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Own Your Impact equips experts and leaders to transform their expertise into meaningful influence. Host Macy Robison reveals how successful thought leaders use deliberate systems—not luck or volume—to amplify their authentic voice and create lasting impact. Through practical frameworks and strategic guidance, you'll discover how to build a self-reinforcing ecosystem of Core Resonance, structured Content, a Central Platform, strategic Connections, and intentional Commercialization. Whether you're just starting to share your expertise or scaling an existing platform, this podcast delivers the roadmap to turn your ideas into purpose-driven influence that resonates far beyond what you might imagine possible.
[00:00:00] I had a call recently with a podcaster who's been at a revenue plateau for several years. They have great downloads. They have a really loyal audience.
[00:00:07] They're doing meaningful work, but they've been stuck at the same revenue point year after year. And here's what was fascinating that came out of this meeting. They weren't stuck because they didn't know what to do. They actually had lots and lots of ideas. They were stuck because they were afraid of building something unscalable. They would look at opportunities and think, ah, what if I can't maintain this? What if I build something that requires me to show up every single time? What if I create something that I'm not able to scale? So they would see in planning mode, they would research and strategize and wait for a scalable solution to reveal itself or to be constructed.
[00:00:43] And meanwhile, there were experts with less experience and fewer credentials, testing things, learning what worked, making more money and building momentum. I think this is one of the things we don't talk about enough when we're building a thought leadership business. The path to scale actually runs directly through [00:01:00] unscalable work, not around it through it.
[00:01:03] So if you're stuck in planning mode and you're afraid to start something or even test something because you can't see how it scales, yet, this episode is for you. Now, here's the pattern that I've been seeing because I've been having conversations just like this one with the podcaster with brilliant experts who say they're stuck.
[00:01:21] They'll say things like, I wanna create a course, but I haven't figured out the Evergreen funnel yet. Or, I wanna launch a program, but I can't figure out how to systematize it so I'm not trapped in delivery. Or I should probably just build the recorded version of this because I don't wanna be stuck doing live calls forever.
[00:01:37] They're optimizing for scale and they don't even know if it works yet. The problem is that you can't scale something that doesn't even exist. You can't systematize transformation that you haven't created. You can't build an evergreen funnel for an offer that you haven't even sold. And yet we still get stuck in this scalability trap.
[00:01:55] I think there's a few reasons that this happens. First, experts have [00:02:00] seen the promised land, right? They've seen other experts building these quote unquote passive income empires, creating courses that run on autopilot, building businesses that function without them, and they think.
[00:02:13] That's what I've gotta build. That's what I need. But they're not seeing the unscalable work that came before. They're not seeing all of the testing and opportunities that created that leveraged income. Before they got to the point where they had that opportunity, the one-on-one clients, the live cohorts, the conversations with customers to see what's working and what's not.
[00:02:37] The messy beta testing, the manual processes that taught them what actually worked. We don't see any of those things, but I've been behind the scenes in a lot of businesses like this, and I'll tell you, every thought leader. Who is experiencing the benefit of leveraged income or what in Nashville they call mailbox money, where it feels like the money just shows up in your bank account, shows up in your mailbox.
[00:02:59] Every [00:03:00] single person who has that kind of revenue stream has worked very, very hard to develop it. The second reason I think this happens is because people are afraid of getting trapped. They think if I build something that requires me to show up live, I'll never not be able to show up live. I'll be stuck in delivery forever.
[00:03:19] And so they don't even start the thing that will teach them what they need to know to build the version where they don't have to be there live. And the third thing, they're creating scale as the goal instead of the impactful outcome. I don't think scale is the point. I think impact is the point.
[00:03:36] Scale is what becomes possible when you've proven that something works. Now, Benjamin Hardy talks about this a lot in his research on scaling. You can't scale complexity. You can only scale a simple focused system, but you have to do the unscalable thing to discover what the simple system should be by testing it on people, by working with people.
[00:03:55] What my friend calls getting paid reverse tuition instead of paying tuition to [00:04:00] learn something like you do in college, you get to test things and try things and beta test things and get paid to learn what works and what doesn't work.
[00:04:09] So this is one of my favorite stories about how to take the unscalable path to find scalability. So this is someone who showed up on a call with me a few months ago. They have years of coaching experience. They had developed a brilliant methodology. They wanted to leverage their time and so this person created a recorded course.
