“Byeeeeee!” How to avoid burning out while you grow:
“I'm done.”
I was noshing on Indian food with a life coach friend who was “Instagram famous” in her corner of the coaching scene (half a million followers!).
She's an amazing online marketer (obvi), and a sweet, sensitive soul.
…And she was quietly giving up her business.
The pressures of the online world, and frequent moments when people saw her “brand” more than seeing her humanity, had taken its toll. She went back to 9-to-5 employment, and never looked back.
As I noshed on my chicken tikka roll, she mentioned that another prominent online marketing coach who I'd bought courses from, but never met in person, had completely closed down his $1M+, Instagram-based business to open an artisanal craft shop.
My own first business coach, who expanded her retreats here in our little hippie town into a multi-million-dollar, international coaching practice, went on sabbatical a few years ago… and never came back. She's happily managing her investment properties and honing her expertise in microbial nutrition.
As sad as I am to see great coaches hang up their hats and stop sharing their brilliant brains with the rest of us, I'm usually also glad for them.
Another online coach leaving the “space”…
Why?
Because I know other coaches who skyrocketed their online audience and revenues lightening fast, only to develop debilitating stress-related health disorders, explode their families, or “lose the plot” and start exploiting others in the quest for unlimited growth.
The online world is a little weird, and it can make us a little weird (especially in the age of AI).
Online business is amazing.There are limitless opportunities for you to reach people and make money. The drumbeat of “scale, scale, scale” can start to permeate every aspect of business.
The downside of the internet being limitless?
There's no finish line to reach.—There's a bottomless pit of “I should be doing more," and “I have to scale even higher!"
If you're a sensitive, deep-feeling soul, the online marketing (or frankly any business) scene can put you at risk for burnout.
A few ways to prevent burnout (or burning your life down) if scaling up, online-marketing, or just rapid growth is part of your business plan:
As Seth Godin says,“Don't get big fast. Get important soon.”Focus on the smallest viable audience that really needs and responds to what you offer. It's better to be important to a few than try to reach everybody and hit huge numbers of followers. (And don't worry—those few people will spread the word!).
Set and hold your boundaries with your time & energy —and guard them with teeth & fangs. As tempted as I was to post a photo with my friend and use that moment as “positioning” on the 'Gram, I didn't. –I know that sometimes lunch needs to just be lunch. I needed to be present & smell the Indian spices in the air.
Even when my business coaching clients have online content (social media, email marketing) as part of their marketing plan, I always encourage them to have at least one offline-marketing strategy(networking, speaking, events, etc.) to help them feel connected to the living, breathing, human beings they serve.
What works in online marketing changes over time. It used to be pointing to text on your Instagram reels. Platforms come and go (remember Clubhouse?). Suddenly “if you're not on TikTok, you're dead in the water.” If you're having fun rolling with the changes, great. If not, it's okay to figure out what works for YOU without following the “shoulds.”
Have a full life. It'll naturally, effortlessly provide inspiration for ideas and content (this newsletter being case-in-point. I wasn't looking for a newsletter idea while we ate— the inspiration just showed up later). Research shows that it actually makes you more productive when you are working, too!
Get support. A good coach (ahem) can help you stay in touch with YOU, keep you from playing small, and have insights that can keep you from burning out.
What are you doing to nourish yourself in the weird, limitless world of business? (And if your answer is “Not enough," pick one of the above to implement this week!).
I'd love to hear from you.
-Jane