Redefining Success: What Actually Mattered in Our Businesses This Year

This episode is a little different—and a whole lot of real. I invited two of my favorite humans and biz team besties, Adriana Strama and Keriann Bellamy, back on the podcast to join me for a very honest, slightly spicy wrap-up of 2025. We’re talking about the messy middles, the shifts in our own businesses, and how we’re redefining success for ourselves as service providers.

No "6-figure year or bust" vibes here. Just the truth about what actually worked, what didn’t, and what we’re carrying into 2026 with a lot more intention (and a lot less pressure).

Here’s what we get into:

• Why 2025 wasn’t about explosive growth—but still felt meaningful
• How relationship marketing showed up for us in big ways
• What it’s really like when you have to step back into client work
• The pressure to scale, and the power of saying “no thanks”
• Rethinking your business as a long-term career
• Why happiness, sustainability, and support are better KPIs
• Our collective desire for more local, low-pressure community

If you’re feeling the push to measure success differently or just want to hear what it looks like behind the scenes of three service-based businesses... this episode is for you.

One last thing: I also share some news about the future of the BizMagic Podcast—don’t worry, it’s not a dramatic cliffhanger, but it’s worth tuning in for.

Thanks for being here. Truly.

About Adriana Strama:

Adriana Strama is an Accredited Online Business Manager with a talent for simplifying the complicated. A former teacher turned operations pro, Adriana knows how to create structure out of chaos. She specializes in helping six-figure entrepreneurs streamline their systems, manage their teams, and free up their time so they can focus on growth and innovation. Adriana’s approach is all about empowering business owners to “do less and accomplish more.” With her strategic insight and reliable support, she helps her clients step out of the weeds of daily operations and into the role of visionary leaders. Whether it’s optimizing workflows, planning for scalable growth, or managing big-picture projects, Adriana thrives on bringing clarity and efficiency to the table.

Adriana’s Website: https://ww.adrianastrama.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriana-strama
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrianastrama_obm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adrianastramaobm

About Keriann Bellamy:

Keriann helps online business owners attract dream clients and grow their business with done-for-you content and custom email funnels—so they can spend less time marketing and more time making an impact. With a background in theater, health coaching, and seven years in digital marketing, she blends expert storytelling with data-driven copy to help health and wellness coaches craft strategic and engaging content across multiple marketing channels.

She specializes in capturing her clients’ authentic voice, making sure their message hits home with the right people. And she’s a firm believer that great content is all about building relationships—because effective messaging will always beat the latest algorithm.

When she’s not helping entrepreneurs write content that actually works, you can find her hiking with her border collie Maple or getting lost in a fantasy novel. She’s got a passion for holistic health and loves supporting mission-driven female entrepreneurs who are out to better peo

Learn more about BizMagic or the BizMagic Podcast.

Transcript

Patti: Welcome back to another episode of the Biz Magic Podcast, your place for all things tech in your online business with solids of General Biz Chat too. My name is Patty Meyer and I am the CEO and founder of Biz Magic, where my team and I support entrepreneurs who are overwhelmed by the backend tech of their business.

We create, implement, and teach the tweaks that help our clients make a bigger impact with less stress. Before we dive into today's episode, I wanna tell you about something new and exciting that I am offering here at Biz Magic. Sometimes you just need a friendly space, a little tech help, and someone to say, Hey, did you do that thing?

Yet? That is why I'm super excited to introduce Biz Magic BFF's online biz and Tech community. It is a slack hosted, low pressure, high support online community for solopreneurs, creatives and online business owners who want connection, accountability, and access to tech and business support without the noise.

So whether you're mid-launch in a tech tangle, or just craving a little company while you work, this is your back pocket biz support. Crew included in Biz Magic BFFs is access to me, Patty, and my entire biz and tech brain twice a month at Biz Magic's office hours live on Zoom. You can drop in and get quick hit tech support or your business questions answered in real time.

You get coworking sessions with this really amazing community. You have support inside the Slack community as well, so you can share, you can get feedback, you can ask for tech support there, and you can have a general accountability. The good thing is that this is not a space where we have forced engagement.

There's no sales, there's no drama, none of that. It is just a place for you to show up and create connection with other online business. Owners until now. Biz Magic BFF has been an invite only community and I am opening it up to Biz Magic's larger community. So for right now, it is only $30 a month, but the price will go up.

So if you wanna learn more, hop on over to biz magic.co/bff. Now let's dive into the episode today. I am super excited because we are nearing, believe it or not, the end of 2025. Somehow we've made it here and, um, I thought what would be really fun or interesting to do today would be to do a little wrap up of 2025 and not in a sort of, here's my numbers and let's just talk all these things, but in a way that just talks about sort of my experience over the last year and.

What. Goals I might have for the new year, but also just what I've seen and what I've experienced in business and life over the past year or so and extra exciting, is I have joining me today to amazing team members of mine who are also really awesome business women. Um, they both were with me earlier this year on an episode of the podcast talking about leadership.

One of them was also on another episode with me talking about content. And uh, so that is Adriana, who is Biz Magic's operations manager, and Carrie Ann Bellamy, who is Biz Magic's content manager. So both of these women are amazing. Adriana's been with me for, I don't, I lost count many, many years. Carrie Ann's been with me for.

Three years now I think maybe. And um, anyway, I'm so excited to have them. So the three of us together are going to talk about what we've all experienced in our businesses and business in general over the last year, and do sort of a little wrap up together, talk about what we see and what trends we're seeing, however trendy we may be.

And um, yeah, just kind of do a little chat. So welcome Adriana and Carrie Ann. 

Adriana: Hi Patty. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thanks for having us. 

Patti: Yeah, I'm excited to have you back. It's fun to kind of have almost in a book end kind of way, us coming back and, and talking things through. The other piece is that, you know, you two, um, through this whole year last year, two, um, part of last year, I can't remember how long we've been meeting in, um, the capacity we have on a regular basis where the two of you are part of my strategic team.

And so we meet typically unless I have things happening once a month where we talk about sort of my plans for biz magic or you help me walk, talk through things. Um, and sometimes I come on and more often than not, I'll come on and say, I'm not really sure what I have to talk about. And somehow by the end of that call, we've had the most interesting conversations.

