Why Gentle Business isn’t Weak Business, It’s A Fresh Approach to Entrepreneurship
Have you ever felt like running your business was harder than it needed to be? Like you’re constantly pushing against your natural rhythms? You’re not alone. As someone who’s coached many women entrepreneurs, I’ve seen how traditional “hustle culture” can burn us out.
Doing business gently isn’t about moving slowly or avoiding hard work. It’s about building something sustainable that works with your life, not against it. Think of it like rowing with the current instead of against it.
In this latest podcast episode, you’ll learn:
- A gentle business adapts to your life seasons (health changes, family needs, energy levels)
- Strong personal branding makes pivoting easier when life throws curveballs
- Not all hustle is bad – it’s toxic hustle (constant grinding) we want to avoid
The truth is, gentle doesn’t mean weak. It means smart. It means building a business that can flex when you need it to, without breaking. It means understanding your natural strengths and working with them, not against them.
Running a business doesn’t have to feel like pushing a boulder uphill. When you align your business with who you are and how you work best, everything flows more naturally. That’s what doing business gently is all about.
Have you felt like your business
is off and not sure why?
Maybe you are not showing
up as YOU in your business.
Take the Business Personality Quiz & Find Out!
Let’s Connect:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/martagoertzen
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/selahstudiosco
TRANSCRIPT:
[00:00:00] Marta Goertzen: Welcome to the new Doing Business Gently podcast.
[00:00:03] If you’re new here, welcome! I’m excited to have you join us on this journey. If you’re a continuing listener from the Selah Entrepreneur podcast, I’m glad you’ve chosen to continue with me as we explore finding clarity and doing business gently.
[00:00:23] Today, I’m excited to discuss what doing business gently means and what it looks like for each of us.
[00:00:30] First, I want to emphasize that it doesn’t look the same for everybody. There’s no cookie-cutter approach to doing business gently. What’s gentle for me probably won’t be gentle for you. However, there are core components we can examine. In future episodes, we’ll discuss strategies and ideas for designing a business that fits you and your gentle approach.
[00:01:02] This episode is being brought to you by the Gentle Business Life MiniMind, a new initiative I’m launching in 2025.
[00:01:14] We’re starting with a six-week beta test group. This opportunity brings together like-minded women who are ready to do business differently in 2025. We’ll focus on finding business clarity or refining your existing clarity. The goal is ensuring alignment with your values, priorities, and entrepreneurial identity while implementing systems that help you move forward.
[00:01:51] The Gentle Business Life initiative aims to create something simple and sustainable – a business you can steward well from a gentle perspective. The program includes group coaching calls, audio trainings, and reflection prompts in our community. These tools will help you think through mindset shifts needed to approach business differently this year.
[00:02:42] This isn’t about overwhelming you with worksheets. Instead, it focuses on connection, building relationships, and finding a safe place to ask questions about your 2025 business journey. You’ll meet other women on similar paths who can offer unique perspectives, and you’ll have opportunities to support them in return.
[00:03:24] As your host and facilitator, my goal is to help you feel confident in making decisions by the end of our six weeks together. The program is exclusively for women, with early bird pricing of $127 through January 30th.
[00:04:08] Let’s explore what doing business gently means. While Google offers varying definitions, I want to focus on core characteristics that apply to everyday entrepreneurs ready for a different approach.
[00:04:46] Doing business gently is a holistic approach. While it’s not about constant hustle, I’ll surprise you – I’m not anti-hustle either. It’s about building a sustainable business that:
– Fits your energy levels
– Minimizes constant second-guessing
– Aligns with who you are as an entrepreneur
– Clearly defines your target audience and solutions
– Remains flexible enough for different life seasons
[00:06:13] This holistic approach goes beyond accommodating specific needs like being highly sensitive, introverted, or managing chronic illness. It’s about understanding your entrepreneurial identity, especially for those of us over 50 who know ourselves as women but may still be discovering our entrepreneurial selves.
[00:09:10] When you build a strong personal brand and trust with your audience, they’ll understand and support you through necessary changes. For example, last week when my mom needed emergency care, my audience understood because they know my family-first priorities.
[00:11:49] Here’s an important distinction: While occasional hustle is sometimes necessary, like during launches or family emergencies, toxic hustle – where it becomes the norm rather than the exception – is what we want to avoid.
[00:14:44] Thank you for joining the first episode of Doing Business Gently. If this resonates with you, please leave a review to help other women find this content.
Marta Goertzen is a Gentle Business Coach and founder of Selah Studios, host of the Doing Business Gently podcast. She helps Christian women entrepreneurs over 50 rediscover who they’ve become, realign their business to match, and fall in love with their work again, gently, at their pace, without starting over. As an avid photographer and lover of the outdoors, she daily explores the trails and beaches of the South Central Oregon Coast with her dog Mochi in tow. Take the free Business Alignment Audit as your gentle first step, a way to pause, get honest, and see clearly where you and your business are right now: https://SelahStudios.co/alignmentaudit