[Transcript starts at 0:40]
Hello, hello, hello, my podcast people. And thank you for joining me for yet another episode of
my favorite online business podcast. If you're listening, watching, tuning in on the day that it
drops, it is Monday, March 9th.
Welcome to March 9th. Today, we're going to hop right in and we're talking about something
that's been on my mind since fucking Trump got elected, which is, you know, like 16 months
ago. At this point.
And that is this question of how do you show up when everything is terrible? How do you sell
your stuff when the world is on fire? How do you post on Instagram about your business when
people are getting kidnapped and killed in the streets? And admittedly, I stopped posting. I'm
still not back to posting, not nearly, not even close to how I used to post. I post every day.
I posted like three times in February. All right, and I I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that
pause.
All right, and I am definitely, definitely envious of people who don't have to run their own
business right now, especially their own online business right now, particularly their own online
business right now. And I want to use that as a jumping-off point, right? And get right into the
episode and then we'll do some biz updates at the end. But my outline is going crazy here, but
running your business, right, that segue here of running your business, especially you know,
running an online business, but running your own business is very different than working for
someone else.
And I don't see this in a hierarchical way. I don't say this in a better than, worse than,
supremacy way, a comparison way. I am saying this in the way that you can't just say, I'm just
doing my job.
And as I'm saying that, I know that these fucking ICE agents are going to be like, I'm just doing
my job. No, that is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the level of accountability and
the direct level of accountability that exists when you are the business, when you own the
business, right? You are, as the business owner, you are directly accountable for the good and
the bad.
The good and the harm. You make the decisions, right? And this is not about shitting on
employees or you being an employee, if you are an employee. But as an employee could work
for like not a great company, but be doing really good things and you can like rest, you can go
to bed at night and like look yourself in the mirror and be like, I'm helping out.
I'm doing good things. The company is kind of shitty and like they have like some shitty things
that they're doing over here. But like what I'm doing is helpful and is good.
You as the business owner, you can't fucking do that because you're the whole business. You're
the whole company and there is a heaviness to that. You can't just be like, well, what I'm doing
is helpful, if what you're doing is not helpful, if there is harm there.
And there's a heaviness to that and you're sitting with that and being like, if I'm posting and
doing this, am I creating harm? Am I doing harm? Like what, we sit with that as the business
owner. Right? Pair this with the fact that it is the online space and when you're in the online
space, it is so easy to see everything. You see all the bad stuff and you also see the people that
are being silent.
I've come out and I've spoken out about this. Like you got a platform, use your fucking
platform. I have spoken up about this, but it's so easy to see the people that aren't speaking out
and that creates a grief, a loneliness inside of you as well.
Right? You have that heaviness of like, fuck. I'm like weighing every day is what I'm doing bad,
is it creating harm? And then you see this person over here and you're like, they don't even
fucking do nothing. And that's frustrating as fuck.
Right? I shout out to the people who have been showing up and speaking up, especially the
folks that have been doing that since day one. And I'm thinking about Dr. J-pop and UC, Dr.
Uchenna Osai, Molly Galbraith. I'm actually going to put her in there as well.
The new folks, Katie St. Claire. God damn. Beth Farrako.
These women are on fire. They are killing it. I love how they are showing up.
Men, where the fuck are you? Stop being little bitches. Use your voice and use your fucking
platform. That shit drives me crazy.
I will say that K-Star actually did a post the other day about Epstein and I was like, good job. I
texted him and I was like, good fucking job. And you know who else who has spoken up since
minute number one? My guy Jojo.
Jojo, I know you're watching this. Love you. Thank you.
Since minute number one, this man be saying something and he says it in his own way. And
when I say he says it in his own way, I don't mean he's out. I mean some like cryptic shit.
It means I mean that he's funny and it like is like a comic book reference. Side note, Jo and
comic books both woke as fuck. So thank you to Jojo.
Thank you the comic books, the rest of y'all step up, but I think we are entering a time speaking
of stepping up where people are stepping up and I think that this can actually exacerbate that
feeling that underlying feeling of what's the point because now you're super aware. You're
aware of the things you've spoken out about the things and then you're like what the fuck like
things are really bad. I'm so aware of this like that does my little business like how do I go and
like it feels like hawk my wares when there's someone this is going on and I'm aware of it and
I'm speaking out about it.
And I will say fuck yeah, you're woke. That's what that's what woke is and it's a great thing. I will
never I will take this to the grave.
I know it. I will never stop being pissed and annoyed and just fucking upset and angry about
how the word woke has been co-opted by white people. Fuck anyone who uses it in a negative
way.
It is this crazy to me. It is crazy to me night. There's a of all this other time.
