What a $10 Hobby Reminded Me About Business

I picked up a $10 hobby thinking it would be a simple way to relax.

Naturally, it turned into a business lesson.

In this episode, I’m sharing what this very ordinary, very low-stakes hobby reminded me about building a business — especially when all the pieces feel scattered, the next move is not obvious, and you’re tempted to give up because nothing seems to be coming together fast enough.

Because sometimes business doesn’t need to be more complicated.

Sometimes you just need a clearer strategy, a better way to sort what’s in front of you, and a reminder that momentum builds one piece at a time.

Resources Mentioned

🎯 Book a free 30-minute Clarity Call Let's figure out the inputs that actually make sense for your business right now. 👉 jessicadowningcoaching.com/scheduler/clarity-call (New clients only — if we've already connected, email me below)

✨ Download the free Clarity Blueprint Get clear on who you help, what you offer, and how to say it in a way that actually lands. 👉 jessicadowningcoaching.com/page/clarityblueprint

📩 Let's Connect: Reach out at hello@jessicadowningcoaching.com

Connect with Jessica

🌐 jessicadowningcoaching.com 📩 hello@jessicadowningcoaching.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey there. Welcome back to Clarity to Clients. I recently found myself in a hobby lobby with my husband. He was working on a project. So we went in there to find what he needed. And have you ever been in a hobby lobby? The sheer size of that place and the number of hobbies that a person can have, it's just wild. I mean, it's such a huge store and it's jam-packed full of fun things. So we walked around and I had a moment where I thought, I don't really have a lot of hobbies, which may be funny or perhaps a little concerning because I'm a person who literally my livelihood depends on me being creative. But if I'm being honest, my hobby usually is working on my business. I love to work on my clients' projects. I like working on my own business. And I'm just constantly thinking of ideas and making little small tweaks and writing down content ideas, finding ways to be more productive, you know, in business. And so when I was walking around, I thought maybe I should try out one of these hobbies. Just give it a try. And we came across the puzzle aisle. And I know puzzles had a little bit of a renaissance back in 2020 when people were in lockdown and just trying to find fun things to do at home. But I've never actually finished a puzzle. So I picked one out and it's really pretty. It has like flowers and books, and it's just really cute. And I brought it home. I opened it up and I emptied out all the puzzle pieces onto my dining room table. And my first thought was, oh my gosh, what did I buy? There were so many tiny pieces everywhere. And at first it was completely overwhelming. I had no idea where to start. I mean, I knew I had to turn everything over and like at least start from there. But even just the idea of turning out over all these tiny little pieces, it felt like it was going to take forever. I'm like, how long do puzzles usually take? This thing, it's probably going to be a year before I finish this. So with no clear starting point, no obvious next move, I just did the best I could. And honestly, it feels a lot like building a business when you're first getting started. You have all of these pieces. You need your website, you need a lead magnet, you need an opt-in page, you need to get your email welcome sequence set up, you need to get your offer dialed in, all of these things to get started with your business. And it feels like the list goes on and on. And sometimes you're staring at all of it and just thinking, how is this ever going to become something clear? But after I finished the puzzle, and I've I have finished it, by the way, I realized there were so many connections to how you complete a puzzle and how you build a business. So today I want to share a few lessons that came up for me while I was putting together this very large puzzle. Because apparently, even my hobbies turn into business lessons, which feels very on-brand for me. Welcome to the Clarity to Clients podcast. If you're a coach, consultant, or course creator living in tech overload, scattered in your messaging, or unsure what to do next, you are in the right place. Hi, I'm Jessica Downing, your business clarity coach, and I am here to help you cut through the noise, simplify your systems, and confidently connect with the clients you're meant to serve. Each week, I'll bring you quick tips, real talk, and deep dives that give you the clarity and confidence to move your business forward. So grab your coffee, open your notebook, and let's start building a business that feels simple, sustainable, and aligned with you. So the first thing that the puzzle reminded me of is that perseverance and consistency really do pay off. When you first start, it feels completely overwhelming. You look at this huge pile of pieces, and it doesn't feel like you're ever gonna finish. A big part of me wanted to quit many, many times. Or just return it to the store and pretend like this whole personal growth hobby experiment never happened. There were too many pieces, too little clarity, not enough immediate satisfaction. And business feels that way too. Especially when you're in the early stages. Or if you're trying to grow, pivot, and create a new offer. You look at everything that needs to be done, and it feels like there is no way you will ever get there. But with the puzzle, what actually moved it forward was not some dramatic moment of inspiration. It was doing a little bit at a time, coming back to it regularly, finding a few more pieces, trying another section, sticking with it longer than I wanted to. And that is so much of business. It's not always glamorous, it's not always exciting. Sometimes it's just posting the content, showing up for the discovery call, sending the email, refining the offer, looking at the data, making one small adjustment, then another, then another. Consistency is what starts to move the needle. Not because every single action creates an instant result, but because those actions start to create momentum. They give you evidence, feedback, and then they give you something to work with. I think this is where a lot of people can get discouraged. They show up for a little while, don't see the full picture coming together yet, and assume it's