[00:04:28] They were really proud of it. They put a lot of time in and it didn't sell. They launched it. They sent all the information out to their list. They were posting on LinkedIn and crickets, and then they listened to me talking about the archetype assessment. They took the archetype assessment, discovered that they had experienced facilitator as their primary archetype, and just with that information decided to test something new.
[00:04:53] And so they decided to reach back out to that email list again and say. We have this recorded [00:05:00] offer, but I've been hearing from some of you that you would like to walk through this with me in person. I have 10 spots on this date. We're gonna go through this content in person. Here's your link to buy. You can have a copy of the recorded version for your reference.
[00:05:14] They sold it out in like 48 hours. It was crazy. What if they had made the mistake of thinking, the only way I can scale this is if I have this prerecorded version. Instead, they were able to get with people in the room, see what was working, it was just from asking what if the live version is the offer
[00:05:31] and they were able to continue to keep things moving from there, get paid to learn what works. They've made this course better. It's sold. It keeps selling, and it was because they learned what questions people actually had.
[00:05:45] They were able to see what transformation actually looked like in the room when it was happening, not what they theorized it would look like. And that's how that unscalable path actually works by starting with people, by doing the things that are going against your [00:06:00] instincts at first to find where you actually need to optimize. This shows up differently by archetype.
[00:06:07] There are different archetypes that resist this unscalable work in different ways. When we're talking about experience led archetypes, you've, you've heard a little bit about that already, right? Your trap, if you're an experienced facilitator, a transformational guide, a digital learning architect is trying to build something evergreen, prerecorded digital.
[00:06:24] Without proving the transformation through direct work with people, you might think you're being strategic by trying to scale early. But you need to teach and facilitate. First, you need to get in the room, create transformation, document what works. Then you can build a system. I've shared this on the podcast before.
[00:06:42] I tried for years to build an online course. I could not get it done. And when I even was in the room at an Amy Porterfield event, learning how to create an online course. I gave up on my own course and turned around and started helping people figure out theirs. [00:07:00] If that wasn't a clue to me that I should be teaching to see what transformation was possible, I don't know what was, but I'm glad I have that story to look back on and realize.
[00:07:09] I get excited by, can see transformation when I'm working with people, and it happens all the time with experienced led experts who. Hear people talking about courses as the way or content empires as the way, and they decide to go ahead and try it 'cause it's working for that person over there.
[00:07:27] If you are experience led, if you're an experienced facilitator, if you're a transformational guide, if you're a digital learning architect. Your value is your presence, your ability to structure transformation, to meet people where they are, to adapt in real time to what they need.
[00:07:42] And so the unscalable thing that you need to do is teach facilitate live coach real people. Build learning experiences where you are present, and then document what consistently creates the breakthroughs. Then you're able to create a group program that has live [00:08:00] components or a certification program where you train other people in your methodology.
[00:08:04] Or hybrid models. With recorded content plus live community, your presence then becomes more valuable, not less, because you get selective about who gets access to it when you actually build the system out. You have to start with the thing that feels unscalable first for insight-LED archetypes, your strategic advisor, research innovator or a category creator, the trap that you often fall into is trying to systematize and productize a little bit too early.
[00:08:33] You know, from solving problems that you, you need to be more scalable, but your archetypes need to do high value custom work first. You can't see the patterns from the problems without input. You need a problem to analyze, and so the frameworks that you're trying to create potentially in isolation.
[00:08:53] Should be a result of or should support your strategic work, your problem solving work, not replace it. [00:09:00] So the unscalable work that you need to do is solve complex problems for real people. You are never going to run into a problem that you cannot solve. Do that strategic advisory work, get paid to think, let the patterns emerge from actual application, not theoretical scenarios.
[00:09:16] And then what becomes scalable is a diagnostic tool that reveals what you can uniquely see, or the frameworks that demonstrate your analytical depth of thinking, the speaking and teaching that comes from those sessions that showcases your strategic thinking. Your consulting becomes even more valuable because you've been able to take real problems and develop patterns and frameworks and processes that prove you can solve the problem.
[00:09:42] But the real transformation happened in the application, and that has to come first, even if it feels unscalable. Expression LED archetypes, resonant orders, wisdom writers, visual thought architects. Your scalability trap comes in two different flavors. Either you get pulled into other [00:10:00] people's implementation instead of creating your own content, or you try to build all the infrastructure around your content instead of staying in your own lane.
