Digitally She Does It Podcast

EPISODE 112: The magic of taking action (even when you don’t feel like it!)

• Karen Davies • Season 1 • Episode 112

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In this episode of Digitally She Does It, I’m diving into the magical power of taking action in your business even when you don’t feel like it!

Taking that first step can feel daunting, especially when self-doubt creeps in, but I’m here to remind you that every small action builds momentum and moves you closer to your goals.

I’m sharing my personal journey of overcoming self-doubt and imposter syndrome feelings I know many entrepreneurs face. I’ll also reflect on what it meant to win the Digital Business of the Year award and how pushing through moments of uncertainty led me to this incredible milestone. 

Throughout the episode, I explore the importance of perseverance, gaining clarity, and consistently taking small steps forward, even when the path isn’t always clear.

If you need a boost of motivation and practical insights to keep moving forward, this episode is for you.

I’ll be encouraging you to embrace discomfort, trust the process, and recognise your true potential because you are capable of so much more than you realise. So, if you’re ready to take action and make things happen in your business, let’s dive in!


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Karen Davies [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to the digitally she does it show. This is episode one one two and in today's episode I'm going to be talking about the magic of taking action in your business even when you don't feel like it. So let's jump right in and let's get started. Welcome to the Digitally. She does it show. I'm your host, Karen, and I'm here to lift the lid on what it actually takes to create a successful business. If you are an ambitious creative ready to build a business on your own terms and without compromise, then this podcast is perfect for you. 

With my award winning approach to marketing, and expert knowledge in creating online courses, this show will leave you feeling inspired, energised, and ready to bring those big dreams to life.

Karen Davies [00:00:51]:
Join me each week for a dose of motivation and marketing know how along with actionable step by step strategies to help you accelerate your businesses grow. So let's dive in and don't forget to subscribe to all my upcoming episodes which drop every Wednesday. 

Hello, and welcome. Thank you for joining me today. I'm your host, Karen, and I really do appreciate you hitting that play button to listen to today's episode. Now in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about the magic of taking action in your business even when it's the last thing you feel like doing. But before I do, I just want to mention the Digital Creators Hub. This is your one stop shop for getting started online.

Karen Davies [00:01:39]:
Now I'm super excited because I've been in the hub, and I have made some changes. I've I've done some updates, and there's some great stuff in there. So if you're not in the hub, head on over to my website, www.karen-davies.com/hub. It's completely free. There's no cost, but it's just something that I've created that's gonna help you to get started online. So go and sign up today. Okay. So back to today's episode.

Karen Davies [00:02:11]:
So I have some news that I am excited to share with you, and that is on a Friday night that you've just been, I won the digital business of the year award at the Kent Women in Business, which is local to where I live. So I live here in The UK. I live in Kent, and we have an amazing business community. And there are a lot of women that are pioneering in the business world, building businesses that make incredible changes and differences to the community around them. And so every year, these awards are held in recognition of those women that are leading the way. And I'm so excited that not only was I able to get through as a finalist, but also that I won my category, which I'm just absolutely thrilled about. Because being a digital business, it's somewhat different to be in a business that trades offline. I still feel as though we are in a relatively new space.

Karen Davies [00:03:25]:
So even though the the online world has been around for a long time, building profitable businesses online is is still, in the great scheme of things, relatively new. And so for the, the awards to recognize that digital business is equally as important, honestly, I was just over the moon and and also to win my category as well. Now, obviously, I jump behind the mic every single week, and I try and teach or share something that's going to help you guys to move forward. But behind the scenes, I am working extremely hard building a business that supports my life, my family's life, and also gives me what I need as well. And I absolutely love teaching and sharing sort of my knowledge and skills with my members and my audience so that I can make a difference in people's life just by sharing what it is I know, and I absolutely love it. And what I really value about the awards is that the entire process, it's like holding a mirror up. You have to look at what you've been doing, what you've achieved, and the metrics and the data that sits around your business's performance. So everything is evidence based.

