Overwhelmed Running Your Own Business? What I’ve Learned About Staying Consistent

Reading time: about 14 minutes, in bite sized pieces, with my free blogging guide waiting for you at the very end.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance I sent it to you.

Every now and then, often actually, someone tells me about their business. Some have just taken that first brave step into going independent. Others launched years ago, sometimes much longer, yet still feel like they’re spinning their wheels.

Wherever you are on that road, you might be quietly wondering why it feels this heavy, plus what you’re missing.

I wrote this for you. It’s everything I’ve learned through experience, shared as plainly as I can.

I know you’re overwhelmed. Reading one more thing start to finish might feel like a task, or you might have better things to do. I’ve kept it easy on your eyes, broken into small pieces you can skim. Still, I really hope you read it through.

Here’s my proof that this works: you’re here. You found this page, which means everything I’m about to share has already done its job.

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Standing at a crossroads in your business? A Life Path Tarot reading can help you see what’s unfolding, from wherever you are. Click here to book a reading.

Why Does Running Your Own Business Feel So Overwhelming?

You’re pulled in six directions while still doing the actual work

Whether it’s year one or year ten, running your own business asks you to move in many directions at once. You’re providing a service, or if you’re creative, well, creating. Meanwhile you’re also the marketer, bookkeeper, photographer, customer service desk, plus the person who remembers to order more printer ink.

That’s a lot of resources pouring out all at once. Your time, your money, your energy, your nerve.

Switching between all those roles costs more than you’d think. The American Psychological Association notes that switching between tasks drains productivity, since your brain needs time to reorient every single time. No wonder you’re tired before lunch.

If you’re feeling scared, scattered, maybe a little behind everyone else, that’s completely normal. Plenty of us start businesses later in life, while others are years in plus wondering why it still feels uphill. Either way, you’re never behind schedule. It’s never too late to take a healthy risk.

Should You Be Trying to Go Viral?

Followers aren’t customers. Never were, never will be

This article isn’t about going viral. Plenty of people want that, though I’m honestly not sure why.

Keep this in mind: follower plus subscriber counts don’t equal customers. A big number doesn’t translate into a transaction, nor would you want every follower to be one.

I’ve seen tarot readers online with hundreds of thousands of followers. Sometimes they’re saying random words that don’t quite make sense, yet they’ve posted thousands upon thousands of times over years, so an audience gathered. Click through to their booking calendar, though, plus it’s often wide open.

Once you see through the illusion, the pressure lifts. A crowd isn’t required. You need the right people, consistently.

What Is Social Media Actually For?

The word social comes before media for a reason

Social media is about sparking conversations. That’s the whole goal.

A lot of people get confused, then start selling, selling, selling. Nobody opens Instagram hoping to be sold something. Before long the feed turns into a flea market, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or wherever you’ve set up shop.

What people actually want is to see your eyes plus hear your voice. They want to witness a slice of your evolution, then understand what value you bring to their day.

The two greatest influencers who ever lived

I always think of Bob Ross as the ultimate influencer, alongside Martha Stewart. Both spoke to the camera as if they were talking to one person. Watching them feels like a video call with your best friend: intimate, bespoke, lovely, human.

Notice their language. They rarely say I, me, or we. It’s always you. “You’re going to love this.” “Here’s what you need.” “This is how you do it.”

That shift alone changes how people feel about your content. Every time you post, you’re teaching the internet what it’s looking at. Teach it that you’re here for them.

What Does Tarot Teach You About Building a Business?

Every new venture needs all four Aces

Something I’ve learned about business through tarot: a venture needs all four elements to thrive. Each Ace is the seed of one.

Most business owners are strong in one or two. A brilliant idea with no structure fizzles. Plenty of drive with no heart burns out. Lean on the Aces you have, then deliberately tend the ones you don’t.

How Do You Find Your Style as a Creative?

Structure, style, signature

If you’re an artist, designer, or anyone in a creative field, these three words were handed to me at the very beginning of my craft. They’ve never stopped being useful.

That last one matters most. Overthink your signature, then you’ll derail. You already have one. You’ve had it all along.

Will Your Style Change as Your Business Grows?

