Hey Reader,

A few of you emailed to check on me this summer - and I really really appreciate it.

I know it's been over 6 weeks since my last newsletter or podcast episode.

And as someone who has published over 52 episodes a year (and 52 newsletters along with them) since the podcast started in 2015 - it's not like me to just stop showing up.

So if you weren't following me on Instagram, then you didn't see me playing travel influencer across Italy (so much fun) getting cut short with the news that my Granny had passed.

Just 6 months after I lost my mom.

I came home, went to another funeral, and fell apart for little while.

My Q3 plan? Ignored.

Literally - there was a block already on my calendar to record new podcast episodes (that I'd already planned out) in July that glared at me for days. And every day for a week, I ignored it.

And I pressed pause on most of my Q3 Plan.

Now don't get me wrong - I didn't pause the entire business.

The business continued to run. My Client Growth Engine continued to run (ie we continued marketing, sales, and delivery). My Team Growth Engine continued to run (ie my team continued running the day-to-day).

But my part of my Q3 Plan - the part that only I could do - was paused.

When your plan falls apart, the useful question is usually not how do I get back on track. It's what do I actually have capacity for right now, and what am I willing to pause to protect it.

The only work I had capacity for was supporting my clients inside The CEO Collective.

The work I didn't have capacity for? New content for the podcast (and since most of the newsletter is sharing the latest podcast, I paused that too).

​It gave me the time I needed to regroup, and this week on Promote Yourself to CEO, I'm catching you up.​

​In this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes into triaging a 90 Day Plan and what came out of taking 6 weeks off from the podcast, including:​

→ Why I didn't run my typical playbook of 'just repurpose something' for the podcast and newsletter this summer

→ The triage question I ran every line of my Q3 90 Day Plan through, which is not "how do I get back on track"

→ How giving myself space gave me an opportunity to follow my curiosity (aka hyperfixation) around AI for small business, weigh the pros vs cons against my values, and test building some new resources for you

Listen on your favorite podcast platform

Listen on Apple Podcast

Listen on Spotify

Listen with Show Notes

After you listen to this episode, hit reply to this email and let me know what has been the hardest part about marketing your business this summer? Not the whole year. This summer specifically.

I have a theory about what you're going to say, and I want to know if I'm right before I finish recording the rest of this series.

The kids went back to school this week and I'm back at my desk with the door closed for the first time in months.

Racheal

PS - If you want to see what I was actually building while I was quiet, the Marketing for High-Trust Businesses series is ready for you.

I've been talking about high-trust vs high-transaction marketing for literally a decade. But this summer, I was able to build apps that will help more high-trust businesses leverage the technology without losing the relationships that built their business.

When you register for this private podcast series, you'll also get access to a custom Client Growth Engine diagnostic:

That diagnostic scores all five stages of the Client Growth Engine™ red, yellow, or green - identifying where you are losing clients in your marketing, sales, or delivery system.

It's designed specifically for high-trust, highly-relationship driven businesses like yours! And once you have the answer, the podcast series will help you see what needs more work.

Three minutes, and it's free. Get the playlist and take the diagnostic here.​