Firstly, 4 of my dearest friends and I spent a magical weekend at a Retreat on the stunning West Coast, where we finally reconnected after a long absence due to Covid. We were all women running our own businesses and needing to reset after a very stressful 2 years looking after our clients and maybe not looking after ourselves as well as we should. The weekend was spent laughing, walking on the beach, crying, and being away from the day-to-day stuff that life throws at us. The Retreat is run by a group of dedicated passionate women who provide a safe and nurturing space for any woman who simply needs a break orwants to spend time resetting her spirit with the magnificent west coast as a backdrop. It is funded by women like us who can afford to pay, and donations from like-minded donors who know the support a place like this provides. It was a privilege to be able to stay, and also know that a small portion of our fees were helping to pay for someone who couldn’t afford it but needed to stay way more than we did. 

Then at my weekly networking meeting, we were treated to a visit by Hospice staff, reminding us of the wonderful work they do, and that 1 in 3 people who pass away in New Zealand make use of Hospice and their support network. Hospice has 3 facilities north of Auckland, one very close to me, and I have seen first-hand how their support and compassion supports families at such a stressful time. While Hospice is partly government funded, half of the $14million annual costs are met, again, by Donations from people who see and know the support they provide. 

So when I left the meeting today, I came away even more fired up with the idea that the women I coach to run better businesses simply have to earn more money – not just so they can buy a bigger car or take more holidays, but because we need to give back more. Either indirectly by earning more so paying more tax, or directly by donating our hard-earned cash to causes that speak to us and need our financial as well as our spiritual support. As a very dear friend who is no longer with us and went through Hospice herself used to say, “If we want better schools and hospitals, we need to run better businesses”. More profit so we can look after ourselves better and not have to depend on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, and more disposable income so we can help those ‘ambulances’ if we do need them. 

So….let’s get those businesses working better, more efficiently, more targeted at the products that make the most money; paying more staff so they in turn can look after their own families better; and more profit so we can make that donation and help to change someone else’s life for the better.