Trusting Yourself as a Business Owner During Challenging Times

Business owner to business owner, can we just take a moment to have a conversation about running a business during these heavy times? Between the constant news cycle and everything that’s happening in the world and in our personal lives, I want to take a moment to remind you to trust yourself. You know what’s best for you, especially as we navigate life right now. 

I want to share a little about my time with CNN during some really dark and difficult times and how that experience shaped how I care for my nervous system now. I’ll touch on the responsibilities we face as content creators and business owners and why it’s important to listen to your gut when deciding what to share. I also have a quick win to help you keep your content human and transparent, even when things aren’t perfect behind the scenes, because I think we all need it right now.

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• An honest discussion about the realities of maintaining a business when the world is on fire.
• The emotional toll and impact on our mental health from news overload.
• Following your instincts when it comes to posting content and promoting your business.
• How to handle expectations and public pressure when it comes to speaking out. 
• Managing within your personal capacity and protecting your mental wellbeing.
• Quick win for posting content right now: less polished, personal perspectives and lived experiences that lean into transparency and belonging. 

Featured content in this episode:

Shannonmckinstrie: The content actually growing accounts right now

Recommended episodes:

• Episode 67: The Importance of Belonging on Social Media
• Episode 74: How to Humanize Your Account When You Feel Stuck in Business Mode
• Episode 77: Simple B-Roll and Strong Hooks for Low-Effort, High-Impact Instagram Content
• Episode 95: Building Real Community with Stories and Shared Moments

