Capacity first, then strategy.

Before we dive in: this entire module is about learning to run experiments that match your real capacity—so you can sustain the journey. Keep that through-line in mind as we go 🙏🏼

The Foundation Most Business Advice Skips

For soulpreneurs, sustainable growth never comes from trying to "keep up" with what everyone else is doing.

It comes from:

• Bringing values (especially lightness) to how you work
• Increasing trust—with your clients, and with yourself
• Designing around your actual capacity rather than someone else's "ideal" schedule

Here's a key truth:

Your nervous system is business infrastructure. Treat it accordingly.

This isn't a metaphor. When your nervous system is dysregulated—when you're in chronic stress, pushing through exhaustion, or operating from fear—your creativity suffers, your presence with clients suffers, and your capacity to show up consistently disappears.

A strategy that looks impressive on paper but triggers shutdown or resentment is worse than no plan at all.

This is why from the beginning, we'll need Joyful Productivity :)

Redefining Success

Before we talk tactics, let's expand what "success" actually means in a soulpreneur business:

Success includes learning—not just income. A "failed" offer that teaches you exactly what your audience doesn't want is a successful experiment.

Success includes stability—not just growth. A business that earns less but lets you sleep well, be present with loved ones, and feel alive in your work is more successful than one that earns more but costs you your health or relationships.

Success includes connection. Referrals, collaborations, and caring for past clients will likely outperform constant performance marketing. The soulpreneur path often grows through trust networks, not funnels.

How Trust Compounds

Here's something that will save you from discouragement:

Trust compounds slowly, then quickly.

Consistent audience care. Clear boundaries. Authentic marketing. These create long-term momentum—but the timeline isn't linear.

• Month one feels slow. You wonder if anyone's paying attention.
• Month six, you notice a few people engaging regularly.
• Month twelve feels like momentum you didn't have to manufacture. People start referring others. Opportunities emerge from relationships you nurtured months ago.

The soulpreneurs who "make it" aren't usually the most talented or the most strategic. They're the ones who found a sustainable pace and kept going.

Your Minimum Viable Week

You've probably heard of a "Minimum Viable Product"—the simplest version of something you can test. Let's apply that thinking to your time.

Your Minimum Viable Week is the smallest consistent container of business hours you can genuinely protect, week after week, even when life gets complicated.

This matters more than your ideal week.

Your ideal week assumes everything goes smoothly. Your Minimum Viable Week assumes your kid gets sick, you have a low-energy day, or an unexpected obligation shows up.

Some examples:

• "I can genuinely protect 10 hours per week for my business—two 3-hour blocks on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and a 4-hour block on Saturdays."
  
• "I can do 3 hours daily, but only before 8am and after 8pm when the house is quiet."

There's no "right" number. There's only your number—the one you can actually sustain.

Reflection Exercise

Take some time with these questions. Write your answers somewhere you can return to them—you'll reference your capacity throughout this course.

1. Hours per week
How many hours per week are you genuinely prepared to dedicate to your business? Not your ideal—your realistic minimum.

My Minimum Viable Week is: _______ hours

2. When and how
When will those hours happen? Be specific about days and times.

3. Boundary plan
If you live with others or have obligations that could interrupt your business time, how will you protect these hours? What boundaries need to be in place? What conversations need to happen?

4. Somatic signals
Right now, how does your body respond to thoughts of working on your business? Notice without judgment:

• Any excitement, curiosity, or aliveness?
• Any tension, dread, or heaviness?
• Neutral? Unclear?

If it feels negative, how might you reframe working on your business, so that it brings you a sense of optimism and upliftment?

5. Capacity edge
What's one way you tend to exceed your capacity? (Examples: saying yes to too many projects, underestimating how long things take, ignoring early fatigue signals, comparing yourself to people with different life circumstances)

I welcome your comment below!  Share with us your response of any of the questions above.  And then kindly reply to 2 other comments 🙏🏼🧡

Looking Ahead

As we move through the 5 Levels and the 7 Practices in this course, I encourage you to bring this lens of capacity with you.

Before asking "What should I do?"—ask "What can I joyfully sustain?"

The strategies that work best are the ones that match your real capacity. And sometimes, working within your capacity is exactly what increases it over time.