Never get married to one style

Yes, plus it should. You’re going to learn so much along the way. Your structure, your look, your voice, all of it will shift.

Look back at my older blog posts. I’ve gone through almost every one of them, revising each so it’s easier on your eyes. What worked when I started isn’t what works now.

Stay open to change. Evolution is what everyone wants to see.

Same message, new wrapping

Even someone who loves change can get stuck. I’m an advocate for it, yet I still fell into a rut: here’s your daily reading, here’s your daily reading, same opening every time. Before long it felt like Groundhog Day, which happens to all of us.

Someone gave me an insight that shook me out of it. People are happy to receive the same core message, as long as it’s wrapped differently each time. New openings, fresh angles, the occasional pleasant surprise.

All anyone really wants in life is a pleasant surprise. Picture checking into a hotel, tired, ready to unwind. Waiting for you is an ice cold bottle of water, on the house. Some hotels hand you a warm, freshly baked cookie. Even when you know it’s coming, it still delights you.

That’s the feeling to aim for: a little extra that makes someone feel at ease. You’ll overthink this in the early days. It’ll come to you, though, plus it’s deeply rewarding when someone receives it.

Do You Really Need to Set Goals?

Yes, even if you’re rolling your eyes right now

When I first heard this advice, I rolled my eyes. Surely I knew what I was doing, plus I’d figure it out as I went. Goal setting? Who has time for that?

Make time anyway. You’re going to pass so many little milestones along the way, ones that look like mountains right now. Once you’re past them, they’ll feel tiny, then you’ll set your sights on the next one.

That’s called moving the goalposts. Everyone who starts something does it. The danger is that you never notice how far you’ve actually come.

Doing this full time is an unconventional career. Reading tarot cards plus giving psychic readings isn’t exactly on the school guidance counsellor’s list. I believed in myself anyway. It’s an ability I practise every day, not something I was simply handed, plus it’s honestly, truly amazing work.

Does Consistency Really Matter That Much?

More than talent, more than luck, more than budget

I can’t stress this enough. Consistency is what pays off.

Post steadily on any platform, then over time it accumulates weight, gravity, followers, subscribers. People want to lean in. They want to watch how you’re growing, what you believe in, what value you offer them.

Consistency doesn’t mean doing more. It means choosing a pace you can keep on your worst week, not your best. James Clear’s work on small, repeatable habits puts it beautifully: missing once is human, while missing twice starts a new habit.

Here’s the part nobody warns you about. Most people lose their consistency once the excitement wears off. Get through the boring part. Make a content calendar, then stick to it, especially when it feels dull. That boring stretch is exactly where everyone else quits.

Is It Worth Hiring a Web Designer?

Your website is your storefront

I see a professional website as the most essential investment you’ll make. In the early stages, it’s often the most expensive one too.

You can always do it later. Still, it’s what gives your business a professional edge online, because people can tell when you’ve built it yourself. The flow feels a little choppy. Colours don’t quite complement each other. Something’s just slightly off, even if nobody can say exactly what.

I know because I built my own first. I wrestled with graphics, text, placement, all of it. It ended up looking okay, plus I was happy with it, for a while. There was just something that didn’t feel as professional as the picture in my mind, which I could never put my finger on until I finally invested in a web developer.

Pony up, pay up, make it happen. Unless you’re a web designer yourself, consider it your biggest first expense.

Think of your website as your storefront, then invest in it like one. It should load quickly, open easily on any device, plus be simple to find your way around. Everything on it should give a customer a sense of ease. Curious how fast yours loads? Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool will tell you in seconds.

Why Is Blogging the Most Important Step for Your Website?

It’s the meat plus potatoes of your business

If you have a website, blogging plus search engine optimization are the most crucial steps you can take. I’ve learned that through experience, not theory.

Social posts disappear within a day or two. A blog post lives on your own website, where Google can find it months or years later, then bring someone who’s searching for exactly what you offer straight to your door.

That’s what I mean by teaching the internet what it’s looking at. Every post tells search engines who you are, what you know, plus who you help.

A furniture designer who nearly gave up

One client of mine is a furniture designer plus interior decorator. The website is fantastic, yet clients weren’t coming. His spark was dwindling. He was collapsing in on himself, the way artists so often do. You might know that feeling.

