Get my best tips and insights on productivity, confidence, balance, and connection ... learned from 15 years of successfully working from home. Long-term WFH is a CHOICE, a lifestyle, a CULTURE. And I believe that if you're going to do something, you should do it right. But you don't have to do it alone. Activate your free subscription to The Tenacious WFH Entrepreneur newsletter so that you get your weekly dose of grit and grace to keep you going by entering your email address below.
🍇 Your business results aren’t a report card
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Now You Know More Than You Did Before Hey Reader, I think harvest has a way of settling arguments. For months, a vineyard can be studied, tested, watched, and discussed. Everyone can make their best predictions about what a particular block will produce. Then the grapes come in. And now you know. Not whether the season was officially a "Success" or "Failure." You simply have information you didn’t have before. Our businesses give us that information, too. The problem is that when you're both CEO and employee, it's awfully easy to turn business results into personal judgments. An offer doesn't sell as expected: I failed. A project takes longer than planned: I'm terrible at managing my time. Revenue is lower than you'd hoped: I should have worked harder. But those self-judgment conclusions skip an important leadership step — turning the data into information you can learn from. Evaluation asks: What happened? Judgment asks: What does this say about me? One gives you information you can use. The other gives you a verdict. And CEO You needs information far more than she needs verdicts. So instead of asking whether your results were good enough, try asking the leadership question. Leadership asks: What are my results trying to teach me? That might mean looking at numbers — revenue, profit, sales, inquiries, conversions, project hours. But don't stop there. Also ask what producing those numbers required from you. Did the profitable project require three late nights every week? Did the boundary you were nervous about turn out to be no big deal? Did something you expected to be difficult become surprisingly easy? Did you finish most days with enough of yourself left for the rest of your life? That's valuable data, too. In this week's article, Now You Know: What Your Business Results Are Trying to Teach You, I'm digging deeper into how to evaluate your business without turning the process into a performance review of you. There's one piece of information I especially want you to notice: What surprised you? Maybe something performed much better than expected. Maybe something you were sure would work...didn't. Maybe a commitment required far more energy than you anticipated. Maybe you discovered you actually like work you weren't sure you'd enjoy. Surprise shows us where expectation and reality didn't match. And the gap between what you expected and what actually happened is often where the leadership lesson lives. That lesson doesn't automatically tell you what to do next. One disappointing launch doesn't mean never again. One fantastic month doesn't mean do this forever. It simply means you know something now that you didn't know before. And that's worth harvesting. Your Action Step this WeekGive yourself 20 quiet minutes this week and ask: 1. What produced? 2. What surprised me? 3. What did this season teach me? Don't grade the answers. Get curious about them. Because before CEO You decides what's next, she deserves a chance to learn from what just happened. 💛 Insider & VIP CornerIf you're ready to take that reflection deeper, August’s CEO Harvest Report walks you through a fuller review of what produced, what surprised you, where you invested well, what needs pruning, and what you want to carry into the next season. It is available to Tenacious WFH Entrepreneur Insiders and VIPs, along with the growing Mini Power Tool archive. Premium subscriptions start at just $5.83/month. 💎 Upgrade your experience here. The grapes came in, friend. Now you know more than you did before. And that counts as part of the harvest, too.
As always, I'd love to know what you think of this week's newsletter. Post your thoughts on social and tag me (@coachmichelepeterson), or simply reply to this email! Thank you. I appreciate you! xoxo, Now for more good stuff ... Upgrade Your Experience ...Tenacious WFH Insiders get access to monthly Mini Power Tool downloadables like this month's CEO Harvest Report, an exclusive audio version of the weekly newsletter and blog via the private podcast Insiders Only Tenacious WFH Entrepreneur Audio Experience that you can listen to on your favorite podcast platform ... and more! Get all the details here. UPGRADE TO INSIDER or VIP STATUS TODAY! Interesting Reads ...
Win WFH Tip of the WeekWFH Tip: To WIN working from home, enjoy the perks! Embracing the unique flexibility of working from home — like taking a midday walk, having lunch in your own kitchen, or working in your favorite cozy space — keeps you refreshed and motivated. When you actively enjoy these daily advantages, you make working from home more than just a location choice ... you turn it into a truly rewarding lifestyle. Grit & Grace Affirmation of the WeekI am capable. I am a leader. I go after what I want. Say it. Believe it. Be it. From the book Badass Affirmations by Becca Anderson I hope you enjoyed this week's newsletter. Thank you for linking arms and being part of my working from home tribe! I'll be back next week with more tips, inspiration, and other fun stuff to empower your WFH success. Until then, have a beautiful week! xoxo, P.S. It's my goal to inspire you and remind you of your greatness as we navigate WFH life together. If you loved this week's newsletter, please feel free to forward it to your friends! And just one more thing ...
August 27, 2026 | Coach Michele Peterson
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Coach Michele Peterson
Get my best tips and insights on productivity, confidence, balance, and connection ... learned from 15 years of successfully working from home. Long-term WFH is a CHOICE, a lifestyle, a CULTURE. And I believe that if you're going to do something, you should do it right. But you don't have to do it alone. Activate your free subscription to The Tenacious WFH Entrepreneur newsletter so that you get your weekly dose of grit and grace to keep you going by entering your email address below.
Have Something Ready for the Woman Doing the Work Hey Reader, It’s just the two of us at home now. But when I make pork chops, I’ll often make four. Two for dinner. Two extras for lunches. Leftover soup goes into individual sealed soup mugs, ready to pop into the microwave. I occasionally manage weekend meal prep. But planned leftovers like these examples are something I do frequently. I’m already cooking dinner or putting food away, so a little preparation fits into what’s happening. Later,...
Make Room for the Whole Commitment Hey Reader, A friend invited me to a networking lunch recently. She was one of the sponsors, and I wanted to support her. Making connections was a good reason to attend, too. The event was 90 minutes long. But there was also a 30-minute drive each way. Arriving early to mingle. Staying afterward to continue conversations. Following up with people by text or email. The extra time easily added up to two or more hours. The invitation was for 90 minutes. My yes...
Give One Meaningful Priority a Place to Grow Hey Reader, For about 10 years, I’ve had a small boysenberry patch tucked beside our backyard garden. These berries came from starts brought over from my grandparents’ vines. Grandma and Grandpa had three or four long rows, and I have VERY fond memories of Grandma’s berry pies and boysenberry jam. My little patch has kept that connection growing. We’ve enjoyed a modest crop each year. Recently, though, we removed a diseased loquat tree, and our...