Hey Reader,

There are costs in business that are easy to spot.

Software. Payroll. Contractors. Marketing. Supplies.

And then there are the costs that never show up neatly on a profit and loss statement.

The 45 minutes you spend doing something someone else could have handled.

The energy you burn making the same decision for the third time.

The opportunity you say yes to because it showed up, even though it pulls you further away from the business you actually wanted to build.

The work you're underpricing because you've never stopped to ask whether the numbers really make sense.

And maybe most expensive of all, the slow erosion of the passion that made you start your business in the first place.

I call this the Accidental CEO Tax.

And if you started your business because you were really good at something, got excited, started saying yes, and figured things out as you went, there's a good chance you've been paying some version of it.

I know because even with a business background and an actual business plan, I did too.

A few years into my home staging business, I had to take a hard look at what I had built and ask myself whether it was actually the business I wanted.

I stepped back. I got clear. I rebuilt the foundation.

My goal was to double the previous year's sales.

Instead, I did five times the sales.

Not because I worked five times harder, but because I finally knew exactly what I was building, who I was building it for, and what deserved my attention.

That's what we're talking about on this week's episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast.

​Listen Now: Ep 130 - How to Stop Paying the Accidental CEO Tax (or find it on your favorite podcast platform)

If your business has started to feel more reactive than intentional, I hope you'll listen.

Because you probably don't need to burn it all down and start over. You may simply need to see where the gap is, and start closing it.

Listen to the new episode wherever you get your podcasts.

Enjoy,

Shauna Lynn Simon — CEO, SLS Coaching (866) 661-6711

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PS If this episode has you recognizing just how much the Accidental CEO Tax is costing you, this is exactly the kind of work we do inside the Real Women Real Business Mastery Program. And for the first five women who join after hearing this episode, I'm including a complimentary 90-minute Profits, Passion & Progress Alignment Session with me, valued at nearly $1,000. When you register, simply reply to your registration email with the word Podcast to claim it. Learn more here: ​realwomenrealbusiness.com​