We've talked about business, we've shared really. Awesome perspectives and we've either come up with a new offer for Biz Magic or you've talked me down off of some ledge or we've just talked through some new ideas and so it's always one of my favorite things to do is, is have these calls with you guys because.

We just have such a great back and forth in our conversation. So that's another reason I'm really excited to, to kind of be here and talk to you all as we weirdly end the year or get close to it. 

Adriana: Yeah. 

Patti: So well, let's start by sort of any new listeners or anybody who never listened to those episodes. If each of you just wanna sort of take a second to talk about your own businesses a little bit, just introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about your business.

Uh, Adriana, why don't you go first? 

Adriana: Uh, sure. So I'm an online business manager and I really just help, um, work with female entrepreneurs, helping them get out of their day to day, manage their business, and so they can really step back into the driver's seat of their business. Um, and. Uh, being the visionaries that they are.

Patti: I love it. 

Keriann: I'm Anne. I am a content strategist and copywriter for online business owners and essentially just help online business owners with their content marketing strategy. However, that looks for them because they have realized over the past several years that it does look a little bit different for everybody.

So whether you wanna really grow your visibility on one platform with a, with a content strategy, or drive more traffic back to your site, or whatever it is, I kind of help online business owners figure out what that looks like and then help them implement what's done for you content. 

Patti: Carrie, what I really love about talking with you is that you kind of have your finger on the pulse quite a bit more than I do when it comes to kind of what's happening in the world of content.

And it goes beyond, and I think it's important to understand 'cause some people don't think about that, but content goes beyond social media, right? We also talk about blogs and newsletters and all sorts of other things that. You know, well, why you tell us, like what makes up content when we look at it from, from your perspective?

Keriann: Yeah. I think that there's a lot of different ways to share your message and grow online depending on your business and what lights you up and just like what makes sense for your business model. I think something that you and I have really focused on the past year or two is like thinking differently about how service providers market their businesses versus maybe coaches or product-based businesses that are selling like a one to many product.

Meaning that they're just trying to sell a course or a product and they need a big audience to make their profit. Versus someone like the three of us who are service providers who work one-on-one with clients. And so we don't necessarily need to be bringing in as many leads as frequently as maybe other online business owners that we sometimes try to model our content strategy after.

And so I think that's where there can be some disconnect, um, with online service providers who are trying to grow their content marketing strategy and like. What does that look like? Because it, it could look like putting all of your eggs in one basket on like Instagram or LinkedIn and really going heavy on your content strategy there and connecting with people on those platforms, if that's something that lights you up and that you feel is like a natural fit for you.

But it could also look like relationship marketing. You know, joining paid communities and getting to know people on a one-on-one basis and growing your referrals and that kind of thing. And so I think that there's just so many different ways that a content marketing strategy can work. And I know just like working with different online business owners who have different revenue streams, different size businesses, like yeah, it's so much more than just social media.

So 

Patti: yeah, 

Keriann: if you're like burnt out from that or it doesn't feel like a good fit for you, like there's a lot of other ways to like grow your visibility. 

Patti: Yeah, absolutely. And I wanna say like in the, from the perspective of that, uh, relationship marketing, I just hired somebody recently to join the Biz magic team that I met in an online community that I joined.

And I wasn't in that moment, like I had it in the back of my head that I needed to hire somebody who was a tech va, but I didn't go into that community seeking that out. But being in that community with, and it was a community for like-minded people and all of that, and just being in that community, I knew she was a trusted source.

And I saw that she was a tech va and I was like, oh yeah, I need a tech va and I, you know, don't have to vet some of her alignment and things like that. And I, I mean, I didn't just hire her from that. We ended up having a conversation and it went really well. And I hired her, like, I didn't interview other people like I knew.

And so that was a really great example because. She went in there for similar reasons and you know, she got a client out of it. So I think that it's a great reminder that showing up in places where you want to be is also a form of visibility, um, and staying out there in front of people. 

Keriann: Yeah, that's been a huge lesson for me this year.

Um, just in terms of like building relationships as a way to grow your business and not necessarily from the place of like, I think. When it comes to running an online business, we're always trying to put our strategy hats on, right? Yeah. Like when we're looking at, okay, what are my goals and where do I wanna be in a year?

And kind of like the narrative that we're fed from, you know, business. 

Adriana: Mm-hmm. 

Keriann: Online business coaching, which is great. Um, yeah. 'cause that's a huge important part of business. But something for me this year that's funny that you kind of bring that up, how you, um, met this person and it kind of developed that relationship naturally is like, I really wanted to be in more communities this year.

And so that was a huge priority for me, um, to be in paid communities versus maybe just like free Facebook groups and things like that. And I found a few communities that I thought would be a good fit and, um. When I went into them, I think I had more of the approach of like, I'm gonna meet people who can become referral partners and like network really strategically and it's gonna have this like specific role in my business.

But what ended up happening was I actually just met people that I just genuinely really enjoyed and became friends with. And that was so much more fulfilling than the side of like that strategy side. And like, like I said, both are like so important. Um, if you're gonna use relationship marketing as a way to, you know, gain referrals and like grow, maybe you have a new service that you want to like test out with people or you just wanna, you know, expand your network.

Like, yes, strategically it's a great choice, but I also just like wasn't expecting how much I was missing that, um, just like in my week to week business. And so now like getting on calls in these communities and just connecting with people over things that maybe don't even have anything to do with business.

It's just so valuable and you're building those relationships authentically. It doesn't feel like you're forcing it, it doesn't feel like you're getting on a networking call with like a hundred people and like breaking out into all these separate rooms and pitching people and being like, oh, if you need anyone who does X, Y, Z, like, I'm that person.

And it just feels a lot more natural and like one thing leads to the the, the next and yeah, it's a lot less stressful way to just market yourself. 

Patti: Yeah. Well, yeah. And when you, when you meet people who become your friends, who become people that you connect with and click with, they're going to keep you in mind because you are top of their mind as somebody who they enjoy.

