Before I left to take a month off, I honestly was nervous about how it would go. I knew I could trust my team a hundred percent, but for me, it was about boundaries. This meant that I would not attend meetings or answer any problems. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep boundaries in place because I love solving problems, being a visionary, and helping my businesses get to the next level. I really didn't think that I could step away for one month,

For years, I have been constantly thinking about my businesses every single day. Those of you who are Type A, you know that you want to stay in control. I can relate, as I'm the exact same way. So, this was a major, major step for me. Even though I was nervous about stepping away for one month, I was able to do it.

I don't know if I know any other therapists that have stepped away like this. There are so many systems have to be in place to do that before you can take a step back. Because I created systems for my businesses, I was able to go to California.

My husband and my dog came out with me. It was amazing! We explored different places—from Huntington Beach, Irvine, Orange County, San Clemente, and then down to San Diego.

I also did a lot of yoga. I found this yoga studio in San Diego called Trilogy. And if you guys are in San Diego, check them out. They have like a dome on the roof. They do aerial silks. When I was in grad school, I took over four years of aerial silks. I used to drop 30 feet from ceilings and just hope that ribbon would catch me. I was really into it, and then the studio had it. It brought back all the fun memories of just being, you know, silly again. You are flipping upside down, just letting go and hoping the silk catches you. I did yoga on the beach. It's just been a dream of mine. It's been on my vision board for a long time, and it brings me so much peace to do that.

I really used that opportunity to get involved in the community and connect with people. Everyone in San Diego is very friendly. They say hi to you! Everyone is off by like three o'clock so they can watch the sunset and go out to dinner. It's just a different atmosphere than where I currently live, and I absolutely love the vibe of it.

Let me go back to the first week when I was in California. There was an opportunity that was presented to me to go to Vegas during that time period and meet with eight figure company owners that just were killing it in their industries. It was going to be a breakfast with these people. And to me, this was my shot to get in these big rooms and make connections. I talked to my husband and my coach. I said, "Hey, should I do this?" And both of them were like: "Kelly, you just did a lot to put everything in place for take time for yourself." Even though I had decided to take time off, my mentality was still: How can I keep progressing in my time off? My mentality was still kind of in go mode. But I took their advice and I listened. I just let that opportunity go by. I let it go and I just kept focusing on myself.

That was the goal of this trip, and so I stayed focused. I didn't put business stuff before my own self. I love to help people out, but I am still learning how to place boundaries.

During those first two weeks, I just truly felt like myself again. I moved from California to Northern Virginia because my husband's dad is sick, and we've been here helping him out and taking care of him.

I love to be with people, and I enjoy talking with people. I'm finding in California where people actually want to, you know, do stuff. When I was back in California, I was able to do my yoga, go shopping, talk with people and wear bright colors. California is truly my place. I was way more present. I was able to just take in the mountain views and just hear the ocean. It was just the simple stuff. I felt so much more grateful for being able to just walk outside or walking to an organic food place. I just was so thankful for that. It was a month to have my body heal. I've had this chronic face infection for over a year now of staph. While the infection isn't gone, I think having that time to heal was super helpful and beneficial.

After two weeks, my husband flew back with our dog, Lulu, because he ran out of PTO.

During the third week, it was CSM! I put on an event for all pelvic health therapists who were attending the conference in San Diego. I connected with Amanda Olson, who is in charge of Intimate Rose. She was giving a talk and she asked me if I could help out with the booth. I told her that I would love to help out. I was at her booth helping her partner Erin for probably four hours. I love their products. We've used the product in clinic for years and years.

Collaboration is key. I believe that it is important to help other people promote their businesses. I was happy to help Intimate Rose promote their business. You have to believe in the product or the company. I was happy to stand in that booth. I got to talk to people about the products that I love and why they should use the products.

We threw a party that night for PelvBiz and Intimate Rose at Puesto at the Headquarters in downtown San Diego. We rented out pretty much the whole restaurant and I had a private dinner for my Mastermind students. After the private dinner, we opened the party to everyone. We had over 100 people attend. People got to connect with each other. They got to learn about other people. They got to learn what they were doing. They got to exchange phone numbers and just build the freaking community on what they do, what this other person do does, and then how they can collaborate. This is the PelviBiz movement is about, for real. The more that we can all come together and be able to collaborate (and not get jealous), the more we grow as individuals and businesses.

Your company will grow, and the other person's company will grow. This is so hard for healthcare professionals to think this way, but the reality is the more that we keep collaborating, the more we are going to rise together. That's just it.

Pelvic health therapists are a tightknit group. We should show the healthcare community that together we can rise together and, uplift each other and support each other. Most of us in the pelvic health community are women. I think it is important for women to uplift each other. It's so powerful. That is what I'm going to continue to push forward for the next 20 something years with PelviBiz. I want to truly help pelvic floor therapists make more money and be healthy while doing it.

After that event, then I immediately had Mastermind. For those who don't know, PelviBiz has a Mastermind group. It's over 20 practice owners, and there're all women. We come together every other Tuesday and we talk about our problems that we have. We don't just talk about business. We also talk about life and relationships. We all are on the same level, no matter if someone has a six-figure practice or not. My mastermind students are my freaking people. They get what it's like to be an entrepreneur.

