Explorers Issue August 2017 | Page 39

MADEXXXX MADEINC boundaries and expectations to maintain the health of the relationship over time and in light of necessary self-care! this week, you know that your furniture won’t be on the lawn when you get home. Budgeting and priorities is the new cool. VALUE YOUR TIME In order to protect your time, you have to value it. To those that aren’t entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship is often viewed as unlimited free time to do whatever you want, without the realization that real work has to occur in order for dollars to come in. Set your goals, and evaluate every opportunity based on them. Before agreeing to meet with someone, whether in-person or virtually, ask the nature of the meeting. A 60-minute meeting can turn into a 4-hour task when you consider travel time, etc. Ask yourself: is this worth a workday? ENJOY EVERY LEVEL We all have something that we are aiming for that we’ve not yet attained, but there are many lessons to be learned on every level. If you try to skip steps, you won’t know the formula to sustainability. Living through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship will make your story that much more impactful. Breathe, and enjoy the journey. GET ORGANIZED If you’re not organized, you won’t know how to leverage a team, even when they are standing right in front of you. Delegation requires that you have clear systems and processes that you can pass on to someone else as a standard for how work should be completed. Even if you’re not in the team building stages yet, getting organized will help you to focus and prepare you for more. Aaja Corinne Magee is a Chicago-based image and personal branding strategist, specializing in helping leaders and exper