And right there you end up creating a network opportunity for yourself and sometimes it doesn't pay out right away. But it's paying out in other ways. Right? And at some point it does pay out and it's really amazing when six months from now or a year from now, that person's like, oh my gosh, I met this person and I pass them your way.

And they end up being, you know, a, a really solid, uh, client for you or opportunity. 

Keriann: Yeah, definitely. And another thing that I realized this year when it comes to like bringing on new clients, I work with clients on much more of a long-term basis. So my like retention rate is a lot. 

Adriana: Yeah. 

Keriann: Longer and slower than a lot of other service providers.

'cause I'm not doing as many projects right now, though I'd like to in the future. But, um, something that, that I realized this year as I was really thinking about wanting to potentially grow that aspect of my business and being like, well then I would need, you know, more people in my network to book more projects with.

It feels really, really good when you are approached by someone who would wanna work with you that you already have that baseline established with versus getting maybe like. I don't know, a cold email from someone who's like, I saw your services on Instagram, and you have no idea who they are. 

Patti: Yeah. 

Keriann: You don't know what their business is like.

Obviously we all would love to have our inboxes like flooded with people who wanna work with us, but from my perspective, if I'm really doing like long-term work with people, um, I want it to be people that I already kind of have that established relationship with. Yeah. Because it just feels a lot better getting on a discovery call with them or like pitching to them versus somebody who I'm like, okay, let me go see who they are online.

Let me see if they're like the right fit. Because there's so many people out there doing, I mean, great work and there's people out there just kind of in it for other reasons and trying to maybe like make a quick buck and like grow their business and, and you might not be a good fit for them. So I feel like that side of marketing, especially for service providers, it, it feels better for me.

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. And I think I had this experience, um, it was like back in January somebody, I had a consultation with somebody who, uh, every time somebody signs up for a consultation, my form, um, asks them, you know, how they found out about me. And she said, I'm not quite sure, but I've been on your list for quite a while.

And that right there, I was like, this is great. Like you have been on my list, which means whether or not you read all my emails, you've read enough of them, or you've consumed enough of my content to know that you already are interested. Like it's, it's much warmer of a connection. And that didn't lead to something immediately.

But then she just recently got back in touch with me and we had another kind of follow up consultation and now we might be working together in the new year, but that, like, we can't overlook the power of showing up and being who we are. And I just, and, and to your point of, I felt so much more comfortable and confident in that call.

Because I was like, oh, alright, this is a person who already knows me to an extent. And so, not that you have to do less selling or anything like that, but you know that they already know you and, and are, are into whatever they're picking up what you're putting down. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. And so that's a really big deal.

Adriana: Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's like you don't have to rely on that like first impression almost. Yeah. 

Patti: Because it already happened. 

Adriana: Say all the right things and do all the right things and make sure you tick off every single thing on the agenda. Yeah, for sure. No, I to I totally get that. And it's funny too, because. I, I see it as kind of the world evolves and online business.

'cause we're all in online business, right? Evolves we kind of teeter-totter between where like social media, especially in 2020, right? Like everyone was like, you've gotta be on social media. Like this is the way you don't, you don't wanna be referral dependent and things like that. And obviously that's gonna depend on your business as well.

The less volume you need, you can be more referral dependent, right? Versus, you know, if you're, uh, e-commerce and things like that. So, um, it's funny because I feel like this, like relationship marketing and networking and all of that has always been a strategy, but it's always interesting to see the patterns of when it becomes, um, pushed more.

And I, and I think now, right now we're seeing that more because people are valuing relationships more and community more and in person and things like that. Um. And yeah, it's just like having reviews, right? It's, you know, when you're looking for something and you look at the reviews on Google, right? When someone's able to recommend you automatically, right?

It's like that word of mouth, like that's just like a, such a stellar review, um, that they don't need to do all that research anymore. So, um, I agree. I've also been leaning into, into that a bit more this year and hope to more in 2026. Yeah, 

Patti: yeah. Yeah. For me, 2025 has been, it, it's been really interesting and, and I've talked really openly about sort of my past couple of years.

You know, 2023 was this really big year where I hit a big record number and was like, yeah, I'm killing it. Everything's amazing. And then 2024 was a little sad trombone for me because it was like. Uh, I didn't hit that number and I started, you know, losing clients for financial reasons. So, 2024, as I've talked about, was really challenging for me in a lot of ways.

Um, and so 2025 has been kind of this new thing where it, I didn't get back to 2023. I don't know that I ever will. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. And, and I've let go of any of that sort of like number based stress that I have put on myself because my business has changed the way that it looks now versus how it looked in 2023.

So in order for me to get to that state of revenue, I would have to change again what I'm looking at. But what I've sort of done over this past year as I've continued, I didn't lose many more clients this year financially, but I didn't gain a ton. So this was probably one of the. Slowest years for me since I started my business in the form of retainer clients, I've, I had many retainer clients who grew.

So that really was helpful for the ones who were really with us and their business was doing well or getting better. They grew their retainers with us. We did get some new business in that way, but it was a very project heavy year for me, which I love. And so what I found this year was through the year I stepped more and more back into client work, which I had really stepped out of in a lot of ways, which at first was kind of fun because it was like, biz magic can just pay me to be the CEO and do the high level things.

And there was something about that that was really, you know, it felt good and it felt fun and everything and, and I got to learn a lot more about business on that level because I had the time to do so. Um. But it also meant that I wasn't doing as much of the stuff that I really loved and that I, I started this business to do.

And so at first, when I kind of started stepping back into client work, and I'll be honest in saying that, like it was because I had to and order to pay myself because Biz Magic wasn't making the money in the same way, again, being more project based and things like that, it meant that I needed to be stepping back into that work.

And so at first, even though I was really excited to be doing this work, and when I say doing this work, I mean more and more website design. I mean a lot of like, um, platform, uh, migrations, moving people from one email platform to another or CRM and you know, all sorts of things like that. And I was really excited to do it because I love that stuff.

But there was a part of me in the back of my head that. It was like, well, this is a failure because you were in a place where Biz Magic could afford to pay you just as a CEO and not have to do any of this client work. And that somehow doing client work became a failure for me, which is so weird because I remember when Biz Magic started to grow to the point where I couldn't do as much client work, and that was such a struggle for me because I loved it so much and because I was so relationship driven.