not working. But sometimes it is working. It's just not finished yet. You are still finding all the pieces. You are still building the picture. You are still in the part where it looks scattered. And that doesn't mean that nothing's happening. It just means that you need to stay with the process long enough to see what actually is taking shape. So the second thing I learned was that you have to find ways to make the process enjoyable. Because I'll be honest here, there were times when I got very bored. I had already set aside time in my schedule to work on the puzzle, and I was treating it like a project, which is very much like me. But I hit a point where I was showing up and I thought, okay, how do I make this more fun? Because this is very boring. So I grabbed my headphones and I started listening to a podcast or a YouTube video while I worked on it. And it changed the whole experience. All of a sudden, I was more relaxed, I was more focused, I was enjoying what I was listening to, but I was also enjoying staying present with the puzzle. It made the whole thing feel lighter and just more fun. And I think that matters in business too, because yes, business requires work. Yes, there are things we have to do even when we don't feel like doing them, and discipline matters. But if the entire process feels heavy, draining, and miserable all the time, that's worth paying attention to. There should be parts of your business that you actually enjoy. Because why are we in business in the first place? For me, one of the places I find a lot of enjoyment in is collaborating with clients. I love helping people pull out their ideas, find the thread, clarify the message, and bring something tangible into the world. Design can be so fun, strategy can be fun, building something can be fun. Bringing a little personality and originality into your business can be fun. And I think sometimes we forget that. We make everything so serious, so heavy, so optimized, and like everything needs to be polished and perfect. And listen, I love a good system. I love making things look beautiful, clearly. But I also think business should still have some life in it, some creativity, some personality, and a little levity. Because if we're building businesses we don't actually want to show up in, that's gonna catch up with us eventually, and we're gonna make ourselves miserable. So ask yourself, how can I make this process feel a little more enjoyable? How can I bring more of myself into it? And how can I make the work a little less like I'm dragging myself across the floor and a little more like I actually want to keep coming back to it? Because enjoyment is not frivolous, it helps us stay engaged. And when we're engaged, we're more likely to keep going. The third thing the puzzle taught me was that when it gets hard and you can't see your next move, sometimes you need to take a break. There were times when I would just stare at the puzzle and feel like there was absolutely nothing else I could do. I couldn't find the next piece, I couldn't see where it all connected. I was looking at the same section over and over again and nothing was clicking. And then I would step away for a little while and I'd come back and suddenly I'd see something I didn't see before. A piece that had been sitting there the entire time, a color I had missed, a little edge of a pattern that I suddenly saw and it all made sense. Nothing about the puzzle had changed, but my perspective had changed. And this is so true in business. So a little bit about me, I love quick, decisive action. I love to build momentum for myself and for my clients. Honestly, I just like getting stuff done. And when I'm helping clients make decisions and move forward instead of staying stuck and overthinking, that is my greatest joy. But I also think there's a difference between decisive action and forcing clarity that's not there yet. Sometimes a project needs a little breathing room. Sometimes your brain just needs space to process everything. And sometimes you need to step away from a page, the offer, the content plan, the funnel, the decision, or whatever you've been staring at for way too long. Because when you are too close to it, everything can start to blur together. You can easily lose perspective. You start second-guessing everything. You start making it more complicated than it needs to be. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is not to keep forcing the next move. And what you really need to do is just step away long enough to come back with fresh eyes. And that doesn't mean that you're avoiding the work, and it doesn't mean that you're disappearing from the process. It just means that you're recognizing that clarity often needs a little bit of space. The fourth lesson I learned is to chunk the work and focus on one area at a time. This was probably one of the most practical lessons from the puzzle, because when I first opened the box, all I saw was a big pile of pieces and it was completely overwhelming. But once I started grouping similar pieces together, it became more manageable. I would find a piece with the same color, pieces that look like they belong together or to one section, or all the edge pieces. And then I would focus on one area at a time, not the whole puzzle, just one section. And that made the whole process start to feel possible. I felt like I could actually do it. Business works the same way. When you try to work on everything at once, your brain gets scattered. Writing content while thinking about your website, trying to follow up with leads while also wondering if your homepage headline is clear enough. You are half working on five different things and wondering why none of them feel finished. And I say this with love because I've absolutely done this for myself. I wore multitasking like a badge of honor. I can juggle a lot and I can switch between things very quickly. I can keep a lot of plates spinning in the air. And sometimes you do what you have to do. But looking back at these times when I'm juggling so much, I can see how inefficient multitasking can become. Because just because you are busy does not mean that you are making meaningful progress. Sometimes the better move is to chunk your schedule around types of tasks, your energy level, and of course your priorities. Maybe you have a content creation block, a discovery call block, client work block, an admin block, and of course a strategy block where you're