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Humbled by a Room Full of Strangers
Let me just say: there is nothing quite like standing in a ballroom full of women you barely know… and completely blanking when someone asks you the most basic question in business:
“So, what do you do?”
And I should be great at this. I literally wrote the book on this!
I’ve been a business consultant for nearly 25 years.
I've built brands. I've coached entrepreneurs. I've helped people turn chaos into clarity.
But in that moment?
My brain served me a word salad with a side of imposter syndrome.
I tried to explain my services, but instead I delivered what can only be described as an enthusiastic monologue about... everything and nothing.
Digital products. Strategy. Storytelling. Coaching. Books. Tools. “And also, sometimes I make inspirational podcasts?”
It was less of a pitch and more of a TEDx talk for squirrels.
The woman listening was very polite. She nodded. Smiled. Probably thought I was just “quirky.”
But inside, I was dying a little.
Because I knew that wasn’t how I wanted to show up.
And worse — I’ve given that exact same feedback to my clients.
“You need to clarify your offer.”
“Simplify.”
“Make it easy for people to say yes.”
I say that all the time. And yet here I am, a full-grown woman with two decades in the game, still catching myself trying to build a business that looks like what I think it’s supposed to look like.
And I know better.
I know that when I talk about things I love — my books, my Ophelia stories, the tools I’ve created, the way I light up brainstorming with a fellow entrepreneur — I’m magnetic.
But ask me to pitch my actual services? I sound like a LinkedIn bio written by a robot having an existential crisis.
And the kicker?
I’m neurodivergent. I have autism. ADHD. Variety is my happy place. But it’s also my personal hell when it comes to structure, pricing, and — God help me — follow-up emails.
I end up avoiding my own leads, not because I don’t want to help people, but because I can’t even remember what I said I offer. It’s exhausting.
It’s not that I’m bad at business — it’s that I’ve been trying to run a business that doesn’t work for me.
The Trap of the Shoulds (and Why We Keep Falling In)
At this conference, mid-burnout spiral, Judy Kane, a mindset coach at Aligned Consciousness, stood up and said something that smacked me in the face — in the best way.
She said, “It’s my damn business.”
And I just stood there, thinking:
Wait… is it? Is it actually mine? Or have I been co-parenting it with the ghost of capitalism and an imaginary MBA professor from 2003?
Here’s the part that really burns.
I’ve been on this journey for two years — actively trying to rebuild my business in a way that works for me.
I’ve journaled. I’ve mapped things out on whiteboards. I’ve bought digital planners, productivity courses, memberships — you name it.
And you’d think, after 25 years in business consulting, I’d have this whole “clarity and alignment” thing figured out by now.
But no.
Because every time I get close to building something that actually feels good…
I get spooked.
Did you know that every beta reader of my first Ophelia draft said the same thing?
They said…
"I love it, don't do it.
I love it, but it's not professional.
I love it, but no one will get it."
Every time I get close to building something that actually feels good…
I get spooked.
It feels too weird. Too different.
Too much like... me.
So I panic. And I slap a little “professional polish” on it — code for “make it look more traditional and therefore less like me.”
Suddenly I’m writing offers I don’t want to fulfill. Taking on clients I don't want to work with. Building another business that makes me tired just thinking about it.
And then I sit there wondering,
“Why am I not excited to follow up on leads?”
Honey. Because you don’t want to do the thing you just sold.
Meanwhile, the irony?
I’m coaching other people on how to break the rules.
I literally tell my clients to ditch the formulas that make them feel like garbage.
To build offers around their energy. To create processes that support how they work best.
And yet I catch myself — over and over — defaulting to the same old templates.
Because they look “real.”
Because they look “successful.”
Because they look like what we’ve been taught business is supposed to look like.
Especially as women.
Especially as neurodivergent women.
We are constantly balancing two impossible pressures:
Be exceptional... but don’t be weird.
Be authentic... but still follow the formula.
Be bold... but make sure it fits inside this downloadable PDF called “Five Steps to Six Figures.”
The truth is, the traditional business mold wasn’t built with us in mind.
It wasn’t built for people who need creative variety.
It wasn’t built for people who process the world differently.
It wasn’t built for people whose nervous systems need rest, rhythm, and room to breathe.
And yet we keep trying to squish ourselves into it like a shapewear jumpsuit from hell — then wonder why we can’t move.
💀 Are you sick of grinding yourself into dust with traditional business advice?
🛠 Want strategic, sustainable growth without the overwhelm?
🔥 Need clarity, automation, and high-impact action plans to reclaim your time?
🔮 Value authenticity and out-of-the-box thinking in business?