[00:10:08] So you write the book and then you try to build the entire marketing. Funnel for yourself, or you create the framework and then you build the course platform. Manage the community, handle the customer service. The unscalable work you need to do is to create consistently.
[00:10:22] You need to speak, you need to write, you need to teach, you need to visualize, you need to draw, you need to let your ideas develop through expression. Without worrying about the perfect delivery system first, worry about whether the ideas resonate with real people that you're trying to communicate with.
[00:10:37] And then what becomes scalable is content that can reach people, speaking engagements that can fill your pipeline for other monetizable activities. Books that can build your platform. Strategic partnerships that amplify your message, but you have to express yourself first, then systematize second.
[00:10:56] Now finally, embodiment LED archetypes, your principled [00:11:00] practitioners. Your trap is that you won't teach what you have in personally validated. You're waiting for perfect mastery before you start sharing anything. So the unscalable thing you need to do is test and document and share while it's happening, not just the polished end result.
[00:11:16] You need to share what you're learning in real time because then you're able to build a scalable community around shared experimentation or frameworks that are built from your personal validation programs where other people follow the path that you've proven. Your lived experience becomes the foundation for all systematic transformation that people can follow.
[00:11:37] Here's what I want you to understand about what unscalable actually means unscalable just means you can't 10 exit tomorrow. You probably can't sustain it forever, but you have to start somewhere with real people. And here's what unscalable work gives you real feedback from real people.
[00:11:57] You learn what actually creates transformation, not what you think [00:12:00] should work. I remember doing some work for Amy Porterfield's team several years ago and really just being so delighted by. Her practicing what she preaches. She tells all of her students to get on calls, especially early on when you're building so you can have real conversations with your students.
[00:12:17] Find out what's working. One of the projects that I was hired to do for her team involved interviews, and I got to watch all kinds of Zoom calls that her team had conducted with clients to get success stories. Amy was on every single one of those calls. She was practicing what she preached, and she has said that I've heard her say it multiple times.
[00:12:39] One of the blessings of starting out is that you can do the unscalable activities that really give you the data that you need. To build something that lasts, to build something that leverages your impact and your income. Another thing unscalable work gives you is pricing clarity. When you're talking to someone, you'll find out what people will actually pay [00:13:00] for and you'll learn really quickly if you're charging enough or if you're charging too little for the problems that you're hoping to solve.
[00:13:06] You get proof of concept, you can sell the refined version with confidence because you've already created results for the unscalable version of what you created. Unscalable work gives you insight into your unique process. The thing that you end up systematizing or, , putting in a process isn't generic best practices, it's your specific methodology, but emerged from working with real people.
[00:13:30] I'm a transformational guide, resident, orator and strategic advisor, so I've got two of these. Archetypal frequencies that I need to start with people first in order to make this work, and it's been really beneficial to just start coaching and just start testing.
[00:13:46] The people that I had an opportunity to work with a year ago who I'm so grateful, took a chance on what I was building. They were working with a completely different system than I'm working with now there's echoes [00:14:00] of each other, but I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today without the people that helped me systematize That process helped me understand what my methodology actually was. What I was able to repeat over and over and personalize for each person in front of me. I thought for the longest time that because , the personalization or the customization of each individual thought leadership platform was so unique that I couldn't do this one-on-one.
[00:14:28] I just decided that I wasn't gonna be able to ever. Work with people other than one-on-one. And luckily someone challenged me on that assumption and I had to go back and look and say, okay, this is custom, but what if it was personalized? What if there were steps that we could personalize, but that every person goes through?
[00:14:47] I've told the um, about voice lessons. My daughter and I have very personalized experiences in our voice lessons, but the structure that we walk through is exactly the same. We warm up our voices and we [00:15:00] sing songs, and so I had to figure out what my version was for my one-on-one calls, and then I was able to figure out what my version was for the accelerator, and that's been the pattern that I've tried to follow as well as give to other clients when they are stuck in this, this rut of I can't possibly scale this because it's too custom, is it?
[00:15:22] It might just be personalized. What is that unique process that you walk people through? That can be personalized to each person that you work with, whether you do that in a group or whether you do that one-on-one. Because then when you do that, you're able to find the right scalable model because you've done the work.
[00:15:40] Because you know whether you need group programs, whether you need certification or licensing or something else entirely.
