The Solo CEO Paradox



For a long time, I thought my hustle was my competitive edge. I thought it was THE THING that would make or break my success in business and life.

And, you know, for a while, I was right.

  • I moved faster
  • I got more done
  • I was more innovative

And that hustle played a HUGE role in the many doors that opened for me.

  • The inspiring clients I got to work with
  • The opportunities I was offered
  • The jobs I landed

But eventually, it all started catching up with me.

I had more and more issues with my health — burnout, brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, exhaustion.

And my work performance declined too. I was less engaged, less motivated, less on the ball.

Eventually, I realized, I had focused so much on my external hustle—being impressive or valuable to others, no matter the cost to myself—that my internal light had started to dim.

  • I felt perpetually lost
  • I was always overwhelmed
  • I was doing work I didn’t really love
  • I had no vision for the future I was building

I was working so freaking hard…and for what?

I didn’t know anymore, so when the offer to go back to corporate came, I took it.

And I’m not going to lie. It sucked.

It really fucking sucked.

But it let me hit the reset button on this whole entrepreneurship journey. So that when I came back, I swore I would do things differently.

I would do less and do it better.

And I have.

I make more money, am more fulfilled, and take more vacations than ever before.

For real...

I updated my financial tracking this weekend and I've made $100k+ in 3.5 months, and I'm on track to do it again in the next 2.

Here’s what I changed and how it worked out.

I got clear on my One Thing.

The one thing I wanted to be known for: Whom I serve, why their situation is high stakes (and they’re willing to pay me what i’m worth) and what outcome I help them achieve.

Now, I’m actually known for something. I get more referrals than I EVER did when I was trying to be the “growth strategy” generalist.

I created a high converting, repeatable offer.

I stopped crafting customized proposals for every prospect and instead created one core offer that I could deliver systematically so that it got easier for me and better for clients.

Now, every part of my marketing, sales, and client delivery process is just…easier.

I don’t spend my time re-inventing the wheel for every client, and guess what? They’re happier, the results I deliver are better, and I make a lot more money in a lot less time.

I visualized the future I really want for myself

I have ADHD and I struggle to keep ‘shiny thing syndrome’ at bay. But painting a vivid vision for the business I want to build and the life I want to have makes it 1000x easier for me to recognize when a new idea, project, or opportunity is additive or distracting.

I invested in help —a lot of it

For a long time, I thought I had to do everything myself. I struggled to ask for (and accept) help of any kind and it held me back. Big time.

But now I have this big, bold vision for my future and I know I can’t build it all on my own. Nor do I want to. I got clear on what are my zones of excellence and genius and I try to outsource as much of the rest as possibly.

I started saying ‘no’ a lot more.

This one is the hardest and it still takes a ton of work for me. But it’s genuinely life changing.

If an opportunity doesn’t perfectly align with the vision I have for my business, I don’t pursue it.

It’s awkward, uncomfortable, and often makes me wonder if i’m missing out, but then I look at my revenue and see the number continue to rise and I know I’m not.

What this all comes down to is this:

I took control of my destiny.

I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s the truth.

When your business and revenue rely on referrals, word-of-mouth, or chance encounters at networking events, you have very little control over your present or your future.

And very little feels better than to decide to stop letting life happen to you and instead, decide to take control where you can.

If you want to change the trajectory of your business, income, and life, it’s time to take control back and decide what you really want.

And then make a plan to go get it.

In love and growth,
Kasey


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The Solo CEO

Evolving overworked & underpaid Solopreneurs into calm, confident CEOs of high-profit businesses through a bespoke design of strategy + branding + systems + mindset. 2x weekly newsletters on tactical business strategy and mindset.

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