In 2024, I noticed that I was intentionally slowing down my business. Specifically Private Practice Skills.
Over the past few years my part-time business seeing therapy clients has stayed about the same. But, I have slowed down every aspect of my work with Private Practice Skills. I’ve lessened how many hours I give to the work per week, and reduced how much output I’m generating.
And yes, I therefore have been earning less revenue from my business.
I don’t often hear folks talking about slowing down their businesses on purpose. Usually it’s all about growth mindset, or how to 10x your income in an obscenely short period of time.
I thought I would add my voice to the arena because I feel pretty great about how I’ve approached my business and its slow down.
If you’d rather watch than read, check out the video version of the article below:
Content creation
There are many facets behind Private Practice Skills but the area that I put the most amount of energy into is content creation. Because this is my main focus, I like to see what’s going on with other content creators out there.
I’ve noticed that content creators who make content for years and years tend to go in one of two directions.
- Some content creators will figure out the algorithm and then button mash the algorithm approved direction to propel their channel into super stardom. Essentially, you take your best performing content and lean into it. Make it even better, more awesome and do more and more of that.
- The other path I’ll see content creators take is to rehash the same format and same content over and over again. Until it starts to get a little bit stale.
10 reasons I want to stay small
To each their own. Other people can do whatever they want to do, but as a consumer of content I generally don’t love following other content creators once they follow one of these two paths.
Personally, I don’t want to repeat that pattern in my own content creation. I think I would burn out pretty quickly, and I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’d rather quit than choose one of those two paths.
So, I’ve opted to choose a third path. I’ve made an intentional choice to stay small.
Amazingly, my channel has grown much larger than I ever thought possible. Now that I’ve seen that the capacity to grow much larger exists, I’ve been very intentional about trying to not grow too quickly or too big.
Here are a few reasons why I’d like to stay in the medium-ish realm of subscribers:
1) I don’t want to hire employees
I’d rather not hire employees. I’ve talked before about why I’m a solopreneur. If I want to keep being successful as I gain followers, I probably would need to hire employees.
2) Parasocial relationships feel dystopian
Another reason why I’m slowing down my business is that parasocial relationships are really dystopian.
I have such a gamut of emotions reacting to the idea that sometimes people recognize me out in public. Whenever someone has come up to me and said hello they’ve always been so nice and I feel immense gratitude.
On the other hand, there have been a few times now where I’ve been recognized and approached more than once in a day. And it’s usually when I’m with my daughters.
Then, I have a weird experience of having to explain to my children why strangers are approaching me and feel like they know me from videos I make on the internet. It makes me consider how I feel about the fact that there are people who recognize me even though I don’t personally know them.
Please don’t hear anything that I just said as a lack of gratitude. But, it’s happening enough now that the idea of purposely growing a bigger following, which would cause more people to recognize me, is not something I’m looking for.
3) I feel out of touch
I don’t want to grow my channel because I already feel so out of touch.
Sometimes people can write off my experiences. Sometimes appropriately so, because I’m generating income through a means that looks so different from the average therapist.
So if I’m speaking to therapists and I’m not living out a career that looks like what other therapists are doing, then who am I to give advice?
4) I’m financially comfortable
Another reason I’m slowing down my business on purpose is because financially I make enough money. And, I don’t want to try to make more money.
There’s something that gives me the ick if I imagine trying to multiply my money in my current financial state. Barring some other life circumstance that ends up bringing some much larger expense into our lives.
Aside from the cost of our housing, child care is our next biggest expense. My oldest is now in Kindergarten and that has cut our child care expenses in half. Hopefully next year our youngest will be able to go into Universal Transitional Kindergarten at our local public school. Then we will no longer be paying for preschool.
When I think about our expenses dropping so significantly, I see it as an opportunity to slow down how much I’m working.
5) Deconstructing business practices
If I’m honest, I don’t know how I feel about LOTS of traditional business strategies touted by experts. I’m not even mad at other businesses for utilizing these kinds of strategies (as long as they’re not scammy or exploitative).
I just rely on my internal “gut check” before choosing these strategies myself and lately the answer is “no.”
