← Good Content with Shannon McKinstrie
Good Content with Shannon McKinstrie
Trusting Yourself as a Business Owner During Challenging Times
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Foreign. I am your host, Shannon McKinstry. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good Content. All right, y'. All, hopefully this is the last podcast episode where I am recording looking like this and where I'm at. Greetings from another snowed in day, quote unquote. Our kids have been sick. We have been having school cancellations after school cancellations. It has been rough few weeks to say the least. But the good news is I know you guys don't actually care, but podcast room is ready. So by next podcast we will be recording in the new my little podcast studio that we've built. I'm just so excited because here's the thing I want you to know. I start everything in my business really messy. I started the Rails Lab on a Google Doc. I start almost everything without a full actual sales page because I'm the type of person that just wants to get it out into the world and then if people like it and it's working, I'll make it shiny and cute later. Right? Same with this podcast. I started it thinking no one would care. No one listen. It was almost like an experiment in a way, honestly, just to see if I liked it. And then you guys. And what I love about this podcast is there's only so much I can say in a 90 second reel. There's only so much I can say in a carousel. Right? This is where I can go deeper into that content and give you guys more nuance and all that stuff. So I think you guys deserve a podcast that might look a little more professional than what it's been looking like for the past year. Plus, but thank you for being here and you guys deserve for me to show up in a space where I am focused AF and all that good stuff because lately it has been a mess. So I will say I will be giving you guys some tips that, you know, some quick ones to take and run with. And again, Chloe's right here because again, there's no school today. So if you hear her, sorry, she's still got the snuffles. It's just been. But this is real life, right? And we still have to show up for our businesses. This is a great time to actually record this because what I want to talk about is showing up for our businesses when everything feels like it's on fire. Obviously, everything going on in the world is quite heavy in the US and beyond. And on top of that, I'm sure many of you listening are dealing with battles, whether it could be a number of things. Things with your family, things in your marriage, things in your business, things with your loss, grief. And sometimes it's really hard because this is the thing, as business owners, a lot of people don't understand about either becoming a full time content creator, growing a business. You wake up thinking about it. You go to bed thinking about it. These are our babies that we care about, what we do a lot. So when everything else is on fire and we still have to show up, it can feel kind of hard or confusing because you don't want to. And here's one thing I've learned over the years, and I'll just say this briefly because many of you know my story of this, but I worked at CNN after college for several years. I was there during Katrina, the tsunami. You know, I took in feeds for, from Al Jazeera. Like I saw a lot of what I like to tell people. This was 2004 and 2007. Okay, so we're talking I worked 10 hour shifts, typically overnights. So I was up all night bringing in feeds for many years. At other times I worked in the, I did font fonts and graphics in the control room. But still, you're, you're literally what the equivalent is is doom scrolling for 10 hours straight. Because all you're doing is taking in footage across the world of. You know, obviously sometimes there were happy stories, sure, but it was mainly, oh, you know, dead body at the 0, you know, 30 second mark. You know, like we were documenting these feeds and you were seeing raw footage. So back then I was having horrible panic attacks, horrible anxiety attacks. Um, I mean, I literally was just depressed. I was like, this is the world. Like the world is horrible. The world's horrible. I hate it. I hate it here. And I remember I would just pray and I would call my, you know, family who would pray over me. And it was, it was a really hard time. So with that said, no one understood it, but it also felt weird to talk about it. Cause I was like, I know no one's going to understand where I'm at right now and where my brain is at. Because we didn't have phones that opened to this every day, all day. Right now we all are the equivalent of Shannon circa 2004, sitting in a feeds department watching doom and gloom all day long. So here's to say this one, the world's been on fire forever, right? This is nothing new. So this Isn't like, this is just a weird phase of all this, everything that's going on right now in Minneapolis and in Iran and Gaza, right? Like, this is not. This is not going to just like, all of a sudden, if, you know, say, this all wraps up in a beautiful bow, there's something else coming down the Runway. So this is an important episode for that. This is not me talking about what's going on right now, because I've had this conversation so many times during George Floyd in 2020, right now, all this. And I will say, in 2020, I felt really lost. I pushed my launch back for a course I was going to be selling. I pushed it back because it obviously didn't feel right with everything going on. So this is what I'm going to tell you, okay? Again, there's always going to be some craziness, awful, horrible, disgusting, inhumane things happening in the world. Just is what it is. Sucks. Now we all have to see it all day long, which, yes, we need to be informed. But I'll get there in a minute. But just know, like, this stuff is going to happen and stuff's going to happen in your life. Like, in a normal nine to five, we can get bereavement, right? Things like that. But when we run our own businesses, that is kind of the beauty of it, right? You're allowed to take time off if you need to. But there's also this part of me that, like, I feel like it's impossible for me to ever take time off because I care about you guys and helping you guys so much that, like, even when I am having a bad day, I still show up. That's me. But for a lot of people, that's not possible, right? Anyway, what I'm trying to say, I don't want to yap too much on what's not important, but just know that, like, as business owner, this is why this is so important. So frustrating sometimes. It's like there's a lot of. We have a lot of responsibility now, right? Let me just say this. When something doesn't feel right, right? It did not feel right to me personally, to go on with my course, the way I plan on launching and the dates I plan on launching during 2020, that time when George Floyd had just been killed, okay? So to me, that just felt right. I didn't have to even think twice. So what I want to say to you, a lot of times when these things happen, right, and things feel heavy and you're like, do I post today this huge news event just happened. This is catastrophic. This is inhumane, whatever it is. What is your body telling you to do? What is your gut telling you to do? And listen to it. I want you to start trusting your voice, okay? And that's a big part of succeeding on social media, is trusting your voice, okay? Because here's what's going to happen. And I know there's been so much talk online about, like, influencers. They need to take a stand. Where do you stand? Are you maga? Are you pro ice? Are you anti ice? Are you this. Everyone wants to know where people stand because everyone, for us, our brains, we want to put everyone in this box. And everyone has a right to know if that's what you know, if they don't want to support people, who. And guys, right now, I'm, like, struggling to get through this episode. I've got, you know, sick kid snowed in. And, I mean, luckily my podcast editors are probably editing all the chaos out. But, like, I'm about to cry. Like, it's just been. The past few weeks have been tough. So with that said, me watching everything unfold, I've been sick. I have. It has taken me back to CNN days of spiraling, of crying, of feeling actually physically ill. It's all consuming, right? My algorithm and all, you know, a bunch of people I follow are just reposting, reposting, reposting, all of this. And it's. It's just. It's for me personally, it wrecks my soul. So for me, I have to protect myself because of my nervous system. It has been wrecked the past few weeks. And then there's people like my business mentor, some of my best friends who are super vocal and sharing everything and reposting. And I'm like, I love that for them, physically. For me, I have to protect myself. Then comes the guilt, right? Of like, oh, I'm not saying enough. Cause I was very vocal in 2020. So here's what it comes down to. Whether you say something or you don't, that is up to you. I'm never going to tell you what to do. I'm just going to advise you of what I've seen over the years with all the doom and gloom of the world and how people respond and how people get pissed and how people cancel people and whatever. Whatever, right? Number one, you're either going to say too much, people are going to be like, you're doing too much. No, you know what? Stick to business. Don't talk politics. You're going to get those, right? If you don't Say anything. You're going to get the, oh, she must not care. He must not care. They're trash. Then you can get the people who like, literally don't care whether you do something or not, right? So whether you say something or whether you don't, you're gonna piss people off. So it's up to you to decide where you want to go, or you say nothing and you run the risk of getting right. I, I have spoken up. I've said many things. I've shared stories of how I feel. I've done all that. I've gotten nasty DMs, I've gotten sweet DMs. And then there's me right now, who's on the verge of tears. I can't even get through this podcast episode because I'm trying to do so much my business and my. So I'm just saying this business owner to business owner, everyone's going through stuff. And maybe I'm not as vocal as some people want me to be, but maybe that's because there's other things going on that I am at capacity and I cannot handle the nasty dms. I am here to help people get their message out. I'm here to help good servant led people get their message out. If I feel the need to repost, to share, to get on stories and talk, I will. And that's what I want you to know. You have to trust yourself. And my people for sure know how I feel. But again, I've got to protect my nervous system. I have to protect myself. I have kids to raise. I have family who relies on me. But I just want to say that. So I'll just say what I said on Threads the other day. Okay, so I, I mentioned that I've been getting a ton. Because I was, I've been getting a ton of messages from people saying they're feeling pressured to say something and they don't want to speak up because they're, they're. They just can't handle the backlash. So what I said is if you feel called to speak, use your V. And if you don't and you're at capacity because of trauma. Hello, Speaking for myself, right. Because your nervous system can't take one more hit because your heart is heavy because life is hard, then that is okay too. And then what I said, because I want to make sure my people understand and I know this is really important to say, so I want to make sure I say it. It's also true that some people don't even have the luxury of Being quiet. So me being able to not say as much is a luxury, right? But it's also true when someone like me right now, who is dysregulated and fried and caring a lot right now in my life, it feels a little impossible to go all in. I went all in. 2020, I went all in. Right now I'm in a season of it's just a little hard for me to go all in and my nervous system can't do it. And I have to show up for this business and I have to show up for you, and I have to show up for my clients. I have to show up for my family. Therefore, I'm telling you, no matter what I do. And I feel like I've handled this very well. I've had lots of great conversations, I've been outspoken, I've said what I needed to say, but there's still people who are pissed off. And that's just the world we're in. We are living in a time where everything feels very deeply emotional, right? It's a repeatable cycle. It's like the stuff just comes up. And I just want to say it's impossible to not be impacted by what's happening. And we have to stay informed. Right? Which I am doing. But being constantly