There’s a lot happening right now.

The economy feels unpredictable.
The world feels heavy.
And if you’re being honest… it’s getting harder to focus on your business the way you normally would.

You might be thinking:

• Is it just me?

• Did I lose my edge?

• Should I even be selling right now?

From the outside, it can feel like everyone else is doing fine.

But behind the scenes?

A lot of solopreneurs are feeling the same pressure.

And here’s what we want you to hear:

You didn’t lose your edge.
And you’re not the problem.

Listen to the Episode

In this episode, we’re expanding on a real conversation from inside the Success Secret Society and talking about what it actually looks like to keep showing up, leading, and selling when everything around you feels uncertain.

What We Talk About In This Episode

• Why it feels harder to show up and sell right now (and why that’s normal)

• How to stay focused when the world feels noisy and overwhelming

• The role your business plays in creating stability for your clients

• Why pulling back or “waiting it out” isn’t the solution

• How to position your offer as something people need, not something extra

Key Takeaways

• There is always something happening in the world, but your work still matters

• Your business is one of the ways you create impact, not something separate from it

• People are still buying… they’re just more intentional right now

• Clear, direct messaging matters more than ever

• Staying visible and steady builds trust, even if results feel slower

Continue the Conversation

If this episode made you feel a little more grounded, you’re not alone. This is exactly the kind of conversation we’re having inside the community every day.

👉 Join us here: https://thesolopreneurceo.com

A space for solopreneurs who are building real businesses and want camaraderie, perspective, and real conversations along the way.

Episode Transcript

Solopreneur CEO Show Episode 16: Below is the full transcript of this episode for those who prefer to read or want to revisit specific parts of the conversation.

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Marcia:

Welcome back! Carin and I have an amazing episode for you. It's loosely based off of the laser coaching call that we had for the society. As you know, or maybe you don't know, maybe you're new to us, we have the Success Secret Society. Twice a month we meet with our members. The first Wednesday at 12:00 PM EST is laser coaching. The third Wednesday in the evening at 7:00 PM EST is more of an intention setting and that's more of a nervous system reset type of experience.

During the most recent laser coaching session, we talked about the experience that most everyone is going through right now and how it can feel difficult to run your business and to sell and to maintain things when there's so much chaos happening around us.

We're just outside of Washington, DC and we can feel it in our bones.

It is a very stressful time right now. There's constantly things happening, wars being started, things with the economy, inflation, gas pricing, all of that. And so today we're going to talk about how to position yourself so your current clients and future clients understand that you're providing them with something that is helping them to maintain some sense of normalcy during this time.

Carin:
I love that we're expanding on this conversation that started in our coaching calls. Because this is not new, but it is something I think that people don't hear enough people talking about. And so you can start to feel like, is it just me? Am I the only one who's noticing this? Everyone else's business seems to be doing great on Instagram, right? I mean, that's the highlight reel of life and business.

You can start to think, did I lose my edge and am I the problem?

I'm happy we're having this conversation to remind you that no you didn't lose your edge and no you're not the problem.

And also give some thoughts around focus, because that's the hardest thing right now. Because of the noise. You can get so easily sucked into so many rabbit holes these days. Whether it's the world on fire or AI is going to take everyone's job away, or whatever the latest thing is.

There's so many stupid things and real problems in the world. I'm not going to make it seem like it's not a thing. Before we started recording I said to Marcia there's always something. Whether you are personally experiencing it or personally affected by it or not, there's always something that is happening that is likely affecting the people that you serve.

It might not be COVID-19 where the whole entire world was experiencing that at the same time. Hopefully that does not happen again, but there's always something.

The analogy I was using with Marcia is, think of yourself as the doctor. Your people have a problem. You have a solution, you have the prescription. A doctor is not going to send you off and let you continue with your heart disease just because there's a war over there, right? They're going to help you. They're going to give you the plan.

Maybe you need surgery, maybe you need a pill. Maybe it's a change of diet or whatever. They're not going to just send you off because there's something else happening in the world that we could get lost in and feel like we have no power over.

So this is going to be a really good conversation to remind you that you're not alone and help you find your way out of any rabbit holes you may have fallen down.

Marcia:
Yesterday I spent some time with my family and I told my sister that I haven't really been checked in regarding all of the fires that have been happening.

For me, and I think for everyone, you have to have blinders on when it comes to work, when it comes to focusing on the people that you serve. That's not to say that I'm completely blind and oblivious to everything that's going on.

My sister, she's an Aries and very opinionated was like, this is exactly what they want. They want you to contract and they want you to stop paying attention and avoid the things that are happening in the world.

I don't see it that way because the work that I'm doing is to encourage more women to have the audacity to lead. Because we need women to save the world.