I encourage you to go do something epic. If you can't afford to take one month off, try taking just a few days. Seven years ago, my husband and I decided to go to San Diego. We went to San Diego for three days because that is all that we could afford at the time. We absolutely loved it. And then two years ago we went back for one week, and I didn't pay for it. My business mentor paid for it because I wasn't sure if I could pay for that yet. It was a gifted to me. After that one week, I realized that I could do that for one month. That vision is what kept pushing me to drive, to keep doing more and keep growing. I worked on my weaknesses so that they became strengths. I went through all the pain to get there.

And I'm not talking about the hustle phase guys. I've done that. The hustle phase has been surpassed. That was a couple years ago. I'm talking about just the mental toughness that it takes to sustain running a business.

Those hard days make you think: Is this truly worth it? Yes, it's freaking worth it. After a month of being able to take time for myself, I can assure you that it is worth it. This year, I told myself that I would take a month off, and I did it.

Of course, my next thought is: Why can't I do this for a year? I put the vision in place, and I said it out loud. I really set that big vision out loud.

You can have a practice and have time to travel. You can have a practice in one state. You can move across the country and live in another state, and still have that practice run. It's doable!

You can go anywhere you want in the world or U.S., and still have that practice run on its own. You just have to have the systems in place. I dream about it, and I think about it. I come up with an action plan. I take action on the plan, and then I just do the thing. I just do it, no matter how uncomfortable it is, no matter how painful it is. I just do the thing. Every single day, I just take one small step forward to just do the thing. You might think that taking every Coned course possible will help, but that's actually distracting you from what you should be doing. I'm just telling the truth. It's easier for you to do that instead. Put that one hard thing or one big goal on your phone and look at it every single day. I literally have California in my phone every single day. I look at that thing probably 56 times a day, and when it gets hard, I look back at that phone and remember why I do what I do.

If you don't have the vision, you've got to have the vision first. There has to be a deeper why that drives you. Sometimes, those hard days will make you want to give up, but don't do it.

Lastly, I want to talk about my friends coming in town. I haven't seen them in forever. They both have kids. We haven't connected in a while because just life happens. I've been busy building businesses and they've been busy with kids. It's just so interesting to hang out with them again. It brings back all he silliness and the joy that we used to have back in the day when we were in college. Reuniting with them also made me realize that we are in different points of our life. They're focused on their kids. Their kids are everything. I get that. I was just listening to really what they had to say about, you know, their struggles that they're facing and the different things that they go through as they are taking care of their kids. If someone gets sick, they have to juggle to figure out which parent is going to watch them.

I was just processing this. I didn't want to come across like I knew everything because I don't at all. I just wanted to help them and tell them that there is a solution to this. The reality is they could still do what they love, but not have to be stressed about taking time off when the kids get sick. I didn't go in into it with them, but if they were their own boss, or learned how to actually use their time wiser, they could make other things work. They could have that reality with their kids and not be stressed about taking that time off.

For me, it showed me a growth moment. I do not have kids, but it showed me personally a growth moment. I'm just so thankful that I've been able to figure out this game of life somewhat. I don't have all the answers. I've been able to learn how to get my time back and be able to use it in the most efficient way possible without the fear of sacrificing the things that I love. I was really grateful to listen to them and understand where they're coming from.

They're both in the healthcare field, so I get them. We were taught in school that do this thing and this is what life's going to be like for you. But it doesn't have to be that way anymore. I have been able do things a little bit differently than what I was taught in school. That was a big moment for me.

Another 'aha' moment that I had was when my husband was with me in California. He said, "Wow, this is really what retirement looks like." My husband is very quiet, and he doesn't say much. I think it was a moment for him. We're realizing that he always sees all the hard behind the scenes stuff, and he never really gets to see the benefit. He doesn't understand why I do this. If it was him, he would just give up. Those two weeks out in California made him understand the deeper why. You know, he truly experienced why it was all worth it, and him not being an entrepreneur and him seeing why it's all worth it.

Use your business to get to the goal that you want. Don't let your business drag you or control you. When I started running my clinic (first two years), I let my business control me. I feel this because my clinic is doing bad, or I feel this because it was doing well.

Through therapy, I realized that I have to disassociate myself from my business. My clinic is a business. I'm a whole separate entity. I have to be independent of my clinic because if it goes down the train, that is not based on who I am. If you are always associating yourself with your business and bad things started happening with it, then your confidence will go down. You will develop a scarcity mindset and you will pull back, and your business will then continue to go down.

I believe in myself. I believe that I can do this. I believe that my clinic can do this. In some cases, you just have to take the leap of faith and believe that you can do. You got to believe in yourself. Every single day, I do small wins and I prove to myself that I can do it. Prove to yourself that you can do it.

I need you to dream big. And if you can't dream that that big, then you have to go experience something so that you can dream that big. Go somewhere that you want to be like those people. If you want to be like a hiker, go to Colorado and hang out with the hikers. I don't know. Go do so. I really want every single person to be able to take time for themselves to do this. It was an epic feat. I highly recommend doing it. I'm a hundred percent going to do it again, and there will be more California coming. That's what I can say about that. There will be more California coming!

Are you a women entrepreneur in the pelvic health world? I want to help you make more money, while still prioritizing your health and lifestyle goals.

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