Staying Solo

Staying Solo

Growing a solo service business is tough. It's even harder when you're bombarded with BS advice that steers you away from your values and why you started your business in the first place. This is the podcast for solo creatives and consultants who want to remain as a team of one and have zero interest in the hustle and grind of typical business teachings. Most podcasts for solopreneurs and freelancers, hosted by out-of-touch celebrity entrepreneurs who haven't offered one-to-one services in years, miss the mark on today's market realities. Maggie Patterson, a service business owner for 20 years, understands that to stay solo, you need to know what matters to you, what works for you, and what you should completely ignore. In each episode, she examines one piece of conventional business advice to discover how it may hurt your business or be completely wrong for you as a solo business owner. Join Maggie for real talk to help you avoid burnout or the desire to entirely burn down your business to open a flower shop, book store, or cat cafe. (Because those cats won't pay the bills.) (Formerly the BS-Free Service Business Show)

Episodes

December 15, 2025 12 mins

Fact: your revenue doesn't tell the truth about your life.

You can be booked out and still feel depleted, disconnected, and barely holding it together.

Because success on paper doesn't mean success in practice.

A delightfully boring business flips the script—more ease, more breathing room, more actual delight.

So today, we're resetting what "success" means and putting...

Mark as Played

If it feels like other people land better clients with ease, here's the truth: it's not luck, it's structure.

In this just-in-time episode, we run a Mini Client Audit to uncover what's actually blocking better clients from finding (and choosing) you. 

You'll hear:

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Ever hit a money milestone and instantly feel like it's… still not enough?

You're not broken, you're human. 

When money has felt unpredictable at any point in your life, "enough" doesn't feel safe; it feels suspicious. And that's usually when the internet tries to sell you a mindset fix you may not even need.

In this episode, we're digging into why your brain reacts this way and w...

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December 1, 2025 11 mins

Perfection isn't ambition — it's armour.

It keeps you safe from judgment, mistakes, and uncertainty… but it also keeps you stuck. And when your business relies on you taking action, that kind of safety gets expensive fast.

In today's episode, The Delight of Progress (Not Perfection), we're digging into what perfectionism is really protecting you from, and why choosing progress is actually the ...

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If you're trying to run your business with 2019 energy, no wonder you're exhausted. 

After years of uncertainty, you can't manage your time like a machine. You need to manage your capacity like a human.

And that starts with the Delightful No — the kind of boundary that protects your energy, your focus, and your sanity.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

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Some days, you look at the online business world and wonder, what are we even doing?

We were sold freedom and ended up with nonstop optimization, fake urgency, and the pressure to perform 24/7.

In a world this chaotic, the smartest move you can make is building a business that isn't.

You can't control the economy, the algorithm, or a flaky client, but you can control how your busi...

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Not every business pivot starts with a breakdown. Sometimes it hits quietly — like staring at yet another sales page for a client you genuinely like and thinking, I can't keep doing this.

That was the moment for Natalie Taylor.

You can love your clients, be fully booked, and still know something has to change.

In this episode, Natalie shares how she went from burned-out and booked...

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Ever had everything look fine…clients happy, money flowing, nothing on fire…yet something still feels off?

That quiet friction? That low-level hum you can't shake? That's not anxiety. It's a warning light.

In this episode, we're digging into what's really going on beneath the surface and how to fix it before it cracks wide open.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

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Everyone loves to brag about being "booked out." But let's be honest, booked out can also mean booked solid, burned out, and barely making bank.

What no one tells you is that a full calendar doesn't guarantee profit, margin, or breathing room. Sometimes it just means you've built yourself a job you can't step away from.

In this episode, we're rethinking what "booked out" should actually look l...

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You'd think being great at what you do would make business easier. But the better you get, the more the cracks show.

The clients, systems, and strategy that used to work? Now they feel too small. You've outgrown the business you built.

So you tweak, tinker, and try to make it fit again but the friction keeps coming back, because you're not meant to patch it, you're meant to rebuild it.

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If you're not talking about AI with your clients, you're already losing their trust.

In this episode, I break down why silence is a risk and how to lead the AI conversation without sounding defensive, desperate, or out of touch.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

  • Why client skepticism is rising and how AI is amplifying ...

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October 6, 2025 39 mins

**This week we're sharing an episode from the most recent season of Duped.**

Ever been captivated by a coach who seemed too good to be true—magnetic, inspiring, and totally authentic—only to find yourself questioning how you ended up spending thousands, still feeling like you're not enough? 

You're not the only one.

In this episode, we're diving into the darker side of online busi...

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Most masterminds? Total garbage. They're hype machines, overpriced courses in disguise, or giant groups where you're stuck babysitting beginners.

That's why in this episode I'm doing a fit check—so you'll know if the BS-Free Mastermind is your "hell yes" next step, or a "not right now." Either way, you'll walk away knowing exactly what support you need to build a steady, sustainable business.

...

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September 26, 2025 8 mins


**A very special ranty episode inspired by conversations I've been having the past month**

When business feels uncertain, it's tempting to pause and wait it out.

But options don't come from waiting—they come from making decisions, even imperfect ones.

  • In this episode, I share:
  • The problem with pausing for too long.
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Ever look at your business and think, "This isn't what I signed up for"?

The long hours, the barely-there income, the weekends that aren't really weekends… It's exhausting.

The answer isn't more hustle—or another shiny funnel. It's a Revenue Reset: the right actions, in the right order, built for your real life.

In this episode, I'll show you why a reset matters now, what it reall...

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Your revenue may look good on paper, but if your take-home pay doesn't reflect your effort, something's not right. 

If that's you, you're not broken—you're trapped in the salary lie. Big revenue, tiny take-home. 

Bad advice, such as "reinvest everything" and "keep your pay low to scale," is what probably got you here.

In this episode, we're talking about why, in 2025, just scrapin...

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If your business looks solid on paper but still feels harder than it should—this episode is for you.

It's probably not your pricing or your offers. It's your strategy—and it's out of sync with your real life.

Just because it used to work doesn't mean it still does. 

In this episode, we're digging into why your current strategy might be holding you back—and how to reset it for 2025...

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From the outside, your business looks great, but inside, you're barely hanging on.

You're booked, making good money, and clients are happy… but you're exhausted, skipping lunch, and running on fumes.

That's what I call the sustainability ceiling—when your business works, but only if you're at 100% all the time.

In this episode, we're digging into what that really means and why the...

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Most business advice assumes you've got unlimited time, energy, and support.

But what if you're juggling caregiving, chronic illness, parenting—or just the reality of being human?

If your business looks good on paper but feels hard to run, this episode is for you.

We're digging into The Real Life Rule—the mindset shift every solo service provider needs to build a business that act...

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Let's be honest, 2025 has been tough.

In many cases, business feels heavier. Clients are cautious. Leads are slower. And what used to work? It's not always landing like it used to.

If you've been wondering, "Is it just me?"—it's not.

In this episode, I'm sharing why you may need to reset for the world we're living in now. 

Topics discussed in this episode include:

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