Going Underground & Coming Back
On Including Enough of What I Have to Offer, Instead of Feeling Not Enough
Hi folks
Today I made a little video about some of the things that went on with School of Kind Business/PJ (that’s me!) and why it all went underground for a while.
This is one of those days when ‘perfection’ is the enemy of ‘done.’ I felt vulnerable and just needed to get it done, so I didn’t use my fancy mics or the Rule of 3 or anything. Just stand-and-deliver, baby.
Listen if you’re curious.
But the Too Lazy Don’t Listen version is down below. As are the free workbooks, if you wanna just skip to that.
The Highlights: Going Underground
In 2020 I started experiencing some momentum for School of Kind Business, but we all know what 2020 was. . . in that environment, I was concerned about the ethics of people fearfully jumping ship from their jobs into a business coaching program and hoping they could immediately pay the bills. Plus I moved house. And provinces. And the whole world changed. So.
There were some pieces missing in what I was teaching that were bugging me, but it took me a while to put my finger on it. Things like what to do when we inevitably get triggered—how to reframe and re-regulate. Or downplaying what we as humans, helpers, sensitive relational folks inherently know how to do, and over-focusing on skills with names like ‘marketing’ and ‘sales’ that feel strange, counterintuitive, and sometimes even scary and completely not do-able. I want us to feel embodied and whole, in our entrepreneurial adventures.
I was worried that people would take a course that sure, was well-designed and helpful, but maybe they didn’t actually meet their goals. I stand behind the value of what I was teaching in the earlier iterations. But my intention is that what we share together here has relevance beyond micro-entrepreneurship: as practices for life, and skills for our times.
I was having some sort of weird PJ version of imposter syndrome. I love performing and teaching and being out in front of people, I run a successful business, I’ve been an entrepreneur for 25 years, but, but, but. . .
Anyhow, all of that would be really boring except for this: I imagine that my story and the processing I’ve done in the last years will be familiar to a lot of solo- and micro- entrepreneurs. Turns out sometimes what makes us hold back and 2nd guess ourselves is that we aren’t including enough of what we have to offer, NOT that we aren’t enough. Big difference.
Telling stories is an integral part of how we do the work at SKB, so I figured I’d step up and share mine, too. If you can find it in your heart this Valentine’s day to be gentle with me, I’d appreciate it.
Free Workbooks
As promised in the last dispatch, we have two workbooks to download, below. Some of you may already have the first one, but I’m offering it here, revised for 2025 and all in one book rather than 6 separate emails (how it originally came). The second workbook is an overview of what to consider when you have a new service idea and aren’t sure if it has legs, or if you’re feeling a bit stuck in your biz, and need to approach your services with a ‘beginner mind’.
The Kind Marketing Re-Set Workbook—Marketing is just telling your story in ways that are helpful, to the people who want to hear. Gratitude, praise, connection, empathy, kinship and beauty aren’t just wishful marketing woo-hoo. They tap into the ancient wiring of humans that helps us feel purposeful, meet goals, web into community, and be successful. A 22-page booklet chock full of reframes and practical exercises, divided into 6 days of practice, with 1 day for rest. (Or 6 weeks of practice—you do you!)
Back to Basics Audit for Your New or Old Service—When I’ve got a new biz or service idea, it’s a good idea to sit down for some creative time with my head and heart, and make sure I’ve got the basics covered. Likewise, when we’ve been in our service-based businesses for a while and think we ‘know it all’ but some stuff just isn’t working (like you don’t have enough clients, or you aren’t making money, or you’re exhausted trying, or all of the above): it can be a good idea to retreat to a quiet place for a few hours with a favourite beverage, and just make sure you’ve got the basics covered.
Downloadable PDFs are below. This is all supposed to work easy-peasy. But if it doesn’t, please let me know in Comments or DMs. I know you will.
One Final Note—What’s Coming
If you’ve been listening or reading today, you’ve already figured this out, but I’ll say it again. What we are trying to co-create here with you is a bit different than what you may have encountered before in ‘business’ or ‘solo-preneur’ spaces. Yes we share practical planning or pricing tips, best business model practices, and copywriting prompts, etc.
And, we also offer imaginative, supportive practices: that help us approach the practical aspects of business with lightness and maximum creativity; or—on the other side of things—help our entrepreneurial bodies to re-regulate when we are asking them to do something big, and we get triggered or overwhelmed.
In future, those practices will be shared in the ‘paid’ subscription—usually in the form of an audio or video post. But that’s a bit down the road. I’ll be sending these supportive practices out in the free newsletter, for the next little while.
This work is creative, and deeply satisfying for me; I’m pleased to be able to offer this for free subscribers, and I hope you find value in it.
If you are finding value in the newsletter or the workbooks, and have friends who might like our content too: please invite them along.
Your help spreading the word in this eco-system of creators is deeply appreciated. We are building a gang of kindred micro-preneurs and beautiful humans, over here on the SKB Stack.
If somehow you see this newsletter, and you haven’t yet subscribed: you are warmly invited. We appreciate you supporting our work.
Love it, PJ! I really resonate (as you know) with the need for touching into the relational aspect in every moment and the importance of recognizing dysregualtion and practices that help us to recalibrate when we experience that.