The “Well-Oiled Machine” Myth (And How It’s Stunting Your Growth)

Hello, my love, and welcome to Seen, the podcast that helps you to stop hiding, claim your worth, and build the most vibrant version of your life possible. Thank you so much for being here. Hello, my love, and welcome to Seen. And today I really wanted to record this podcast almost for the past version of me that used to think that she had to try and force and really control everything in order to grow her business. And if this resonates, then this is for you because so many women that I speak to, they're craving that certainty in business where they just want to know how many leads are coming in, how many clients are coming in. And there's this common like myth and belief that they think their business needs to be this well-oiled machine. And I personally used to just froth at this idea that business could be this well-oiled machine and, it almost stopped me from doing anything that was like manual or anything that was ad hoc because I just wanted everything to be put in this neat little box. And so when I was working in marketing and working my agency and promoting my programs, I would use a lot of Facebook ads because to me, I loved the idea of like this well-oiled machine. You've got your ads running, you know how many leads you're gonna get, you know what price they're gonna be, you know your conversion rate, and you've got this lovely little formula to bring in business and grow your business essentially. And the thing is, is that a well-oiled machine is a myth. And sure, you can strive to have structure in your business, you can strive to be organized, and these are all incredible things, but at the end of the day, so much is out of our control and things change all the time. Even with ads, the algorithm changes the way the ads are, uh, are actually put in front of people and the targeting changes, you know, your customer changes, your offer changes, things are not relevant anymore. And so it really is a myth that we can just have control over our business. And so where does that leave us if we want to grow our business and bring in more customers, bring in more clients, and actually have, you know, some projection and some future scope of work that we know that we're gonna grow and bring in clients every single month? And the funny thing is, is that it really comes down to having something, an offer and a positioning that you absolutely are obsessed with and that you're just shouting about it from the rooftops. Because the thing is, with even if you were to use ads or something like that, as I mentioned, it could just completely change day to day. But also ads is just adding fuel to the fire. So ads is just really surging something that's already working. And if you are taking something that is, you know, you're half in, half out, it's kind of burning you out. You just, you cannot scale chaos. And if you're trying to add ads into that mix and think it's just gonna make you a well-oiled machine, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I've just seen this absolutely flop so many times. Now, I'm not trying to say that all ads are bad. I personally am an advocate for ads and I love using ads strategically in your business, but it's ads is not just gonna be there as like this magic bullet and this fix-all for your business. I think a lot of people are just really enamored by this idea of like ads being the thing that just solves all problems. And the thing is, it, it really doesn't. And I believe that on an actual physical level where the ads and the metrics and everything like that can go wrong, but also from an energetic level. And without even being too woo, it's like if you are scaling an offer that is burning you out, that is weighing you down, it's just not going to be sustainable. And this actually happened to me because even though my ads were working really well on the front end in my, um, previous offer, I was getting the leads, I was getting the sales call, they were all aligned clients. But what was happening was that I did not have the capacity to do all of these sales calls. I did it for like a month and the business was like growing more than it ever had. And then and I literally could not continue doing it. And so that became my downfall. Then I went to hire two different salespeople, which didn't work each time for various reasons. And I firmly believe now that it was just literally a universal redirection because I needed to actually pivot into what I'm doing now. But I just wanna share that lesson with you because so many people think that ads are the magic answer or that this funnel or this strategy or that, tactic is going to save their business. And I'm here to tell you that it actually will not. What you actually need to do is get clear on what actually lights you up. Like, what do you want to be doing? And what are you incredible at doing that you could actually talk about all day long? Because when you actually come to that point, and when you do the work on yourself, on your messaging, on your identity, to fall back in love with your business and in love with your offer, that is actually when you just want to talk about it. You're shouting it from the rooftops and you feel so certain about it. And before we go any further, I just wanna actually talk to you a little bit about this idea of certainty because so many women I speak to have sort of lost that self-trust and that certainty. And they are scrambling a little bit and they're like, should I do this tactic? Should I do that? I don't know what I'm gonna do. And they've kind of lost that self-trust and certainty. What's really important is to actually act with certainty despite all of that. Even if you feel like you're not crystal clear on your mission, even if you feel like you're not crystal clear on