167: Why personal growth comes before business growth

In this episode of Online Business Uncovered, I'm sharing a powerful mindset shift that I believe every entrepreneur needs to hear (especially if you're currently feeling stuck, frustrated or like you've hit a ceiling in your business). 

So often, we assume that business growth comes from learning another strategy, finding the latest marketing tactic or investing in another course but what if the thing holding you back isn't a lack of knowledge at all, what if it's who you're being?

In this episode, I introduce a simple but transformative concept that explains why so many business owners struggle to reach the next level, even when they have access to all the right information, tools and opportunities. 

I also share some personal reflections from behind the scenes of organising the Online Business Growth Summit and how creating the biggest project I've ever undertaken has challenged me to step into a completely different version of myself.

If you've been waiting until you feel ready, confident or certain before taking action, this episode will encourage you to look at growth from a completely different perspective because sometimes the biggest transformation in your business happens long before the results show up.

Grab a cuppa, get comfortable and let's dive into this episode!

Online Business Growth Summit: 6-8th October 2026
Join waitlist here: https://link.sellyourbrillianceonline.com/summit-waitlist

Transcript

Karen [00:00:00]:
Hello, and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is episode 167. And in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about why the version of you that build your business isn't necessarily the version of you that's going to be growing it. I'm going to be sharing a really powerful model and why. I believe it explains why so many entrepreneurs stay stuck despite having all the strategies, tools, and information that they need to move forward. So let's jump right in and let's get started. Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. I'm your host, Karen, and I really do appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to today's episode.

Karen [00:00:50]:
So today's episode, I'm going to be talking about personal development in business, and we're going to be talking about a model, really, that I find really powerful. And I'm going to be sharing that with you in today's episode. Now, most entrepreneurs think that business growth comes from learning a new strategy, improving their marketing, or finding the latest tool in their business. But what if growth actually started somewhere else? What if the thing that is standing between where you are right now and where you want to be is. Isn't a lack of knowledge or resource or opportunity? What if it's who you are being right now? And I just want to kind of leave that with you for a moment because we often think that in order to grow, we need another new thing. We need to go and do another course, we need to go and have a session with a coach, or we need to grow our email list, or we need to do something external that almost represents a growth metric. But often it's not the case. Sometimes it is who you are being in that moment.

Karen [00:02:26]:
So today I really want to break it down and I want to talk about something that, for me, has been on my mind a lot, especially since I've been preparing for the Online Business Growth Summit that's happening in October. It's something I think every entrepreneur, business owner experiences at some point, especially when they're trying to grow their business, create bigger opportunities, or move themselves to the next level in business. Now, I've been in business 10 years. This is my 10th year. And what I've come to learn is that every new level in business requires a new version of you. Now, we've all heard different variations of this idea before. You may have heard it in a form of what got you here won't get you there. It's basically saying that if you want the growth that you're looking for, you have to step into a different version of yourself, you have to evolve in order to be able to achieve it.

Karen [00:03:47]:
So, as many of you know, I am currently organizing the Online Business Growth Summit, where I'm bringing together expert speakers from around the world. It's not just here in the UK to help entrepreneurs create scalable income streams in their business and build a business that ultimately gives them more time. Now, this is the biggest project that I've taken on to date and I've done a lot of different projects because I've got over 18 speakers, I've had systems to build, I've got to run marketing campaigns and I've got to manage partnerships and what feels like a hundred moving parts behind the scene. It's a lot. It is so much you should see. Honestly, my notion system, with all, everything that I have to do, it is a huge list. And whilst I really love creating it, it's also kind of put a spotlight on something that I wasn't really expecting. Now, for me going through this process, the biggest challenge hasn't been the tech.

Karen [00:05:06]:
I'm a bit of a tech geek, so I can often adopt tech quite easily. It hasn't been the marketing, because my background is marketing and I have a really good, deep understanding of marketing and how to be visible and what I need to do. And it hasn't even been finding the speakers. I am blessed to be a part of so many wonderful communities and I have made so many connections and built so many relationships over the past 10 years that when I did put a call out for speakers, I was inundated. So I've been really blessed to kind of have that made available to me. The biggest challenge that I've experienced is the becoming the person that is capable of leading it. Now, what I mean by that is I have always been somebody that has been in the background. I've always been that person that does the work.

