A short YouTube video by Katie McManus offering small business owners a script to use when judgy family members ask “how’s your little business going?” She recommends responding by expressing excitement, describing the ideal client and the solution being built, and naming a current hurdle (so family can engage constructively). Includes a concrete example (leadership coach) and a closing CTA about her ADHD-focused coaching services.
Chapters
You're a small business owner and you have some judgy family members. Then listen up. We are fully into the holiday swing, and there are Christmas parties and a lot of family events that I bet you're having to go to. And I bet you're getting those questions of, how's your little business going? How's your little side hustle going? And you're feeling super triggered and annoyed and attacked by these people who are supposed to care about you but feel really judgy about what you're up to. Deep breath. Oh, I just blew stuff over. And the reason this is so triggering is because you're probably early on in your business, and when you're early on your business, things aren't going great, okay? They don't go great in the beginning because you're just starting, okay? You don't have a whole lot of clients yet. You don't have a whole lot of results to show your family members that you know what you're doing and you know this, and you know that this is fine. But here's this person who's, like, sitting there waiting for an answer, and you feel like they're making up a story that you're crashing and burning, right? So here's what you're going to say instead of, oh, it's going great, because you and I both know you're going to feel like you're kind of being a liar when you say that. You're going to look them dead in the eye and you're going to, you know what? I am so excited for what we're working on. And you're going to go on to explain. We're developing this thing that's going to help this type of person. You're going to describe your ideal client down to a T, and it's going to help them solve this problem and get to this outcome that, like, they're dying to get to. And then you're going to explain, here's the hurdle we're working on overcoming right now. So let's assume you're a leadership coach. And your Uncle Jim comes over and they're like, so how's your little leadership coaching business? You can say, you know what? I'm so excited, Uncle Jim. Right now I'm working on building out this whole leadership training program specifically for people who've just been promoted to, like, director VP level, who've never had to do strategic thinking before. And my program helps them really understand how they break down these massive goals into actionable plans that they can hand down. To their teams. And this whole program is done in a way that we're actually working through what they're doing at work throughout the program. So it's not like they're doing homework. They're actually doing their work while they're doing their work. And our biggest struggle right now is figuring out which channels, which, you know, social media channels are going to be the best for us to get in front of these people. So giving this answer does a few things. Okay, so let's assume Uncle Jim actually does care about you, okay? He just doesn't know what questions to ask. Okay. And he kind of doesn't really understand what it is that you do. So by telling him kind of what building and what you're excited for and what you're struggling with, you've a given him some details that he can be informed about now so that he can ask more questions and be more involved in this conversation and not feel stupid about it. And you've kind of just given him a little offer at a job, right? Because you've told him something that you're struggling with and not in a way that, like, you're like, oh, what was me? This sucks. You're saying, this is the thing that we're up against and we're trying to work it out. Uncle Jim may have some ideas. And, you know, family's funny, like, they can sound super judgmental. They will still have your back. So who knows, he may have a few friends that he plays golf with on the weekends who are exactly in that position who could use your help. And you've just told Uncle Jim that you can help them. And bonus, you won't have to say, oh, it's great, and then pray and hope that he's not going to ask for, like, how much money you're making, how many clients you have, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Because no one wants to do that. And by the way, if he does ask that, you are not required to show your numbers to anyone except for your accountant or your lawyer if they need to see it. Anyway. I'm Katie McManus. I help ADHD business owners make more money in less time with your distractions by helping you figure out your profitable niche, design an offer that people actually want to buy and teach you how to market and sell your services without wanting to vomit. If you want more content like this, then go ahead and like and follow.
