Podcast
Staying Solo
Hosted by Maggie Patterson, BS-Free Business · EN
Growing a solo service business is tough. It's even harder when you're bombarded with BS advice that steers you away from your values and why you started your business in the first place.
This is the podcast for solo creatives and consultants who want to remain as a team of one and have zero interest in the hustle and grind of typical business teachings.
Most podcasts for solopreneurs and freelancers, hosted by out-of-touch celebrity entrepreneurs who haven't offered one-to-one services in years, miss the mark on today's market realities.
Maggie Patterson, a service business owner for 20 years, understands that to stay solo, you need to know what matters to you, what works for you, and what you should completely ignore.
In each episode, she examines one piece of conventional business advice to discover how it may hurt your business or be completely wrong for you as a solo business owner.
Join Maggie for real talk to help you avoid burnout or the desire to entirely burn down your business to open a flower shop, book store, or cat cafe. (Because those cats won't pay the bills.)
(Formerly the BS-Free Service Business Show)
40episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Offer Dream Team: Your Easy Yes and Next Yes Offers
2w ago00:15:33Tap to summarizeThe '90s Chicago Bulls. The Spice Girls. The Golden Girls. Whatever your idea of a dream team, none of them became iconic by having everyone off doing their own thing. Your offers could learn a thing or two from them. Because the reason you're constantly looking for your next client may not be your marketing; it might be what happens after someone says yes to working with you. Topics discussed in this episode include: Why your offers should work together instead of standing alone. How an Easy Yes Offer builds trust and creates momentum. How to create a logical Next Yes Offer for existing clients. When and how to introduce your Next Yes without feeling salesy. How repeat business reduces your marketing and sales workload. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please:. Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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How to Make Your Offers POP (A Framework)
3w ago00:28:00Tap to summarizeThe best offers aren't built by adding more calls, bonuses, or Slack access. They're built by understanding why people buy. In this episode, I'm sharing the buyer psychology behind Easy Yes Offers and the POP Framework I use to create offers that your clients want to buy. Topics discussed in this episode include: Why most service providers build offers backwards, and what to do instead. The psychology behind Easy Yes Offers. Including what we can learn from a milkshake. How Positioning, Outcome, and Process work together to make your offer more desirable, distinctive, and credible. The ways a well-designed Easy Yes Offer creates a ripple effect across your business. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
Transcribe →How to Make Your Offers POP (A Framework)
3w ago00:28:00Tap to summarizeThe best offers aren't built by adding more calls, bonuses, or Slack access. They're built by understanding why people buy. In this episode, I'm sharing the buyer psychology behind Easy Yes Offers and the POP Framework I use to create offers that your clients want to buy. Topics discussed in this episode include: Why most service providers build offers backwards, and what to do instead. The psychology behind Easy Yes Offers. Including what we can learn from a milkshake. How Positioning, Outcome, and Process work together to make your offer more desirable, distinctive, and credible. The ways a well-designed Easy Yes Offer creates a ripple effect across your business. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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The Real Reasons Your Offers Aren't Selling
4w ago00:15:38Tap to summarizeAn offer not selling can send any business owner into a full-blown spiral. Suddenly everything feels questionable: pricing, positioning, marketing, even the whole business. But here's the real question: is the offer actually the problem? When I hear "it's not selling," my next question is always: why? And the answer is rarely what people expect. Welcome back to the Easy Yes Offer series where we're digging into why some offers take off while others stall—and why "not selling" is often just the starting point of the wrong diagnosis. Topics discussed in this episode include: Why offers don't sell isn't always obvious. How to validate real demand before creating new offers. The role of clarity, positioning, and specificity in sales. Why promotion and visibility matter more than most people think. How to use poor sales as feedback instead of failure. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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The Offer Edit
