Build for Trust, Not Trends

Social media is optional. Integrity isn’t.

I’ve been thinking a lot about tools lately.

Not notebooks and pens. Although I do love a good journal store wander. I could get lost for hours in there. The leather. The pens. The paper.

I mean, who doesn’t love a beautiful leather journal? Incidentally, my current favorite is the Paper Republic A5 in Valencia. She is gorgeous! But I digress.

What we are really here to talk about today is business tools. Social media. Email. Landing pages. Funnels. Lead magnets. All the sacred objects in the Church of Online Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs love to get tangled in these debates:

Should I be on Instagram or TikTok?
Is Substack dead?
Do I need a funnel? A funnel for my funnel? A funnel to collect the people who ignored the first funnel?

Whenever I hear these questions, I ask one back.

What role is the tool actually filling in your business? And if you refuse that one, what are you choosing instead?

Because the underlying need still exists for your business.

Connection. Visibility. Reciprocity.

Those are non-negotiable, whether you are coaching or selling my beloved office supplies. If I had never heard of Paper Republic, I never would have bought their journals.

Instagram is one path. It is not holy. It is not The Way. Instagram is simply a way.

And yet, people cling to the idea that there is one ordained strategy. As if the gods of the algorithm will smite them if they disobey.

The Single Most Useful Thing I Could Hand You

If I could give you something that would change your business overnight, it would not be a content calendar or a six-figure funnel template.

It would be permission.

Not the soft cursive kind that ends up on Etsy prints. The forged-in-fire kind that carries clarity and consequences.

You are allowed to do it your way. You are also responsible for choosing how.

 

Do You Really Need to Be on Social Media?

The question I hear most: Can I run a business without social media?

Short answer. Yes. You can run a business without social media.

You can’t, however, run a business without customers.
So you need a place where people can find you.

Social media is a place where you can connect with people and where they can connect with you. Social media is a tool. Not a mandate.

If Not There, Then Where?

I get that you are tired of chasing algorithms or dancing for attention. You are not alone.

Start with better questions.

• Where do you actually feel excited to share your work?

• Where does your voice feel honest rather than performed?

• Where does connection feel like reciprocity instead of extraction?

Let us get specific.

If your gift thrives in…Words
Then build through…Substack. Email. Essays. Long form letters.

If your gift thrives in…Conversation
Then build through…Salons. Podcasts. Gatherings.

If your gift thrives in…Being with people
Then build through…Markets. Workshops. Living rooms. Forest trails.

There are endless doorways.
The strategy is not the real issue.

Integrity is.

Why? Because when you choose a medium that suits you, you actually show up there. You show up again. And again. And that consistency builds momentum.

If reels are your only strategy and you hate making them, you will show up once every six months and then wonder why nothing works, even if you followed every “reel rule” in existence.

And for the Record

If you hate making reels, STOP.

If dancing on camera makes you feel like a malfunctioning toy, walk away.

• Post a carousel instead.

• Pair your words with a photo.

• Or write something so true it does not need trending audio to carry it.

The goal is not performance.
The goal is connection.

Use platforms in a way that feels honest to you. The goal is not virality. The goal is sustainability and connection.

After a Decade Behind the Curtain

I’ve spent over ten years working with business owners whose companies ranged from kitchen-table empires to operations with teams, budgets, and systems humming at all hours.

Here is what I know.

Every one of those founders had a gift that changed lives.
Yes, money mattered.
But impact is what kept them coming back to the table.

Hearing stories of transformation. Seeing someone’s life shift because of their work. That is what makes the long hours worthwhile. Because, news flash, entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. It is hard work.

This path takes time. Consistency. And courage.

✨ You offer your medicine.
🤝 They offer their trust.
💫 The exchange—financial or otherwise—is sacred.

Plant Your Flag

At some point, you have to decide what kind of entrepreneur you are.

You can build for metrics.
Or you can build for humans.

One chases trends.
The other builds trust.

I know which one endures.

If you’re choosing the second path, say it.
Not later. Not privately. Say it here.

Plant your flag in the comments.
State your ground.
Name where you’re choosing to stand.

Because those who speak their convictions out loud are the ones who build momentum — and I want to know who I’m building alongside.