I always find planning a business really interesting. I love these questions, but I get stuck because it feels like I'm trying too hard - it's not coming from a truly genuine, authentic place because I'm trying to appeal to an audience etc.
My Substack is a prime example of that - I'm only now beginning to target an 'audience', 9 months in! I think I wouldn't have started if I was overly focused on external things. Thoughts??
(I am neurodivergent so aware that the above could be because of that)
Great question! Substack is a great platform for exploring ideas and offerings without needing a clearly defined audience from the start. However, I wouldn’t consider having a Substack a “business” unless it’s generating income. As you mentioned, it can be a valuable space for experimenting with your ideas and seeing who resonates with them before fully committing to building a business. It’s also a great tool for gaining clarity on what you want to offer and who you want to serve when you're ready to take that step.
Certain things like Substack are fine to be personal exploratory tools, but when we're talking about businesses, it is important that you are trying to appeal to an audience in some way, because that's what a business is built on: the people you're serving!
True - I totally get what you're saying, and of course there's a difference between a personal Substack and an actual business. I get my gripe with business plans etc is that it feels inauthentic to make a business based on what serves someone else, when in my experience work works best for me when I'm more focused on what serves me!
This is a recent realization and one I'm still trying to figure out.
I always find planning a business really interesting. I love these questions, but I get stuck because it feels like I'm trying too hard - it's not coming from a truly genuine, authentic place because I'm trying to appeal to an audience etc.
My Substack is a prime example of that - I'm only now beginning to target an 'audience', 9 months in! I think I wouldn't have started if I was overly focused on external things. Thoughts??
(I am neurodivergent so aware that the above could be because of that)
Great question! Substack is a great platform for exploring ideas and offerings without needing a clearly defined audience from the start. However, I wouldn’t consider having a Substack a “business” unless it’s generating income. As you mentioned, it can be a valuable space for experimenting with your ideas and seeing who resonates with them before fully committing to building a business. It’s also a great tool for gaining clarity on what you want to offer and who you want to serve when you're ready to take that step.
Certain things like Substack are fine to be personal exploratory tools, but when we're talking about businesses, it is important that you are trying to appeal to an audience in some way, because that's what a business is built on: the people you're serving!
True - I totally get what you're saying, and of course there's a difference between a personal Substack and an actual business. I get my gripe with business plans etc is that it feels inauthentic to make a business based on what serves someone else, when in my experience work works best for me when I'm more focused on what serves me!
This is a recent realization and one I'm still trying to figure out.