your purpose, moving towards the nudges of what you think excites you, makes you curious, makes you feel creative, they're the things that are pulling you towards what you should be doing. And you just move with certainty in that direction. So acting with certainty does not mean that you've got all the answers. Far from it. I don't think anyone has all the answers. Acting with certainty means taking steps in the direction of your dreams and feeling certain that it's all gonna work out, this or better. That is acting with certainty. It's not about having all the answers. It's actually just about moving with that confidence and that level of self-trust that even if what you do now blows up in your face or doesn't work out, amazing, because you're being redirected to what's actually a little bit better. So when we can have that energy and step into that kind of passion and embodiment and trust that we are following those whispers, we are actually noticing what lights us up and what we want to be doing and getting so excited about it and being so certain about it, knowing that yes, this might not be the end result and the end goal, but I know following this is gonna get me there. Acting like that draws people in. It is the most magnetizing thing that you can do. And it's so easy to talk about your offer when you do that. It's so easy to connect with people 'cause you feel so lit up about what you're doing and who you're serving that you'll have no problem reaching out to people and telling them about your offer. You'll be actually inviting people to come on the journey with you because you, you feel like you've got so much value to give and you're so excited about what you're putting together that you start thinking about Who would be an amazing fit for this? Oh my God, I think this person would be great. I think this person would be great. And you're actually sending them invitations and you're sending them a message to say, hey, I've just put together this offer. I really think it'd be an awesome fit for you. Let's hop on a call for 10 minutes and I'll tell you all about it. And you tell them about it on the call and you bring them into your world and they get so excited from your enthusiasm that they jump straight in. That is how you actually start to grow your business is with that magnetic energy. Now, if you find a business, an attraction, and you feel totally pulled with it and you're, shouting it from the rooftops and you're sharing with everyone you know and people are getting excited about it, and then you start running Facebook ads, incredible. You're just amplifying all of that. But if you feel lackluster, you just feel half in, half out, you are not excited about what you're doing, and then you think something like ads or the next strategy is gonna fix that, I'm sorry, but it just isn't. And I had to learn that the hard way again and again and again because I'm the type of person that loved having control. I wanted control, I wanted that safety, and I had to actually realize that trying to force something doesn't actually give me safety or control because I can't fucking control anything because who knows what's gonna happen tomorrow. And it wasn't until I could really actually understand that, that I was able to trust myself and to move in the direction of what felt right for me. And so I just wanted to share that journey because I see that so often. And I've even got a beautiful client that I've been working with one-on-one who we were working on her offer for a while. We put in all the right tactical things, you know, we refined her VSL, we refined her, sales page, her landing page, all of those things. And she just was hesitating so much sharing it. She just, there was some block that she had that she just did not want to share the offer. And how that showed up for her was procrastination and was perfectionism. She would do revision after revision after revision after revision of the offer, of the sales page, and not actually share it with anyone. And we've been working through all of this until it got to the point that she identified she's not fucking excited about that offer. And that is why there was such a level of resistance. And that's when she decided, okay, I actually am gonna pivot this slightly and do something that I feel totally lit up by. Within 24 hours of making that change, not only had she told multiple people about it, she had 2 clients on board. Within 24 hours. And when I spoke to her, she just sounded so passionate and enthusiastic and is on that trajectory now. So it's just been such a beautiful journey to watch because I think so many women fall into that trap of just feeling like they should be doing what they are doing, or it's what they've always done, so they have to continue to do it. There's a lot of fear and a lot of shoulds around it, And it's really about just taking that step back and asking like, am I even excited about this? Like, if money was not an issue, if I could just put revenue to the side, would I be doing what I'm doing now? Because I can tell you hand on heart, with my new mastermind, Expand, I would pay someone to let me run this. Like, I am obsessed with the studio that I'm building. I am obsessed. Like, I am absolutely so excited about creating all of these things. And of course making money is great, but it's not just about that. That's not the primary driver. And I feel like it's that, that point that we want to get to, that we're so embodied and so just unwavering belief in what we're doing that it is so easy to bring people into your world. And so if you have been trying to figure out what strategy am I gonna use this year, how am I gonna bring in clients, how, what kind of tactics am I gonna use? I would really urge you, urge you to come back to basics and come back to the foundations first of