I mean I it enrages me. So yes, when your eyes are open and you are woke. It is a logical
question to ask.
How do I even sell my shit when everything around me is shit and the answer folks. If you hold
both and it can be hard as fuck and I'm going it I'm going through it with you same time, but
you hold both right? It is a super anticlimactic action item of you just do both you post about
the world and then you post about your business. All right, and it's not so much.
I don't want you to internalize this as a suck it up and do both. It's not about that. Take the time
is a very niche reference.
But if you watched the L word there is a line where Jodi says it's not about that and it's a very
niche reference. But whenever time I say it's not about that it pops into my head. So I'm sharing
that with you a very niche reference.
Maybe you've seen that episode either way. She's arguing with bet and she's like it's not about
that but like I was saying it's not about suck it up and do both take the time that you need the
time that you can write. I've been very fortunate to be able to take a bit quite a bit of time of
just pulling back on the business and you know, leaning on savings and figuring things out.
Take the time that you need and then it's time that you can to feel your feels and process things
talk to people be angry grieve be frustrated go to therapy exercise drink water sleep do all the
things but you got to let these emotions pass through you right? You got to be aware of them.
Let them come up identify them sit with them and let them pass through you and move
through you right not because they're not going to come back who they are. It says they cannot
stay inside of you like they will literally kill you.
So do those things take that time don't post during that time and then we move forward from a
place of hate this all of this sucks and I have to participate in many things in order to stay alive.
How do I do the least amount of harm? I think that that last part is the most helpful reframe at
least for me and this episode is just as much for me as it is for you, right? I've been thinking
about this stuff and sitting with this stuff for months and this episode is the product of all that
right? This is one of those, you know, teach from the scar not the wound. I have moved through
this and I'm like, okay, I'm ready.
I have words for this coherent words for this and that reframe has been helpful for me. All
right, if our goal in doing things and having a business is to fix everything. It's impossible.
It's an impossible goal. My things are so shitty and so big and you're like fuck what I'm doing
can't even touch. It doesn't matter true.
So we're going to flip that and change that to do the least harm and I think it becomes a bit
easier to actually do anything right because no single action you could ever do would fix
everything but every action you take has the potential to cause harm. So how do you mitigate
that? There's another piece to this which I think is to treat the piece of this reframe which is to
treat your business like a job and this is not in the sense of like releasing yourself of all
responsibility, right? But it is about understanding that your business doesn't have to be this
big, you know, have this big huge purpose to it. Do the work with integrity cause the least harm
and use the resources that it generates to actually live your values and live into your values.
Worth noting you can start doing that stuff now and many of you are doing all of this now, but
I'm saying specifically for the last part of use the resources that you've generated to actually
live into your values. Start now, donate money, donate time, do the things that you thought to
yourself you would do if you had more money, right? Lex and I donate food every month at the
local food pantry. I found one down the street.
It's literally like down the street. I donate money to two nature conservancies. They got me.
One of them got me. I'm walking outside of the of the grocery store and they're like do you care
about nature? And you're like yeah I do actually. So that was one of them and then one of my
brother had posted about and I was like, yeah, I'll send money to this.
I volunteer my time on Wednesday nights to coach these youth athletes for like an hour and a
half. Start doing stuff now and then when you have more resources you can do more. Just
understand you're not going to fix the world by not making any money.
You're not going to fix the world anyway, right? But you're definitely not going to fix it by not
making money. That's not like a solution like I will just like not make any money. You will not,
you also will not be able to live into your values if you have no resources, if you have no money.
I have repeatedly talked about building something worth saving as it relates to your business
and how you continue to show up and run it and that is exactly what all this speaks to, right?
Run your business with integrity. Run it in a way that causes the least harm. Extractive
capitalism is harmful.
Don't fucking do that. Commerce in and of itself is not harmful. They are different.
Lastly, I think that it is, there's tremendous value in naming the fact that we exist within a
system, within a society where you have to monetize your skills in order to survive. That is, it
would be great if that wasn't the case, but that is the case. If money wasn't a thing, I'd be DJing
all day and playing beach volleyball all day.
That's what I want to do, right? Yes, I know you need electricity in order to be able to DJ and pay
for that. I get it. But I'm just saying, you know, like Magic Wand, Utopia, that's what I would be
doing, DJing.
To that end, the thing that you monetize your business, it doesn't need to be your calling or
something that saves the world, right? Because I know that a question that you've likely asked
yourself is, what's the point? What I do doesn't even matter. What's the point of all of it? And
that's true. That is very true.
What you do, what I do, for sure, it is nice to have. It is not a need to have. Very few vocations,
very few jobs are need to have.
You're doing surgery? Need to have that. And some of those, a lot of those, are elective. You
work in the ER? Different.
