WHY SCALING UP SOMETIMES MEANS SLOWING DOWN
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Do you ever find yourself procrastinating on something you KNOW you need to get done? Maybe it’s because you just don’t want to do it, but in a lot of cases, I think procrastination is really about a fear of what other people will think. We put off doing the thing because deep down, we’re anxious about how that thing is going to be received by others in our lives.
Or at least, that’s where I’ve found myself a lot these past few weeks. See, I’ve got some BIG NEWS to share with you. News that’s caused me no small amount of anxiety for a little while now.
So buckle up, and please—hang with me until the end of this! I’ll explain everything shortly, but I want to start by explaining the motivations behind what I’m about to share with you.
SERVING YOUR IDEAL AUDIENCE
If you’ve been listening to my podcast (or reading my blogs, as it were) for long, then you KNOW how passionate I am about ALWAYS SERVING your audience as well as you can. We’ve talked at length about making sure you’re speaking to your ideal clients, and about approaching your business from an authentic desire to be helpful.
That’s always been my M.O., and it always will be.
However, as much as I’ve always tried to overdeliver for you guys, I’ve hit some snags along the way. The biggest of these snags was my realization that I haven’t built the kind of high-quality customer journey that I’m such a huge proponent of. I’ve often found myself looking at the massive stack of resources I’ve provided and saying, “Okay . . . But where do they go next? What advice do I give them now?”
One evening not long ago, I was at odds with myself for this very reason. It is my DEEPEST desire to serve my audience, and yet, I couldn’t figure out what the next step was for most of my online customers. Why was that??
That’s when I realized, friends. It’s because I haven’t been serving my TRUE ideal audience. Or at least, not in the way I want to.
WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW
Most folks who are serious about their businesses understand the importance of both online AND offline networking. Like many of you, I regularly attend offline events—conferences, meetups, and the like. I also still run my multi-six-figure consulting business. I don’t say that to brag, but rather, to explain that my plate is always very, very full.
Overwhelm can close in quickly if I’m not very selective about where my time goes. And yet, I can’t fight my desire to keep growing something bigger and better. That was a big part of my motivation for taking on the online space—I wanted to reach MORE people and provide MORE service to a bigger community.
For whatever reason, I’ve always felt some inclination to keep my offline business and my online community somewhat separate. Sure, there’s a lot of overlap—I do my best to give you all the very best business advice I can, whether we know each other online or offline. But my online community has always been a little vague and broad. I’ve helped online business owners across a LOT of different industries get their first taste of online entrepreneurial success. Which is great . . . Except that with so much diversity of interests, it’s often difficult to give you guys the kind of super-specific, results-driven, long-term strategic advice I specialize in.
When I do business in real life, there’s ONE very specific type of person who approaches me over and over again: Consultants. At conferences, other consultants ask me questions about how I grew my own consulting business so quickly. At meetups, I end up chatting at length with consultants who come to me with a zillion questions about how they can find and serve clients in their fields. And yes—even here in this online space, where I’ve been careful to cast my net wide, I’ve been able to most profoundly impact the consultants in this community.
MAKING CH-CH-CHANGES
Do you see where this is going? Does it make sense?
I’ve shown up week after week to help you find your voice, your ideal audience, and the best path for your business. And in the process, I’ve gained a LOT of clarity about my own business.
For this reason, going forward, things around here are about to get a LOT more focused. I’m not going anywhere! I meant it when I said I was in this for the long haul. But the info I’m sharing will be heavily geared towards launching and growing a CONSULTING business.
If you’re a consultant (or if you’re interested in offering consulting services as part of a wider business), this is great news for you! I look forward to continuing alongside you on your journey.
However, for many of you, I recognize that this may mean you’re no longer part of my “ideal audience.” And that’s okay. If the tips I share going forward are no longer relevant to you, I know that there’s a whole world of AMAZING business resources out there and that you’ll be in good hands. Feel free to ask me for a recommendation if you’re looking for a new business podcast that speaks more directly to your journey! And please remember—if you ever have questions or need support, I will STILL always be here for you. That doesn’t change.
THE GAME PLAN
As we make this shift together, the most immediate thing is that I need to get quiet and really hone in on EXACTLY who I’m talking to and what they need from me. For that reason, you won’t be getting new episode updates for a little while. This was the part that caused me so much anxiety (and caused me to procrastinate on prepping this episode): I don’t want you to feel abandoned or like the work we’ve done together isn’t valuable. It absolutely, 100% IS.
That said, it’s worth noting that when I DO start turning out weekly podcasts again, it will be under a new title. As you can imagine, “The Pursuit of Online Entrepreneurship” doesn’t really speak to the specificity I’m seeking in this next phase of my business. I’ll also be discontinuing my current courses—don’t worry, if you’re a current online customer, you’ll be getting a few emails and PLENTY of time to download all your course materials, so you’ll still have access to everything no matter what changes are made from here on.
More than anything else, I hope what you take away from this episode is: It’s never too late to refocus, pivot, and do what you need to do for YOU. The beautiful thing about running your own business is that you are the CEO. You can’t let worries about what other people might think keep you from heading down the path that makes the most sense for you.
If you’re feeling misaligned or overwhelmed, I’d encourage you to really take a good, hard look at your current reality. A little bit of that every now and then is normal, but if you’re feeling constantly pulled in multiple directions and overwhelmed on the regular—the way I have felt recently—then it might be time to shift directions.
If you’d like to stay in close contact with me throughout this transition, I’ll still be active as ever on my Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages. If we aren’t in touch on there yet, please see the links at the bottom of this page and send me a request to connect!
Thank you for coming along on this ride. Always—but today especially—I am so, so grateful that you’ve chosen to show up and spend your time with me.
This is normally the part where I’d invite you to come back for next week’s episode, but since we’ll be taking a break, I’ll leave you with this: No one knows exactly what the future holds with your business or with your life, so I wish for you the courage to chase your dreams, do it scared, and build your business on YOUR terms.
Cheers to slowing down & scaling up, friends!
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
EPISODE 38: HOW TO STOP CARING WHAT OTHERS THINK
EPISODE 39: HOW TO RUN YOUR OWN RACE (ESPECIALLY WHEN LAUNCHING OR GROWING A BUSINESS)
FOLLOW VERONICA HERE:
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