At the Business Witch Academy we are bringing action to inspiration and turning dreams into reality for freelancers, solo-preneurs, and new start-ups by ditching the hustle culture lies and teaching business owners like you how to reclaim your time, scale your operations, and find success in ways so easy, it feels like MAGIC.
It’s the support of readers like you, that keep our doors open & the magic flowing!
Here’s how:
The Moment the Light Broke Through
So I’m at this conference called the Sisterhood Soiree, hosted by the amazing Jill Celeste of Virtual Networkers, right?
I'm emotionally frayed, mentally overcaffeinated, and professionally disoriented.
And then Judy — just casually — drops a line that changes everything.
She says:
“It’s my damn business.”
That’s it. No apology. No disclaimer. Just full, embodied permission.
And I swear, time paused.
My entire nervous system was like:
Wait… what if it is?
What if I actually get to decide what this thing looks like? What it feels like?
What if I’m not failing at business… I’m just failing at playing a game I never even wanted to win?
That moment cracked something open.
Not in a “woo woo awakening” kind of way — in a blindingly obvious, how-did-I-not-see-this-before kind of way.
I’d spent years treating my business like it had to impress some invisible committee.
A panel of imaginary judges evaluating whether it was “strategic enough,” “structured enough,” “scalable enough.”
But none of those judges actually exist.
And even if they did?
They’re not paying my bills.
They’re not living my life.
They’re definitely not neurodivergent and overstimulated by the sound of Slack notifications at 9am.
They’re not my customer.
The Oracle of Becoming Wears Many Disguises
And then — just to make sure the universe really had my attention — another woman, Jackie Cote, a women's leadership coach, came up to me at the end of the event.
Someone I’d barely spoken to.
And she said:
“I have an intuitive message for you.”
I’m like — okay, cool, please proceed, mysterious Jersey girl oracle in lip gloss and heels.
And she says:
“You're really on to something with these books. Stop trying to build the business you think you’re supposed to run. Start building the business you love.”
And I just… stood there.
Because that wasn’t business advice. That was a lightning bolt.
And the wildest part? I already knew it.
But hearing it reflected back to me — from a stranger — stripped of logic and strategy and spreadsheets…
It made it real.
It gave me permission to want what I actually want.
I want to write.
I want to create.
I want to inspire, teach, and make weird little AI tools that make people feel seen and less alone.
I want to brainstorm and problem-solve and story-shape with other entrepreneurs in a way that lights us both up.
What I don’t want?
Is to spend my life trying to sell high ticket cookie cutter programs and long term coaching contracts, just so I can feel like the judges have decided that I have a “real” business.
I don’t want a business that just looks successful.
I want a business that feels like home.
The Business that Works for Me - Right Now
What This Means Moving Forward:
Marie Kondo-ing my business:
No more long-term coaching packages or group programs.
No more sprawling, done-for-you offer lists I can't even keep track of.
No more selling services that don't set my soul on fire.
No more networking calls and daily interruptions.
No more calling myself a "Business Consultant."
The New Focus:
I'm writing the Ophelia stories that feel like home.
I'm crafting transformational workshops that will move the needle for small business owners. (The first one will be a Substack Workshop in June, more details coming soon.)
I'm hosting a mastermind pod inside Virtual Networkers for deep collaboration. (Come Join me!)
I'm offering single, focused 1:1 strategy sessions — no strings, just breakthroughs.
I'm giving myself permission to be inconsistent in exchange for higher quality. (This may mean I miss some Sundays - but Tuesdays will be out of this world.)
I'm developing "Me-But-AI" tools trained on my frameworks, ideologies and methods to deliver done-for-you results at a fraction of the price. (The first one comes out on Tuesday - watch your inbox! )
For now on, I call myself an "Author and AI Engineer for Small Businesses."
The Invitation to a Soul Decision
This shift isn't just a business decision; it's a soul decision.
It's about aligning my work with what truly brings me joy and, in turn, delivering my best to you.
If you’re exhausted by the business you built... If you’ve been molding yourself to fit a model you secretly hate... If you’ve been shrinking your fire to fit into someone else’s cage...
Maybe it’s time to build something different.
Something that breathes. Something that belongs to you.
Come find your sisterhood and join me and amazing ladies who helped me see the forest through the trees inside the Marketing & Business Mastermind Pod at Virtual Networkers.
Let's build something that loves you back.
Because it's your damn business.
And you get to build it like you mean it.
Visit These Amazing Ladies!
Judy Kane, a mindset coach at Aligned Consciousness
Jill Celeste of Virtual Networkers
Jackie Cote, women's leadership coach
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Stay Magical,
Cheryl
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