Ep 22. Walking the talk: How I structure my business as an Introvert

I’m doing something different today. I’m gonna pull back the curtain on how I actually run my business as an introvert.

I teach people how to market without draining themselves. So it would feel pretty hypocritical of me if I had a business that was running me to the ground, right?

I feel like there’s an assumption that energy led marketing means that you’re barely visible or that you only have the energy to post once a month and you wanna hide the rest of the time.

But that’s not really the case and definitely not what I do. I’m actually quite active in my marketing. I’m on social media regularly, I send weekly emails, I record this podcast, I go to events, I have client calls…and everything else in between.

The difference is that I’ve structured everything in a way that works with my energy, not against it.

And today I wanna show you how I do that in case it inspires you to.

Let’s start with the thing that I think makes everything else possible, which is clarity in my messaging. Now, I’m not just saying that obviously, ’cause I’m a messaging coach as well, but I’m quite active on social media.

I post regularly, I show up on stories, I engage with people’s content, and the key to me doing that without it feeling draining is number one, because I only show up on the platforms that I actually enjoy being on, but also where I know that my ideal clients are gonna be, and I’ve also curated my feed so that they show up to feel like good vibes only. I try not to follow accounts or content that feels like it’s gonna be an energy suck.

The key reason that I can show up in my marketing without feeling draining is because I’m so clear on what I stand for and who I’m talking to.

And I know I bang on about this all the time, but when you’re really passionate about your why and your purpose to the core, you don’t sit there for an hour staring at a blank screen trying to figure out what to say.

You can post on the fly because you’re not second guessing yourself. Like I can be out and about and see something that connects to what I teach and just share it because I feel so inspired. I rarely overthink and think, is this good enough now? I mean, I used to back in the day. Nowadays I just post and then move on with my day .

I think that’s the compound effect of doing that deeper foundational work and obviously being in business for as many years as I have been.

And yes, getting clear on your messaging is an ongoing thing.

Obviously if you need help with that, shameless plug, I’ll put some links in the show notes for you.

But genuinely just really getting comfortable with who you are and taking that time to think about how you wanna show up and what you wanna stand for, and what you wanna be known for, makes everything else so much easier.

Because you’re not just creating from scratch every single time. You’re sharing from a place that really feels true to you, but also something that you know the people you’re trying to attract want to hear as well. And this applies across everything, like through emails, podcasts, even conversations at networking events. 

When you’re really clear on your messaging, you’re not performing, you’re just being you, and that takes so much less energy.

So that’s foundation number one, and honestly, without that clarity, none of the other stuff would work.

[00:02:37] And then let’s talk about my actual marketing rhythm.

So I have weekly non-negotiables when it comes to our marketing, which is at least one email to my list, one podcast episode, and at least three posts a week across Instagram and LinkedIn – then I do stories in between when inspiration strikes.

Some of you might think, oh, that sounds like a lot,

Yeah, it would be if you’re creating each thing individually from scratch. But if you think about it, I have one long form piece of content, which is my podcast episode, and if I wanted to, I could use that as a base for the content for the week and then repurpose bits of it onto my email and onto my social media post – that’s energy saving in itself.

It doesn’t feel like a lot to me, because I’ve found a rhythm that actually works, and more importantly, something that I enjoy. 

Maybe I’m biased because I teach marketing, but I like having conversations, I like seeing what people are up to, and I like to be connected.

And that’s genuinely what marketing is, it’s building relationships through your content.

I think a lot of people when it comes to marketing feel they should be doing this or should be doing that, because maybe you’ve been scrolling and you’ve seen a coach say, this is the next big thing. And then you might see a trend and then you see this and you’re like, oh my God, I dunno what to do – it’s a lot right?

The difference with me now is, I don’t look at that noise or force myself to show up in a way that doesn’t feel genuine to me because I think your energy is felt, and if you’re putting stuff out there that feels not like you, your audience are gonna feel it.

I think that’s one of the reasons I rarely do those talky videos on social media because I find them really cringe and really hard to do.

And you know what, that’s fine.

This podcast is my way of letting people hear my voice and get a sense of my personality, and I also use B roll, which are short snippets of my everyday life in my reels to give people another idea of my lifestyle content without me having to talk to the camera.

So again, I’m using these different mediums to suit me in the way that feel comfortable for me.

And then my email and this podcast are my deeper content. They’re the places that I build connection and where I can really dive into ideas and get to know you, my community a bit more. (If you like this podcast, I think you like my emails).