So to be back at this point where I'm stepping back into it and then feel bad about it, I realized a couple of things. One was that I fucking love what I do, and I was so excited to be back in and doing that work that. I knew I didn't wanna go back to sort of big agency or start, I never was a big agency, let's be honest.

But like, you know, at our biggest point there were 18 of us on the team, which isn't small, you know, it was a lot of work and it was really hard and it was a lot. And so now we're down to about 12 people, I think on the team right now. 10 to 12 people. And, um, that feels really good to me. So, but I don't wanna go back to, to that bigger level.

It was bigger than what I wanted to. Could I do it? Yes. Do I want to? No. And so it sort of became this moment of me saying, what the hell do I want to do? Because, which leads me to kinda the second thing that I learned in that and that I learned this year and really have embraced. And the two of you have watched me embrace this sort of like who gives a fuck ness of whatever this year, but in a really positive way where I kind of had this moment where I was like, ah, I've been sitting here preaching for so long now about.

Not listening to the online business stuff and, and like the status quo of it and how you're, you know, um, you need to do things in a certain way and in order to be successful. And me having that thought process was that stuff saying, well, you're not successful if you're doing all the client work. You've gotta be out of the client work in order to be successful.

That's what's considered successful as a business owner. And so it was this moment where I was like, well, wait a second. I have fallen into believing all of this crap. You know, and sometimes the crap is there for a reason. And there these ideas that we're, we're taught in the online business world are, they're important.

But when they lead you to shame, when they lead you to feeling like a failure, those are not healthy ideas. And so I kind of embraced that. Like, you know what? I'm done. Like I'm really done. Like I will really take what I want and like go of everything else when it comes to business advice and online business advice because I'm the one that gets to decide what's successful in my business and nobody else.

Adriana: Yeah. And that's, that's huge. Um, because yeah, I, I think that's what we constantly see. You go on social media, you scroll through any of your feeds, right? It's like these, uh, predetermined rules of like what success looks like, right? Mm-hmm. Um, and when it's constantly what you're seeing, it's hard to not start to believe it even when you don't want to, right?

Like, we know all of these things, like this is, you know, success depends on me and what, what I wanna see. Um, and yet subconsciously when we're constantly consuming that stuff, right, we start to beat up ourselves when like, well, I don't have my version of success and this version of success that I've been taught I should also want.

Patti: Right? 

Adriana: Yeah. So that's, that's huge. 

Keriann: And I think that a lot of us are fed this idea, that success, that there's a runway for it of like x amount of time, like. Six months. One year. Yeah, three years. Like however it is, like whatever, um, narrative that, you know, we all kind of follow different people, we all get different messages, but I feel like in the online world specifically, it is this idea that like you have to scale so quickly in order to be successful.

You have to, whatever number you wanna put at it, you have to make six figures next year. Like, and if we're looking at it more from like, I don't necessarily because I'm a service provider and because I'm only in year three of my business, I don't necessarily look at myself as like this business owner, but more as like.

A like, this is my career, this, I'm a service provider, I'm part of people's teams. I'm supporting businesses. And so it's like, I wanna be able to do this for the next 30 years. Like, you know, that's when I'm gonna retire. And so to me it's like I have 30 years to become the best professional I can be. I don't need to scale, quote unquote in six months or in one year because it's like, what am I gonna do with the other 29 years?

Yeah. Like, it takes time If this is something you really want to have as a career. Like I think looking at that runway and being like, well, what's realistic? I think something that we talked about, um, a few weeks ago and we all connected was the idea of like. A lot of that messaging is marketed to you, assuming that you have the expertise and the skills to like really deliver a service or a product that's going to provide this like promise transformation.

Right. And I think like if we look back to like, let's just say 2020 because that's when like I, we've all think been in the online business world a little before that, but like mm-hmm. That's really when things were. Probably at their like, highest volume with so many people spending more time online. And the like, online course industry was so huge because it was like, oh, you have a skill, like here's how you can monetize it.

Um, and maybe it was like, and in any kind of industry, right? Yeah. But it's like if you're looking at a career that you wanna have for the next 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 years, like for me, my priority right now isn't necessarily let me streamline the project side of my business so that I'm bringing in, you know, this huge profit and hiring all these people to support me, right?

It's like, how do I just become really skilled at my craft so that by the time I'm maybe ready to do that, or maybe I do wanna offer like a digital product or like diversify my income streams outside of my retainers. I have the. Many years of experience and results and knowledge to like back those results up so that when people do come to me and I can sell them that service or that product, like I know it's gonna work.

Whereas I feel like when we're in the first few years of our business, like, and we're being sold that narrative of like, here's how you monetize this skill. 

Patti: Yes. Yeah. 

Keriann: Like really think about, okay, what does that runway really look like? Because it's different for all of us, you know? And Patty, for someone like you saying like, oh, I'm so passionate about these things that I'm doing, and like kind of getting away from that, maybe that's not the goal for you.

Right. And I think that's like, that realization is like where that power lies and like being a business owner is like all about choice. 

Patti: Yes. Yeah. What I really love about what you said is that you said the word career and. It is not something, and I never thought about this until you just said that, but you don't often hear business ownership and career in the same sentence.

But if you are doing what you wanna be doing in your business and you're, you're, I was gonna say doing business, right, but that doesn't sound quite right, but kind of right. Doing business right equals being successful to you, whatever that looks like. Isn't that your career? Like I've always thought at this point, like I feel, uh, unemployable in that I can't imagine working for somebody else.

And like I just, I only see myself for the rest of my life, working for myself in some capacity. And what that looks like, um. But I've never necessarily been like, this is my career, but it is my career because it is what I'm doing for the rest of my life. It that I see at this point. And I wonder if, for me and for some others, part of that comes from this fear around business being successful and so therefore it like that somehow it feels almost like business ownership can be temporary, right?

Like. Because they're so, because the, the true statistics of business are, it's actually not a huge percentage of people who own businesses stay successful in business longer than three years, five years, 10 years, right? Each period of time becoming less and less likely that you're going to stay successful in your business.

