International vacations, camping at majestic sights, updates on my own pregnancy - I have a lot of “content” I could use to post on social media. And yet, I have never wanted to. There’s something about the whole process that I dread. Partly it’s taking away time from the experience to upload it for the world to see, partly it’s the process of packaging up an experience or thought into this curated form, partly it’s just something I’ve never been aligned with.

I don’t use social in my personal life. And I hardly ever take pictures (much to the chagrin of Grandma who lives on the other side of the country).

And still, over the last 5 years in business I’ve tried to create a social media routine.

In my first year, I replaced my corporate executive salary without using any social media. In my second year, when considering a pivot, I was told I had to be active on Facebook. My heart sunk. I hated Facebook. Did I really need to spend time on that platform to make my business succeed?

Everywhere you turn, people say yes, you do.

So I tried.

Over and over again.

I tweaked the process and tried to make it mine. Hiring it out. Adjusting the cadence. Creating a content calendar and a strictly followed process. Winging it. Focusing on connecting 1:1. Doing big posts. Trying this platform. And then that one.

Nothing stuck. It all felt soul sucking and I never saw much return.

As we began 2020, I made a conscious choice.

No more required social media.

And no hard and fast rules. If I felt called to post something, great. If I didn’t, it’s fine because it’s no longer part of my strategy.

And guess what?

My business is doing better than it has in years.

Revenue is coming in. Great conversations are happening. Connections are being made. And almost none of it is happening on social media.

I spoke at 2 conferences in January and I loved every minute of it. Plus the ROI I’m seeing. And it was such a relief to not feel the need to share it on social media.

I now get to the end of my day, week, month feeling accomplished, realizing my business activities, marketing, and promotion are aligned with who I am and so they work, simply for that reason.

I say all the time that this business is your own. You get to make the rules. If something isn’t working for you, change it. Find another way. And I’m a little embarrassed to realize how much I haven’t taken my own advice. The social media requirement was a big blind spot for me.

I wasted years of time, energy, and money trying to make a channel work for me that was likely never going to work.

Here’s to this major break-through!

What blind spots do you have in your own business? What are you still doing that you hate? That is not getting you the return that you need? That is completely unaligned with who you are and what you’re trying to do?

Can today be the day you commit to finding another way?