Is Your Business Starting to Feel Like My Mom’s iPhone?

Core Article: Is Your Business Starting to Feel Like My Mom’s iPhone?

Paragraph I’m Pondering: “There’s nothing selfish about your hunger to learn.”

Powerful Affirmations to Inspire: “There’s. nothing selfish about…”

Book Review: Marketing a Love Story by Bernadette Jiwa

Is Your Business Starting to Feel Like My Mom’s iPhone?

This was my dilemma with my mom and her phone. She was constantly calling me to complain about her phone; she couldn’t use it anymore. Yet, there lies the obvious dilemma; she just called me on it.

I’ve shared before that my mom is 86 and has the beginning of dementia. When I was with her a few weeks ago, she would repeat this statement a lot, “I hate this thing. (Pointing to her iPhone.) I don’t even know how to make calls on it anymore.”

Heavy sigh… I truly felt the weight of that moment, the quiet grief of not being able to keep up with something that once felt simple, and now it’s layered with frustration, confusion, and the creeping feeling that the world’s moving faster than you.

What do you do when the technology outperforms your brain? Or in her case, her aged brain that’s trying so damn hard to keep up.

That moment stuck with me, cuz it mirrored what I see happening in the world, especially in business. The tools keep getting smarter, more sophisticated. The updates are more frequent. The AI race is getting louder and faster. Yet, in the rush to keep up, no one’s really asking this important question:

Is this tech still working FOR ME? Or have I outgrown this, or worse, been dragged along by it?

What if, just like my mom, you’re trying to use something that’s no longer designed for how you actually function?

Whether you’re using the latest tool, app, launch method, or course platform, what if the real question is whether it still fits you, your energy, brain, values, and the way you do your best work?

Because let’s be honest, how many times have you found yourself in “I’ll figure it out” mode? I know that’s been me a lot lately. (Especially this time of the year, my annual subscriptions are all getting charged to my credit card, and it’s embarrassing; some of them I haven’t used in a year – ouch.)
Maybe the tech is a:

New platform, you feel like you should be using.
The course you signed up for that you haven’t opened.
Or all those AI resources you bought that you haven’t had time to check out, and they’re sitting in your inbox or on a website somewhere, collecting dust.

How many tools, strategies, courses, books, memberships, this year alone, have you bought and not finished, or worse, never even started? I ask because I’ve been there too. You are not alone.

I used to think it was a discipline thing, or a time management problem, or maybe just me not being good at follow-through. The truth is, it was none of those things.

It was simply that most of the tools, tactics, and systems out there weren’t built for someone like me. They weren’t made for mindful, purpose-driven entrepreneurs, the kind who want to connect first, lead with value, and build businesses that feel aligned, not just about making money.

That’s why I stopped:

Chasing shiny trends, tactics, and the latest whiz-bang thing in AI.
Downloading all the PDFs that promised to 10x my whatever.

And pretending that the next tool or tactic was going to make a bigger impact in my business.

Can you relate?

That’s when the shift happened. I started looking at what actually makes sense for how I work, supports my strengths, and aligns with how I want to show up.

It’s also the work I now do with my clients. It’s about slowing things down enough to really look at what’s working, what’s not, and in my Mom’s case, what felt like trying to force a high-tech iPhone to work, when what she wanted was a simple way to call the people who matter.

I created Soulful Marketing based on core proven principles without the manipulation, overused tactics, and useless upsells. It’s about putting the meaning and humanness back into marketing.

It isn’t about keeping up with every new shiny tool or trend. It’s about choosing what works for you, with intention. It’s about building a business around your truth, values, and mission, not someone else’s tactic or formula. It’s about catching up with who you are now, and letting that lead the way forward.

And when you build your marketing around building trust, connection, and your goal is transforming your clients, it’s not about “selling” anything.

Lastly, it’s about realizing you don’t need any more of the latest tools, tactics, or templates. Why not put a moratorium on that for several months? Then take the time to actually implement what you’ve already invested in. Get one project completed before you buy anything else…

So if any of this is resonating, if you’ve felt like you’re trying to make things work that just don’t anymore, I’ve created a few resources to help you simplify, recalibrate, and move forward from a place that actually fits.