All of this might sound a lot, or it might sound doable to you, but the key thing I want you to take away is that I’m being consistently visible without being constantly on, and there’s a massive difference.

I’m not glued to my phone all day. I’m not checking engagement every five minutes, I’m showing up, sharing what feels true, engaging when I’ve got energy for it, and then I get on with the rest of my life.

Because scrolling all day and then refreshing to see what notifications you’ve had takes up mental energy as well – we don’t want that.

[00:04:55] That brings me on nicely to the non-negotiables because being active in your marketing only works if you’re also protecting energy in other areas of your life.

So for me, every single morning, literally since I was in primary school, I give myself an hour of me time before the world needs anything from me. And I mean, anything.

My morning time is sacred and everyone knows it. Even if I have to leave at five in the morning, I’ll wake up at four just so I’ve got that hour.

I’ll do some movement like yoga and meditation as soon as I wake up. Then I’ll make my loaded porridge, which is meditation in itself ’cause so many different things go into it. And then I’ll have that and my cuppa in peace reading some sort of personal development book.

I just sit in peace. No emails, no social media, no nothing. Just chilling with me, myself, and I. I mean, I don’t have kids, so I guess it’s easier for me.

But for me, it’s not a nice to have, it’s a non-negotiable because when I skip this time everything else feels so much harder. I’m definitely more cranky. I’m more reactive. I’m more likely to get pulled into other people’s energy and by the end of the day, I am absolutely knackered because I haven’t taken any time for myself.

When I protect that morning hour, I can show up for my clients, for my content, and for my business in a way that feels really grounded and present, and I can really feel that shift in energy. 

[00:06:05] I also build in what I call recharge cushions around anything I know is gonna take a lot of energy. Essentially it’s buffer time before and after, client calls or an event I’ve gotta go to, or anything that I know is gonna take up a lot of energy. I’ll just take five to 10 minutes to just ground myself, take a deep breath, just review my notes.

Not rush into whatever I’m gonna be doing, basically so that I can get myself ready and be fully present with the client or sales call or event or whatever i’m gonna be going into.

After calls and events, especially if it’s been a full day of them, I won’t book anything else the next morning and make sure I give myself good time to process and recharge, because I know I’m gonna have that introvert hangover.

I’ll use that time to just chill and maybe do light work like emails or admin or something like that. But I know that’s gonna happen, and I put them in my diary and that’s the difference. So I don’t feel guilty about taking “time off”.

[00:06:55] Let me tell you how I actually structure my client work because this is where a lot of people burn themselves out.

I’m quite intentional about how many client calls I take on in a week. I build breathing space, so I have bi-weekly client calls within my coaching programs.

I have a week on calls when I’m fully present for my clients, then I have a week off calls so that can I spend time working on my own marketing, and making my client’s experiences better. Monday and Fridays are no call days for me as well. 

[00:07:22] Another thing I’ve just started doing is getting people to apply for Silent Storm so I can make sure they’re the right fit.

And I am not afraid to turn people away if they’re not ready yet. Maybe they haven’t had clients yet, or maybe they haven’t got like an offer in place.

If I know I’m not gonna be able to help them yet, or they need to do something else first, I think it’s a disservice for me not to tell them that, and I don’t wanna work with them or make something feel hard if I get that feeling from the offset that this isn’t gonna be a good relationship.

It works the other way around as well, I know I might be saying no to money in the short term, but if it means that I get to work with people who are actually ready to do the work, get the results, and also who light me up and make my working life fun and not drain me, then I’m gonna choose them.

Also when you turn someone away with genuine care and point them in the right direction, they remember that.

I know because I’ve had so many people come back to me months later when they’re ready, or they recommend me to people in their network because they trusted that I had their best interests at heart, which I obviously did.

So by being selective with who I work with, it’s not just about protecting my energy, although it absolutely is that it’s also about me making sure that I can do my best work with the people that I do take on.

[00:08:27] So that’s the client side. Let me talk about some of the decisions I’ve made behind the scenes that might not be so obvious from the outside.

We know having some sort of long form content is important for building connection.

I chose to do a podcast instead of YouTube channel, and I know loads of people are gonna say video where it’s at and yeah, they’re probably right, but the thought of filming and editing videos every week doesn’t light me up. No, thank you. That would drain me so fast, and yeah, I could get someone else to do it for me, but it’ll still feel hard for me to record the videos in the first place.

Whereas sitting here with my mic, just chilling in my casuals and talking to you. It just feels easy. It feels really natural, and I hope it comes across that way as well.

