Quitting the Online Business

I'm curbing my ambitions for building an online business.

I've tried many things over the last couple years, each to varying degrees of success and failure: writing on LinkedIn, writing my newsletter, 1:1 coaching, group coaching, paid weekly coaching, and an online community.

Through all of the trial and error, I forgot the one reason I started building a presence online in the first place: to use what I've learned in my career to help other people on their career journey. Over time it turned into, "how do I make money from this?", "how can I build a business like that person?", "how can I monetize my knowledge?". None of those thoughts are necessarily wrong, but it's had an undesirable side-effect.

It took up too much of my mental headspace.

I have other areas in life I want to focus on: my day job as an Analytics Manager, being a husband and father, enjoying the outdoors with my daughters, and engaging in hobbies that take me away from a screen.

Too much time online isn't good for anyone, so I'm going to put more energy into offline pursuits.

Why should you care?

Maybe you shouldn't.

But I'm writing this in case you're at a spot where you need to re-evaluate where you're spending your time.

Are you on LinkedIn too much? Are you spending too much time learning AI? Are you scrolling Insta constantly?

Are you engaging in hobbies outside of your profession that add depth to your life? (this is the one I was missing)

It's simply a call to evaluate how you're spending time and consider if you are serving your true self.

So am I quitting the internet?

No. I'm just changing my ambitions and how I relate to my creative practice.

No more striving to make money online or build a coaching business.

I will write as my creative expression with a focus on using the knowledge I've built in my career to help others in theirs. No over-optimizing for reach or making money.

I'll continue to write on LinkedIn and this newsletter.

No more 1:1 coaching.

I'll keep my online community around but give it light effort. It could be a valid way I help people and connect data professionals that can help each other. There will be no growth strategy. It will be a door that's left cracked open for those that find benefit.

So from the outside, things won't look too different, but from the inside I will have more peace.

I hope this read helps you find the peace that fits into your life right now.