What Happens When You Disappear from Instagram for Three Months?

I disappeared from Instagram for three months during breast cancer treatment, and nobody even noticed. This unexpected experience taught me valuable lessons about building a sustainable business that doesn't require constant visibility to remain profitable.

• Social media is a tool, not a comprehensive business strategy
• My business continued running because of searchable content and established systems
• During chemotherapy, my capacity dropped to zero, forcing me to simply stop posting
• Content kept getting found because it was searchable and optimized
• Offers continued to sell through automated systems I had built
• YouTube videos performed well because they were evergreen
• Email list growth continued because it wasn't solely dependent on Instagram

Your worth isn't tied to how often you show up on social media. You can build a business that gives you margin and freedom to step away when needed without everything falling apart. If you want help making your Instagram content searchable so it shows up when you can't, check out my Instagram SEO swipe file with ChatGPT prompts for just $7.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back to Plan Like a Boss.
In today's episode, I'm gettingvulnerable and sharing a
personal story that, honestly, Inever thought I'd share in such
a public way, but I want thispodcast to show the reality
behind being an entrepreneur,instead of making it an
Instagrammable highlight reel.
I want to share all the ups andthe downs the ups and the downs

(00:26):
.
So today I'm going to talkabout what happened when I
disappeared from Instagram forthree full months and the fact
that nobody even noticed and,more importantly, why that's not
a bad thing.
So if you've ever felt stuck onthe content hamster wheel, if
you've ever wondered whetheryour business would crumble if
you weren't showing up everysingle day, or if you're
secretly exhausted from tryingto keep up with everyone else's

(00:47):
highlight reels, this episode isfor you.
So let's start with the obviousquestion why did I step away
from Instagram for three months?
The hard truth is, I didn'tplan to.
It was not a strategy, itwasn't a break that I had
pre-scheduled.
It was life.
I was diagnosed with breastcancer and was looking at three

(01:08):
long months of chemotherapy, andlet me be honest with you here
During those three months, mycapacity was zero, not low, not
limited zero.
There were days when I couldbarely get out of bed, let alone
post stories or schedule reelsor come up with clever captions.
So I just stopped.

(01:29):
No farewell post, no taking abreak announcement.
I simply stopped showing up.
And here's the wild part no onenoticed, at least not in the
way I feared they would.
Now, behind the scenes, I didhave my YouTube video editor
scheduling out the shorts that Iput on YouTube, on my Instagram
, but as far as stories and DMs,I disappeared completely.

(01:52):
Now, when this happened, I waspretty down.
I thought my engagement wasgoing to tank, I thought my
audience would forget I existed,I thought sales would dry up
and I thought I'd lose momentumthat I would never be able to
get back.
But what actually happened wasmy content kept getting found

(02:13):
because it was searchable, myoffers continued to sell because
I had built out systems, myYouTube videos kept working
because they were evergreen andmy email list continued to grow
because I wasn't relying solelyon Instagram for my visibility.
And here's what that time awaytaught me Instagram is a tool,

(02:38):
not a strategy.
So many solopreneurs buildtheir entire business around
social media, and I get it.
It's free, it's easy to use, itfeels like the place to be.
Plus, everybody on Instagram istelling you you need to be on
Instagram.
Half of them have coursesshowing you how to show up on
Instagram and how to go viral.

(03:00):
But here's the problem If yourmarketing strategy disappears
the moment you do, then what youhave isn't a business.
It's a hamster wheel, meaningyou're constantly having to show
up and be there if you want toexist in your business, and
that's just no way to function.
Say that to make you feel bad.

(03:26):
I say it because I've beenthere, and here's what I
realized.
I don't need to be everywhere.
I need to be intentional.
I need content that keepsworking for me, even when I'm
not, and that means showing upin searchable platforms like
YouTube and Google.
I need to make sure myInstagram is optimized with SEO
because spoiler alert thatplatform is searchable too and,

(03:49):
as of last month, it's showingup in Google searches as well.
I need to have an SEO optimizedwebsite with blog posts,
evergreen emails and salesfunnels and, yes, strategic
content on Instagram and TikTok,but not dependent on it.
Social media is only one smallpart of my visibility strategy.

