to grow once Spring returns. And even though in that rest cycle it might seem like there’s nothing happening… underneath the surface a whole world is regenerating, recycling and repurposing its energy into new growth.
And that’s what Winter will be for you – a period of deep thought, pausing, and rest… but that allows you to more fully grow once your next season is on its way.
What this result means
How this result impacts you, your work & your business
Winter seasons in business are an invitation to slow down, to pause and deeply think, and think creatively. They require extreme patience, because often Winter season feel far longer than they actually are. Winter seasons also help to grow your own resilience, as you move through it and learn how to make more strategic choices in your work.
Winter can be a magical season that, for me, brings about a sense of calm. Yes, there are the struggles with lower amounts of light during the day and we might feel called to go inwards, and to hibernate more – to step back.
While Winter is a season of hibernation – it’s a time to reflect and go inwards, but we also need to do more reflection *and* analysis than any other season so that we can figure out during this period of stillness what led us here.
Although it might feel pointless, continuing to market throughout a Winter season is so important. We are human, and we are all craving comfort, connection, and inspiration for our own work. By showing up, even when it feels hard, you’ll provide more stability for your business long term than you would if you stopped showing up and then had to build up from scratch again.
Remember that although Winter may feel dark, it’s an opportunity for you to regenerate, to try new things, and to reflect on your journey. And even when there’s more stillness than before, it can also help guide you towards more stability long term if you take the right actions while you’re in this season of business.
How to grow more intentionally in a Winter Season
Although Winter can feel like a harsh season at times, it also holds within it a unique opportunity for growth and intentionality that no other season has.
Winter can also offer a sense of calm – where the earth is still and there seems to be little movement. This allows us to also get still and to dig deep into what we truly, honestly want for our work and for our work to gift to us.
Winter allows us to go to that extreme depth and review, reflect, and reconsider what has happened in our business over the previous season. If we look at both our successes *and* our failures (though I never think there’s ever a true failure in our work, only a learning moment) we can extract from it all the most valuable threads of insight and knowledge that we need to help create and shape our future strategies, projects and goals. By choosing to learn from these past experiences we can help ourselves to move forward instead of getting stuck in the dark depths that Winter can also hold.
Winter, for me, also becomes more of a kind of creative vortex than any other season. Something about the way everyone steps back inspires an energy in me that nothing else ever does – and I love to use this time to cultivate new ideas, nurture my creativity and get my hands dirty in new projects and ideas. There’s something about that quieter time that allows my mind to be more open and to come up with more ideas or fresh ways of thinking.
It’s almost as if Winter is a cocoon where your ideas and dreams can take shape before transforming into something else even more beautiful in a future season. Even if you feel down on your luck, allow yourself to dream big and dream of “what could be” in your future seasons of business.
How to harness this seasonal energy
Embrace the rest you need
Winter is beautiful and magical season that invites us to slow down, step back, reflect, and embrace the depths of what it can take us to. Although we can typically try to keep going at the same pace all year round, Winter is a reminder that we also need our seasons of rest and regeneration. We need to build in space to simply be, to rest, and to have the time to reflect and also nurture our creativity.
Get support where needed
I also find that Winter is a natural season of seeking out others who can help me get from where I am to where I want to be. I naturally start to try and surround myself with other people who inspire me, who have success in areas that I want to have it in, but that also push me to step into more of what I want to do in my own work.
Remember that growth isn't linear
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The benefits of this season
Although Winter is a slower season, it still brings huge benefits for you and your business! Embracing the slow nature of the season is something that can actually fuel your growth - that idea of stepping back to truly gain more momentum over time rings so true here.
You're able to step back when needed
One advantage of the Winter season is that you don’t need an excuse to step back, reflect, and sit deeply with your thoughts around your work. It’s almost called for at this point in time, so that you can truly make the steps forward that you need to in your next season.
What matters to you is clearer
Winter also gifts you the chance to work out what really matters to you in your work and how you can make decisions that are based in both fact (your data, past results, and evidence based research) with creativity (experiments, your own vision for your work, and intuition).
We see more clearly what we stand for
I also feel like Winter gives us the chance to truly figure out what we stand for and how we can make decisions with integrity and that are truly values-led. Leading from a place of our values means that we can make decisions that don’t just benefit ourselves, but that serve the larger vision and mission we have in place for our work.
It invites in huge transformation
Winter is also a time of intense regeneration underneath the surface, so be gentle with yourself while you go through what, at times, might feel like massive changes or transformations. This is a gift of the Winter season, where we go to such depths that we unearth a lot - and it can also feel a little overwhelming (more on that in the next section).
However, feel free to embrace the slower season of Winter and nourish and nurture your self and your mind through it all. The more that you can rest (and hopefully not feel you have to recover) the more that you can hit the ground running in your next, more action-filled season.