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Transcript

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:00]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good Content. All right y'all,. Hopefully this is the last podcast episode where I am recording looking like this and where I'm at. Greetings from another snowed in day, quote unquote. Our kids have been sick. We have been having school cancellations after school cancellations.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:38]:
It has been rough few weeks to say the least. But the good news is I know you guys don't actually care, but podcast room is ready. So by next podcast we will be recording in the new my little podcast studio that we've built. I'm just so excited because here's the thing I want you to know. I start everything in my business really messy. I started the Reels Lab on a Google Doc. I start almost everything without a full actual sales page because I'm the type of person that just wants to get it out into the world and then if people like it and it's working, I'll make it shiny and cute later. Right? Same with this podcast.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:12]:
I started it thinking no one would care. No one. Listen. It was almost like an experiment in a way, honestly, just to see if I liked it. And then you guys and what I love about this podcast is there's only so much I can say in a 90 second reel. There's only so much I can say in a carousel. Right? This is where I can go deeper into that content and give you guys more nuance and all that stuff. So I think you guys deserve a podcast that might look a little more professional than what it's been looking like for the past year.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:37]:
Plus, but thank you for being here and you guys deserve for me to show up in a space where I am focused AF and all that good stuff because lately it has been a mess. So I will say I will be giving you guys some tips to, you know, some quick wins to take and run with. And again, Chloe's right here. Cause again there's no school today, so if you hear her, sorry, she's still got the sniffles. It's just been. But this is real life, right? And we still have to show up for our businesses. This is a great time to actually record this because what I want to talk about is showing up for our businesses when everything feels like it's on fire. Obviously everything going on in the world is quite heavy in the US and beyond and on top of that, I'm sure many of you listening are dealing with battles.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:15]:
Whether it could be a number of things, things with your family, things in your marriage, things in your business, things with your loss, grief. And sometimes it's really hard because this is the thing as business owners, what a lot of people don't understand about either becoming a full time content creator, growing a business, you wake up thinking about it. You go to bed thinking about it. These are our babies that we care about, what we do a lot. So when everything else is on fire and we still have to show up, it can feel kind of hard or confusing because you don't wanna. And here's one thing I've learned over the years, and I'll just say this briefly. Cause many of you know my story of this, but I worked at CNN after college for several years. I was there during Katrina, the tsunami.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:54]:
You know, I took in feeds for, from Al Jazeera. Like I saw a lot of what I like to tell people. This was 2004 and 2007. Okay, so we're talking I worked 10 hour shifts, typically overnights. So I was up all night bringing in feeds for many years. At other times I worked in the, I did font fonts and graphics in the control room. But still you're, you're literally what the equivalent is is doom scrolling for 10 hours straight. Because all you're doing is taking in footage across the world of.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:21]:
You know, obviously sometimes there were happy stories, sure, but it was mainly, oh, you know, dead body at the 0, you know, 30 second mark. You know, like we were documenting these feeds and you were seeing raw footage. So back then I was having horrible panic attacks, horrible anxiety attacks. Um, I mean, I literally was just depressed. I was like, this is the world. Like the world is horrible. The world's horrible. I hate it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:46]:
I hate it here. And I remember I would just pray and I would call my, you know, family who would pray over me and it was, it was a really hard time. So with that said, no one understood it. But it also felt weird to talk about it. Cause I was like, I know no one's going to understand where I'm at right now and where my brain is at. Because we didn't have phones that opened to this every day, all day. Right now we all are the equivalent of Shannon circa 2004 sitting in a feeds department watching doom and gloom all day long. So here's to say this one, the world's been on fire forever, right? This is nothing new.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:22]:
So this isn't like, this is just a weird phase of all this. Everything that's going on right now in Minneapolis and in Iran and Gaza, right? Like, this is not. This is not going to just like, all of a sudden, if, you know, say, this all wraps up in a beautiful bow, there's something else coming down the Runway. So this is an important episode for that. This is not me talking about what's going on right now, because I've had this conversation so many times during George Floyd in 2020, right now, all this. And I will say, in 2020, I felt really lost. I pushed my launch back for a course I was going to be selling. I pushed it back because it obviously didn't feel right with everything going on.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:01]:
So this is what I'm going to tell you, okay? Again, there's always going to be some craziness, awful, horrible, disgusting, inhumane things happening in the world. Just is what it is. Sucks. Now we all have to see it all day long, which, yes, we need to be informed. But I'll get there in a minute. But just know, like, this stuff is going to happen and stuff's going to happen in your life. Like, in a normal nine to five, we can get bereavement, right? Things like that. But when we run our own businesses, that is kind of the beauty of it, right? You're allowed to take time off if you need to.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:25]:
But there's also this part of me that, like, I feel like it's impossible for me to ever take time off because I care about you guys and helping you guys so much that, like, even when I am having a bad day, I still show up. That's me. But for a lot of people, that's not possible, right? Anyway, what I'm trying to say, I don't want to yap too much on what's not important, but just know that, like, as business owners, this is why this is so important. So frustrating sometimes. It's like there's a lot of. We have a lot of responsibility now, right? Let me just say this. When something doesn't feel right, right? It did not feel right to me personally to go on with my course, the way I plan on launching and the dates I plan on launching during 2020, that time when George Floyd had just been killed, okay? So to me, that just felt right. I didn't have to even think twice.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:10]:
So what I want to say to you, a lot of times when these things happen, right, and things feel heavy and you're like, do I post today this huge news event just happened. This is Catastrophic. This is inhumane, whatever it is. What is your body telling you to do? What is your gut telling you to do? And listen to it. I want you to start trusting your voice, okay? And that's a big part of succeeding on social media, is trusting your voice, okay? Because here's what's going to happen. And I know there's been so much talk online about, like, influencers. They need to take a stand. Where do you stand? Are you maga? Are you pro ice? Are you anti ice? Are you this.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:40]:
Everyone wants to know where people stand, because everyone, for us, our brains, we want to put everyone in this box. And everyone has a right to know if that's what you know, if they don't want to support people who. And guys, right now, I'm, like, struggling to get through this episode. I've got, you know, sick kid snowed in. And, I mean, luckily, my podcast editors are probably editing all the chaos out. But, like, I'm about to cry. Like, it's just been. The past few weeks have been tough.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:00]:
So with that said, me watching everything unfold, I've been sick. I have. It has taken me back to CNN days of spiraling, of crying, of feeling actually physically ill. It's all consuming, right? My algorithm and all, you know, a bunch of people I follow are just reposting, reposting, reposting, all of this. And it's. It's just. It's.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:18]:
For me personally, it wrecks my soul. So for me, I have to protect myself because of my nervous system. It has been wrecked the past few weeks. And then there's people like my business mentor, some of my best friends who are super vocal and sharing everything and reposting. And I'm like, I love that for them, physically. For me, I have to protect myself, then comes the guilt, right? Of like, oh, I'm not saying enough. Cause I was very vocal in 2020.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:43]:
So here's what it comes down to. Whether you say something or you don't, that is up to you. I'm never gonna tell you what to do. I'm just gonna advise you of what I've seen over the years with all the doom and gloom of the world and how people respond and how people get pissed and how people cancel people and whatever. Whatever, right? Number one, you're either gonna say too much, people are gonna be like, you're doing too much. No, you know what? Stick to business. Don't talk politics. You're gonna get those, right? If you don't say anything, you're gonna get the, oh, she must not care.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:09]:
He must not care. They're trash. Then you can get the people who like, literally don't care whether you do something or not, right? So whether you say something or whether you don't, you're gonna piss people off. So it's up to you to decide where you want to go, or you say nothing and you run the risk of getting right. I, I have spoken up. I've said many things. I've shared stories of how I feel. I've done all that.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:32]:
I've gotten nasty DMS, I've gotten sweet DMs. And then there's me right now, who's on the verge of tears. I can't even get through this podcast episode because I'm trying to do so much my business and my. So I'm just saying this business owner to business owner, everyone's going through stuff. And maybe I'm not as vocal as some people want me to be, but maybe that's because there's other things going on that I am at capacity and I cannot handle the nasty dms. I am here to help people get their message out. I'm here to help good servant led people get their message out. If I feel the need to repost, to share, to get on stories and talk, I will.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:07]:
And that's what I want you to know. You have to trust yourself. And my people for sure know how I feel. But again, I've got to protect my nervous system. I have to protect myself. I have kids to raise. I have family who relies on me. But I just want to say that.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:26]:
So I'll just say what I said on Threads the other day. Okay, so I, I mentioned that I've been getting a ton. Because I was, I've been getting a ton of messages from people saying they're feeling pressured to say something and they don't want to speak up because they're, they're. They just can't handle the backlash. So what I said is if you feel called to speak, use your voice. And if you don't and you're at capacity because of trauma. Hello, Speaking for myself, right? Because your nervous system can't take one more hit because your heart is heavy because life is hard, then that is okay too. And then what I said, because I want to make sure my people understand.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:53]:
And I know this is really important to say, so I want to make sure I say it. It's also true that some people don't even have the luxury of being quiet. So me being able to not say as much is a luxury, right? But it's also true when someone like me right now, who is dysregulated and fried and carrying a lot of right now in my life, it feels a little impossible to go all in. I went all in. 2020. I went all in. Right now I'm in a season of. It's just a little hard for me to go all in, and my nervous system can't do it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:19]:
And I have to show up for this business, and I have to show up for you, and I have to show up for my clients. I have to show up for my family. Therefore, I'm telling you, no matter what I do. And I feel like I've handled this very well. I've had lots of great conversations. I've been outspoken. I've said what I needed to say. I.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:33]:
But there's still people who are pissed off. And that's just the world we're in. We are living in a time where everything feels very deeply emotional. Right? It's a repeatable cycle. It's like the stuff just comes up. And I just want to say it's impossible to not be impacted by what's happening. And we have to stay informed. Right? Which I am doing.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:49]:
But being constantly exposed to this trauma and pain and conflict and the horrible, inhumane things going on all over the world, it's overwhelming. But again, trust your gut. Say what you want to say. If you feel the need to say something, you feel the need to share something, you people are demanding you talk about it. You are allowed to protect your heart, or you are allowed to get so vocal and so loud, you do you. Okay, be loud. Be vocal. Or take some time to regroup.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:14]:
And then, like, you know, I had to wait a few days to do this podcast. Cause I was so emotional the other day. But the long story short, the world is hurting. It's always been hurting. But we need to take care of ourselves as well. I also hate saying, but, you know, this is. Think of this outside of context of all the crazy stuff in the news right now. But, like, you know, a lot of us in the.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:31]:
In this online world love to joke like, Old Navy's still out here sending emails. You know what I mean? But it comes down to trusting your gut and doing what you gotta do. And one of my friends, Fran, I've. We've met in person several times. We connected on Instagram, actually, through my. Our mutual mentor, Sarah Wiles. You know, she put up a reel the other day, and I had to repost it. Because it basically said, like, oh, how are you still showing up in your business and for your kids? Like, all this stuff isn't going on.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:54]:
She's like, welcome to the past, like 30 years of our lives. Right? Like, you know, people still had to go to work during 9 11. People still had to do this. And it's like. Because it's all in our phones now, though, that's why it feels so different. Because we're being exposed all day long. We can't just turn on the news in the morning or read the paper in the morning and go about our day and then go watch it later. It is all freaking day long.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:16]:
And it's not healthy for us. And we. Our brains were not built. We're not created to take in all this trauma. So I don't know. I hope something I said helps, but I just want you to just. Instead of going, what do I do, Shannon? What do I do? Trust yourself. And if you really just.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:32]:
And trust me, if you need to go off social. I think I mentioned this in last week's podcast, right? My business partner, Emily, she went completely. She's almost hit 50,000 followers on Instagram, which is a huge, huge accomplishment. And she hasn't even posted in a month because her content from a month ago is still going. She had to just go off because she's going through something family related. So there's a lot of people going through. There's other stuff going on. So I just want you to know this is not.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:56]:
We did not take the easy way out. People who are running businesses and showing up on social, this is not easy, not easy at all. People are watching our every move. So just know that. And if that makes you uncomfortable, like, it's. Maybe it's new to you. Like, I'm used to this at this point, you know, And I got people saying, oh, if you hadn't spoken up, I was about to unfollow you. And I'm like, fair.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:15]:
I get it. Like, I. But right now my. I'm wrecked. Like, my brain is wrecked. And I am just trying to focus on right now just getting through the next few months because it's just been hard over here with sicknesses and this and that. Right. Anyway, I don't want to keep blabbing on.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:31]:
I want to give you a quick win. And that quick win and I'll make sure it's in the show. Notes was a reel I shared yesterday because just like this podcast is very raw and very real and very off the cuff, it's not as polished, right? It will be a little bit more polished. I will still be coming in here being fully transparent and unhinged sometimes. But what I mean by that is this is what people want. We want content that feels less produced. We want content that feels more transparent. We want content that feels human.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:01]:
And like, I'm with a friend and I actually did a reel yesterday all about that, saying how, you know, we want it. We don't want to tip, we don't want to trick. We want it from your own lived experience, we want it from your personal lens. Why are you sharing this tip with me? We also want more behind the scenes. I want to know what your process is like. I want to know what it's like to sit in a consultation with you. I want to know what it's like to have you plan my event, whatever that is. Right? And then the big one is we want to feel like we belong.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:24]:
And that's why people want to know so badly where everyone stands on everything. Because we just want to know if we're supporting the right people, if we are in a space where we want to belong and things like that. So if people are asking for your opinion, all this stuff, just know that everything is just so heavy right now. And they. That feeling of, do I want to be in this space? It. It's just different now. It's different. The way we sell is different.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:46]:
The way we show up now is different. It has gone back from the performing and the over the top to just, who are you? What are your values? Do I want to be in your space? And then there's people who literally don't care. So either way, they're going to be mad. They're going to think you did too much, they're going to think you're not doing enough, or they're just going to. They're just people that are like, whatever. This is the year of transparency. This is the year of belonging. I've been saying this for over a year, so just know everything that I'm hearing and seeing just proves it to be even more true.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:15:17]:
So you wanted to start doing reels that are like, hi, here's what we do over here, here's what we're about over here. Here's what it's like to shop with us and it doesn't have to get deep into, oh, I'm on the side, or this side. No, but what is it like to experience your product? What is it like to experience your services? We've got to start treating social media human again, because it is humans behind these screens after all. I hope this was helpful. This was a little uncomfortable for me to do, but just know what I experienced in my years of news really hurt my soul. And it still does, and it still comes up. So when I'm seeing all these things and I'm seeing all these reposts from people and my algorithm is getting filled with content, that's not good for my brain. Um, I have to put it down.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:16:02]:
So just take care of yourself and take care of your people and do what you feel in your gut is right. I love you, friend. Talk to you next week.