Success on Jodi Katz’s Terms | Journey to Small-Business Success | Meaning of Success | Key To Achieving Work-life Balance | How to Define Success for Yourself | Final Thoughts
Building a business requires intense focus, energy, and commitment. Any successful entrepreneur can tell tales of long hours, hard work, and little to no reward in the early stages.
However, they would also likely tell you about the people who have helped them get to where they are today. This is because businesses are rarely built by one person alone.
That’s the message that Jodi Katz, author of Facing The Seduction Of Success: Inspiring Stories On Leading In Business While Living Your Life, would share if you asked her how she built her creative agency.
As the owner of Base Beauty Creative Agency, Katz has learned a lot in the 15+ years she’s been building her business.
Here are some of her thoughts on building a business and defining success on your terms as an entrepreneur.
Success on Her Terms
At the time of Ramon Ray’s interview with her, Katz had just returned from a vacation. She went on an Alaskan cruise with her family, which includes a husband and two children, ages 11 and 14.
The trip included trivia games, salmon fishing, whale watching, and other activities. What did it not include? Smartphones.
Katz says she and her family embarked on the trip without technology, using the time as a digital detox with no WiFi access.
They spent time together as a family and had a chance to enjoy Alaska without letting their phones get in the way of their vacation.
All of this was possible because Katz has built her business to run smoothly when she steps away from it whenever she desires.
This did not happen overnight. It happened slowly and methodically as Katz created her version of a successful business.
The Journey to Small-Business Success
Katz was not always able to take vacations where she could unplug. She explains that in the past, most Augusts were crisis months.
Clients would leave, or big problems would ensue. And she would be forced to have “Please don’t leave us” conversations with clients, even while taking time away from work with her family.
“I was happy not to have those conversations on this trip,” she says.
This is because she has built a leadership team that can solve any problem. She has grown the business to where if she’s not around, it doesn’t matter.
“That’s where I finally am this year, able to have a calm August vacation,” she adds. No email, no Slack, no social media, no news websites. Just her and her family, snapping pictures and living in the moment.
The Meaning of Success
Katz recommends business owners take a trip like this where they’re forced not to have internet access.
Not only was she able to unplug, but she also gained even more clarity on what success and work-life balance look like for her.
Katz, whose book is based on her “Where Brains Meets Beauty” podcast, explains that she is not looking to become a billion-dollar business.
For her, it’s about making money, doing something she loves, and having freedom and flexibility.
“That’s where I’m wealthy,” she says. In other words, success looks like being able to decide to go on a vacation, be offline, and trust her team. “This is what I’ve been working toward for 15 years,” adds Katz.
- Related Read: 5 Habits That are Holding You Back from Success
Jodi Katz’s Key To Achieving Work-life Balance
Katz’s vision started as simply wanting to be able to work and be a mom in the way she wanted (children weren’t in the picture then).
She wanted to be able to go to Mommy and Me gymnastics on a Tuesday, she says.
Fast forward to having two children and taking them to gymnastics, and she would get stressed out by the experience.
This is because she had her phone buzzing in her pocket, preventing her from being fully present with her children.
“I was seduced by the phone,” she admits. “It was eating into what I was hoping to be joyful about.
It took months to figure out — and years to figure out how to get where I wanted to be next: having an experienced leadership team to lean on.”
How to Define Success for Yourself
Right now, success for Katz means being able to do the things that bring her joy while running her business.
For others, it might mean building a billion-dollar business that requires grinding away and having no time for family or friends.
Here’s what Katz has to say about defining success on your terms.
1. It’s Your Success, Not Someone Else’s
Defining success is personal. “I get to define success for myself, and I get to follow where my heart is going. And I can change my mind,” she says.
2. Success Requires Faith
We don’t have control over many things in the world. However, our intentions can move us forward, and it requires faith to keep taking steps in the direction of your dreams.
But once you surrender to that faith, you can relax and let go of the worry. Keep your feet moving, and you’ll work toward your goals.
3. Success Is a Mindset
Focus on what you can control: yourself, your actions, and how you react to the world around you.
This mindset enables you to put your ambitions out there in a way that lets you focus on yourself and invent success for yourself.
4. Say No
“I say no a lot,” says Katz. “I’m quite excited to say “no” because I’m thinking about what my priority is at this moment.”
That might mean saying no to new business if it’s not a good fit. Or it could mean prioritizing kids over work. It’s all about proper time management and focusing on what’s most important, moment by moment.
- Related Read: Hack Your Brain! 5 Strategies Successful Entrepreneurs Employ to Unlock True Potentials
Final Thoughts
As you build your business, remember that this is not a one-size-fits-all path. You have to create success in a way that’s right-sized for you.
When you do that, you can rest assured that you will meet the goals you desire in a way that works best for you.
As Katz says, quoting a line from her book, “At the end of the day, there’s room for all of us.” That is to say; all businesses can succeed in a way that makes sense.
Additional resources:
About Jodi Katz
Jodi Katz is the founder and creative director of Base Beauty Creative Agency, a beauty and wellness company that has been running for 15 years. Her omnichannel branding agency develops everything its customers see or touch.
Katz is also the host of a 5-year running podcast, “Where Brains Meet Beauty,” where she shares intimate conversations with beauty leaders about what motivates them each day. As an author, her debut book, “The Seduction of Success,” was released worldwide on June 7, 2022. To learn more about Katz and her agency, go to https://www.basebeauty.com/.
