Why 2023 was a bad year for my business, and why I’m ok with it!

Today’s episode of the podcast is a personal account of the honest and sometimes uncomfortable struggles that I faced last year, that resulted in 2023 being a complete flop for my business.   KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST What happened to me in 2023 and the transformation that followed The one goal I am so proud to have achieved last year Why I am starting a new podcast, that launches today I would like to thank you in advance for listening to this podcast, and for your continued kindness.   LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE Listen to my new podcast, 'Losing Part Of Me', right now Connect with Teresa on Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook   Transcript Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Your Dream Business Podcast. Okay. I feel very nervous today about what I'm going to talk about. I feel like I've ridiculously teased it and built it up, maybe for you guys, but a lot in my own head. But I, and I've written no script. I've written, not that I script my podcast, because you know, I can't read things in public. But I normally have a few notes about what I'm going to talk about, whereas today I have nothing. So I really hope to goodness, this is not the first episode you're finding from me because otherwise it's going to be quite an unusual one. I have started a new podcast and the reason I've started a new podcast is because last year my business and my life did not go how I expected. In fact, it was probably financially one of the worst years in my business, but I'm not at all concerned or bothered by that because I did something so ginormous that nothing else could have been dealt with in my world apart from me dealing with this one thing. So basically, Last year in 2023, I spent the year getting sober and I have decided that I want to start a podcast, which is only going to be one season at this point. I don't know whether it will be more ever or not, but it's one season of a podcast and the podcast is called losing part of me. Because getting sober wasn't just a nice thing for me to do and it wasn't just a I would feel so much better if I didn't drink scenario. I had an addiction to alcohol. I choose not to use the term alcoholic. I don't like it and I don't find it helpful for me. I'm sure there's people out there who find it helpful for them, but not for me. But the truth is I had an addiction to alcohol. And I have decided to share this with the world, which now I'm regretting slightly, but I have decided to share this with the world for a couple of reasons. The first reason is From a business point of view and from a you listening to this podcast point of view, I pride myself on being authentic, on being vulnerable, being honest. And that is one area of my life that I've not been, not even to myself. And it's really hard for me to go through something so massive in my world and not share it with you lot and not share it with the people who are in my world, which is you listening to this podcast. I know that obviously. I do share lots. I do share lots about me. And I said before many times that my aim is to share the scar and not the wound. So when I was in it last year, literally fighting to get through every single day, I wasn't in a place where I could share it with you. But now I am. So that was one of the reasons I wanted to tell people and wanted to share it on this podcast and create a new podcast. But the other reason I've done it, there are a few different reasons, but another reason I've done it is because in the years running up to me finally stopping alcohol and the year of me getting sober. And obviously I'm still getting sober. I'm still sober. But in the last sort of four ish years, I have consumed no end of books and podcasts and information and even workshops and masterclasses and webinars about alcohol. And one of the things that made the biggest difference for me was understanding that I wasn't on my own. And I wasn't broke, that there were many reasons why I had this addiction and many reasons why I should be kind to myself and not fill myself with shame every time I had another drink. I am so, so flipping proud to say that I am now one year and 24 days sober at the point of recording this episode. By the time you hear, I'll be more sober than that. Because This wasn't a decision of it would just be better for me. This was almost verging on the, I would have ended up killing myself. And I don't mean committing suicide. I mean, I would have drank myself into an early grave. I'm sure of it. And I know. If you guys have been following me for a while and listening for a while, hopefully you won't have known and you won't have realized and you won't have thought, Oh, I think she's got a problem or she's struggling with this. And I showed up most days and I ran my business and I made money and I had a successful business. I have a successful business, but deep down, everything was a mess because I was a mess because I couldn't get through a day or two without drinking and it was getting worse and worse and worse. So, like I said, I wanted to be honest on this podcast. I wanted to, I wanted to share it as well for the reason of, you know, how we always set goals or I'm a big goal setting fan and, and last year I set a load of goals for 2023. And I did none of them. And I'm laughing because There is not an ounce of me that is sorry about that because the one thing I did to get sober has changed my life. So I'm not sorry that my business didn't make as much money as it normally makes. I'm not sorry that I didn't launch the new things that I said I was going to launch. I'm not sorry that I literally spent half the year sat on the sofa watching Grey's Anatomy. And by half the year, I mean, I spent all year doing it, but it probably equated to about half of my working year. I literally did that. For most of last year, and I'm not sorry one little bit. I'm not at all concerned that that's what I did because I did something ginormous. I changed something in my world that I never thought for one second I could change. If you'd asked me 18 months ago, do you think you'll ever stop drinking? I would have a hundred percent said, There's no way I could. I never thought for one second, I didn't want to, I didn't want to stop drinking. I didn't want to not have alcohol in my life. I didn't not want to be able to drink the copious drinks of gin and wine. And it was part of me. It's part of my brand. If you are listening to this and if you follow me. You know, I used to do G and T with T. I'd go live on a Thursday with a gin and tonic. I have so many photos in my photo shoots that is me holding glasses and there's not fake drinks in those glasses that I'm holding. Like they're genuine drinks and I am genuinely drinking them. is so part of who I am, is so part of my persona and my brand and my business, that that was another reason why I felt like I had no choice but to share that I have gone through this. The other reason I decided to share it, and I had a friend who spoke to me and he He's actually, his company has edited my podcast, the Losing Part of Me podcast, the new one. And he said to me, you know, you don't have to do a podcast. You know, you don't have to share it with the world. You could just say I don't drink anymore. But there was a part of me that was scared and not, I'm not as scared now, but there was a part of me that was scared that if I didn't share with people how hard it's been for me to stop, how, how much I've had to fight to break this addiction, if someone offered me a drink, or if I was in a position where no one knew that I didn't drink, back in the day, I wouldn't have been able to trust myself. Now I trust myself completely, but it's just easier if people know that I don't want to drink and I don't drink because I can't, because if I have one, I won't stop. And believe me, I know that for a fact, because I have tried everything prior to stopping. I wanted to be one of those people who would just have one and then could have no more. And that is not me. And that is not how it works for me. And if you are one of those people, then I am in awe of you, because that's not how my brain works. And I wish it did, because that means I could still drink, but. Even saying that means that's the reason why I shouldn't be drinking. So, what I have decided to do is I've just put this one episode together for this main podcast for my podcast because I know I've got lovely listeners like you that listen all the time and I couldn't not share that I'd been through this. What I didn't want to do is get caught up in all the details over here on this podcast, because this podcast is about me supporting you grow your business and creating the life and business that you dream of, which luckily, I have been able to do while drinking, but now I feel like I'm on fire. I feel like nothing can stop me. There is nothing in the world I can't achieve. I honestly feel like I can take on the world right now and I am excited to see what I achieve for other people and what I can help other people with. And I am ready to do it. So I'm...