exposed to this trauma and pain and conflict and the horrible, inhumane things going on all over the world, it's overwhelming. But again, trust your gut. Say what you want to say. If you feel the need to say something, you feel the need to share something, you people are demanding you talk about it. You are allowed to protect your heart or you are allowed to get so vocal and so loud, you do you. Okay, be loud. Be vocal. Or take some time to regroup. And then like, you know, I had to wait a few days to do this podcast cuz I was so emotional the other day. But the long story short, the world is hurting. It's always been hurting. But we need to take care of ourselves as well. I also hate saying, but, you know, this is. Think of this outside of context of all the crazy stuff in the news right now. But like, you know, a lot of us in the, in this online world love to joke like Old Navy's still out here sending emails. You know what I mean? But it comes down to trusting your gut and doing what you got to do. And one of my friends, Fran, I've. We've met in person several times. We connected on Instagram, actually, through my. Our mutual mentor, Sarah Wiles. You know, she put up a reel the other day And I had to repost it because it basically said, like, oh, how are you still showing up in your business and for your kids? Like, all this stuff isn't going on. She's like, welcome to the past, like 30 years of our lives. Right? Like, you know, people still had to go to work during 9 11. People still had to do this. And it's like. Because it's all in our phones now, though, that's why it feels so different because we're being exposed all day long. We can't just turn on the news in the morning or read the paper in the morning and go about our day and then go watch it later. It is all freaking day long. And it's not healthy for us. And we. Our brains were not built. We're not created to take in all this trauma. So I don't know. I hope something I said helps, but I just want you to just. Instead of going, what do I do, Shannon? What do I do? Trust yourself. And if you really just. And trust me, if you need to go off social. I think I mentioned this in last week's podcast, right? My business partner, Emily, she went completely. She's almost hit 50,000 followers on Instagram, which is a huge, huge accomplishment. And she hasn't even posted in a month because her content from a month ago is still going. She had to just go off because she's going through something family related. So there's a lot of people going through. There's other stuff going on. So I just want you to know this is not. We did not take the easy way out. People who are running businesses and showing up on social, this is not easy. Not easy at all. People are watching our every move. So just know that. And if that makes you uncomfortable, like, it's. Maybe it's new to you. Like, I'm used to this at this point, you know, And I got people saying, oh, if you hadn't spoken up, I was about to unfollow you. And I'm like, fair. I get it. Like, I. But right now my. I'm wrecked. Like, my brain is wrecked. And I am just trying to focus on right now just getting through the next few months because it's just been hard over here with sicknesses and this and that. Right? Anyway, I don't want to keep blabbing on. I want to give you a quick win and that quick win and I'll make sure it's in the show. Notes was a reel I shared yesterday because just like this podcast is very raw and very real and very off the cuff, it's not as polished, right? It will be a little bit more polished. I will still be coming in here being fully transparent and unhinged sometimes. But what I mean by that is this is what people want. We want content that feels less produced. We want content that feels more transparent. We want content that feels human. And like, I'm with a friend and I actually did a reel yesterday all about that, saying how, you know, we want it. We don't want to tip, we don't want to trick. We want it from your own lived experience, we want it from your personal lens. Why are you sharing this tip with me? We also want more behind the scenes. I want to know what your process is like. I want to know what it's like to sit in a consultation with you. I want to know what it's like to have you plan my event, whatever that is, Right? And then the big one is we want to feel like we belong. And that's why people want to know so badly where everyone stands on everything. Because we just want to know if we're supporting the right people, if we are in a space where we want to belong and things like that. So if people are asking for your opinion, all this stuff, just know that everything is just so heavy right now. And they. That feeling of, do I want to be in this space? It. It's just different now. It's different. The way we sell is different. The way we show up now is different. It has gone back from the performing and the over the top to just, who are you? What are your values? Do I want to be in your space? And then there's people who literally don't care. So either way, they're going to be mad. They're going to think you did too much, they're going to think you're not doing enough, or they're just going to. They're just people that are like, whatever. This is the year of transparency. This is the year of belonging. I've been saying this for over a year, so just know everything that I'm hearing and seeing just proves it to be even more true. So you wanted to start doing reels that are like, hi, here's what we do over here, here's what we're about over here. Here's what it's like to shop with us. And it doesn't have to get deep into, oh, I'm on this side or this side. No, but what is it like to experience your product? What is it like to experience your services? We've got to start treating social media human again, because it is humans behind these screens after all. I hope this was helpful. This was a little uncomfortable for me to do, but just know what I experienced in my years of news really hurt my soul. And it still does, and it still comes up. So when I'm seeing all these things and I'm seeing all these reposts from people and my algorithm is getting filled with content, that's not good for my brain. Um, I have to put it down. So just take care of yourself and take care of your people and do what you feel in your gut is right. I love you, friend. Talk to you next week.