I'm not going to be able to do that well if I am curled up in the fetal position thinking, oh my God. I can't believe that this is happening.

I am here to inspire other people to do the work that they're here to do. And I know that you're doing the same thing, Carin. And I assume that the listeners also have a big mission in their business of how they want to affect change.

I've fallen victim where I feel like I have to say something about what's going on or people are going to think that I'm just living this super privileged life and I don't know what's happening.

Everybody fucking knows what's happening. In this day and age, you cannot be online, you can't be a business owner, you can't be a parent, you can't be a citizen without knowing the things that are happening because it's affecting our pocketbooks. We can tell.

I'm paying so much more for groceries now. I'm paying so much more for fuel. My prescriptions now. I'm like, has it always been this bad? I'm looking at my copays. The copays are going up and there's a whole lot going on.

The people that say, this is what they want from you is for you to check out.

Don't let them shame you because that could hurt worse when you have loved ones telling you like, oh, it must be nice for you to be able to just not care.

No, I fucking care. Everybody fucking cares. We don't want this to be happening.

But you have to protect yourself and you have to protect your work. And when you do that, you're going to be able to make a bigger impact.

Carin:
The world is not going to be better off if you are ignoring your business.

That's not going to be a good solution.

If you let things kind of simmer down and you're not putting energy into your business and you're spending more energy being wrapped up in world events that you really don't have control over, like where can you make an impact?

The more money you make, the more you can give to the causes, the politicians and representatives that you think are on par with your beliefs.

You being broke is never going to be a good answer. Focusing on your business is still part of your revolution, of your way to contribute to the better world that you're trying to create. I don't think it's one or the other.

And like Marcia said, you can't ignore what's happening, none of us can, and we don't want to.We need to be aware of the world that we are operating in, that our customers are in, that our children are in. We need to be aware. But I still feel like the focus has to be where you can make an impact.

Your business is your best vehicle to make an impact. The world has always been changed by people, by business owners, by entrepreneurs. The world is not changed by the politicians, let's be real. They just keep it the same. Do they maybe sometimes inspire some folks to do something? Maybe.

But the world is changed by people who go out and see a problem, solve a problem, and make an impact, and help people live a better life. In whatever way that is.

Whether it's a better relationship, whether it's writing the book they've had in their brain for forever, whether it's systemizing their business so they don't spend all day doing admin work and they can actually work with clients. Whether it's having the courage to speak up and say whatever it is they want to. The business people are the ones changing the world.

You focusing on your business is always going to contribute to a better world.

Marcia:
Freaking mic drop. That is so good. It's so good. And it also plays into what we were talking about before we hit record. Carin was like, at any given time, even if what's happening in the world isn't directly affecting your clients, they could be going through some really difficult times in their personal lives.

If you want to put a bow on what's happening right now, it's that you need to do your work in a way that is helping people regardless of where they're at in their life. They might have lost a loved one, or they might be going through a transition at work or whatever. There's always going to be things.

Having in the back of your mind that you need to show up in the way that works best for you, that conveys the value that the people are going to get from working with you and also ties to being really connected to your mission and revisiting it often.

This morning I went back to Day 44 of my blog where I shared my life’s mission. It was something that I created when I was driving to a retreat with Carin and Kim in Richmond.

I was listening to a podcast that was like, everybody should have a life mission, which inspired me. I was like, why am I this age without a personal mission? So I wrote it down and revisited it again today.

I look at it every once in a while. Things right now that I'm working on tie to what I put down.

Staying true to who you are, to the impact that you can make and to the impact that you want to make, that's what's going to get you through these difficult trying times. And that's what's going to make that impact with your clients.

Carin:
It has to start with your vision for what you want your life and business to be. What is your mission from God? You were created for a reason. What do you believe that reason is? That's your mission from God or whatever you believe in.

You have to be driven by that. Your purpose has to be the biggest, most important thing.

Because if you're looking for the why, what's going to keep me going? Why does this even matter? Like why should I even bother? Does anybody care?

When all of that craziness starts bumbling about in your brain you have to remember, no, this is my mission from God.

I know that kind of sounds dramatic, but really it has to be that serious to you.

And you have to remember that people are still buying things. They didn't just up and quit buying things. If they have the problem that you solve then they need to know that you have the solution.

You can't sugarcoat that. That needs to be the lead. Put it front and center: If you have this problem, you need this solution, and I have this solution by the way, and this is how you can get it. That cannot be an optional or on the side.

There's so many things that people will focus on in their marketing and they will bury that lead moment of like, you have X problem, I have Y solution. Let's do this. This is how you sign up.

This time right now in the US specifically, we are all kind of collectively feeling it because of what's going on with this administration and some of the decisions they're making and things that they are starting to do. There's always going to be times when customers are going through things and they're going to be more selective.

Really thinking about how you position solving this problem as something that will: stabilize them and help them get back to some sense of normalcy. You really have to make sure that they can equate your service or product with, okay, this can help me get back to normal.

That's what people want right now. Life feels crazy. Everything feels out of control. Like Marcia said, all the prices are ridiculous. I mean, almost $5 a gallon. What is happening? No, this is not California.

How do you stand out right now? How do you really reach the people that you're trying to help?

It is by making it undeniably obvious that if they have X problem, you have Y solution, this is how you get it.

I don't want to say it's simple, but it’s kind of simple. Don't talk about other stuff. Just talk about you have X problem, I have Y solution, this is how you get it. And talk about that in 30 different ways.

Don't tinker with offers. Don't tinker with funnels. Don't try a new lead magnet. Do not do any of that stuff. Just show up and tell them how they have this problem, you have this solution, this is how they get it.

Marcia:
It will work too because I have invested more in my personal and professional development this year than I have in my life. It has made me feel very grounded and steady and courageous. And those are part of my values.

I want to feel courageous so that when I'm telling other people to have courage, I know how it feels, right?

It feels expansive, it feels great and brings you a lot of confidence.

I did end up buying the Funnel Gorgeous. Carin's been talking to me about that, but it wasn't until I got to that point where I was like, I need something to get me out of this pain. I know the issues. I know the problems very well. When I was ready to buy, I bought and there was no hesitation there.

Kathy (from Funnel Gorgeous) literally made a post on Instagram recently, one of my clients said I'm the best kept secret. And she meant it as a compliment, but I felt like, oh my God.

This is a company that is making over seven figures.

Think about that in your business too, not just how can you convey ways that are going to help other people, but like what kind of help can you use right now?

Can you use a supportive community, like the Success Secret Society? We have rolling enrollment and would love to have you join us.

Today we just wanted to address that things are very difficult right now on a wide spectrum. If you're not hearing from anyone else except for the news people who are basically just sharing the worst of the worst .

We're all going through it. We're all feeling it, we're all nervous. We all kind of don't want to sell because it's like, shouldn't I be focusing on the big world things?

The innovators, the creators, we're going to be the ones that save the world. And the women. Sorry, not to be sexist.

Carin:
What you said about like when you were ready, you pulled the trigger, right? I think that is the importance of being steady in your messaging about you have this problem, I have this solution. I'm not letting that go because then when they are ready, it might not be today, it might not be next week, it might be four years from now.

But you have been steady, you have been clear. They know that when the time is right, when the pain is painful enough, they are going to pull the trigger.

And there's enough people in each bucket, right? There's enough people in the bucket of, oh my God, if I don't solve this problem right now, I'm going to die.

Then there's enough people that are like, oh, it hurts a little bit, but, you know, I, I can, I can push through. I can push through. I don't need it yet.

And then there's people that are like, I think I have pain, but I'm not sure what it is. Hmm. Oh, maybe it's that.

You have enough people in each bucket that as long as you are consistent, in your messaging. When they get to the point of, I'm going to die, if I don't solve this, then they're going to know to come your way.

That's another reason why it's important not to hide. And I'm talking to myself too. Not to go into our turtle shell. We need to stay a steady presence, so they trust that you actually can back up your words because you're still here.

If you are prone to do these stop start cycles and you go hard and then things kind of get hard and then you retreat that's not going to be a good signal to the marketplace of, oh, this is a trusted advisor. This is a person who knows their shit. They are going to be able to help me with this.

If you are prone to running and hiding, when things get crazy, please don't do that. Just stay steady, stay front and center so people can find you when they need you.

Marcia:
You're my partner and I have to share that you show up when the world is on fire. Like that's when we revived the second season of Honest Convos. We kicked that off in June 2020. And then we kicked off the third season last May, but we had started talking about it in February.

I don't want you giving yourself a hard time 'cause it's like you're actually showing up when the world is super chaotic. You and I get kind of bored because we're like, oh, we're saying the same thing over and over again. Where are the results?

But it was a timing thing. The planets were all in retrograde and now we got the fire horse energy.

I just don't want you to be hard on yourself because I feel like we have to give ourselves so much grace.

We have to show up, but keeping that confidence and assuredness that you can serve the way that you want to serve. I have total faith in you and what you can do.

Anyone else who's reading, it's hard. Sometimes we do fall off the train or the barrel or … the wagon. Sometimes we fall off things that are moving and it's like you just have to catch your breath and jump back on.

Just keep showing up for your people and keep sharing with them how it is you can help them during this difficult time and things will be good.