God bless you. You're a nurse in the ER? God bless you. Delivering babies? God bless you.
What I do? No, it is not a need to have at all. It's nice to have. And I think part of what happened
was happening in this time period.
People are coming to that, you know, having that reckoning and they're like, oh my god, and
there's like this internal worth and all this stuff and sit with that, right? Process that. But then
realize that again, the thing that you monetize, a.k.a. your business, it doesn't have to be your
calling and it doesn't have to be something that saves the world. I want to shift away from this
idea, this thought about, does this even matter? And reframe and move into, is your business
an act of resistance or an act of compliance? Right? You can absolutely be building an
alternative inside the system while the system still exists.
Commerce within this capitalistic system. Absolutely. Worth noting, you can opt out of
capitalism in many, many ways.
Not all the ways, but namely where you spend your dollars. You choosing to not market your
business and not post, not show up, like the business that you are running with integrity, that
has great values, that you're paying your people and, you know, you're doing good things,
you're doing the right things. You not marketing that and you not continuing that is not opting
out of capitalism.
You are opting out of commerce and opting out of a way to acquire a resource, many, that will
let you further live into your values. If you want to just get rid of your business altogether, I'm
not here to stop you. I actually, I think that was last week's episode or two weeks ago, which
was like, maybe it's time to hang up the boots, right? Maybe it's time to walk away.
That's fine too. But if you're like, hey, I want to do this thing and I believe in this thing and I
enjoy this thing and this is a thing that does bring me this resource and I enjoyed it enough.
And it's with and I'm operating within my integrity.
And I'm within my values. You do a business the right way. Just not talking about it is not opting
out of capitalism.
It is not fighting the system. Remember that reframe of not, it's not does this even matter? It's,
is this business an act of resistance or an act of compliance? And that allows us to shift things
and it does give us a framework and a filter for our actions. I'm looking at the time.
I'm going to wrap it up there. Hopefully this episode landed with you. I actually want to throw a
resource in there.
If you're looking for more things about values and living into your values, that's my girl, Laura
Jean. She's Dietitian Values. She actually, her like signature program is launching soon.
I'm not sure where it's going to be in the launch phase by the time this episode drops, but we
will link, that will link her website and everything. Thank you, Courtney. Thank you, Jojo.
You can check her out, go check her out on Instagram as well. She's the fucking best, but
hopefully this episode landed with you. Like I said earlier, it's something I've been sitting with
for a long time now and I finally had enough clarity to, you know, put the proverbial pen to the
proverbial, couldn't say that, put the proverbial pen to the proverbial paper, aka type this up
and make a podcast episode.
So, biz update just got one. Check out the messaging services that I dropped, y'all. I am so
fucking stoked about them.
I just completed three website messaging audits and I fucking love it. I loved it. It's what I've
been doing for years with my maestro meetings, but in this case for the website auditing,
website messaging auditing, it was focused on a central asset, which is the website, which is
really nice because it's just like a set thing, but fuck, I love it.
I love doing this. I have offers on my website. You'll see for sales pages, for auditing the
message on the sales page, auditing the messaging on the entire website.
I have a messaging meeting where we can meet one-on-one. I have a messaging month. I have
like a very short overall messaging diagnostic.
There's a bunch of stuff on there and I probably will put out some different things as well and
just kind of rework the copy on it, but it's really fun for me because it's what I've been doing for
years and I get to use this, you know, the superpower that I get to put to use here is my ability
to see people and see the person behind the business, behind the brand and then building
messaging around that, which is so, it's so fun for me. All right, tactically, that looks like
strategic positioning, avatar development. That's a big one is who is your avatar? I will help you
out with that.
What's your niche? I will help you out with that. I can tell you what it is. This is what I've been
doing for years.
Messaging architecture and then subsequent to that is copy. I do more what I would call copy
consulting as opposed to copywriting. I don't just write it for people.
I'll lead, you know, prevent, present suggestions and my favorite thing is that they throw some
stuff back at me and we kind of go back and forth and ultimately ends up being their language
just with my guidance. So, like I said before, I fucking love it. Likely going to do a full episode on
it.
And what am I doing? What all I'm doing within the messaging realm. But for now, go check out
that services page. All the things are linked there.
Each offer has its own page and has its own explanation. But if you have any questions, hit me
up. There is a contact form, but you've got my number.
310-737-2345. All right, officially gonna wrap it up there. This was a fun one.
As always, my friends, endlessly, endlessly, one more time, endlessly appreciative for every
single one of you. Until next time friends, Maestro, out.
Watch this episode on YouTube!
Check out my brand new messaging offers!
Connect with my girl Laura Jean: @dietitianvalues
dietitianvalues.com
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