Karen Davies [00:04:57]:
So in order to be able to apply for the awards, you need to be nominated. So I was fortunate enough that a client nominated me for the award. But then once you once you get through, you have to evidence base the performance of your business and why you think that you deserve to win that category. So it has to go down to the data and the performance of your business. Now, of course, impact and all of that good stuff is equally as important. But I think for me this time around, going through this process, it made me realize just how far I have come in the past two years. Because two years ago, I was also in the awards, and I won two categories. I won digital business of the year, and I won creative business of the year.

Karen Davies [00:05:53]:
So I won my categories for that time around. So what's been great is being able to see that that two year period and what has been achieved in those two years. Now every single day, I show up in my business, and I am constantly moving it forward. And I don't always feel like it. Sometimes, I just cannot be bothered or I'm tired or I have stuff going on, things with the children, life in general, and it can be really hard. And then the other thing that also comes into play is how I feel at times because five years ago, I moved over from the creative space. I was running my branding and web studio, and I moved into the online course space because I developed a really strong passion for being able to teach people how to monetize then their knowledge, their skills so that they can create an impact in their world. And over the past five years, it has been very much an uphill.

Karen Davies [00:07:05]:
I wouldn't say struggle. I don't think struggle is the right word, but what I would say is that there's been a it's been a steep learning curve for myself because naively, when I decided to shift spaces, I thought my audience at that time that I was working with would be interested in what I was then moving into. And then what I realized was that, actually, what I offer is at a different part of the journey. It's at a different stage. And, actually, in order to make what I'm doing a success, I almost needed to go back to the beginning, which impacted so many aspects of my business. I had to I had to drop it, because I took a step back from delivering creative projects. Naturally, it affected my revenue. It also affected how I needed to be presented because I was moving from more of a business brand into a personal brand, and also the content that I was creating and the way that I was showing up.

Karen Davies [00:08:14]:
So at the time of moving into the new space, I looking back, I didn't appreciate really what was involved. I had this idea. I had a feeling that it was a the right move, and I did it. But but looking back, I was really naive in terms of what it would take to make this a success. So over the past, say, five years, I I officially, I probably launched it in October 2020, and then it's taken me quite a bit of time to get it going. So, you know, now we're in, what, 2025. It's five years, and it has been a steep learning curve. It's there's been a lot of work involved.

Karen Davies [00:09:01]:
I've had to show up, stay focused, you know, really think about what it is I'm creating, what I want to achieve, and it's been a lot of hard work. And, of course, naturally, there's been that imposter syndrome as well because I haven't always felt as though I wouldn't say worthy because I think we're all worthy, but that feeling of just not feeling good enough. And I think in business, because we are required at times to put ourselves out there in order to get that visibility, we have to push through the the discomfort of how we are feeling in order to be able to move forward. And so this time around in going through the awards process, I was able to focus more on the data and the the results and the achievements. Because two years ago, the the awards that I won, it was almost like that there was recognition that I'd my business was valid. My offering was valid. What I was doing was being recognized. However, this time around, it's been more about the growth and the metrics.

Karen Davies [00:10:24]:
And I think going through that process, it's forced me to look in at the performance of what I'm doing and to make judgments as to whether everything's going in the right way. Can I do better? Am I maximizing opportunities? Is my messaging landing? All of this all of this stuff that really is important when you're when you're growing a business. So with that in mind, I wanna just talk about something that I think that many of us struggle with. Not because we don't believe in ourselves or we don't believe in our capabilities, but because we are often in a place of discomfort. And with that comes that imposter syndrome, that nagging voice in the back of your head, you know, that says to you, who do you think you are doing what you're doing? Why you? Who's gonna listen to you? It's a real thing, and I think that so many of us can end up feeling crippled by it. And even when we have an absolute passion for the work that we do, and most business owners run their businesses because they have that passion, imposter syndrome is something that can actually stop people from progressing. Because it's that feeling of just not feeling good enough, of thinking that you do not belong in that room even when you have worked really hard to be there. Now I felt it many times.