Whether you’re refreshing an offer, planning a launch, or rewriting your messaging so it sounds like you again, there’s a better way. One that starts with honoring where you are, and building from there.

I just created this: The Soulful Marketing Planner. Download Here. It’s just a beta version. And I’m giving it to you as my gift of thanks, a little early before Thanksgiving. Any thoughts or comments are much appreciated.

What I want you to know is you and your marketing aren’t broken. There is another way to get new clients and build your business without creating complicated funnels, buying overpriced ads (Especially this time of year!), and selling your soul to another tactic. You’re just not built for business as usual. 🙂 I’m here for you always.

Hands at your back,

Always,
Shannon

[Download Your Complimentary Soulful Marketing Planner here]

Paragraph I’m Pondering

“There’s nothing selfish about your hunger to learn. It’s how you make meaning, how you connect, how you offer something real. That instinct to go deeper, to understand what others miss, to turn insight into something useful and alive is part of your gift. You’re here to translate complexity into clarity, to inspire honest change, to help people see what they couldn’t see before. When your words carry purpose, they don’t just inform, they move. This is how you lead, by bringing light where there was confusion, by speaking from a place that’s grounded, and by trusting that your voice can open something in others that was waiting to be found. “~ Shannon McCaffery

Powerful Affirmations to Inspire

“I release scarcity and welcome overflow in every area of life.”
“I am grounded, centered, and fully present in this moment.”
“I have everything within me to achieve greatness.”

Book Review

Marketing a Love Story: How to Matter to Your Customers
by Bernadette Jiwa

Weekly Photos

Another adventure this week – flew out to CT for a mastermind meeting. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten together with my peers. It’s so amazing how when you get 40 people in a room, the magic flows. So many new connections, ideas, and new relationships. I love my Titans XL group. Thanks, Brian Kurtz, for bringing us together.

Early morning flight to San Francisco, the sunrise and clouds were pretty amazing.
You know me, taking pics out of plane windows, always. This cool shot was the windmills out west, near Colorado. Makes for an interesting picture…
This reminds me of Apple TV’s screen saver. This is the mountains over Colorado from 35k feet.
I wish I could have gotten my iPhone to cooperate. Last time I flew into NYC, it was in Newark. This time it was Laguardia Airport. And wow, the 360 views of NYC at night were pretty spectacular. Tried to capture it, yet I think it fell a bit flat. Brought back many memories of my 26 years on the East Coast.
This Egret was having a good early morning swim on the Sac trail earlier this week.
I hike by this dead tree almost every day. It’s just so interesting, almost like a totem pole. I love nature…
And there’s the welcome to NYC in the updated Laguardia terminal. Just wow, last time I was here it was such a crappuy terminal. Amazing how it’s changed…

NEW: P.S. Invitation – I’m going to launch my next Soulful Marketing Accelerator Co-hort in late January. 🙂 If you’re longing for like-minded community and ready to move through your fears to grow a purpose–driven business rooted in authenticity and aligned with your dream clients… Welllll. Go here to be first in line when I reopen the doors again. Would love to have you.

P.S.S. Whenever You’re Ready: Here are 3 Ways I can make an impact on creating greater success in your business using marketing that’s aligned with your mission and values without feeling like you’re selling your soul.

1. Make Money Now Sheet – It’s one of the bonuses in my 7-Step Soulful Marketing System. I wanted to give it to you for free to help you create more success.

2. Love Books Like I Do? – I’m always reviewing the best nonfiction books – Where Buddha Meets Business.

3. Get my proven 7-Step Soulful Marketing System. It gives you the framework you need to implement authentic and connected marketing using online customer experiences and launching your products, services, or courses. It will help you create greater success.

It’s a simple system, especially if you love to read like me. There’s no video or audio. Plus, you get my proven templates, tools, and worksheets, all with tremendous value. And I’m pricing it incredibly low so it can be more accessible to more people. 🙂

Did someone forward this to you? If so, get this eNewsletter regularly with my compliments by clicking this link. And if you’re in the mood to share, simply send this URL to others: https://www.soulfulmarketingsystem.com/soulful-marketing-enewsletter.

I appreciate your sharing. Thank you!

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