Congruence in action

Why I pulled my latest offering

The Sustainable Solopreneur is a weekly newsletter about seasonal, cyclical, supportive business strategy for solopreneurs and creative souls who want more out of life than the status quo, hosted by business coach and strategist Jenni Gritters. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while and you receive value from it, I’d encourage you to sign up for a paid subscription.

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Last night, I pulled a card from The Rose Oracle, one of my favorite decks, called Temple of the Rose. It’s a message to deeply trust and heal the sacred thread of the feminine by expressing your truth. The card’s description literally said, “Sing the song you came here to sing. This is how you reclaim your power.”

So here’s my truth:

Yesterday, I decided to pull back on my spring mastermind group, The [Sustainable] Scale Club. For weeks — months, really — I’ve been nauseously going back and forth about what this program should be. I’ve shuffled through about 10 different names and set ups. Most business coaches have high-ticket mastermind groups, which bring in the majority of their revenue. It’s a way to build community, connect with people one-on-month and offer trainings to a group, which takes up less time. Basically, masterminds are scalable. I’ve looked at dozens of examples, trying to figure out how to replicate them in my own world.

Even as I landed on The [Sustainable] Scale Club, my gut kept telling me the whole thing was wrong — but I chalked it up to the fear of doing something new and pushing myself to a new edge. Even as I soft-launched the offering to my community, I felt like something was weird. After a long discussion with my own coach, I pulled back on the program’s scale, making it simpler, wondering if my subconscious was wary of over-giving during this season of intense parenting — but the misaligned feeling remained. Then I asked my mastermind group to weigh in on the messaging. I drafted page after page of Instagram copy, email copy, trying to land on the point of the group. Still, I felt like it wasn’t working.

And yesterday, after yelling at my kids because my nervous system has been absolutely on edge about the whole thing all week, I got into the shower, burst into tears, and decided to listen to my truth.

The Scale Club is something former me would have wanted to teach. But as I said to my coach last week, I’d be more likely to offer a “De-Scale” club these days. Business growth is great, of course. I want my clients to see epic growth — and they do! But we do growth in a different way in my community, one that looks more like developing trust in ourselves, being able to authentically market, and enjoying slow work days. Yes, all of that results in revenue growth and more clients. But it’s a softer approach. “Scale Club” sounds way too much like an accelerator.

And here’s what’s honest: I’d rather teach an anti-accelerator that helps people construct right-sized businesses so they can have some freaking peace and separate their identities from work. (I’m laughing as I type this, because I wish I’d launched that in the first place — and it’s likely what I’ll offer in the coming year or two.)

Another truth: Right now, I don’t have capacity for another group. I am absolutely obsessed with SUSTAIN, my group coaching program, and I want to focus my energy there, as well as on my one-on-one clients. I only have 16 hours per month to coach; when I fill it up with a program like this, things get cramped. And I am so full-up on life right now, too; my kids are high-energy and we have all sorts of other life circumstances happening for me to juggle. I grieve this limited capacity, sometimes, but I know that adding more to the pile never works out well.

As I sat with it, I also realized that I like the model I have now. I want to enjoy time with my kids. Summer is coming, and I’d like to be out on the trails, laying in the sun by the river, planting a garden. In short: I have enough. I don’t need a business model that matches all of those coaches I see on Instagram. I can build a right-sized business model that looks unique. I can have a group coaching program and it can be more than enough for my revenue model.

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I have learned over the past decade of working for myself that when something is incongruent (ie. I’m acting as if I want to do it publicly, yet inside I’m raging), it doesn’t sell well, the marketing is painful, participants don’t get as much out of it and I feel deep resentment. In short, congruence is the key to a successful business. And this program felt incongruent.

Still, it took me about a month to give myself permission to walk it back. I was angry that I hadn’t seen this at the outset (although, how could I have?), doubtful about giving revenue back and ashamed that the positioning wasn’t right. I wondered what all of y’all would think of me, if I shared the walk-back publicly.

It took a few sleepless nights, a tight jaw and that episode of yelling at my kids to get to the heart of it: I had to let this go. But I also learned a lot from launching it. I learned what I don’t want, and what I want my model to look like. I learned who I am becoming. I learned that I love what I already have.

Yesterday, I emailed the people who had signed up already, offering them a few options to get 1-1 coaching (honestly, more impactful) and join SUSTAIN, my group coaching program. They were incredibly gracious — thankful, even.

And here’s the good part: All of the content I was planning to drop into The Scale Club library will now be added to the SUSTAIN library. So if you were eyeing the curriculum and feeling stoked about those proposal templates, materials for hiring an assistant, trainings from experts on branding and pricing, and beyond: Now you can grab it for $149/ month. Growth-mode, SUSTAIN-style. It feels on brand. I’d love to have you in that room.

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I want to be where I already am, friends. I want simple. I don’t want to sprint in this season of my life. And I don’t want more for the sake of more, no matter how much my ego insists upon it some days.

On Saturday night, I saw a bunch of content on my Instagram feed about Mom 2.0, a conference in Nashville. I felt a moment of the comparison trap: I should be there. I should be prominent enough to be on that stage. I should be going viral on Instagram, too. I should, I should, I should…

Then I woke up on Sunday morning and sat watching the rising sun, alone, drinking a hot matcha latte that I made myself. My kids wandered out of their beds, hair in messy tangles, pajamas stretched over their little bellies, and we made homemade sourdough cinnamon rolls together while listening to jazz music. Then I remembered: I set up my business so I could be present for this, so I could step away from my business for three days each week and not worry about it. I set up my business for peace, joy, contentment, ease and adventure. I set up my business to match the season if life I’m in, to support and nourish me.

The most congruent thing I could do was let this mastermind idea fade into the sunset, so I could make space for my life right now. I feel full of relief, and grief. And I feel hopeful, too.

I hope this gives you permission as well, on this day of eclipse magic: You can do it your way. You can let go of what’s not working. You can exhale. You can change your mind.

Simple is beautiful. More isn’t required for satisfaction.

xo,

Jenni

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Curious about my background? I’m a writer and business coach based in Central Oregon. I have two small children and I work part-time so I can spend a lot of time with them. I’m obsessed with teaching people how to build successful businesses that support their human needs first. Check out my coaching offerings here, and follow me on Twitter & Instagram.