really seeing, do you feel lit up with what you're doing? Is there a way that you can tweak your offer? It does not mean you have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. It could be about restructuring the way that it's packaged, reformatting the time, reformatting what's actually included, and just get so, so excited about the offer that you've created that you just cannot wait to tell the world. And I wanted to share a story with you that I love. And I heard this, um, when I was at a retreat and, um, mastermind in LA last year. There was a speaker there that had worked in Airbnb and shared a little bit about what they used to do in Airbnb on their strategy days. So they would bring all the execs into the room, really thinking about how they're gonna move the business forward in Airbnb. And what they would actually do is sit down and ask everyone to write out what would be a 20 outta 10 experience. So for guests of Airbnb, they rock up, they get to the place that they've just rented out through Airbnb. What would be a 20 outta 10 experience for guests? And with 20 outta 10, you can literally go wild. Like you can just, the sky's the limit. So it's like, okay, Beyoncé is gonna be at the door to sing to me and greet me. I'm gonna have Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen making me dinner. You know, I'm gonna have a masseuse. I'm gonna have this, that, the other. Like we're really talking about like going all out here. And then they say, okay, awesome. Now what would be like a 15 outta 10 review? Then they might start to strip it back a little bit and then they all the way down to 10 and they ask what would be a 10 outta 10 experience? Because obviously they can't have Beyoncé at every single listing. But then they start thinking about, okay, how can I take the same emotions of the 20 outta 10 vision and bring them into what I can practically do? Okay, we can't have Beyoncé, but is there something that we can leave for every guest when they arrive? Maybe it's a fragrance in the air, maybe it's a candle lit, maybe it's fresh bread that's laid out. Like, what is it that we can do to give them that Superhost experience and make it this 10 outta 10, um, experience? And it's only by thinking so big first that you can then be able to add the the practicalities to it and then think, okay, this is how we can get the same experience that is a little bit more within reason to do. And that can apply so well for what you do at the moment too. Like, go wild. Let yourself really think about what you would love to do if there was zero limitations. The sky is the limit. And journal out what that is. Because with my client that I told you about, she had never really done this practice. She was always so quick to exit execute, execute. She was one of the best executors I've ever, ever worked with, but she had never really given herself the space and the permission to really step into what do I want? Like the sky is the limit. What do I want? How many hours do I wanna work each day? What do I wanna be doing? How do I wanna feel when I'm working? What do I wanna feel like I've contributed? What's important to me? And really allow yourself that space to think about what would a 20 outta 10 day be for you? What would a 20 outta 10 offer be for you? And then you can come back to, okay, well maybe I don't have the budget for X, Y, and Z. Maybe I don't have the time for X, Y, Z, but is there a way with the constraints that I do have, is there a way to get a similar result or a similar feeling? And that is how you build an incredible offer that you are just so blown away with. Because the thing is, if you are reaching out to people and you want them to join your offer, I'm sorry, but vanilla is not gonna cut it. Like, just having the same variation of what everyone else does is just not gonna get their attention. This needs to be something that you're like, oh my God, we could do this and then we could mix in that and this would be fucking epic. And do you see how when you've got that passion behind it and when you're actually building something based on what you think would be incredible, what you see there's a gap in the market for, and what you think your clients would absolutely be obsessed with. How much easier is that to go to someone and say, hey, I've built this thing because I saw that there was this need, or I saw that I've been through this experience myself and there was nothing there for me, and so I've gone ahead and built this thing. I thought you'd be an incredible fit. What do you think? Do you see how much more likely people are to jump into something that feels full of passion, full of excitement, actually built differently and built with them in mind. That is something noteworthy to talk to people about. Just packaging up your accounting service is not noteworthy. You know, packaging up coaching practice is not noteworthy. There needs to be something that is exciting, that is different, that is unique, that is something that is uniquely you, that you just think this would be absolutely fucking epic. And there's so many ways ways to do that when you start with that 20 outta 10 vision, and then you can always bring it back to something that you feel is more feasible. So I wanna leave that with you. I would love to connect with you on Instagram. Drop me a DM at Katie_OH and let me know your thoughts, your takeaways, your feedback. I absolutely love connecting with you guys in my DMs, and I just wanna hear what your takeaways from this episode were because this was me. This was me. I was trying to force, I was trying to hustle. And what I've seen now that I'm on the other side of that is just how much more ease and alignment can, can come in business when you just actually do something that lights you up. Okay, I'll see you again next week.