And because it feels like that, it doesn’t feel like a massive energy drain. I can actually be consistent with it because I’m actually enjoying it.

That’s how your marketing should be.

I also like to batch content when I’m in my high energy moments, like if I’m in a flow state and the words are just pouring outta me, I’ll rarely create just one thing.

I’ll create as much as I can while I’m in that energy because I know there’ll be days where my brain is just like, no computer says no, and I don’t wanna be staring at a blank screen on those days.

Another thing people don’t talk about that much is, I’m a woman, so I will have those days, let’s face it. Which means I also work to my cycle, so there are weeks where I’m naturally gonna be more outward facing and social and weeks where I need to be more internal and gentle with myself. So I’ll plan my business activities around that too.

I tend to do more client calls and content creation and like peopling stuff in my high energy phases. And then the more admin and behind the scenes working in my kind of leave me alone phase. I’m not that bad, but if you’re a woman, you know what I mean.

[00:09:58] um, what else? I keep my offers quite. Lean. So I’ve experimented with loads of different things, but ultimately I keep going back to Silent Storm, which is my main offer, and it’s been my signature for ages.

I’ve tried different things like shorter intensives, group programs and mini programs off the back of it just to see what lights me up and what my audience wants. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t, and that’s okay. It’s all learning, but ultimately I keep going back to Silent Storm because it genuinly lights me up.

I think it’s okay to have one main thing as your main thing because it keeps all the focus there. But for some people that gets boring and they want loads of different things. So I guess, experiment and see what works for you.

I’m gonna be really honest with you here, I don’t always get this right.

There’s obviously gonna be times when I overcommit, when the business needs it, sometimes I’ll say, yeah, even though my gut’s saying no. And sometimes I push too hard because I leave everything to the last minute and then end up needing a massive recovery period after.

It’s all Okay. We’re still learning the whole walk the talk thing – it’s practice I’m not saying I’m perfect.

I’m constantly checking in with myself and asking myself, Does this feel good? Does this still work for me? What needs to change?

And I think that’s actually really important to say, because if I just sat here and told you that I’ve got all of this figured out and everything runs perfectly all the time, you’re gonna know I’m lying right? ’cause no one’s perfect. 

I think the point is to actually build a business and let it be flexible enough so it gives you energy rather than drains it.

And those versions of businesses are gonna look different for every person.

The biggest permission slip I can give you is this. You can be really active in your marketing without it draining you, but only if you’ve done the foundational work to make it sustainable.

That means getting really clear on your message so that you’re not starting from scratch every time you create content.

It means knowing your sweet spot client so you’re not trying to speak to everyone and end up connecting with no one.

And it means building in those recharge cushions so you’re not running on empty every time something comes up.

The main thing to take away is that you are making decisions about your business based on what actually works for you, not what the internet says that you should be doing.

Maybe video content lights you up and energizes you. Amazing. Do that.

But if the thought of being on camera makes you wanna hide, then don’t force it.

Find something that feels natural for you and do that.

Don’t forget it’s your business. It gets to work around the way you want to work.

And when you structure things that way, marketing will start feeling like this thing you’ve gotta force yourself to do and start feeling like an extension of who you are.

What I really want you to take away from today’s episode is that energy led marketing doesn’t mean doing less. It means being more intentional about what you do and how you do it, so that you can actually show up consistently.

We’re all about building a business around your nervous system, not against it.

So have a look at your business and do a little audit.

Where am I forcing things because I think I should be doing this rather than that.

And does it even work for me?

Maybe it’s the way you’re showing up on social media.

Maybe it’s how you’re structuring your client or maybe you just need to give yourself permission to have that morning cuppa in peace before you check your emails. 

Whatever it is, just experiment with doing it differently even for a week and see how it feels.

Because trust me, building a business that honors your energy isn’t selfish, it’s actually the most generous thing you can do, because it means you can keep showing up for the people who are cheering you on without burning out in the process, and that’s how you build something that lasts.

Right. I am gonna leave you with that today.

If this episode resonated with you, I would absolutely love it if you could share it on your socials so we can reach any other introvert in business who needs to hear this.

And if you wanna go deep on any of this stuff, whether it’s getting clear on your messaging or just figuring out what sustainable marketing looks like for you.

Feel free to send me a DM on Instagram and let’s start that conversation.

Until then, keep showing up with your quiet confidence so you can make that loud impact in the world. And I shall see you next time.