Over the past several years, I haven’t raised prices for anything. I’ve opted into fewer affiliate and sponsor opportunities. And, I say no to more invitations to be interviewed or to teach.
All of these opportunities would garner more exposure and more folks following my content and ultimately more revenue. I just don’t want it.
6) I don’t want to be defined by career
I’m slowing down my business because it’s so important to me to stay connected to the core parts of myself that identify who I am.
While I want to use my skills and giftings to offer something meaningful to the world, I don’t ever want my sense of identity to come from my ability to multiply my bottom line.
If I really hit the gas pedal on my business, it might be harder and harder for me to stay grounded. And, I imagine it would be difficult to keep my sense of worth coming from a whole bunch of other places outside of my career.
7) Making space for creativity
I’m purposely slowing down my business because slowing down, for me, fosters creativity.
Moving faster squashes creativity. It’s more fulfilling for me to stretch the creative corners of my brain. I also hope I’m contributing something unique and meaningful out there by leaning into slow creativity.
From what I see, the algorithm rewards regurgitating trends (with slight adaptations) rather than just randomly sharing things that might not be trendy.
Slowing down will help me create things that are new and different, even if it’s less appealing to the masses.
8) Kids
A huge reason I’m slowing down my business is my kids take up so much more brain space for me these days.
My kids are 3 and 5 now. Compared to the newborn stage I’m getting better sleep and able to more easily go on date nights. But when my babies were babies, I eagerly awaited their naptimes and I got SO MUCH WORK DONE. My adult brain was itching to be utilized.
Now that my kids are older, I’m having to use my brain the entire time I am with them. They are appropriately in the phase when they are asking so many questions about everything! Which is great and exhausting.
So now, when I have a break, rather than longing to use the adult part of my brain I now just want to turn off that part of my brain.
It has felt appropriate to scale back how much energy I give to this business that’s inherently using some critical thinking skills. I love it, but the margin that I have available to do that is much smaller.
9) Flexibility
Now that my daughter is in public school full-time I’ve come to realize how many days she’s not in school. I’ve been adjusting to the school schedule and getting used to having less work hours during the week than I used to when both girls were in full-time preschool.
Of course, I recognize how special it is that I have the option to have the flexibility to work less so that I can be with my kids more. I know that’s not an option for so many people, and I don’t take it for granted. I feel so grateful.
10) I want to enjoy life now
The last reason I’m slowing down my business is that I’ve had a fear ever since early adulthood. My fear was that I thought I would get to a point where I’d arrive at having “enough” and not realize it. And then therefore not live my life and enjoy it.
I’m at an age in my life where my health won’t get better from here, it will just decline. While at the same time I’m actually quite young and, hopefully, only halfway through my lifespan at this point.
If I have “enough” right now, this is a really good time to enjoy it. I’m going to go garden or go for a walk with my dog. I want to hang out with my kids instead of sign-up for more child care and get more work done. I’m deciding to prioritize that because I’m healthy today and I want to enjoy it. Because you never know how long that’s going to last.
I understand that as I say this some of you reading may have this goal still so far away. I’m not trying to say that you can’t enjoy your life while you’re working towards your goals. Please don’t hear it as that.
I just don’t want to be in a position where I have “enough” and I can’t even see that it’s enough and push the pause button and enjoy it.
Reflection questions to ponder
That sums up the reasons that I’ve purposely allowed my business to slow down. I do hope you are able to reflect on how you’re being intentional about whatever career path you’re on.
What are some of the values that you want to prioritize and lean into? What are some of the markers of knowing you’ve arrived at your goals? How do you celebrate and enjoy when you’ve met your goals rather than just moving onto the next goal?
A peek into my life
After hearing my thoughts on slowing down my business, you may be wondering what my life as a content creator and therapist has looked like over the past couple years.
In this article I outline how I spend one day working as a content creator.
And, if you want even more detail, I made a whole video walking through what a week in my life looks like as I juggle being a part-time therapist and content creator.
Until next time, from one therapist to another: I wish you well!
-Marie
Photo by Song Kaiyue on Pexels
Photograph by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Photo by Benjamin Manley on Unsplash
Leave A Reply