And so, which is why you hear people talk about serial entrepreneurship and things like that. And so I think that there's almost, for me at least, this part of me that has never even thought of calling it a career because how dare I suggest that I could stay in this business or a business for the rest of my life, for reals.

You know, I think there's a part of me in the back of my head, even though I feel unemployable, that I just sort of, which I hate saying this, I'm, I feel embarrassed to say this, but I sort of assume at some point I'm gonna end up working for a company or something again, even though like. All the time I stop and say I love my life.

I love that I get to work for myself and choose who I work with and do the stuff that I love. And that, like the other day on Monday, my friend was having all four of her wisdom teeth taken out, and she basically was really anxious and upset and didn't want to go to the consultation alone. And I was like, I'm out.

And I just took the first part of the day off to go with her to the consultation. And then yesterday I was like, oh, I'm gonna work from her house all day so I could take care of her as she, you know, like I could do all of that. And that's in a three day period of time where my business was whatever I wanted it to look like.

Oh my goodness. Like, that is my career. I want this to be my career. But I love that perspective because I think when, if we were to look at it and actually call it a career, does that change our mindset around how we look at what we do as opposed to a business we're just hoping is gonna be successful and it's just gonna make it, you know?

Adriana: Yeah. And I wonder if it's also kind of separating too. Like, I don't know. I think there's this mindset around what business is, and then some people are like, oh, this is a business that's not a business. This is success. This is not success. Right? Yeah. And then, and then also the skills, right? Because the skills that you learn, um, you know, running your business, whether you're a service provider or course creator or like whatever, um, like all of those are transferable.

And yeah, I don't, I don't know, I don't have the answer to that, but I, I wonder if it's also just. Um, this mindset shift of like, you know, you are not your business, like your career also doesn't have to be your bus. Like you can have a career and be in business, right? Yeah. Like. I don't know. I think for a long time for me, I'd be like, oh, oh, I don't have a business.

I'm just a freelancer. Right, right, right, right. Um, and, and it's because it's like, well, I don't have people working for me. I don't have like 20 different companies I work with and consult. Right. Like, like you just have these preconceived notions of like what a business is. 

Patti: Yeah. 

Adriana: Right. Um, and so, yeah, so like I agree with Carrie Ann to where like, I see it as a career, like what I do now, if I ever wanted to go back to a company and do that, like I could, whether it's on a 10 99 basis or an employee basis or what.

Right. Whatever the case is. Um, and so I think it's also like just that mindset shift around that where, where, like you said, business just feels so temporary. It's like, I hope I make it. Yeah. I hope I'm part of the percent of people who makes the past five years, 10 years. And, um, but it doesn't have to be like, you know, if this part of the business fails, like I'm over.

Like No, it's still your career. Like, it's still Yeah. You know, part of your resume if you wanna call it that, right? Mm-hmm. Um, so yeah. 

Keriann: Yeah. And something that kind of struck me the other day when I'm looking at my goals, um, because we always have these, like, ideas of what our goals look like at the beginning of the year.

Yeah. And then by the end of the year, we kind of measure our success on like, did I hit those goals or did those goals change? And for me it's always like, well, they changed. Like there's always things that happen throughout the year with my client work or with relationships that I form or with new interests that I have, and skills that I wanna go in that direction.

Um, where, you know, those goals just like change and evolve and grow. And I think something that I'm really leaning into next year is the idea of being in team, like being on people's teams and being a team member. And like teamwork. That was like, yeah. The, the word that's kind of emerging for me is I like, see my focus and so I'm leaning more into some client retainers where it's not just me, you know, like.

Kind of responsible for the whole content or marketing or whatever that person hired me to help them with. Yeah. Side of things. And it's like really about how can I show up and offer the skills that I have, um, in the best way possible, but also know where that line ends and where another team member can pick up and like, support other aspects of that instead of me thinking I have to do all of it and I have to do all of it super well to like prove my value to this person.

Like, not only will I do this, but I'll do 10 other things just so that they know. And I think having a background as a virtual assistant, that's kind of where that let me juggle a million hats mindset comes in. Yeah. But something I realized because as I'm like leaning more into like being a team member for other people's businesses that they've built, I also really do wanna build a few passion services that I have on the side.

And it's, it brings it back to the idea of like, being in business means giving yourself choice. 

Adriana: Hmm. 

Keriann: And I think that whenever you're able to. Set yourself up where you have choice. That to me, is the reflection of a successful business. Because it's like what you said, Patty, like being able to take those few days off and support a friend, that's a choice.

Being able to like have different services that you offer, that's a choice. Like being able to decide who, and of course it's a privilege, privilege, but it's one that we're always sort of like intentionally creating for ourselves. Even if you just have like, like, like me, like I'm saying, I'm, I'm leaning into these bigger retainers.

That's where a lot of my time and attention and energy is going to. And so I can't necessarily spend time on creating my own content or building out my other services, but I want to. And so I know that the more small time I invest in building out other services, I'm giving myself choice. Mm. Yeah. Or in case I get to a point where I'm like, you know what?

I actually really like this direction. Let me lean into that more. So I think that's the beautiful thing about, you know, whether you wanna call it freelancer contractor, self-employed person. It's just having choice. 

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. And for me too, talking sort of about goals, I mean, I think a few years ago, and I definitely did in the early 2020s, um, which sounds weird, but like, you know, 20 21, 20 22, um, when really online business.

At least for me, right? It was very, very visible red. I started Biz Magic in 2017, so I'd been in it for a bit, but like, really when 2020 hit. And, and I, you know, the exposure changed quite a lot. And I really did start to fall into that idea of like, well, maybe I can be a million dollar business. And, and every year my goals were number based, revenue based of like, okay, now I'm gonna hit X number.

Because I was working with a coach very briefly, um, pro around 2020 actually, who was like, oh yeah, like you can, you know, exponentially we'll get you to the next place revenue wise. And she was talking about me being a million dollar business by now, probably. Um, and, you know, and so I got caught up in that idea of that without necessarily thinking about what does that look like on my day to day?

