Becoming the CEO of Your Life and Business: What It Really Means to Lead Yourself

One of my FAVORITE things to work on with clients is how to LEAD THEMSELVES to become the CEO of their life and business. This is a big mindset shift. We often don’t think of ourselves as the leader or CEO of our lives, but that is essentially what we are doing every single day.

This becomes even more important when you are going from 9-5 employee to entrepreneur. Now YOU are the one making all the decisions!

Starting a business isn’t just about strategies, social media, or branding—it’s about learning to lead yourself. For new and aspiring female entrepreneurs, stepping into the role of CEO is about more than a title. It’s about trusting your voice, owning your decisions, and realizing you are the one steering the ship now. That’s a big shift—and it’s not always easy.

1. Why It’s Hard to Trust Your Own Voice at First

Most of us were raised in systems (schools, families, corporate jobs) that rewarded following rules, seeking approval, and avoiding mistakes. We grew up with our families, teachers, society, telling us what we should do, what success looks like, what was the “norm” and acceptable. We were given instructions on what tests to takes, degrees we needed, what we had to learn. When we got our 9-5 jobs, we were told what our responsibilities were and we always reported to a boss who told us what we could and couldn’t do.

When it’s time to start a business and be the boss, it can feel terrifying. There’s no manager giving you gold stars. No quarterly review to prove you’re “doing it right.” It’s just… you. And that can stir up all kinds of doubts.

You are making EVERY decision in a space with limitless possibilities on ways to market, how to run your business, how you can make money, how to connect with people what to sell and offer.

TRUTH: Learning to lead yourself is less about having all the answers and more about trusting your inner guidance—even when it feels shaky.

It can feel hard to make decisions not knowing what the end result will be, if it will work, and if your gut is even right to begin with.

2. Why Being a CEO Feels So Different Than a 9–5

In a 9–5, your job is to execute someone else’s vision. As an entrepreneur, you create the vision—and you’re responsible for every decision tied to it. There’s freedom here, but also pressure. You’re not just managing tasks; you’re making choices about your values, your time, your boundaries, and your future. And there’s no one right way.

It’s not a team sharing ideas. It’s all you! It’s your personal mission and vision and only you know what that should look and feel like. Only you will know what will feel right and align to how you want your business and life to flow.

This is where self-leadership comes in. It’s not about doing it all perfectly. It’s about choosing what feels right for you, even if it looks different than what the experts or internet gurus say.

This goes against everything we’ve learned as employees. In the corporate world, when you are working for someone else, you aren’t utilizing your intuition. And even if your intuition is telling you to do something a certain way, it still can be overridden by others.

In business, your intuition is your roadmap!

3. Why Your Own Decisions Are More Important Than Anyone Else’s

When you’re building something aligned with your life, goals, and dreams, no one else can make those decisions for you. Yes, guidance helps. Mentors are amazing. But at the end of the day, only you know what fits your energy, your values, your season of life.

Trusting your own decisions builds confidence. Every time you listen to your intuition or make a choice that aligns with your deeper “why,” you become the kind of leader your business—and life—needs.

Sometimes your decisions aren’t going to make sense to others, won’t look like how everyone else is doing it, may buck the trends. But, how you lead yourself and your business is like a fingerprint. It is unique to you and your inner guide. Your intuition. It is based on your past experiences, knowledge, skills, talents, preferences, perspectives, vision, and how you function best.

If you try to “borrow’ someone else’s ideas, processes, business plan, etc, it won’t feel right for you. Business will be hard. You won’t be fulfilled. You won’t get the results you desire and most importantly, you won’t BECOME the version of you ALIGNED to your heart and soul vision.

4. The Pillars of Self-Leadership for New Entrepreneurs

Take Radical Responsibility

No more waiting for permission. This is your life, your business, your rules. Own your choices. That’s what makes you powerful. Leaders stand by their decisions knowing that they made that decision based on where they were at the moment. Believe that YOU know what is best for YOU and YOUR business.

Define a Clear, Personal Vision

What do you really want? Not what you think you should want. Not what other say you should want or how you should do it. Your vision becomes your roadmap—especially on the hard days. You need to be honest about what YOU want. Your heart and soul desires. And stand by that dream. Believe in it.

Practice Strategic (but flexible) Planning

You’re the planner and the doer. Break your goals down. Create a structure that works for you, not just what’s trending on Instagram. Your plan should align with the goals you are striving for, in a way that works for how you work best and your schedule.

Build Resilience

You will mess up. You will feel like quitting. But the magic happens when you keep showing up anyway. There is always room for what I call “try and tweak.” You learn by doing and if it doesn’t work out, there is always room for pivots, shifts, and tweaks.

Grow Your Emotional Intelligence

Learn to notice your fears without letting them drive the bus. Pause. Reflect. Regulate. Lead. If you want to lead yourself, you need to know yourself. You need to know what you want, and what is holding you back. You need to know your own mind, your thought patterns, your beliefs. You need to understand what triggers you, what makes you afraid, what sparks your momentum. You need to be able to acknowledge your fears and doubts and limiting beliefs, but not use them as a filter to make decisions.

Keep Learning (Without Overloading)

You don’t need all the courses. Just stay curious and take what aligns. Learning is part of leading. Don’t get stuck in planning and consuming mode (I have a great article on this in THE JOURNAL!) You need to show up for your life, your business and your dream. That means accepting your don’t know everything, that there is always room to learn, but the best way to learn is to keep doing the work.

Surround Yourself with Support

You don’t have to do this alone. Find your people. The ones who remind you of your power when you forget. Leaders surround themselves with people doing what they desire to do. They find a group where they can share ideas, network, grow, learn, and get accountability. Find your people or hire a coach (book a momentum call!

5. Stepping Into the Future CEO Version of You

Here’s the truth: the version of you who already has the business, the freedom, the impact you dream about—she’s not waiting for someone to tell her what to do. She’s leading herself. She’s making aligned (and sometimes hard) decisions based on where she’s going, not where she’s been.

To become her, you’ll have to:

Say no to things that drain your energy or keep you playing small.
Say yes to things that stretch you, scare you a little, and grow your confidence.
Adopt new habits that support the woman you’re becoming—not the one you’ve outgrown.
Let go of old stories like “I’m not ready,” “I’m not good enough,” or “Who am I to do this?”
Make intentional sacrifices—maybe less comfort now for more freedom later.

Self-leadership is about acting from your future vision—not your current fear.

Every decision you make is a vote for the version of you you’re becoming. And when you start to lead from that place? Everything shifts.

Start Leading Yourself Now: 4 Journal Prompts to Shift Into Your CEO Mindset

What does the future version of me—who already has the life and business I desire—believe about herself?
What habits, thoughts, or patterns am I being called to release in order to grow?
Where have I been waiting for permission instead of choosing to lead myself?
What is one bold, uncomfortable step I could take this week to back the vision I have for my life and business?

Final Thoughts: You Are the Leader You’ve Been Looking For

Becoming the CEO of your life and business isn’t about being fearless. It’s about being brave enough to trust yourself. To listen inward more than you scroll outward. To make the next right decision, even when it’s scary.

The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t the ones who have it all figured out. They’re the ones who’ve learned how to lead themselves, one bold, imperfect step at a time.

Next Steps

If you’ve been feeling stuck, second-guessing your decisions, or holding back on your next big move—let’s change that. A free 30-minute Momentum Call with me could be the exact catalyst you need to shift into the confident, aligned CEO of your life and business.

In this call, we’ll: