Almost four months ago, I logged off all of it. Every platform. On purpose, with a plan, and knowing for a fact that there is another way to build something without performing for the algorithm every single day.
As someone who has helped hundreds of people with their marketing through my former agency, Meet Pepper, I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve had where people felt like social media was the ONLY option to market their services, even when it was slowly eating away at their soul.
And I didn’t just want to let people know that if social didn’t work for them, there were other ways to market; I also wanted to walk the walk.
And for a while, it really did feel like the best decision I’d ever made!
But last week, something shifted. And if I’m being honest with you, it’s a little stingy to admit…
It started on an airplane.
Last fall, flying to speak at a retreat in Phoenix, something just dropped into me with total clarity…do the no-social experiment.
Not a thought, not a plan. Just crystal clear intuition.
So, I listened and stepped onto the path.
What I also did, immediately, was decide what it meant. I put on blinders and tried to control the experiment from the very beginning, thinking I already knew the outcome.
Here’s where it gets a little painful to admit…
I am a marketer. I have spent years building marketing strategies for other people’s businesses. I know, better than almost anyone, that when you remove a tactic that’s working, you replace it with something else.
I didn’t replace it with anything.
I did find Substack and started my podcast, which I am loving! But then I just... didn’t do the rest. The gap stayed a gap. And I kept writing and talking about how you don’t need social media to build a business, while quietly not building much of anything in its place.
Which, let’s be honest, is funny, not funny, but still funny. (Legit lol’ing to myself right now even as I write this.)
I let that sit for a while. Longer than I’d like to admit, honestly. The kind of sitting where you know something isn’t quite adding up, but you’re not quite ready to look at it directly yet, because it’s a little too painful.
Also, recently I’ve had some preeeetty big life variables shift that changed the whole shape of this experiment. And then, I finally let myself see it…social media actually worked for me. After 12 years of building my presence online, it not only worked well, but I was good at it. I even enjoyed it.
I gave up something that worked for me because I was so committed to proving a point.
The point wasn’t wrong, by the way. You genuinely do not have to be on social media to build a successful business. There are other ways. I believe that completely, and I’ll say it until I’m out of breath.
But that wasn’t actually my lesson. I just thought it was.
My lesson, the one I was apparently always meant to learn from this, is the exact thing I sit with other women and work through every single time…
You get to decide. And then you get to change your mind. And neither of those things means you failed.
We’re all running experiments. All of us, all the time, whether we call it that or not. You look at the variables, you test something, you look at the results, you adjust. There’s no wrong answer, only what’s working right now, with the life you actually have, with the variables currently on the table.
Mine changed. So I’m changing the experiment.
I’m going back on Instagram.
Probably going to try some other things too, because that’s just how we do it around here ;)
Consciously, on my terms, with my wellness the priority, and genuinely curious about what this version will look like. And if it doesn’t work, I’ll look at the variables and tweak it again. Maybe I'll try no-social again next year. Maybe something else entirely. I’ll let you know.
That’s not inconsistency. That is the whole point, my friends.
The reason I’m sharing this, messy and unresolved as it still feels, is because this is exactly the kind of conversation I wish more women in business got to have. Not the polished version where the lesson is already learned and packaged. The actual one, where you’re a little embarrassed, trying to figure out what comes next, maybe worried how others might judge you, and choosing to trust yourself anyway.
That’s what we do inside the Women’s Circle. Show up with the real thing, not the highlight reel version. Witness each other without judgment. Make decisions based on what’s actually true for us, not someone else’s rules or expectations or timeline.
If that sounds like your kind of room, book a chat with me here asap to apply for one of the few remaining spots left! Our first meetup is just over a week away!
But for now, that’s my soul share. Flat on my face, but still chuckling, because isn’t life just freakin’ hilarious.
Big love from your girl,
Stace
Women’s Circle: Kamloops — Only four spots left out of 10. Starting May 6th. If it’s been on your radar, now’s the time! Apply here →
Free Workshop — Join us in the Virtual Circle for our free Positive Intelligence Workshop next Tuesday! Discover your “Saboteurs” and how your mind can work for you instead of against you. Grab your spot →
Regulated Retreat — If your nervous system has been through it lately (I mean, whose hasn’t?!), then this one’s for you. A retreat designed around actual regulation, not just rest. Learn more →
Podcast Episode 9 — A truly eye-opening conversation with menstrual cycle coach, Kelsey Cobbe, about cycles, seasons, and the things nobody told you about PMS. Listen here →
Are you a Humanist Entrepreneur? — I wrote about what that actually means. It might be the most you thing you read today. Read it →
Lemonade Day — The sweetest event for young entrepreneurs in Kamloops! Worth knowing about and worth supporting. Check it out →
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