#32: Decision Making with Your CEO Brain - ft. Prerna Malik

Today on the podcast we’re speaking with Prerna Malik. Prerna is a copywriter and runs her business, Content Bistro, with her husband. In this episode, we discuss decision making from your CEO brain vs your individual brain, sticking to a plan and being open to its evolution, and learning to be unapologetic about the non-negotiables you set in place both personally and professionally.

Download the transcript for this episode here.

Tiny Transformation: Decision Making as a CEO

Questions to ask yourself:

What does my work look like a year from now?
What does my team look like a year from now?
What are my pain points?
What am I avoiding?
What am I afraid of losing?

SHOW NOTES

What We’re Talking About:

Self-talk and self-stationing.
Working on a quarterly basis based on yearly goals to help curb “shiny object syndrome”.
Decision making as an online entrepreneur.
Juggling the personal vs business aspects of life.
Working with a spouse full-time and acting in different roles.
Public vs private accountability.
Goal setting together and sticking to non-negotiables.

Considering networking is such a vital aspect of Prerna’s business, she’s always encouraging others to get involved with relevant, impactful in-person events. Entrepreneurship can be incredibly stressful and isolating for the majority of business owners, but Prerna has found that connecting with others has always shown her the true value of community.

“There is something to be said about the power of being in a room with like-minded entrepreneurs, who are aligned with your views and who have your back.”

Understanding the information you’re given
Event attending and networking is incredibly important, but it also has to be done intelligently and with planning in mind. Prerna loves attending events and having conversations, but her biggest piece of advice for clients and fellow entrepreneurs is to make sure these events and conversations serve a purpose in your life and in your goals.

“It’s great to hang out and have those conversations, but you need to come back, decompress, and unpackage what you get out of those conversations.”

Gaining flexibility as a business owner
Prerna follows along with Hailey’s philosophy that short-term planning can often lead to much better results than long-term. Prerna’s business sets up not only yearly goals, but also quarterly goals to help guide them where they need to go. This offers the element of flexibility, which is a genuinely indispensable trait for business owners to have.

“That’s, I think, very important for an entrepreneur; to have the fluidity and flexibility to pivot when needed.”

Building your business your way
Considering she runs her company with her husband, Prerna has learned a lot along her journey about setting nonnegotiables in place and creating her own path in her career. As parents, Prerna and her husband have their schedules and finances often oriented around family. Although decisions like not working in the evenings or purposefully creating a debt-free business may not be popular choices, Prerna is grateful that they’ve created their business their way.

“Honestly, it just feels so good to be able to build your business the way you want to, instead of just following whatever ‘blueprint’ is handed to you.”