“Do people even read blogs anymore?”
“How do I build my email list?”
“What if I don’t want to show up on TikTok or Instagram?”
Ahhhh yes. Welcome to our FAQs. And while we’ve covered questions like these in the past, we’ve realized there’s one lingering question on a lot of people’s minds…
“What do I do when I’m bored with my business?”
Did that strike a chord? Resonating with you a little too much? Feeling that deep in your soul? Then keep on reading, because we’re answering that question here. We’ll look at why boredom with your business happens, what to do if it happens, and how to stop yourself from burning everything to the ground and starting over.
Let’s dig in!
Why you may be bored with your business (and your current offers)
If you feel bored with your business, or you feel a little lackluster about your offers, the best thing to do is to not panic. As anxiety girlies ourselves, we know that’s easier said than done. But it’s totally normal and happens to everyone.
Maybe you’ve picked up a new hobby recently and want to talk about it more. Maybe there’s an offer you feel called to create, and you can’t stop thinking about it.
None of this means you’ve fallen out of love with your business (unless you have). It just means that you’ve grown as a person and your business may have too.
But what happens next? How can you pursue those “passion first” projects and show up fully invested in your business (without burning everything to the ground)?
Tip #1: Figure out if your new idea fits your current brand
Truth be told, you can probably make this new idea work with your current business. You may just need to narrow down your audience or refine your offers a little more than you currently do. For example, if you’re a general bookkeeper looking to focus on personal finances or a graphic designer only offering branding services.
But how do you know if this new idea will fit? Ask yourself these questions:
- Does it fall into the same industry as my current brand?
- Does this new idea serve the same client or customer?
- Is this a solution those people are actively looking for?
- Does it align with my mission and values?
The answers can be very telling. And if you answered yes to all of the above, then you’ve got the green light to whip up that new offer.
Tip #2: Ask your audience if they want it
Yes, it’s important that you feel passionate about this new thing you’re doing. But if no one wants it, then it’s hard to make money from it. And when you’re running a business, you gotta have profit. That’s just showbiz, baby!
So to figure this out, ask your audience. Seriously, just straight up ask them. Take to your Instagram stories, your YouTube channel, and your emails, and ask them if they’d like to hear more about it.
If this new offer fits in with your current brand, then the odds are they’ll say yes. But you still need to dip your toes in the water to make sure you’re not wasting your time, money, and energy!
Tip #3: If it’s not a fit, it may be time to pivot
Maybe you’ve gotten this far and you KNOW that what you want to do next doesn’t really align with what you currently have. In that case, it may be time to look into creating a sister brand or sub-brand.
A sister brand, though it has the same ideal client, exists in a different industry and fits a different need.
It’s like the Design Lab and Rendezvous Creative. Both offer brand design services, but because Rendezvous offers total branding — which includes design, copy and content, values, and customer experience (instead of just the visuals), it’s a sister brand.
Their client needs differ, so their clients differ. Same, but diff. You following?
(P.S. — our fearless leader Latasha is on the Rendezvous team, too!)
Sub-brands, on the other hand, DO fall into the same industry and serve the same needs with the same clients. Think of this like offering a “signature service,” a trademark course, or an event. When those signature services have their own website or Instagram handle, that’s a good sign that it’s a sub-brand. It’s still within the same business, only now it has the space it needs to stand out.
Tip #4: Noodle on it first
Even if you’re building your new passion offer under your current brand or a sub-brand/sister brand, take a sec to think about how it fits into the bigger picture. Is this something you’re really ready to hang onto for the long haul?
Passions can be tricky. You get hyper-fixated and fall in love without thinking about the consequences of going all in.
It’s kind of like when you read Twilight for the first time. You stayed up all night, reading page after page because you were so invested in the story and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. It was all you could think about for a week straight.
(Don’t act like you didn’t do it. No one’s too good for a little Twilight hyper-fixation.)
And then, when you finished the series and your passion faded (but only a little bit), what happened then? You got a book hangover. The books you read afterward weren’t as enthralling or exciting. You read book after book, chasing that Twilight high.
That’s what discovering a new (potential) passion project can be like. Only, the stakes are higher.
So before you switch things up, make sure it’s something you KNOW you’ll be interested in delivering long-term. If not, maybe wait a few months and revisit.
Sometimes it’s a good idea…and sometimes it’s just an epic about a sparkly vampire.
Need a concrete example?
If you need to see all that information and advice in action, let’s bring it on home with a real-life example.
Here at Uncanny, we are avid readers and LOVE to talk books. No surprises there. We could spend hours (literally) talking about our latest read, our next read, and the amazing authors who wrote them.
Every time we fangirled about our latest read or shared book memes in our group chat, we noticed how jazzed we got at the thought of combining two things we love — marketing and reading. Was there a way we could offer our same services to authors?
The team, of course, was all in with the idea. But Latasha had to noodle on it before it could actually be a part of our brand. We had to consider whether or not offering a service focused on authors would derail who we currently serve (women, queer, disabled, POC-owned online businesses).
Turns out, it kinda did.
Instead of just shoving authors into everything else we do, and it getting lost in the sauce or confusing our current audience, Latasha decided it was time to branch off and create a sister brand!
The offers are virtually the same (retainer services, strategy intensives, etc.), but we’re also creating a membership that’s JUST for authors building their brand.
This keeps the waters from getting muddied and gives us the chance to serve both audiences to the best of our ability — without either audience wondering if our services are actually right for them.
Have a passion you’d like to pursue?
So if you find that there’s a new passion you want to pursue, take a beat and decide if this idea is worth pursuing in the long run. You may find that your business is headed in a new direction, or that maybe you just simply need a vacation to revive your outlook and appreciation for what you do.
Oh, wait, what’s that? I missed something? I didn’t fill you in on Uncanny’s sister brand? My bad…I got distracted by the flashbacks of my Twilight era (Team Edward for the record).
It’s time for you to meet Uncanny Unedited!
UCUE offers the same content and copy direction, strategy, and execution we do now, but specifically for authors of the romance, fantasy, and fiction variety. And we’re just about open for business for all you cool cats and kittens!
Want to learn more about UCUE? Of course you do — follow me here to get all the deets!