Karen [00:06:10]:
You would need a website, I'll build you a website. You need design material created, I'll go and design the material. You need funnels built. I will do that. That's my happy place. That's where I get a lot of enjoyment and I get a lot of pleasure out of it because it lends very well to my skill set. However, what doesn't come, what I feel naturally, is having to step into a more leadership role. Now, that's not to say that in the past, I've not had to step in as a leader, I've had to because I've had projects where I've had people on My team, and I've had to manage them and lead them.

Karen [00:06:53]:
This has required so much more of me because whereas my comfort zone is being a team player, this, in order for it to happen, in order for it to be successful, it requires a different version of me. It requires me to be visible, it requires me to make the right decisions, and it requires me to step into being a leader. And that has stretched me in so many different ways. Not because I don't want to do it, of course I do. I feel very passionately about this event. This event really matters. I want to create impact in a way that really, really helps and supports people and guides them through to a place where they can get more freedom in their life. They can build businesses that support their dreams rather than destroys them because they're.

Karen [00:07:51]:
They're so consumed with having to work all the hours in their business. So I feel really passionate about what it is I'm doing, but it is forcing me to step into a bigger vision of myself, a bigger version myself. And that's got me thinking about something called the Be do have model, which is really what I wanted to share with you today, because I believe this simple model explains why so many entrepreneurs stay stuck even when they have all the strategies, the tools, and all the information that they need. So one of my favorite personal development concepts is something called the Be do have model. You may be familiar with it, you may not be. Most people approach success backwards. They think, when I have money, when I have clients, when I have a bigger audience, then I'll do the things that successful people do, Then I'll become confident. But that's not how growth works.

Karen [00:09:08]:
The model actually works like this. Be do have. First you become, then you do, then you have the results come last. The problem is that most people are waiting for confidence before they take action. They're waiting to feel ready before they even show up. And they're waiting to feel certainty before they make decisions. But confidence is usually the result of action, not the prerequisite. So think about creating an online course.

Karen [00:09:59]:
A lot of people will say, when my audience is bigger, I'll create a course. When I feel more confident, I'll then launch. When I know enough, I will start. But successful course creators don't wait until they feel like experts. They start acting like someone who is building a scalable business. So their mindset is very different. They begin creating, they begin validating, they begin testing. They become the person first, then they take the actions, and then the results follow.

Karen [00:10:34]:
That's the be, the do have Model. That's the be, do have model. Now, just going back to my own experience, this summit has definitely stretched me because historically, as I mentioned, I've always been that person that does the work. I've always been the team player, the person that is relied upon to get stuff done. So I build courses, I work with clients, I create content, I help people behind the scenes get to where they need to get to. And I've always seen myself as a team player. Even years and years and years ago when I worked in London, I was always that team player. I remember I was working at an architects firm and I was promoted.

Karen [00:11:30]:
I think I was probably in my early or mid 20s and I was promoted and I had a PA underneath me and I remember that being really difficult because the work itself was absolutely fine. I had no problems doing that. Managing a person, leading that person was very tricky because I think when you step into having to manage people, people are complex, they could be very difficult to work with. And so I didn't end up having the best experience. So I. I guess if I'm truthful, I've probably shied away from. From really embedding myself in being a leader. I'm a leader of my business.

Karen [00:12:21]:
I drive my business forward every single day. I do all the things, I get the things done, I lead where it matters. But I've never been that person that has wanted to be at the forefront, driving everyone forward, you know, taking that leadership role. This summit is really different. As I said, I've got over 18 speakers that are going to be speaking. I have. Honestly, the event is going to be amazing. If you haven't registered for your waitlist ticket, then I would encourage you to do that now because you can.

Karen [00:13:02]:
You can register for free, but waitlist tickets for lifetime Access is only £27 at the moment. It's going to go up to 197 nearer the event and you'll get lifetime access to all the recordings and. And you're going to get amazing bonuses as well. And I'm just working through that at the moment. But I've got so many brilliant speakers and it's going to be everything from creating your first scalable offer to pricing strategies, to messaging, building your brand online, how to say the right things at the right time, how to tell the right stories. Then, you know, we've got Facebook ads, we've got podcasting, we've got. Honestly, it is going to be amazing. But in order to bring this all together, it's.