Like what does my day-to-day look like being, uh, the owner of a million dollar business, which of course. We will look different to everybody because how you reach a million dollars is gonna be different to everybody. Um, and also not necessarily sustainable once you reach it one time. But for me, kind of partway through this year, as I really saw what happened last year, and I started to really sit with and embrace what 2025 was and what, what does biz magic look like now and what are my goals?

And it became like. I don't, I don't wanna focus and, and I wanna be clear, like, not that I'm not looking at my numbers. I track my numbers every single month. I will look at my numbers multiple times throughout the month. Um, so I'm always knowing what's going on with the numbers in my business. And so that's a really important part of it.

I have projections. I can kind of see where things are going, um, and where I'm going to end up probably hitting by the end of the year and things like that, should things not change or blah, blah, blah. So that I, that gives me choice, right? By looking at those numbers and saying, okay, I can make a choice to hustle here or hustle there to try to get to a certain point.

But my goals right now are not necessarily numbers driven. I really found. My love again, I think this year, and that's where I wanna stay, is my goal for 2026 is to continue to make sure I can pay myself, which is always good. There were a couple months this year, if I'm being super transparent, that we're a little dodgy of whether or not I could pay myself fully.

Um, and I think one month, one or two, I don't think I did pay myself fully. And that was just sort of as I pivoted, as things were changing, it was like transitional periods of weirdness. Um, or were maybe a project wrapped up the last month and the next project didn't start till the following. You know, things like that little moment.

So making sure that that stays not a problem, um, in the new year, but also that I continue to do the work that I love, that I continue to be clear on what success looks like for me and, um, that I. Take advice cautiously that I think there's so much good information out there and there's so much good advice, but I don't need to jump into all of it.

I don't need to take it all and take it, um, and internalize it, right, and be like, well, I have to do it this way, and if I don't, then I'm not winning and I'm not successful, and I just don't think that that's the, the direction that I want to go. So I really want to do that. The other thing is that, you know, this year I tried a few things that some of them landed and some of them didn't.

And I, I really, I. Created a space and the two of you sort of watched me with this, and this is what I meant when, earlier when I said like the not giving a fuck about it is sort of like, let me throw the spaghetti at the wall. I think I made a joke when we took last time that like most of the spaghetti is actually on my floor because it didn't stick right?

But I think that's the nature of business and the stuff that, like people talk about their successes, but they don't talk about all the misses. And so I think that that's one thing I'm like, whatever. I wanna try this thing. I think there's a need for it. I think there's an interest for it. I'm gonna chuck this at the wall and see what happens.

And if it falls, cool. Oh, well that wasn't it. And I'm not gonna hold myself in any kind of way with it. Like I just wanna try things and allow them to be, and allow myself to truly, truly show up in my business. And as long as I can afford to live, and ideally I'd love to make extra savings and all the the things, but like for me, man, like that's good enough.

Like, because if I think about it realistically, right? Like I'm not gonna go into a new company as a CEO, like I'm a CEO of Biz Magic, but I'm not a CEO of a company, right? Like I do. You know what I'm saying? Like the reality is if I were to go and get a job, I would get probably a senior level management role of some sort.

That's likely where my skillset would fall with that operations manager, senior operations manager, something along those lines. Um. I'd get a decent his salary, but like what would I be giving up for that right? To, to have that and to live in that way. And there's still lots of times within that that, that you can't get ahead and you can't, like even my point being, even in those types of careers, people are living paycheck to paycheck.

People are not building mass savings and things like that. So instead of me beating myself up and saying, well, I should have a house by now that I've been able to purchase and all these things, it's like, dude, I can pay my bills. I can live in my nice two bedroom, two bath apartment that I love and I can take care of my cat who was really sick this year and cost me a shit ton of money.

And like, but I could do that. That I could do all of these things. And that was just me running my business and being successful in that way. And so I think really. Changing that narrative in my mind of what that success looks like financially versus just my quality of freaking life and what I'm enjoying.

And that's enough for me. And so what I love to be super rich. Sure. I would love to have all the money in the world to donate to everybody and make sure everyone around me is healthy and happy and I have a nice cozy little safe house somewhere in the forest. And like, but am I just as happy? Maybe not just as happy, but am I very happy in my current situation?

Fuck yes, I am. You know, that's my tangent there. 

Adriana: Awesome. I love that. And I, and I love that you brought up goal setting because that's kind of where I've been to where like every, at the end of every year, right, we always do this where you try to set all these different goals, these monetary goals and things like that.

Um, and you know, the KPIs that kind of go with them and, and all of this and, um. I'm starting to put together a spreadsheet where like, I, well, I mean obviously like we've mentioned finances, yes. You have to track that. And of course it's important, but instead of putting so much into that, I'm like, okay, how many connections am I making?

Yeah. Um, what's my level of happiness on a, on a weekly basis? You know what I mean? Like, am I reaching 7, 8, 9, 10, or am I constantly down here? 'cause it doesn't really matter if I'm making 150 KA year. It's like, great. That's a lot more than I than I've been making. That's, that's great. But it's like, but if I'm constantly work, which again, part of a huge part of this year was that where I was working nights and weekends and I didn't have time.

And even when I was hanging out with family, like I was physically present but not mentally present. Yeah. Um, and so it's like, great, the money was great, but like, so what? I was unhappy and I was miserable and like, yeah. I did some retail therapy when I, you know, at midnight or whatever. 

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. 

Adriana: But like, I wasn't happy, you know, and so that's kind of where I'm going with goals like moving forward.

Um. One, which I think will help my freelancing business. Right. Um, as a service provider of like just, you know, connecting with more people, um, and building relationships right. And things like that. But also just like, like you said, like what am I not giving up by either going back to working for a company or corporate or whatever, um, where it's like, you know, I do have the freedom and flexibility to do certain things.

I can choose my own hours, I can take off Fridays if I want. Um, yeah. You know, like I've, I've mentioned to you both before, like this past year has been wrought with a lot of like personal things where my family needed me, you know what I mean? And, and because I had the flexibility of working from home, I was kind of the go-to person of like taking my parents to the doctors or making these calls and things like that, where it's like I wouldn't have been able to do that otherwise.

