When It Stops Feeling Fun… Is it time to Breakup?

What I hope you take away from today's episode... 

• What is "vital" to one business, may not be so important for yours 
• There are lots of different ways to build a personal brand 
• There are just as many ways to market your business 
• If things aren't working for you, it doesn't mean your a failure. 
• It just means this may not be the right approach for you! 

Links to connect with me... 

Book a Consult HERE! (https://caffeinecreative.io/consult/)

Email me HERE! theperfectblendcaffeinecreative.io

Find me on Substack!

Detailed Show Notes 

Hello my friends, we are midway through October, and I don’t know about you but I am loving it as fall settles in. Here in my little corner of Eden in South Dakota the leaves are starting to turn, the temps are cooling, and the apples are ready for picking. 

There is just something cozy about this time of year that always has me snuggling in and dreaming about the future. Not just the fun things I want to do while fall is here, but how I want to approach my life and my business in the new year. 

And lately I have been considering making a big shift in my business and how I show up. I only have so much time and energy to give, and I want to make the most of both. Plus I like not having to work around the clock to build my business. 

I went into business for myself so that I could have the freedom to live life on my terms. I like my time off to relax and hang out with my favorite people, and I love not being a part of the hustle culture any more. 

So when I think about what I need to do to nurture my business moving forward, I know I don’t want to focus on anything that drains my time or energy, because I want to enjoy my life outside of business. And when I can do that I also enjoy the work I do that much more. 

But before I share my impending breakup, let me introduce myself. I am Teresa Schlup and I offer brand essentials and website design to solo small business owners looking to stand out in a busy and noisy online world. You can find out more about me and the things I do at caffeinecreative.io.  If this is your first time tuning in… welcome! I am so glad you are here. 

To everyone who has been here before, welcome back! I love this time with you.

And now let’s get into my potential break-up… this is with something that has been with me since the beginning. We have been through a lot together including ups and downs, and everything in between. It has always been by my side, and has really helped my business in many ways through the years, but lately I have started questioning if we still have a healthy relationship.

You know how it feels when the sparkle begins to fade, and it feels like things are just one sided. You keep pouring your time, love and attention into the relationship and yet, you just don’t feel like you are getting much back in return. 

Where fun, joy and excitement once lived, you are noticing a lot more frustration, and attention demanding drama. So you start thinking… Maybe it’s time for a break.

And before this relationship analogy gets any more ick, let's end the suspense.  

Lately I have been wondering if it’s time to break up with Social Media. 

Crazy idea, I know. Social media has become so deeply integrated into our lives as solo small business owners that it’s hard to imagine it not being a part of things. It’s where we market our services, share collaborations, and make new connections.  

You may even love your social media, and have fabulous thriving relationship with it. If that’s the case, YAY I am so happy for you two and wish you continued happiness. 

For me, we’ve been struggling, this is something that has been on my mind for quite a while now. I even have done some test runs by removing the apps from my phone, and while I am not ready to make a clean break, I have to admit that I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. 

So why am I considering a break-up? Well a few reasons… 

The noise on social media has started to feel deafening to me. 

I’ll be honest I miss the days when I could pop on and simply scroll through pictures my friends shared. I loved seeing my navy buddy’s cat, or what my high school algebra bestie was having for lunch. And while those things are still there, they are often hidden under so many things I just don’t care about. Like debating politics, click bait content and the insufferable number of ads popping into my feed. There have been times when the number of ads is eight ads to one friend post. 

And I have done everything I can think of to minimize this. I hide ads, unfollowed all the courtesy follows I did in the name of business and even reduced my friend list to people I actually have met, and these things have helped,  it still the noise comes back. 

There was one solution I haven’t tried… spend more time on social media, and then you’ll see more from your friends. Which brings me to my next reason for considering a break up. 

There are so many other things I want to give time to 

I’ve been the one who could kill and hour… or two… (okay even three ) scrolling through social media. I’ll never forget my first step into the TikTok world. I vegged on the sofa for two hours before I even realized the sun went down and there were no lights on in the house. 

That being said, there was also a time in my life when I had to be sedentary a lot as my body healed from cancer and the treatments that ultimately saved my life. Now that is all behind me and I have my energy back, so sitting around mindlessly scrolling just doesn’t appeal to me all that much. 

