The Most Overlooked Step in Business Planning - The Inner Work (what we call EPIC Mapping)

by Nicole Jankiewicz & Julie Robbins | June 10, 2025

Business Tips, EPIC Entrepreneurs, Inspirational

If you were completely stripped of shoulds, supposed to's, responsibilities, pressure to make money, feel in control, impress people, or prove yourself... what would you do?

What would you create? How would you spend your time - chase your dreams? What would you build, and who would it be for?

These aren’t just daydream questions. They cut straight to the heart of something crucial:

Many of us are building businesses we think we "should" create....

They might look good on the outside, but inside?

When your business doesn’t reflect who you truly are, you feel it. In subtle ways and sometimes painfully obvious ones.

The work can start to drain you. Decisions start feeling impossible and your initial spark can start to fizzle..

The truth is: for your business to be truly successful and sustainable, it has to be an extension of YOU.

This is why, with the evolution of Business Mapping, we knew this critical piece of ‘self discovery and understanding’ warranted its own title and process - EPIC Mapping.

Mapping your complete beautiful complicated true self. 

Whether you're a solopreneur or leading a company with a big team, your business is impacted by YOUR patterns, YOUR beliefs, YOUR rhythms, and YOUR truth.

Who you are matters—to everything in your business.

The Process of Un-Conditioning

We spend so much of our lives trying to be the person we think we’re supposed to be: the best partner, friend, parent, leader, boss, human...

But what about being the best YOU?

In order to be ourselves, we often have to slough off a lifetime of conditioning. We have to wake up to the person underneath the layers.

And that takes curiosity, courage, a willingness to stir things up, and to get still and listen.

Getting to Know Your Real Self

This isn’t fluff. It’s foundational.

"We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once

 we are aware, we cannot help but change."

— Sheryl Sandberg

When you get to know the real you, you:

• Identify what you’re actually good at

  (not just what you were told you should be good at)

• Recognize what you need help with

• Get clear on your desires

• Make better, more intuitive decisions

• Build systems and rhythms that actually work for you

  
  

If you think this is a luxury you don’t have time for - we promise, you will end up saving yourself time, energy, and resources - EXPONENTIALLY!

It helps to ask questions like:

• What am I most passionate about?

• What brings me joy?

• What patterns have shown up in my life again and again?

• How do I communicate?

• What makes me feel safe, grounded, inspired?

• What kind of impact do I want to make?

Becoming the Best Version of You

The goal isn't to become someone new.

It’s to become the truest, most aligned version of yourself.

To live your life and build your business in a way that actually feels like you.

This process isn’t always easy. In fact, it can feel confronting and challenging...

AND sometimes, it can feel a little 'too easy' - it can be hard to recognize the value in some things that have always felt so natural or just normal to you.

But this work is so worth it.

And once you’ve uncovered that truth? You can finally build something that fits. Not just visually or strategically, but energetically.

A business that honors your soul, not just your spreadsheet.

We know this might sound indulgent—especially when you're juggling client work, financials, admin work, or your next launch.

But here’s the truth: if you don’t take time to understand who you are and how you’re wired, your business will keep repeating patterns that drain you and can even run your business into the proverbial ground.

This work helps you build from clarity, not chaos.

It’s what allows everything else—your systems, your strategy, your team—to actually work for you instead of against you.

Coming Soon: In our next blog, we’ll dive deeper into the heart of the EPIC Map (EMap), with the tools, practices, and inner processes we use to uncover who you really are and how to start integrating them into your BMap.

Stay Tuned!