Working With the Energy of Your Business: A Revolutionary Practice for Family Business Leadership

Today we’re going to talk all about connecting to – and working with – the energy of your business. And I do not think I’m being the least bit overdramatic when I say: this has been the most revolutionary part of my path as a sixth-generation family business owner, and also as a coach and energy healer in the family business coaching space.

Understanding that your business has its own energy – separate and distinct from yours as the founder, president, or CEO – is such an important piece of creating a healthy, holistic system within a family business. And I’m just really excited to dive into this with you.

So buckle up, I think it’s gonna be a fun ride.

First: Let’s Ground in Some Foundational Concepts

Wherever you are on your entrepreneurial journey – solopreneur, multi-generational family business, early-stage startup – your business is a living energetic system. It is its own entity. It was born at its inception, and like any living being, it wants to grow, evolve, and change over time.

And listen: this is probably not something your MBA or economics professor covered on day one. That’s okay. I just want to invite you to take a deep breath right now and really feel into your business. Not think – feel. Let the energy of your company join you for a moment.

Because we’re not talking about strategy decks or quarterly metrics here. We’re talking about the deeper energetic essence of the business itself – what it wants, what it needs.

And when we begin to relate to our business on that level? That's when transformation starts.

Your Business Has Its Own Energy – And It’s Not the Same as Yours

This is a concept I want you to keep coming back to: You are not your business.

I know. It’s a big one – especially for founders. Especially in family businesses.

When we forget that we are separate from our business, it gets... messy. Unhealthy even. Not just for the company, but for us. We start to carry everything. We cling. We can’t delegate. We definitely can’t hand it off to the next generation without feeling like we’re giving away part of our identity.

But when we start to remember that the business has its own energy – when we see ourselves not as the owner, but as the steward – things open up.

Why I Always Talk About Ships

You’ve probably noticed I tend to use nautical metaphors a lot when I talk about family business leadership. And there’s a reason for that.

Running a business – especially a family business – isn’t like driving a car down a straight road. It’s not linear. It’s not static. It’s much more like navigating a ship on the ocean. The sea has its own tides, its own currents, its own moods.

Your business? It has its own current too.

And the role of the leader is not to control the ocean. It’s to work with it. To read the waters. To know when to tack, when to steer, and when to just let the wind carry you forward.

This is co-creation, my friends. Not command and control.

Common Challenges in Family Business Energetics

Let’s talk about some of the trickier stuff. Because this isn’t always easy.

One of the biggest challenges I see in family businesses is the enmeshment of personal and business energy. When we feel like we are the business, any feedback, change, or challenge feels deeply personal. Delegation becomes hard. Succession becomes nearly impossible.

And I just want to say: that’s normal. It’s a practice to begin separating the two. And it’s one worth coming back to over and over again.

Another challenge? The myth that we are solely responsible for everything that happens in the business. That everything rests on our shoulders. Whew. That’s a heavy one, and it leads to control, burnout, and limitations on growth.

But when we start thinking of the business more like a garden—we’re tending it, but we’re not the seed or the soil or the sun – we find more space to breathe. More room for other hands to help tend. More possibility.

The Energy You Inherit

Now, this one is personal.

When I stepped into our family business, I thought I was inheriting a company—a brand, a building, a client list, maybe some spreadsheets. What I didn’t expect was the sheer weight of the energetic inheritance that came with it. Generations of attention and intention, woven in.

And honestly? It felt heavy at first. Until I realized: oh, this is something I can actually work with. This is something I can heal. This is something I can honor.

And that changed everything.

The Opportunities (Aka: The Good Stuff)

Okay. Let’s talk about the good stuff. Because while these energetic dynamics come with challenges, they also open the door to some truly revolutionary opportunities.

1. Awareness Creates Space

Simply noticing that your business has its own energy changes everything. It creates space. It brings in breath.

Try it: close your eyes. Imagine your business not inside you or on top of you, but beside you. What shifts in your body when you see it that way?

For me, my shoulders drop. I can breathe deeper. It’s not all on me. We’re in this together.

2. Make Time to Listen

This is one of the most impactful practices I’ve integrated as a leader: actually listening to the energy of my business.

Not just reacting to to-do lists. Not just strategizing from my brain. But sitting down and saying: What do you need right now? What are you becoming?

Especially right now, in our airline business, we’re in a season of deep listening. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I know something is shifting. And I want to be ready when the next right thing appears.

We can’t listen while multitasking. Make space. Even five quiet minutes a day makes a difference.

3. Create a Balanced Relationship

Our modern business world is so, so extractive. When the only goal is to pull as much profit as possible, everything else – people, sustainability, community – gets sacrificed.

But your business isn’t a gold mine. It’s a garden.

A right relationship means giving and receiving. That’s how you create something sustainable. That’s how you build something that lasts generations.

4. Honor the Wisdom You’ve Inherited

Yes, there are old patterns that need to change. Yes, there’s probably some heavy energy to move through.

But let’s not forget: there is also incredible wisdom in what’s been passed down. There is goodness. There is strength. There is medicine.

Let’s honor that too.

Goals Are Great – But Hold Them Lightly

You know I love my to-do lists. And I am all about showing up and doing the work.

But I’ve also learned to hold goals a little more lightly.

Because my brain can only imagine so much. And sometimes, what I think is a delay or a setback is actually grace in disguise.

Right before the pandemic, we were waiting on two major airline contracts to be renewed. I was so frustrated. I wanted it DONE.

But when COVID hit, those delays ended up protecting us. We had cash in the bank instead of inventory on the shelves. And because of that, we could weather the storm.

Sometimes the business knows what it's doing—better than we do.

An Invitation

If all of this has sparked something in you – if you’re feeling that quiet little yes in your gut – I want to invite you to keep exploring this work.

We’ve got a resource guide coming at the end of the month with some really delightful & carefully curated practices to help you start this journey. It’s totally free and you can sign up here: www.thelegacyevolution.com/monthly 

And!! 

If you’re feeling ready to dive more deeply into this work in a real & tangible way, I want to invite you to join us in October (in real life! ;) for the Legacy Women’s Retreat. This 2-day retreat is designed specifically to help connect you more clearly with the energy of your business and to begin working & co-creating in real, tangible, and super magical ways! Learn more at https://www.thelegacyevolution.com/retreat 

Thanks for being here. Truly.

Let’s keep listening.