If we were grabbing a cup of coffee together and had a few minutes to talk, what would you ask me?
I asked this question on my Facebook, Instagram and the Classy Career Girl Network Group while we are on a family road trip to Colorado. Got quite a lot of responses and I was so excited to answer them all.
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Coffee Chat and Q&A with Anna Runyan
Johannalin85: What is your cup of coffee of choice?
Regular drip coffee with vanilla syrup and almond milk. Honey if at home. Really trying to not drink so much caffeine. I don’t need it. I just like the taste. Some days I need it in the afternoon. But mornings I am usually pretty awake because I have been getting enough sleep now.
Goghfurther: How to understand the business side. I’m creative and numbers confuse me.
As you grow your business, you’ll learn the finances with time. In the beginning, make sure you have a separate bank account for your business and a financial system like Quickbooks set up. If possible, hire a bookkeeper to help you keep track of everything. Look at your income and expenses daily. Set financial goals for your business. The good news is that if numbers confuse you, you can hire it out eventually. But you do need to learn yourself as well. It’s part of being an entrepreneur, being uncomfortable and learning as you grow!
Singleche: How to react if your boss doesn’t like you and she is bullying you and she says bad things about you in the meeting?
First of all, if you need to report this boss to HR because of bullying, do it. Bullying is not acceptable. If it’s something you think you can get past, then try to not let this get you down. No one has time for drama. If you feel comfortable, you can bring this up to her or the people she spoke with. Otherwise, be confident in who you are and what you bring to the table. And also start that job search now just in case things get worse. You are worth more than a company that treats you badly. There’s a better company out there for you, trust me.
Ellielakelife : How do you stay so organized? ????
Creating weekly reviews sessions with myself so I know my top priorities each week truly helps.
But honestly, I say no to pretty much everything. I’m organized because I have very few things on my plate. My family and my membership community, CLASS. Over the last year I simplified my life so I don’t have a million things on my plate anymore.
And of course our small and mighty team at CCG helps me stay organized plus my incredible husband too.
You can download my free 90-day planner that helps me stay organized.
Gamu94 : How do you train yourself to stick to your schedule when life seems to keep disrupting it????
It’s totally normal to have a million interruptions. That’s why you need to know your priorities each week and each day. So if you have just one thing you need to do each day then when you get interrupted, you just have to remember to do that one thing when you get back to work. And when you wake up, do that one thing. And when you have a 10 minute break, do that one thing. Pretty soon that one thing is done and you can be proud that you got your one thing done each day.
I think we set ourselves up for failure when we try to do 20 things each day and don’t get them all done. That’s just not possible so I don’t live with that stress anymore like I used to.
I rarely have a schedule because my life is crazy with the kids at home now. So instead I create priorities for my day and when I get small chunks of time, I take advantage and only work on my priorities.
Maraatheaa: What’s your quarantine routine?
Good question. Every day is different but I have been doing a good job sticking to a morning routine that’s slower than I used to have before Covid. I start my day with checking in online at CCG, answering q’s and checking finances and our member group. Then affirmations and gratitude journal, yoga with my daughters and a podcast or audiobook to learn something and get my brain going. Followed by making breakfast and getting my daughter set up with her homeschool.
I usually do work during nap time or during a break when my husband can watch the kids. We try to do daily walks around the neighborhood and eat as much as possible at home so we usually make lunch and dinner too. Once a week we go to grandma and grandpa’s house so John and I can get a little break and catch up on work. I do work occasionally in the evening as well after kids go to bed. That’s what I’m doing right now!
Life_in_red_high_heels: What are you daily “must-do’s” for a super productive day?
Starting the morning with yoga or stretching, affirmations and gratitude. And making sure I know my top priority of the day and I’ve asked for help if I need it.
Janrunyan: How are YOU doing and how may I help you?
Ah thanks. ❤️ I’m doing really well actually. 2020 has been a life changing year for our family but I am really enjoying homeschooling and the quality time our family is getting to spend together.
Alexis Henry: How does she stand firm in the decisions she makes?
Any big decision I talk over with my husband. I’ve made some big ones this year like closing down groups I used to run and leaving communities I was part of. To me it’s knowing what my long term vision is and my personal values and making sure I make decisions based off those 2 things. You can’t go wrong when you do that and get another person’s opinion too!
Jessy Santana: How did you get your husband to not only support you in transition but love it so much he joined you?
We never planned this! What happened was he started to see the momentum I was building after years and years of blogging. I showed him my finances each month and he could see that I was really really happy. We both knew what could be possible if I had more time and more help. He also saw how overwhelmed I was as a new mom and we both knew I couldn’t be a full time mom and a full time career coach. So in 2014, he quit his job and joined me to raise our daughter and work alongside me at CCG as our Operations Manager. Thank goodness too because I needed major help!!
I never pressured him or even really asked him to quit. I just did the work, hustled my butt off and then showed him it was working! That’s what I would recommend. You have to show him the numbers!
Jocelyn Quall: Where is that sweater from?? ???? And then more seriously, how did you manage competing priorities when you were starting out? Day job, side hustle, momming…
It was from Rent the Runway but unfortunately I can’t remember the brand.
How did you find time with your day job and side hustle?
My number one strength is focus on the Strengthsfinder so I made sure to use batching as much as possible so I would only focus on my day job during certain hours, and my dream business got my best hours-first thing in the morning!
I knew that I needed the day job to support my side hustle so I was grateful for it but always made sure that the second I left work, I put my entrepreneur hat on by listening to podcasts on the drive home.
I left work at work. And I did a good job at my day job but I stopped giving 150%, I stopped trying to be perfect and stopped trying to get a promotion anymore. This allowed me to still have energy and brain power to work on my dream business in the early mornings and evenings.
Nothing was or is easy. But having a vision and knowing my why made the tougher times a little easier to manage.
My daughter was born a few years after starting out. I did a podcast all about managing motherhood.
Johannalin85: Will I ever fully understand the CLASS and the PLAN in C.C.G?
You are doing so well! Just keep taking those baby steps in our membership and you’ll be able to see your progress in no time!
There is a lot to the success paths because we have 6 phases. So take your time and don’t be afraid to go back later on to the foundation and repeat. This is something I do myself every year.
Your career is a never ending thing. You’ll always be growing and changing and that’s the benefit of our membership. What you need on day 0 is different from what you need on day 100.
