I’ve been getting similar questions in my inbox lately, all circling a common theme:
“How do I keep building my business when life keeps throwing obstacles my way?”
The people writing to me feel like they’re falling short because they’re not:
- Publishing daily or weekly
- Hosting classes
- Making and selling new offers
- Doing formal “new business outreach”
But when they tell me what they are doing, here’s what I hear:
- Working on brand projects
- Meeting regularly with existing collaborators
- Building up relationships with new collaborators
- Testing out new platforms
- Spending time gathering ideas and inspiration
- Supporting other business owners through texts, DMs, and social media
- Managing a part-time job while getting out of debt
- Taking on small coaching and advising projects within their networks
When I look at that second list, I see something important: business building in real life.
Rethinking what “counts” as business building
The creator economy has shaped our expectations around what business building should look like.
We see the visible markers everywhere: weekly newsletters, podcasts that never miss a beat, daily social media posts, constant new offers, and aggressive outreach.
I’ll be honest—I’ve contributed to this perception. Right now, I’m running a pretty intense pace: weekly essays and podcasts, frequent new offers, multiple business models, a brand launch, and preparing to publish a book.
But my current pace is not sustainable long-term, and it’s tied to very specific circumstances and goals.
Different goals, different circumstances
I’m in a business model shift. I’m transitioning from high-priced retainers to lower-priced offers, while investing in publishing and rebranding. And I'm trying to thread this needle without draining my savings. I planned for this intensive period knowing it was temporary.
My circumstances also allow it: I don’t have children, I can dedicate 40 hours a week to my business, and I’m not currently caregiving for parents. We didn’t take a long summer vacation (although next summer is the book tour!!).
It wouldn’t be remotely feasible to keep up with the kind of publication schedule that I've been running this summer if I could only work from 9-2, and really only on the days my kids had camp.
If your life includes children, chronic health conditions, neurodivergence, caregiving responsibilities, intense personal pursuits, or a job that pays the bills while you build—your capacity will naturally look different, especially during summers and holidays.
Your business building will look different.
And that’s not a limitation; it’s just reality.
The quieter work that actually builds businesses
In the midst of what we think business building “should” look like, we’ve forgotten how businesses actually grow: through relationships and human connection.
The trust you build with people over time matters more than any content calendar.
Those activities that don’t feel like they “count”? They often matter most:
- Staying connected with your network and telling them what you're doing.
- Wrestling with new ideas for your business.
- Taking on projects that fit your current capacity.
- Supporting others in their work.
These are relationship and authority deposits that compound over time.
My own business wasn’t built on content—that came later. It grew from solving problems for people I knew, and those people telling their networks while I expanded my own. Most successful businesses I know started the same way.
The key is to stay in the arena.
To simply stay engaged with your business and your network, in whatever capacity aligns with your life season.
And that engagement doesn’t have to look like what you’ve been sold, especially if your goals and circumstances differ from the content creators or business owners you follow.
A different kind of progress
If you’re reading this, you’re already working on your business. It may not look like the polished version you see online, but that doesn’t make it less valuable.
The relationships you’re maintaining, the problems you’re solving, the trust you’re building—this is how businesses grow for the long-term.
Your pace doesn’t have to match anyone else’s. Your business building can look exactly like what fits your life right now.
So before the end of the summer, take stock of what you’ve completed this season. You’re still here. You’re still in the arena. And that deserves to be celebrated.
Sometimes it’s hard to see your own progress when you’re in the thick of it. That’s why Define Your Foundations exists: a space where the quieter, relationship-driven work is recognized as real business building—and where you’ll have the support to keep moving forward. The next round opens to the waitlist Monday, August 25, with the cohort starting September 18.