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The challenges of this season
However, like any other season, winter also presents its own set of challenges that we need to navigate carefully, and with as much grace (for ourselves!) as possible.
You can become too comfortable
Firstly, you become comfortable in this season, where you are able to go with the flow and don’t feel the same pressure that’s placed on you as the other seasons. It becomes more easy to sit in the phase of reflection and not feel the pull to create strategic plans or actionable project plans. It’s important to remember though that you also need to keep marketing, taking action and taking steps forward with your business (even if they’re super small ones!) so that your business can keep growing and *stay* in business.
You stop moving forward
It's also important to strike a balance between the deep analysis of Winter and also taking action. It’s so easy to get stuck and caught up in every detail, overanalysing, overthinking and overcomplicating everything. And it’s totally normal, I end up stuck in this for at least a few days every time I feel like I’m living in a Winter season! One of the things I’ve learned is that putting a time constraint around how long I’m allowed to sit in that deep analysis mode really helps me - both in making sure that I analyse everything I need to, but I don’t get stuck there.
You get stuck in decision-making
Another challenge is that you might become slower at making the decisions that need to be made. While a Winter season in business encourages deep reflection, it’s also essential that we make decisions as quickly as we can (without compromising on the quality of the work) so that we can keep moving forward instead of getting stuck in the deep snow that Winter can bring. Learn to trust your instincts and that inner voice that knows exactly where to go, and make decisions confidently.
Finally...
Your best next steps
Finally, let’s explore the best next steps you can take to make the most of the Winter energy that your business is experiencing right now.
Finally, let’s explore the best next steps you can take to make the most of the Winter energy that your business is experiencing right now!
First of all, allow yourself to truly step back, slow down, and gift yourself some time to deeply reflect on your work, your brand foundations, the projects you’ve worked on in previous seasons, and analyse the good, the bad, and the messy in-betweens. Allowing yourself the time to focus on what has *happened* - whether it filled you up or drained you - and then reflect on what that has meant for you personally and in your business is vital to know how to move forward afterwards.
Keeping in mind that you want to reflect, remember to not let yourself get stuck in that process. Use what you’ve learned through your reflections to:
Don’t forget that although this is a time for slowness and pausing, you can still take action during this season! Trust in yourself & what you know you can do to keep carving your own path when it feels right and most aligned.
Don’t forget that this season is all about regeneration and rest - make sure to give yourself the time to step back and simply rest, without having to think, reflect OR take action. Gifting yourself that time and space will also help you pour back into your business in the next season, as you’ll be fully rested and able to do so.
And remember that this season can really be whatever you want it to be - for me, it’s a creative vortex filled with energy and spirit that inspires me to experiment more! Whatever this season looks like for you, trust that it’s the right path for you in this season and trust in yourself to explore it even more - you never know where it might lead you.
How I can help you
How I can help you make the most of your Winter season
If I may, I'd love to offer you a couple of ways that I can offer you more support during this season of business - simply read on to find out more!
Grow your brand through *every* season
Seasons
Doors are open until April 1st!
This is the ultimate group program designed to help you adapt and evolve your brand in alignment with the different seasons of YOUR business. It’s my belief that we can’t all follow the same cookie cutter templates or ways to do things, because we’re all so beautifully unique and we live through different seasons of our business. What works for one season won’t work for another – and for good reason!
Inside of Seasons, you’ll find monthly trainings on a specific theme, with clear and seasons-aligned action steps for you to take afterwards. Plus, we’ll gather around the virtual campfire for our weekly Campfire Chats where you can submit questions and get extra, personalised support. But that’s not all – there’s also seasonal planning reviews from me personally, guided meditations to ground yourself into the intention of each month, and journal prompts to reflect on your growth. Seasons is a chance for you to root into your next season and focus on creating intentional growth in a community of incredible like-minded souls.
Plan your next season
1:1 Seasonal Vision Workshop
If you’re inspired by the energy of the seasons & nature, in this workshop we’ll sit down together on a call and help you gain a deeper understanding of how the season of business that you’re in can influence your work, how you show up, and the actions you take moving forward. Together, we’ll create a clear and actionable plan tailored & personalised specifically to your energy, time or other needs, and designed to leverage these seasonal shifts for your growth and to help you work towards your goals.
You’ll also receive my seasonal planning template as a roadmap to help guide you and keep you on track long after we’ve met and all through your next season, where you can come back to it time and time again. If you’re ready to improve your focus, get more done (whatever the season) and grow your inner confidence in how to navigate your business through each season then this is the perfect workshop for you. Don’t let planning keep you stuck in the weeds – let’s explore the magic of your next business season together!