(04:13):
Now, before you think this wasjust luck, let me break it down
for you.
I was able to step away fromInstagram because I had a
content plan that included longform searchable pieces, aka my
YouTube channel, with lots ofsearchable pieces providing
educational content on SEO andon planning.

(04:36):
I had pre-scheduled YouTubevideos going out weekly.
I had SEO set up on my websiteto drive organic traffic and
make passive sales.
I had email sequences in placeto nurture anyone new to my
audience and, honestly, I had amindset shift that told me you

(04:58):
know what?
It's okay if things slow downwhile I heal, it's okay if I
don't make as much money.
I'm just grateful that I amable to have some money coming
in Now.
None of that happened overnight.
I have spent years building outthese systems, but the payoff

(05:18):
of doing it Freedom Not justtime freedom, but peace of mind.
Freedom just time freedom, butpeace of mind.
Freedom, peace of mind that Ican take time to heal, I can
step away from my business andit's going to keep running, even
though I am a solopreneur.
Now here's what I want you toknow from this story If you have

(05:40):
ever been afraid to step backyou do not have to be constantly
online to be relevant, nomatter what any coach tells you.
You do not have to beconstantly online to be relevant
, no matter what any coach tellsyou.
You do not have to beconstantly online to be relevant
.
You can build a business thatgives you margin, not just money
, that provides you the freedomto be able to take some time off

(06:03):
because your child has the flu,to be able to take some time
off because your child has theflu, to be able to take some
time off because you're dealingwith a medical situation
yourself, or to take some timeoff because you're on the brink
of burnout.
And your worth is not tied tohow often you show up on social
media, no matter what anybodysays.

(06:25):
You do not have to show up onsocial media every single day to
make sales and have asuccessful business.
Social media is simply onesmall tool in your arsenal.
If you want real sustainability,you need to build a strategy
that lives beyond the scroll.
So today, here's yourpermission slip You're allowed

(06:49):
to step back from social media.
You're allowed to build out asmarter business that works for
you.
You're allowed to rest withoutyour entire business falling
apart.
And if you're ready to build abusiness that doesn't rely on
hustle, here's what you can doright now, today.

(07:10):
First of all, audit your content.
What is working for you, evenwhen you're not?
Are people coming to yourwebsite if you're not sending
them there?
If not, you need an SEOstrategy.
What Instagram content arepeople finding?
That's older.
Look at that and remember withInstagram content, we're talking

(07:35):
about the content that bringsyou in leads, not likes.
If you have a YouTube channel,look at your analytics and see
what is performing well.
Next, I want you to identify oneplatform or system that could
give you more freedom.

(07:56):
Is there a platform that youcould dive into to start
bringing in regular, organictraffic?
Or is there a system you couldbuild out that will give you
more freedom?
Is there something you can doon the back end?
Build out some nurturing emailsequences or set up auto replies
in your DMs?

(08:16):
Is there something you can doto give you more freedom?
And then I want you to startplanning your content
intentionally, not just forengagement, but for longevity,
and that means that you need tomake sure that all of your
Instagram posts are SEOoptimized, because that is what

(08:38):
is going to help your post showup in search and show up on page
one of Google.
And if you want help makingsure your Instagram content is
searchable so that it will showup when you can't.
I have an Instagram SEO swipefile complete with chat GPT
prompts and, because I want itto be as accessible to as many

(08:59):
people as possible, it's only $7, literally less than I spent at
Starbucks this morning I'll besure to put a link in the
description if that's somethingyou're interested in.
And, hey, if this episode spoketo you, I would love it if you
would leave me a review.
Your review helps this podcastreach so many more people.
So let's normalize buildingbusinesses that don't require us

(09:22):
to burn out just to be visible,and make sure you hit subscribe
, because next week I'm going tobe walking you through the
planning method that keeps mefocused on my big goals one
quarter at a time.
So, until then, take care ofyourself.
Your business will still bethere tomorrow, and so will I.