Jul 600:15:46Tap to summarizeBefore you create another offer, ask yourself one question: What job will it do? Because the right offer makes your business easier to market, sell, and grow. The wrong one creates confusion, complexity, and more work for you. In this episode, we're doing an Offer Edit—a simple process to evaluate your existing offers, cut through the clutter, and ensure every offer in your business has a clear purpose. Topics discussed in this episode include: Why creating more offers often makes your business harder to market, sell, and run. The hidden costs of a cluttered offer suite and how complexity hurts referrals and conversions. How to conduct an Offer Edit using the Recommit, Refine, and Retire framework. The difference between Easy Yes Offers and Next Yes Offers—and why every offer needs a clear role. How to evaluate your offers for client fit, business fit, and overall fit within your offer suite. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
Transcribe →Staying Solo is Taking a Summer Break
Jun 900:00:43Tap to summarizeWe're taking a short summer break from Staying Solo, but don't worry—we'll be back on July 6th with a brand-new season. In the meantime, if you want a sneak peek at what we're covering, join the waitlist for The Squad. You'll get access to The Easy Yes Files, a special email series, plus the opportunity to submit your sales page for a complimentary review from yours truly. bsfreebusiness.com/squad
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How to Think About Business Support in 2026 (Because "Invest in Yourself" is BS)
Jun 100:14:01Tap to summarizeThe online business industry completely broke people's brains around paying for support. For years, we were told that if you really believed in yourself, you'd invest. So people spent thousands on all kinds of coaching and courses that didn't actually help, got burned, and now they don't trust anything. Which is understandable. But if you're an experienced service provider, that skepticism can so easily turn into isolation… and what looks like discernment means you end up trying to figure everything out alone. In this episode, we're exploring how to think about business support in the year 2026 and why sometimes there's no substitute for getting the support you need when you need it. Topics discussed in this episode include: Why do so many business owners no longer trust online support? The hidden cost of trying to do everything alone. How to make smarter, more strategic support decisions. The difference between discernment and isolation. What kind of support do service providers actually need right now? For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please:. Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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From Over It to INTO IT: How to Change Up Your Business Without Burning It All Down
May 2500:28:19Tap to summarizeWhen you're over your business, it's not that you don't know what's wrong…because you totally do. In this final episode of the Over It series, we're talking about how to stop living in that stuck-in-between place — and start feeling genuinely into your business again. Topics discussed in this episode include: The real reason experienced service providers end up feeling "over it." How survival mode keeps you stuck in reactive business decisions. The difference between strategic change and impulsive reinvention. Small shifts that can make your business feel sustainable again. What it actually takes to feel INTO your business instead of being drained by it. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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You're Still in Survival Mode (And It's Costing You)
May 1800:17:39Tap to summarizeAt a certain point, the question isn't whether your business works, but whether the way you're running it is destroying your quality of life. In this next episode of our Over It series, we're talking about what happens when your business is technically working, but the way you're running it is quietly wrecking your quality of life — and how to recognize when you've outgrown the survival version of your business. Topics discussed in this episode include: Why do experienced service providers get stuck in survival mode? The difference between burnout and a productivity problem. How people-pleasing and playing it safe exhaust businesses. Signs you've outgrown your current business model. Building a business that better supports your life and goals. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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I'm Sick of Being Booked Out (And Not Making the Money I Want)
May 1100:16:31Tap to summarizeYou're booked, busy, in demand. And completely over it. Either you're not making enough, or you ARE, but it's costing you your time, energy, and sanity. Either way, the math isn't working. This is the time-vs.-money trap—and no amount of tweaking is going to fix it. In this next installment of our Over It series, we break down why you're stuck here and the shift that actually gets you out. Topics discussed in this episode include: The "time vs. money trap" (and why being fully booked still feels terrible). Why you're stuck at the same revenue level despite working nonstop. How overdelivering, scope creep, and undercharging are killing your margins. Why small tweaks (pricing, efficiency, boundaries) aren't fixing the real problem. The shift that lets you make more without working more. For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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