CONNECT with Sheila Botelho Podcast

Building a Solid Foundation for Your Business and Well-Being | Ep 461

• Sheila Botelho

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Every thriving business is built on a solid foundation, but what does that look like in practice? In this episode, I’ll unpack the small, intentional habits that fuel long-term success, both for your business and your well-being. Whether you’re starting out or scaling to the next level, the key to sustainable growth begins with you.


We’ll explore why your health as a founder is a non-negotiable and how it impacts everything—from your leadership to your team’s energy. I’ll also share practical tips on aligning your daily actions with your bigger goals and how to course-correct if your systems and habits aren’t serving you.


This isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about building a business and life that feel aligned, fulfilling, and sustainable. If you’re ready to set a new standard for how you show up for yourself and your work, this episode is your blueprint.


PS: Thanks so much for listening. I would love your review! If you enjoy what I share in this episode, rate, Review & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/connect-with-sheila-botelho/id1527363160 I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Sheila:

The daily habits and practices that no one else sees are what create the visible results in your life and business. It's not just about the big, flashy wins. It's about the small, consistent actions that add up over time. Hi, welcome to the Connect with Sheila Botelho podcast. I'm an entrepreneur, self-care strategist and creator of the Seasons self-care app. I'm committed to helping you reconnect to your purpose, elevate your well-being and build your version of a happy, successful life. And today I want to dive into something that comes up often in my work with clients, and that is building a solid foundation for your business. That is building a solid foundation for your business.

Sheila:

You may think you know what I'm going to talk about, because this is often the unglamorous behind the scenes work that most people don't talk about, but it's absolutely essential if you want to scale successfully and sustainably. And once again, you may be nodding along saying yes, yes, this is true. However, I'm going to be taking a different spin on this than what you may have heard in your previous experiences. If you are a high achieving founder who has built something amazing but is now looking to scale to the next level without burning out, this episode is for you, so many of the people that I work with have come from the place of starting something on their own, being a solopreneur, and then growing it larger, building a team to come alongside of them, and in doing so, sometimes some habits along the way never fall away, which can sometimes hold them back. Let me share what I mean by this. As you know, every business starts with its founder, so if you're in the early stages of building your business, everything revolves around you, your schedule, your habits and the actions that you take every day. You are truly the engine of your business, and if you're not doing the work, no one else is, and no one is often there to hold you accountable to it, unless you've hired a coach or somebody to do so. This is why your schedule becomes the number one priority. It's not just about what you want to get done. It's about what needs to get done.

Sheila:

If your daily actions don't align with your larger goals, you're going to feel stuck, and it's often the little things, the seemingly mundane habits, that make the biggest difference, things like going to bed 15 minutes earlier, prepping meals ahead of time, setting your clothes out the night before. You may think these are really tiny little things that have nothing to do with business, but truly these small shifts help you build momentum in your life and then, when you get good at that and become consistent at that, they create massive results over time, not only in your life, but in your business too. As your business grows, you will eventually bring in team members and when that happens, everything changes and likely you have teams. If you're listening to this episode, you likely have at least a small team who's helping you in some regard, and when you grow and when you have these team members join you in your venture, everything changes Suddenly. It's not just about your schedule anymore, it's and here's the thing your team will model what you do, whether it is intentional or not. They'll pick up your good habits. They'll pick up your bad habits Hopefully not, but I mean, let's be realistic. This is often what happens Leaders lead and people follow. So this is why it's so important to set the standard. If you are clear, consistent and intentional about your own actions, personally and professionally, it creates a ripple effect throughout your team. But if you're disorganized or constantly putting out fires, that energy trickles down as well, and your team will reflect the energy and systems that you ultimately bring to the table. I often say that the speed of the founder determines the speed of the business, but there is a caveat the health of the founder determines the sustainability of that speed. So if you're not taking care of yourself, your ability to lead, to make decisions, to show up for your team will eventually decline, and when that happens, the entire business feels it.

Sheila:

Now let's talk about growth. If your business has grown quickly, first of all I want to celebrate that. Congratulations. It's a huge accomplishment and you may see, as that happens, that alongside of rapid growth often means that you have a few little holes to plug as well, to keep up in your systems. Like, maybe you added new systems, maybe you hired people on the fly just to meet the demand Sometimes customer service or the backend delivery of something. This is a good problem to have, but it's not sustainable long-term in terms of operating your business.