Yeah. Um, you know, so it's, it's, so I think like goals for next year is like prioritizing happiness, connections, um, and. Gratitude, I think. I think that's kind of what I started at the beginning of 2025 and that got away from me really quickly is just this practice of gratitude. Um, where, you know, instead of focusing on all the other things that we could have, because every job or business or whatever's gonna have these pros and cons, right?

Yep. Great. I could go back to a company and maybe I'll get PTO and holidays off and all of this, but that also means I'm constantly working, you know, these hours and then overtime and then and feeling behind and being told what to do and maybe in a toxic work environment and having to commute, which I haven't had to do in years now, you know?

So it's just. Like there's a trade off in in any, in anything. So there's like pros and cons to everything. And so, um, yeah, I think one of my biggest thing goals for next year is also just kind of focusing on the gratitude and reframing that, um, in more positive ways because um, I think we all truly are much more privileged, um, in our businesses.

And, um, I don't, I don't know if you wanna say it lucky or should, should just be grateful for what we have. 'cause there's, there's so much good that has come up. 

Keriann: Yeah, I love that. That's a big reminder. And I love what you said. It reminds me of like something I tell myself all the time, which is like, choose your hard because it's like yeah, working a nine to five job that you don't love, that you have to get up and commute to that you have to work for somebody else is hard.

But working for yourself also hard. So yeah, choose your hard, choose your hard. And I always try to remind myself of that whenever I'm having like a tough time or I feel stuck or I'm just, because it is hard. But I just love that reminder of just like showing up with gratitude and being like, it's hard, but like we're choosing this over something else that we may not have wanted.

Like, like I, like if, if the person who I was five years ago saw what I was doing now, I mean I'm already doing more than my original vision for my business. Yeah. Like when I first started thinking I could maybe get clients and make this work, you know, I just wanted to be full-time as a virtual assistant for a few, you know, health and wellness coaches.

And it's like now where I'm at is like above and beyond that original vision. So it's like, I think that that's such a powerful reminder when we are kind of like the theme of what we've all been talking about, which is like, how do you measure success? 

Adriana: Yeah. 

Keriann: And like. Kind of some of the pitfalls that come from this industry in particular, being on chronically online, getting fed these narratives of like what success should look like.

We can tend to like beat ourselves up or push ourselves too hard. So I really love that reminder so much, Adriana. I need to like tape that to my wall as well because it's like it is a privilege to be able to even be doing any of this. 

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. And I think what's interesting too is that. And I said sort of in the beginning, like talking about the trends or things that we see is, and, and the three of us talked about this a little bit the last time we met, um, is that I feel like obviously because of the world that we're living in and, and you know, and the economy politically and just in general, um, as the energy and the world has sort of shifted, so has the way people are showing up in their business and the, and what they're looking for in people to work with them and, and all of that.

And, and I just feel like the, the rules of the road, so to speak ha have changed so much in the last two years that being open and, and being just sort of, like I said, sort of being like, I don't know, let's just see what works. I feel like a lot of people are doing that and I think that. As I sort of change the way that I'm gonna be showing up, and that's something that, you know, this is the first time I'm saying that, you know, there's only one more episode of Biz Magic Podcast.

After this one, I am shredding it down for a little while, either temporarily or forever. We'll find out. Um, and kind of to that, I'm gonna probably do a nine grid on the Biz Magic Instagram page and all that to say that I, I wanna put my energy a little more into local networking and because I feel like that's where a lot of people are, are moving right now is there's still, and let me be clear, there's tons of amazing online communities and a lot of people are in them.

I'm in some of them. Um, I'm starting one. You know, like there's a lot of great stuff, but there's also a lot of people who are craving local, in-person community, and so. I think that's another piece of paying attention to what you see happening and what you feel, because sometimes what you're feeling isn't wrong, it's what other people are also feeling, even if it's not something you've heard people talk about before much.

And so I think that that's something we're gonna keep seeing more of in the new year. That's my prediction, for lack of a better term, is sort of that idea of more and more people looking for community in person and locally and building their networks more and more that way. Um, which I'm kind of all for, you know, there's a lot of people that just crave that in person and that, that localness And so, um, I think paying attention to your local communities is a great thing to do in the new year.

Um, and how can you show up and I. Be supportive in your communities with the work that you do. And I don't mean that in a pro bono way, although if you're able to pro, you know, connect and support that way, great. Um, but just, you know, start, start at home, right. And so I'm kind of excited for, for expanding a little bit more into my local community in that way, in, in the new year as well.

And, and just not worrying as much about what my Instagram looks like and what that's hap like finding my new ways of consistency, finding my new ways of how I show up and my visibility, um, and all of that. 

Adriana: Yeah. And I think one other thing that I'm gonna add too, 'cause I've been kind of like, uh, thinking about it and floating this idea too is, and maybe people who are listening are all business owners, but, um.

Joining networking groups in person. Also doesn't have to be like business networking groups. I'm like, you know, go volunteer. Go volunteer your, uh, shelter or soup kitchen. Meet people that way. I've recently, because my boyfriend is a nerd and I love him so much, um, but I recently picked back up and go and they have like all these meetups and things like that and people are actually like walking around and catching Pokemon together and that's what we're doing tonight.

So, you know. So, you know, it's, 

Patti: I love knowing that so much, Adriana. 

Adriana: I thought you might, um, but yeah, so it's just, you know, don't feel the pressure to feel like you have to go to these businessy things. And, because I know, like for me, that that tends to be a bit of a stressor sometimes where it's like, oh, and I have to, and I feel like I have to talk business and sell myself.

And, and, but, but yet I don't wanna do that 'cause it feels like that. Um, you know, that dirtiness of like how networking used to get like that dirty rep. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So it's, so again, so just don't feel like you need to go to like, all these businesses and, and you have to join like, you know, your, uh, chamber of Commerce or something like that.

It's great if you do. Um, but it's not necessary. Like there's so many different options and I think now more than ever, um, your community would even appreciate that too. 

Patti: Yeah. Yeah. I have a, um, there's a local liberal group here that I've talked about endlessly to you all over the years that, that has like given me life here in my little purple e corner of Texas.