Karen Davies [00:11:58]:
I felt it when I launched my first course. I felt it when I started this podcast. Who's gonna listen to me? What on earth have I got to say that's valid or important or worth listening to? And, honestly, even though this is my second time of going through the awards and winning, even when I'm sitting there waiting for the announcement, I'm thinking, well, I'm not gonna win because there are so many other people that are better than me, and why why would they choose me? And I think that's the tricky thing about imposter syndrome. It doesn't always go away. No matter what success you create for yourself, it never goes away. What you have to do and what I've learned to do is deal with it, to not let it stop me and to recognize it for what it is. So I really wanna talk about the magic of taking action because there are many times where life is happening and you don't feel like you wanna do your business. You just I don't know about you, but there are times where I feel like if I could just put a pause, put a pin on it, go and do something else, and just come back to it when I'm ready because I'm not in the right frame of mind.

Karen Davies [00:13:22]:
Many times that's happened. It could be that things are going on in my family. It could be things going on in life generally. You know, there there could be a whole array of things that could end up making you feel like the last thing you wanna do is rock up at your desk and deal with clients and do the work that you need to do to to bring in that income. But I think what's really important is the times when we feel like that, we persevere. We carry on, and we take action even when it's the last thing that we actually want to do. Now the things that could stop you from taking action is simply down to clarity. I know that's to be true for many people, especially a lot of members coming into my membership.

Karen Davies [00:14:12]:
Nine times out of 10, it'll be the fact that they lack clarity. And because they don't have that clarity, they feel overwhelmed. And because they feel overwhelmed, they're not taking action. But the thing is if we wait for clarity, if we wait for that feeling of feeling ready, we'll never get started. We'll never take the first step and move forward. And I think the more action you take, the more that you prove to yourself when you are feeling like that you can't do it or it's too big for you or you're not the right person to be doing this, the more action you take, the more you prove to yourself that you are capable. So think about something that you have maybe been hesitating on. Maybe you're hesitating on getting started with your online course, or it may be that you're hesitating in launching your course or showing up on video or just simply putting an offer out there.

Karen Davies [00:15:13]:
Now I know when you do something for the very first time, it is super scary, but every successful entrepreneur knows that in order to achieve something big, in order to achieve the success that you want, you have to take that action. You have to take that action even if you don't feel ready. When I first started my business, I literally had no idea what I was doing. I don't come from a family of entrepreneurs. There is no one in my family close to me that has started a business, So I had no idea what it was that I was doing. I only had an idea. I had an idea, and I had a desire. And I showed up.

Karen Davies [00:16:03]:
I showed up, and I went no networking. So I put myself in the environment of the people that I wanted to be around. And I did things, and I tested them. Some things worked. Some things failed, but I kept going. And I think that's why I'm still here today. That's why five years after launching in a brand new space, I'm still going strong because I am prepared to take action even when it's the last thing I want to do, even when something goes wrong and I feel like I wanna throw the towel in. And trust me when I say there have been many times where I have sat there and I've said to my husband, I think it's time I go and get a job.

Karen Davies [00:16:50]:
I cannot do this anymore. I'm just not feeling it. And it may be because I'm going through a period of time where my hormones are playing up, and I'm just I I just don't feel like I love my business anymore. I have those moments. I have those moments where I'm in perimenopause. I go through the ups and downs of those emotions, and sometimes it really affects how I feel about my business and how I feel about everybody around me. And then a couple of days later, I'll snap out of it and I'll be like, I love I love it. I love what I do, and I get that I get that feeling back.

Karen Davies [00:17:27]:
You just have to ride the storm and identify what is going on and have that awareness to how you're feeling and what is contributing to you feeling like that. About a week ago, I was, I was doing really well. I was working on a project, and I was absolutely loving it. And then the next day, I woke up, and I had the day where I just wanted to cry. I just wanted to bury my head, hide away, and not do anything. And that was on the Tuesday before the Friday of the awards, and I just felt rubbish. I couldn't I I couldn't show up in my business. So I had to have that awareness.

