Recently someone asked me if I found what I was looking for when I started Personal Business.
And honestly? I’ve been thinking about that question ever since.
In some ways the answer is yes.
Of course, I knew that visibility and vulnerability would be part of it. That I hold a fear of success and a fear of failure in equal measure. I have met myself before!
But I didn’t expect to spend the summer making a podcast about my most tender parts.
While there are a lot of internal factors I’ve had to confront in order to grow, I also know it’s not the whole story of running a biz in 2025.
Which is what this week’s two-part episode of Personal Business is about.
It’s about the external stuff that’s hitting small businesses (including mine) in 2025 – shrinking and flat out vanishing budgets, trust recessions, a totally unrecognizable and increasingly shitty social media environment…
And how it’s affected Slow & Steady – and the strategy and decisions I'm making to meet the moment.
Like the fact that I had my best Q1 ever and lost every one of my corporate and non-profit clients in the same breath.
Or that building something new feels equally exciting and nauseating – because I know the context that I’m wading into.
So if you’ve been wondering how to move forward when the rules keep changing, this one’s for you.
Whether you’re building, pivoting, pausing or plotting your next thing – I hope these episodes make you feel a little less alone in it.
Because in a year that has been marked by uncertainty, there is one thing I know to be sure – it’s not just you babe.
Go slow and stay steady,
Amanda Laird
Growth Marketing Strategist
Founder, Slow & Steady Studio
PS: What’s your version of “the 2025 of it all?” What are you noticing in your own business or the industry more broadly? I’d love to hear if anything in these episodes rings true for you. 💖