Karen [00:13:52]:
It requires a vision and it requires making Decisions to bring it all together. So that of course has required me to have to step up in order to make this work. And there's something quite vulnerable about asking people to join your mission as well. And at times it can feel really uncomfortable because it's forcing me to step into that bigger version of myself. Not because I feel ready, I don't think I'll ever feel ready. And not because, you know, my self doubt has disappeared. If I'm honest, this whole summit has, has really nerved me because it's almost like I'm putting myself on the line and saying this, what I want to do. And if I fail it, it's all on me.

Karen [00:14:44]:
There's nobody else to blame. It's all on me. The reason why I have to step up is that because I want to run this summit and I want it to be successful, this is what the project demands of me. And it's also because the business I'm trying to build is requiring a different version of me. So if I want to get my business to where I want to want it to go, I'm not going to be able to achieve that by staying where I was. I have to step into that new version of me in order to be able to make it happen. And I think this is where so many entrepreneurs get stuck. They know what they want.

Karen [00:15:25]:
They want more freedom, they want more impact, they want more income, they want to build a scalable business and that could be through a membership or an online course or, or creating a digital product ecosystem. But they keep operating from the identity of the person that they were when they started. They see themselves in a, in a, in a way, and that doesn't change. It could be that they see themselves as a freelancer, a solopreneur or a service provider. The person that essentially does everything themselves. And then they wonder why. Growth feels hard. And growth often requires an identity shift before it requires a strategy shift.

Karen [00:16:10]:
You have to start seeing yourself differently. So if you're at a place in your business where you want to achieve something, but it feels big, it feels unachievable, but you know that it's going to do wonders for your business and it's going to move the needle and get you where you want to get to. I have a question that I really want you to think about. Who do you need to become in order to create the business you want? Not what you need to do, not what software you need, not what funnel you need. Who do you need to become? Do you need to become more visible? Do you Become need to become more decisive? Do you need to become more consistent? More courageous? More willing to be seen? More willing to let go control? Willing to fail? Being okay with things not being perfect? Because the business you want may already be available to you, but it may just require a version of you that you are still growing into. And I think that is something that often we overlook. When something feels hard, we think we can't do it and we can. It just requires us to step into a shift of identity.

Karen [00:17:44]:
How we see ourselves is so important because if we only see ourselves as one thing, it will limit our self belief in doing something else. So if there's one thing I've learned today from pulling together the Online Business Growth Summit, it's that growth isn't comfortable. Discomfort, though, is often a sign that you're expanding, that you're stepping beyond who you have been and you're becoming the person that is capable of creating what is coming next. This Online Business Growth Summit is by the, by the time I've delivered it, it's going to push me in ways that is going to make me feel really uncomfortable. And I've accepted that. I accepted that when I took the project on because what I want is at the other end of it. So that discomfort I have to get comfortable with in order to be able to get where I need to go. And it's so true for people that are creating any new thing in their business.

Karen [00:19:17]:
I'm not alone with this. I'm not alone in feeling this. I think this is common with a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners that are striving for goals that, that feel big. If you are feeling stretched right now, maybe you're feeling challenged, maybe you feel like you're being called into a bigger version of yourself, then it's not a sign you're on the wrong path. It may actually be a sign that you're exactly where you need to be. Because first you become, then you do, then you have. And sometimes the most important business growth happens way before you achieve any of the results. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode.

Karen [00:20:17]:
I hope this episode has given you some clarity. I hope it's helped and I hope it sparks some new ideas for your business. If you have found this to be helpful, I'd love you to share it with a friend or maybe a fellow entrepreneur who's also building their online business. Because this episode could be exactly what they need to listen to today. Now, if you are interested in turning your expertise into income, maybe you have no idea where to start. Maybe it makes you feel overwhelmed just thinking about it, and maybe you're ready to step into that next version of yourself. Then register for free for the Online Business Growth Summit. Head on over to my website, www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com forward/summit.

Karen [00:21:12]:
I'll also put a link in the show notes as well. I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a wonderful week.