Karen Davies [00:18:18]:
Like, what's making me feel like this? And it was my hormones. It I just it I it I didn't have the control. I couldn't help how I was feeling. So I had to take time out, give myself a break, give myself that space, and then the next day, I came back to it, and I was ready to go again. We have to just keep going. Take the time out when you need it. Recognize how you feel if if that's something that you experience as well, but don't give up. The truth is that nobody is exempt from feeling those feelings of inact inadequacy.

Karen Davies [00:19:03]:
We all experience impostor syndrome at some point, and that discomfort of feeling like you're somewhere you don't belong. But you have to push past that. You have to recognize it for what it is and know the fact that you are here because you have been given the skills, the ability to create the business that you have today. What we do is not easy. Running a business is not easy. It's probably the hardest path that you are going to take, but you need to recognize your achievements, recognize your own success, identify the fact that you're creating something that's going to give you the freedom in your life that you desire. You are the person that is in the control of your own destiny, and I think that's really powerful. Even those moments where I think, I'm I'm gonna go and get a job.

Karen Davies [00:20:03]:
I'm gonna throw the towel in. I've had enough. The thought of actually working for somebody else just fills me with absolute dread. And then what makes it worse is the thought of not doing what I'm doing, and then that pulls me back on track. Don't let imposter syndrome stop you. So what does winning this award mean to me? More than anything, I think it's a reminder that taking imperfect action is what leads to success. If I had listened to my self doubt, I wouldn't have launched my first online course. And if I hadn't have launched my first online course, I certainly wouldn't have moved into the online course space, and I definitely wouldn't be where I am today.

Karen Davies [00:20:51]:
I wouldn't have started this podcast, and I wouldn't have built my membership helping amazing entrepreneurs like you to build freedom in their lives. So this award that I've won isn't just about me. It's about proof that when you keep showing up, even when it feels uncomfortable, even when you don't feel like you're deserving of it, incredible things happen. So I want to leave you with a challenge for this week. I want you to take one action that you have been putting off because you don't feel ready for it. Maybe it's outlining your online course idea, or maybe it might be going to your first networking meeting. I know that can be really scary. Or maybe it is recording your first podcast episode, or it could even be about posting online your offer even if you are worried that no one will respond.

Karen Davies [00:21:53]:
Whatever it is, just one step this week is gonna make all the difference. I promise you. I had a call with a member yesterday who has launched a workshop that they're turning into a digital master class, and they were really nervous about this. And they have managed to sell a couple of spaces on their workshop already. Within within less than an hour of posting their offer online, they made two sales. Now had that member let that imposter syndrome overtake them and they hadn't done anything, they wouldn't have made those sales. So I encourage you, even if you feel uncomfortable, even if you feel now is not the right time, take that step. And I promise you, action builds momentum.

Karen Davies [00:22:48]:
And before you know it, you're going to look back and you'll realize, like me, with the award process, how far you've come. Now if today's episode has resonated with you, I'd love to hear about it. I would love you to send me a DM on Instagram or come in to the Course Creators Hub for beginners on Facebook and share how you're feeling or a challenge that you've been experiencing or even an action step that you've taken. 

And if you haven't yet signed up to the hub, then I encourage you to do so. Go and visit www.karen-davies.com/hub, and go and get access to those free resources. And I want you to remember that you are capable. You are worthy of whatever success that you want to achieve in your life, and I promise you, you are ready. You just have to take that very first step.

Karen Davies [00:23:52]:
And once you've taken that very first step, amazing things will start to happen. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode, and I hope you found this episode of value. Of course, please do feel free to share it with others who you may think will also benefit from listening to today's episode. 

If today's discussion has sparked some inspiration and you're eager to get started with creating your very first online course, then I'd like you to visit my website, www.karen-davies.com/membership. I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great week. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the digitally she does it show. Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode. New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday.

Karen Davies [00:26:08]:
So, why not rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode? Thank you for tuning in today, and I will see you next time.