Sheila:

At some point you really need to step back and address the gaps what's working, what's not, what needs to be restructured so your business can run more efficiently. Like I mentioned, this process is not glamorous, but it is necessary, and if you keep moving forward without addressing these foundational issues, you'll eventually hit a wall, and that's when growth stalls or even reverses, and I've seen this happen in my own life. I've seen it happen in countless clients' lives, and one of the most common mistakes that I see founders make is waiting until later to focus on themselves. They think I'll prioritize my health. After this lunch or once I hit this next revenue goal, I'll take a break. But that is putting the cart before the horse. When you really break it down, you need to treat yourself like the priceless asset that you are right now.

Sheila:

Your wellbeing is not a reward for success, it is a requirement for it. Your wellbeing is not a reward for success, it is a requirement for it. And when you prioritize your health physically, emotionally and mentally it changes everything. Your relationships improve, you show up better as a leader, your energy becomes magnetic and you start attracting the right clients, team members and opportunities. People notice when you're operating from a place of strength and clarity. They're really drawn to it. They also notice the opposite and it can become an aversion to them wanting to do business with you. So this brings me to one of my favorite metaphors.

Sheila:

Building your business is like building your dream home. It is so tempting to skip the fun parts the paint colors, the furniture, special accessories, like I picture, a baby grand piano in the corner, a fireplace separating offices with my hubby None of that matters if the foundation isn't solid. The unsexy work pouring concrete, setting the structure, waiting for it to cure, making sure everything's all in alignment, getting out the level these are the things that make everything else possible. Take a look around your neighborhood. Is there any building being constructed? Have you looked at any building sites saying, oh my gosh, when is this thing ever going to be done? And then all of a sudden, one week you look, you're like whoa, there's three floors put on that building. What happened? It's because the majority of the time has been spent building that foundation, digging it up, making sure all of the environmental stuff is in place and putting plumbing in and electrical and all of that kind of stuff. You know, grounding the electricity Hello, that comes first right. So the same is true for your wellbeing.

Sheila:

The daily habits and practices that no one else sees are what create the visible results in your life and business. It's not just about the big, flashy wins. It's about the small, consistent actions that add up over time. She wins. It's about the small, consistent actions that add up over time. And let me tell you, when you do these things, there's a sense of fulfillment that comes along with building your self-trust, saying I'm putting this thing in action and I'm actually going to do it. There's nothing like it. When you get this right, when you're strong in who you are physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally everything else becomes easier. You start attracting the right opportunities, the right collaborations, the right ideas, the right clients and the right people to help you grow and you create a foundation that supports the next level of your business and life.

Sheila:

Now I've had the privilege of working with clients who've done this work and witnessing it from the outside, cheering them on and seeing them go through the tough stuff of the unglamorous work and really the mindset blocks that can come into it and also the embodiment blocks that are there. It is absolutely incredible to witness that once they have their systems dialed in, their self-care prioritized and their teams aligned, they can focus on the work they truly love. The organization that they've created, all of the flow of their life, is truly helping them, not just survive and just say, okay, one more day I can do this. They're actually thriving. And here's the thing the real work often begins after you laid the foundation.

Sheila:

Launching a new product, scaling your business, reaching a new audience requires you to operate at a higher level, and that's why it's so important to prioritize your wellbeing now. So if you're running on empty before you even start, the process will feel overwhelming. It'll definitely take way longer than it should, but when you're strong, clear and grounded should. But when you're strong, clear and grounded, you can handle the challenges with ease. I'll leave you with this you are the most important asset in your business. The more you invest in yourself, your health, your habits, your mindset, the more your business will grow.

Sheila:

It is not just about perfection at all. I just want to tell you there is no such thing as perfection. I think I've mentioned that a number of times. It truly is about growth and progress and, like I mentioned earlier, self-trust. It's a good feeling when you put your hat on the pillow at night, knowing that you did what you set out to do, maybe imperfectly, but you took the steps. So listen, I really appreciate that you show up for yourself in this way by listening to these episodes, and I hope that you'll take some of this to heart and implement it in your own daily practice.

Sheila:

I hope this inspired you to take a closer look at what your foundation looks like, both in your business and your life, because it really I mean honestly, business it's just, it's another relationship. The way I look at it, right, it's a relationship with you and your ideas, a relationship with your team, with your clients, so it does translate into other areas of your life as well. Now, if you're not sure where to start in order to really take a look at strengthening your foundation, I do invite you to download my free resource, the Embodied Success Method and Meditation. It's a simple, powerful tool to help you get clear on what building this foundation looks like for you. Everybody's foundation is different, but there are some pivotal things that are really similar.

Sheila:

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Reach out to me on Instagram, text me. You can see a spot to text me in the show notes. I am always here to connect and make sure this resource the Embodied Success Method and Meditation you can grab it in the show notes as well. I am so grateful for you and until next time, I wish you all the best. Have a beautiful rest of your day, big blessings, thank you.