And, um, they have such just amazing groups in general. They do dinners out, they do all sorts of things and they are starting some business networking things. Um, but just little small shorties and like that for me, ugh, so up my alley, not just because it's, uh, all women, which I love and that it's local liberal so that I know that they're in alignment with me, you know, for my kind of belief system and, and all of that.

Um, but. I know these women because I've been in this community for so long and they're casual. Like for me, the biggest thing about these networking events and stuff is like, oh my God, do I, I don't even own like a blazer, like to dress up or something like that. Oh my God, you all know me. Like I barely like our retreat last year that we went to, I bought a hairdryer for the first time for that because we were doing these photos.

Like, and I had never owned a hairdryer before. So like I am not somebody who dresses up and does all of that, and so. Like, that's very intimidating to me because I just feel so, even though I'm an amazing business owner and I love what I do, and I'm very good at my business, like I don't feel like in the world I feel like a fraud because I'm not, I don't dress and show up like a, a business person does and in that way, right?

And that's how they sound apparently. And so like, you know, I just am not like that. And so it feels weird for me. So finding groups, whether they be business or otherwise, that feel like I feel comfortable and safe and my energy feels good. That's what it's about for me. Um, so I love that point, Adriana.

Keriann: Yeah, I do too. And as the. Resident content strategist in this group. I will say you can take that approach and apply it to your social media as well. I see a lot of people struggling with this, especially if you're newer to business. If you're just starting out or you have a smaller following and you feel like, you know, the whole point of being on Instagram is to like, push out all this content and then have people flooding your inboxes with like, I wanna work with you.

Or like, you know, actually following your CTAs. I, I think instead, like, we forget that like something like Instagram, it's supposed to be social. You're supposed to use it to build relationships and connections. And so like if you're struggling with that, like instead of having this, like putting all this pressure on yourself to like show up as this like expert who is putting out all this valuable stuff, it's like post on your stories, like what shows you're watching.

You would be so surprised just in your small community. Like someone will, I've had like. So many great conversations with people based on like books. I'm a huge romantic nerd and like romantic is having such a huge resurgence right now, like online, and so I have like connected with so many other service providers just on what we're reading and it's like kept them top of mind.

It's kept me top of mind for them. Like they'll send me job postings, I'll send them things, we'll update each other on what we're reading. Same with like TV shows, like I'm a huge survivor fan. I have a good friend in marketing who also loves Survivor. We talk about it every week. So I think it's just like, you know, add more of you into your business and how you show up and like you will just naturally create relationships with people that don't have to feel like you were saying.

So buttoned up, like I have these referral relationships like in my CRM tool. It's like you can just have friends that you talk to and hang out with and like refer business to because you just like who they are as a person. They like you. Like I feel like that's naturally how it works in the real world.

Yeah. And sometimes in the online world we can, I don't know, we can just for forget that. So like Yeah. Yeah. I love that. 

Patti: Yeah, I love that too. I think that's a great place to sort of start wrapping up because I think that that's essentially what we've been kind of saying. I think that's like the concentrated version of what this whole conversation been has been about, which is just be yourself, man, and like show up to your business and be who you are.

Do what you love, do what you're passionate about. Take what feels good to you and let go of the rest and like make your goals around you and what feels good to you. And not all of the supposed tos, none of the shoulds like let you be your own measuring tool. And that's success, dude. If you are, ha, I just said, dude, that's success.

If you are happy, then. That's all that matters. Like if you're happy in whatever way that look like, period, end of story, that is all that matters. And so like we, there's so much going on and I think that's part of that for me too, is there's so much happening in the world right now that it's just, I mean, there's always, but ugh, especially I guess for, for those of us, like in our thirties and forties, um, it's such a time that we're living in, right?

We weren't, we weren't living in, in the same way in the sixties and the seventies and things like that, that like, mm-hmm. This is the time that we're experiencing, that's tumultuous. It's all these things. And so like, that's what I'm learning from being in it and around it is just be happy. Like, just find what makes me feel good, because guess what?

That's the energy that's gonna be put back out there. And so. That's what I wanna do. Whatever I can do, like to put my energy bag out there in a good way. That's what I wanna do. And that's success to me in all aspects of my life. So that's what I say about that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Any last parting words or thoughts or ideas from either of you too?

Adriana: Um, I agree. I and I, I think just be yourself. Let people self-select out. You cannot serve everyone anyway. Mm-hmm. So just attract your people. Um, 'cause that's what's gonna make you happy. That's what's gonna help you wake up every day and be excited to do what you do. Um, because I've done that before, trying to like, mute myself, you know, make myself smaller, make sure you get the most, 'cause you don't wanna, uh, pass on opportunities and things like that.

Um, but not every opportunity is meant to be taken. Not everyone isn't in alignment. So just be intentional. Be okay with not everyone. Being your cup of tea, being your type of person, and that's okay. They'll find their people. Your people will find you. 

Patti: Yeah. I love that. 

Keriann: Yeah. And everything is one experiment.

So 

Patti: yeah, 

Keriann: just keep experimenting and when something feels good, follow that. When something doesn't feel good or doesn't work out, like follow that too. Like that's how you're gonna like pave the path forward. Especially like wherever you are in business, whatever year you're in, it's like, yeah. I think that it's always shifting and growing and changing.

Like we talked earlier about how it's like, if this is your career for 10, 20, 30 years, like yeah, where you're gonna be 10 years from now is definitely gonna be different from where you are now. So like, let that be like honor that evolution. It's, it's exciting. So, 

Patti: yeah. Yeah. I love it. Thank you both so much for being on the podcast, Carrie Ann three times, um, Adriana, twice, and, um, and being a part of his magic and a part of my life just as a human.

You, you know, I consider you both friends at this point and, um, I just think you're both so smart and you're so interesting and you're so good at what you do and I'm so just, I'm so grateful for you and you make me happy. So thank you. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for being in my world and in my life and, um, yeah.

I appreciate you. 

Adriana: Thank you, Patty. Love you. Thanks.

Patti: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Biz Magic Podcast. Like most small businesses and podcasts, we rely heavily on word of mouth. So if you like what you heard today, or in any episode, please share with your friends and colleagues and rate, subscribe, and comment on your favorite podcast platform.

Till next time, cheers to your magical biz success.