looking at what's working and what's not working, what needs to shift. When you focus on one section at a time, you give your brain a chance to get into flow. You reduce the constant switching, you actually finish things. That's where traction happens and momentum starts to build. Not because you're trying to hold the business in your head at one time, but from sorting the pieces and giving your attention to the section in front of you. The fifth lesson I learned is that in order to complete anything, you need a strategy. And at first, my strategy was very simple. I started with the easiest thing I could see. I sorted the pieces by color and pattern. That gave me a place to start. If I saw pieces with similar color, similar patterns, or part of an image that looked like they belonged together, I could start grouping them. And that worked for a while. I could deduce where certain pieces might go. I could look at the box image, look at the pieces, and make an educated guess. But then I got all of these black pieces. There was no distinguishing characteristics, just a pile of dark pieces that all looked almost exactly the same. Honestly, my brain had a really hard time with that. I wanted to give up because at least when I was working with color and pattern, I could make sense of what I was looking at. I had clues. I had something I could work with. But this felt like I was working in the dark. And that is when I realized I had to shift my strategy. The strategy that worked in one part of the puzzle was not going to work for this section. So instead of looking at color, I started looking at the physical shape of the pieces. I started paying attention to the edges, the curves, the little detail in how the piece was formed. And once I shifted my strategy, I was able to move quickly again. This is so applicable to how we operate in business. Sometimes the strategy that worked in one season will not work in the next. Sometimes you're building a lot with all the obvious clues you have in front of you. You know what needs to happen. You can see the next move. You have enough information to make decisions, and then you hit a section where it feels really hard. Maybe your tech isn't working, things don't feel connected, the messaging isn't landing. This isn't necessarily an indicator you're doing something wrong. It may just mean you need a different strategy. Sometimes you need to stop asking, why isn't this working? and start asking, what kind of problem am I actually trying to solve right now? Because not every part of your business requires the same approach. Sometimes you need a little bit more creativity, a little more consistency. Maybe you need more data, and then you can refine from there. Sometimes what it takes is zooming out, looking at the bigger picture, and making decisions from there. You need to take a practical look at the shape of what is actually in front of you. The strategy has to match the goal you're trying to achieve. If the goal isn't clear, it will make it much harder to achieve what you're going for. This leads me to my next lesson, which is probably my favorite. And that's that there's a reason why they put a picture on the box in the first place. I kept coming back to this image the whole time I was working on the puzzle. Whenever I got stuck, I would look at the box cover because the picture on the box reminded me of what I was building. It helped me to understand where certain colors might go. It helped me to see the smaller sections connected to the bigger picture. It gave me direction when the individual pieces stop making sense. And I think this is such a good example of why vision matters so much in business. Because vision is not just a nice inspirational thing. It's not just something you write in your journal. It's practical. Your vision helps you make decisions. It helps you know what belongs and what doesn't. It helps you understand why the small actions matter. And ultimately, it helps you keep going when the day-to-day pieces feel tedious and disconnected. Because when you're in the middle of the work, it's really easy to get lost in the minutiae of the daily tasks. The content, tech, emails, your design, calendar, client work, all the little tiny decisions you have to make, all the little adjustments you make, you can start to wonder, is this even adding up to anything? And that's why you need the picture on the box. You need to know what you're building. Because without the bigger picture, every piece feels equally important. But when you know the vision, you can start to see where the pieces fit. You can make better decisions. You can stop giving the same level of energy to everything. You can say this piece belongs and this piece doesn't. This piece matters right now, and this one can wait. The last thing the puzzle reminded me of is that it's okay to ask for help. Sometimes you just need another set of eyes. Sometimes you've been staring at the same pieces for so long that you can't see what's right in front of you. And then someone else walks by, looks down, connects a small section that you've been staring at for what feels like forever. And it's both helpful and mildly annoying, but that outside perspective can make such a difference. Business is the same way. Sometimes you're just too close to your own work. And having someone else look at the bigger picture with you can help you see what's missing, what's unclear, what connects, and what your next move might be. So if you're in a season where your business feels like a pile of scattered pieces, I want to encourage you, you do not have to figure it all out at once. You do not have to build the whole picture in one sitting. Start with one piece at a time. Stay consistent, make the process something you can actually come back to, take breaks when you need a little perspective, chunk your work, keep the bigger picture in front of you, and ask for help when you need another set of eyes. Because the pieces may feel scattered right now, but that doesn't mean that they can't come together. It may just mean you need a clearer view of what you're building. And if you want help with that, I would love to invite you to a free 30 minute clarity call. Just you and me looking at where you are, what feels stuck, and what next piece might help your business start to come together with more clarity. You can find the link in the show notes. Thank you so much for listening, and I'll catch you on the next episode.