Are you working... or wandering?

How to know if your efforts are actually building a business. It’s easy to confuse being busy with making progress. But if your weekly “work” isn’t part of a system that leads somewhere... You’re wandering. Maybe even in circles.

Author

Michelle Sera
July 15, 2025 • You can read this in:6 minutes

Welcome to The Find Coaching Clients Newsletter for learning where to focus your energy, so you can find plenty of clients.

You’re putting in the time. But if your effort isn’t part of a system that leads to growth, clients, and income…

You’re probably not building a business, but instead, just burning your energy. And it’s hard to know the difference, especially in the early days. Heck, even in the not-so-early-days, it’s easy to get off track.

There’s a difference between working and wandering: When you’re working within a system, even a simple one, your actions have direction.

Every post, every freebie, every offer has a purpose. It builds. It stacks. It leads somewhere.

For example: You write a post → it points to your opt-in → your email sequence builds trust → it leads to your offer. That’s a system.

And it’s what turns effort into income. But without that system? You’re just working without a payoff in sight.

Busy all the time… and frustrated that nothing’s clicking.

This is where a lot of smart, capable coaches get stuck. Or, get off track (myself included).

The shift happens when you start treating every post, freebie, or project as part of a larger flow, one that turns visibility into trust… and trust into clients.

So, how do you make sure you’re working with intent, within a system, and not getting off track? Keep reading…

Run a Business Flow Audit in 5 Minutes

Grab a pen or open your Notes app. Now map out this simple flow using your current content or lead magnet:

  1. What’s one thing you’ve created recently? (A post, freebie, podcast, live, etc.)

  2. Where does it lead (the offer)? (Is there a clear next step like a consult, coaching session, or product offer (like a mini course?)

  3. What happens next? (Do they get nurtured through email so they can see the offer again? Invited to something? Or… does it just stop?)

If you can’t clearly trace a path from content to client, it's OK, this is what creates "wandering".

This little audit shows you where the gaps are, so you can start closing them.

Your work deserves to lead somewhere. Let’s make sure it does.

Build a Business That Actually Starts Working

If you feel like you've gotten off track or that you may be "wandering"- it’s not you. It’s the missing system, (like Coach Growth Lab).

Coach Growth Lab is where solo coaches learn what works, get consistent, and build a business that finally starts working.

Inside CGL, you’ll learn how to:

  • Get comfortable with experimenting to find what works for you (Monthly "What's working for coaches right now" call)

  • Leverage AI in your business, so you can grow faster (Monthly AI Lab to build and learn in real time)

  • Create consistency that starts stacking results (Monthly co-working sessions to create consistency)

Not with one-size-fits-all formulas, but a framework (LEVEL UP), so you have guidance working within a system that leads to clients.

Join the waitlist (doors open at the end of July) and get 50% off the Lab every single month.

Your coaching business can work. You just need a system that makes sure it does.

Here’s something worth sitting with:

Clarity is a form of power. 

It quiets the noise. It directs your energy. It gives your actions purpose.

And the simplest way to create clarity? Use a system.

A system takes scattered ideas and turns them into a flow. It gives your business an outcome to pursue.

If you’ve been feeling muddled, overwhelmed, or off track…

It’s not a motivation issue.

You just need structure that makes your path visible again.

Systems are the backbone of growth. I learned systems from behind the scenes of multi million dollar coaching brands. But a big myth is that systems are complex and therefore, hard to create. Not true. Listen to this episode on The Solo Coach Podcast: The One Simple Marketing Plan that Changed Everything. I think you’ll like it.

In this recent video on Coach Diaries, I talk about what to do when your mind feels heavy and stuck. We all experience it, but we don’t have to let it derail us. Take a look. It will help.

Plus you can hear the latest on my super ambitious goal to grow my email list by 4,000 subscribers in 2025 without any paid ads or complicated strategies.

Much love.

Content and offerings from ElevatedMind® and Michelle Sera are for educational and informational purposes only and do not replace professional medical, legal, financial, or psychological advice. You are responsible for your own decisions, actions, and results. From time to time, I may use affiliate links in this newsletter.