I want to be up and doing things. Working in my yard, baking macarons, updating our home, taking a walk to enjoy the fall leaves, or hanging out with my sister bestie. This doesn’t leave a lot of time for mindless scrolling. These things give me so much joy which leads me to the next reason…

I am not getting much if any joy from social media anymore

That initial two hours with TikTok was entertaining as heck, and for me that was not a lot different than channel surfing TV. But that isn’t often my experience any more. 

Now the in-your-face content keeps taking the center stage, and I am not interested in it. And I just don’t want to work that hard to sort through the ugly side of things to be entertained. Not when there are other options.  

Just like any other break up, I have thought about what I could be missing out on

There are a lot of reasons to stay together. Google that and you will see countless objections as to WHY social media is necessary for business. So let’s address some of the big ones. 

How will you stay in touch with people ––– family, friends, clients, etc. 

I really do enjoy seeing pictures and updates from the people I love on social media, but I also prefer connecting in more personal ways. Phone, text, video chats, in person, even letters. These are so much more fun for me, and they enrich these relationships so much better than social media ever has. 

How will you stay informed about what is happening in the world 

This objection makes me laugh because it is exactly what I heard way back in 1997 when I decided to break up with the news. 

This may come as a shock to many, but there is a whole lot going on in the world that we don’t see on social media, and a lot of the things shared don’t impact my quality of life all that much if at all. 

And I survived breaking up with the news all those years ago, and can say I still don’t miss it. Plus I am informed on what matters most to me. The information is out there, and it doesn’t have to be shoved under our noses to find it. 

Isn’t social media vital to business success? 

Let me let you in on a little secret. While social media can be a valuable tool in your business, the conversion rates from followers to clients isn’t all that high. 

I did a little Googling on this while researching this week’s conversation, I found that the average conversion rate is around 1-3%. This does vary based on industry and platform, and if you run ads or not, but it still isn’t all that high. That doesn’t scream “vital” to me. 

You can’t possibly build a personal brand without social media 

Turns out you can. You can build a really stellar website that is optimized for SEO that helps you gain traction. You can host a podcast or be a guest on other podcasts. You can network and connect with people in person, or collaborate with other businesses. You can create video content that is rich and valuable and doesn’t have to fit inside of 90 seconds. All of these will help build your personal brand. 

There are a lot of successful businesses and brands who don’t have social media, or quit social media. Look at the businesses in your area, and do a little searching on your own. Many of the businesses thriving around you are not relying on social media and if you want a real like example, Lush cosmetics quit social media in 2023, and has maintained a highly successful global, billion-dollar brand. 

Cal is a self-proclaimed unicorn, as he is a millennial, computer scientist, book author with a 

TedTalk who has never had a social media account. You may not know Cal by name, but you might know one of his books, Deep Work, which has sold 1.5 million copies.  

How will you market your business without social media 

Just like building a personal brand there are so many other ways to market your business that don't necessarily involve social media. Being a web designer by day, I can attest personally to just how powerful a solid website and SEO optimization can work for you. 

Can I really just walk away after 10+ years together? 

So much of my marketing efforts have been on social media, so it would be silly to light a match, burn the bridge, and walk away, without having an exit strategy. 

So I have decided that for now social media and I are going into couples therapy to see if we can salvage what was once a great relationship, because yes I did love social media once. 

I loved seeing cute, funny, and mouth watering food pictures. I loved celebrating big milestones with the people in my life and I loved the ability to reconnect with long lost friends, and make new connections in my business. 

But I am not putting all my hopes and dreams solely in the hands of social media. 

Instead I am going to start thinking about other ways to market my business online.

Here are the other ideas I am exploring… 

I am fine-tuning and polishing my own website. In fact I am working on a brand new website that I plan to launch before the new year. 

In my new website I am making sure I do all the things SEO related I know how to do to help boost and enhance my website’s visibility

I am putting much more time and focus into my email marketing, and how I connect with my audience there. . 

I am thinking about ways to bring new guests into my podcast, and perhaps do some guest appearances on my own. 

I am opening myself up for opportunities to collaborate with other businesses, something I haven’t done in quite a few years. 

Make sure my Google Business Listing is optimized and keep it up to date

And I am considering ways to do a little more networking, which is a bit of a challenge for me as my clients and collaborators are across the US and Canada.

These are just the things I am exploring and not all will happen at once if at all. But I am looking forward to seeing how things go. 

And I want to leave you all with one final thought.  If you are posting and posting and posting and just not feeling like it is getting you anywhere, I want you to know that you ARE NOT a failure just because social media isn’t making your business thrive. If anything, you are pretty normal.