I just got off the phone with a personal friend. Somehow, somewhere along the way, our conversation turned into a free coaching session. Normally, I don’t mind. I love helping people. I love when someone walks away from a conversation with me seeing something differently, feeling lighter, or knowing what to do next. But this particular week, it feels like everyone has come out of the woodwork needing a little piece of me. Can I pick your brain? Can you look at this? What would you do here? Can I get your thoughts on something? And when I hung up the phone, I sighed. Greyson looked at me and asked what was wrong. “I’m tired.” And my six-year-old, without missing a beat, said: “You’re tired because you’re the only one helping people, and no one is helping you.” Well. Okay then. 😂 Apparently today’s business lesson is brought to you by a six-year-old. Because here’s the thing: There is absolutely nothing wrong with helping people. Generosity is a beautiful thing. Community SHOULD involve us showing up for each other. I don’t ever want stop being someone who serves others. But giving freely and giving endlessly are NOT the same thing. 😅 👉 You cannot continually be the person pouring into everyone else’s cup while pretending yours doesn’t need filling too. (Some of us 🙋‍♀️ need to re-read that a few times…) And for those of us who run businesses around helping people, I think this gets especially muddy. We can start feeling guilty for charging for something we’re naturally good at. We tell ourselves things like: It only took me a few minutes. I already know the answer. They really need the help. But your knowledge didn’t take 20 minutes to build. Your ability to see the problem quickly is the result of years of learning, experience, mistakes, practice, and becoming really freaking good at what you do. And your time and energy are resources, too!! I need my business to make money. I need time for my family. I need energy for the things I’m building.

Sometimes, I really don't like posting. On Skool, social, email, Substack... you name it. Sometimes, I just don't feel like "people-ing" and I don't want to feel like I have to be "on" and cheerful and engaging. And you know what? That's allowed! Yes, algorithms exist. Yes, engagement matters. Yes, if you're running a business you DO actually need to show up sometimes (or else how is anyone supposed to find you and learn of the Awesome Things you offer??) But your energy is data too. Post every single day and, yeah, you might grow faster. You might also combust. The reality is, you can market without despising your own marketing. You can be consistent without a fake smile. And who knows, you may even come to LOVE marketing your stuff! (*gasp!) If any of that resonated and you want to be able to create a marketing plan that actually feels good, even when you would rather curl up in a blanket burrito, then comment below and let me know! Thinking about putting together a little mini-series training on this if there's enough interest.

With this group growing quickly (!!) I wanted to get your input on something! 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆? I've always liked to create spaces for people to openly be proud of and share what they're offering (who knows, what you have may be exactly what someone in the group is looking for!), but it's definitely a fine line between allowing that opportunity and protecting the feel and integrity of the community, especially with the uptick in spammers recently. So, because this community is for YOU, I figured I'd put it to a vote and see what you have to say. Currently, freebie promotion 1x weekly is available when someone reaches level 3 in engagement and paid offer promo 1x weekly is available at level 4. Would you like to keep it this way, or would you rather that promotion is only allowed on select threads that are posted throughout the month? Feel free to share any constructive thoughts on the matter.