[00:15:48] People who have been able to build something that gives them a chance to leverage their time, leverage their income, they could not have built that version without doing the activities that felt [00:16:00] unscalable first.
[00:16:01] You just can't skip it. So the next time you're in planning mode. Ask yourself this, what transformation do I want to help people create? Not what product do I want to sell? What change do I want to help people make? The next thing you wanna ask is, what's the simplest way to create that transformation with real people right now, not the most scalable way.
[00:16:20] What is the simplest way that's going to give me the data that I need to run the next test? Next, ask yourself, what am I afraid of about starting before I have the perfect system? Usually it's something along the lines of, I'll get trapped in delivery. But what if the unscalable version teaches you exactly what you need to know?
[00:16:41] Who needs this transformation right now. We often think of like the thousands and thousands of people out there who need this, and it feels daunting. You only need a handful of people to test this on. And that's how you know it will work. And then you can build for the thousands.
[00:16:57] And then finally, what would they actually learn [00:17:00] from running this live? Once you would learn all about the questions people ask, what they actually struggle with, and what creates breakthroughs so we can set more people up for success. What happens when you just start? If you have a good idea, if you know you can solve someone's problem, if you know your content can really create a solution for the right people.
[00:17:22] When you just start talking about it, just start working with people. Instead of thinking about optimizing for scale first, and you start testing unscalable things, you start generating revenue sometimes a lot of it, because unscalable often means high value, personalized premium price. You learn really fast, asked real people, give real feedback, and you discover what works in a matter of weeks, not years.
[00:17:44] You get a chance to build a waiting list. People who experience transformation want more and they tell other people about it, which can be way more effective than building the perfect, optimized automated sales funnel.
[00:17:57] You get a lot of clarity about what you're actually selling, [00:18:00] who you're actually serving, and what makes you unique. You find that step-by-step personalizable process that will eventually scale, eventually be leveraged, really emerges from doing the work.
[00:18:13] And usually people discover they don't wanna scale everything because some things should stay boutique. Some things are more valuable because they don't scale.
[00:18:23] Anything you're hoping to scale sits on the other side of unscalable work. You can't skip that step. You can only decide whether to do it now or whether to keep waiting.
[00:18:32] Your archetype determines what unscalable work will teach you and what you need to know. So if you're experience led, you need to facilitate live transformation. If you're insight led, you need to solve complex problems for real clients. If you're expression led, you need to create content.
[00:18:46] See what resonates. If you're embodiment led, you need to test it on yourself and document the journey.
[00:18:52] We're building audiences full of people who want to buy who, who want to amplify what you're doing or who want to potentially do [00:19:00] both. And to me, thinking of scalability is about building a crowd. Crowds don't always buy. We want people who are gonna be impacted by the work we do, who are going to potentially buy services and products from us and who are gonna tell their friends about us.
[00:19:15] That comes with building an audience, and that starts with. Doing the unscalable thing first, if you want to learn more about what unscalable thing you should actually be doing based on your specific archetype blend, that's what I do. In the archetype strategy calls, we look at your complete profile, your top three to six scores based on the raw percentages and how they group together.
[00:19:37] We look at your frequencies to help you understand more clearly how you naturally create transformation. And if we need to, we can identify what is the unscalable work that will teach you what you need to know when it comes to commercialization. Because most of the successful thought leaders I know have built seven figure businesses doing unscalable work.
[00:19:57] They're not necessarily trying to always remove themselves [00:20:00] from transformation. They're creating the conditions where they can do their highest value work. With people who are ready for it, the work that only they can do in the way that only they can do it. And that might be your path too. Or you might discover after you do the unscalable work that you have something that's already ready to scale, but you won't know that until you start.
[00:20:22] Stop waiting, to build the perfect funnel, to build the perfect passive income, to build the perfect scalable system. It won't reveal itself. Start doing bespoke unscalable things that will teach you what the system should be, what you should be teaching. The path to scale runs through unscalable work.
[00:20:39] You can't skip that step. You can only decide to take it. And if you wanna figure out what direction you should be walking in, I would love to have you take the archetype assessment and book an archetype strategy Call with me at macy robinson.com/call. The investment is $500 and you can put that credit toward working with me in an [00:21:00] accelerator, working with me in a sprint or any of the other programs that I might develop over the next few months. We'll look at that specific archetype and map out what will actually move you forward in growing your impact and in your thought leadership business.
[00:21:14] Thank you so much for listening. We'll talk next week.