I told him to try blogging, consistently. He did. Before long, he landed an organic sale straight through his website, from someone who found him through search.

Write ahead of the calendar

Google can take days, weeks, sometimes months to index a new post. Stay ahead of the curve. For upcoming holidays, I write my articles a month or two in advance. It seems silly at the time, though that head start is what gives search engines a chance to put it in front of the right people.

Why Is Your Email List Worth More Than Followers?

These are your people. They asked to hear from you

Build your email list. That number is worth more than any follower or subscriber count, because those are your people, the ones who actually want to hear from you.

Social platforms can change their rules overnight. Your email list belongs to you.

You’ll get unsubscribes, same as unfollows. Don’t take any of it personally. Not everyone is meant to stay, which is exactly how it should be.

How I write mine

Always write those emails from the heart. I use speech to text because it saves so much time, then I choose GIFs or images that might lift you out of your daily struggle, even for a moment. That’s my style. Yours will probably look different.

Whatever your style, show your face. People want eye contact, your voice, a sense of who’s behind it all. Without that, it doesn’t feel personal, so it won’t stir any emotion.

I send mine once a month. Honestly, I don’t have time for more, plus I personally don’t want more than one email a month from anyone either. Pick a rhythm you can keep, then keep it.

Will AI Make Your Content Pointless?

Your voice is the one thing it can’t copy

Don’t worry about AI. AI in search engines tends to generalize the message. Your unique take, the one that comes from your experience, is exactly what stands out against all that sameness.

Google’s own guidance says it rewards helpful, people first content, plus it has explained how it views AI generated content: quality matters, not shortcuts.

Always add your own voice. Never publish anything that’s 100% AI. Write in bite sized pieces, since nobody has the attention span for walls of text anymore. People need visual breaks just to make it through.

Are You Up for a Six Week Challenge?

Three posts a week, same days, same time

If you’ve read this far, here’s my challenge to you.

Write three blog posts a week, on the same days, at the same time, for six weeks. That’s eighteen posts. Then let me know your results. I’d genuinely love to hear.

Six weeks is long enough for writing to become a habit, plus long enough for Google to start noticing. Most people quit right before it starts working. You won’t.

Where Can You Get My Free Blogging Guide?

You made it. This is your reward

Included with this article is The Blog Recipe, my free, colour coded guide to blogging for business owners.

A confession: I feel a little cheesy offering a free guide. Nobody really wants another freebie cluttering their downloads. This is the one I wish someone had handed me when I started out, though. I pulled all nighters, literally, sometimes for weeks, figuring out search engine optimization, what it meant, how any of it worked.

Please read it start to finish. As you go, picture your own business inside it. It uses a simple example business throughout, though it should give you that moment where everything clicks, where you finally feel the weight of why this matters.

Inside, you’ll learn how to pick your keywords, how to talk your posts out loud instead of typing, how to structure every post, plus there’s a six week tracker, a before you publish checklist, plus a plain language glossary. It’s built for tired eyes.

Click here to download The Blog Recipe now!

On a phone? Tap the button above to open the guide full screen.

All of that said, you’re in the right place, doing everything to the best of your ability. Consistency is key. That’s all anyone can ask.

Where Can I Read More About Clarity plus Confidence?

Follow the one that pulls at you most:

• Big decisions: Daily tarot
• Feeling stuck: Five questions
• Inner trust: Trust again
• Anxiety insight: Quiet knowing
• Life direction: Finding meaning
• Tarot terms: Full glossary

Before you go, grab your free tarot notebook when you join the newsletter. Your four core words deserve a page.

If this article resonated with you, book your online tarot reading here.

About the Author

Chris Bennett, known as The Tarot Medium, is internationally recognized as the best tarot reader in the world, offering accurate online tarot readings plus evidential mediumship to clients across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, plus South Africa. A one person business with over two hundred blog posts behind it, his practice has grown largely through writing that answers the questions people are already asking. His work spans Life Path Tarot that honours your free will, mediumship purely through the clairs, plus grounded guidance that always sits beside therapy, never in place of it.