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Staying Solo

Maggie Patterson, BS-Free Business
Staying Solo
Latest episode

508 episodes

  • Staying Solo

    This is What Paid & Peaceful Looks Like

    21/09/2026 | 15 mins.
    What if your business doesn't need another offer, client or plan?
    What if the solution is for you to calm the hell down and decide what you actually want?
    In this episode, we're bringing together everything from our Paid and Peaceful series to help you make better decisions, earn more and build a business with a whole lot more peace.
    Topics discussed in this episode include:
    How the five core principles of Paid & Peaceful work together to shape everyday business decisions.

    Why defining enough helps you stop treating every opportunity for more as an obligation.

    How to think about comfy money and evaluate whether more revenue is actually making you more money.

    Choosing your own version of success and building a business around what you actually want.

    Why your business doesn't need to become your entire identity.

    How to treat capacity like currency and make deliberate trade-offs.

    For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. 
    If you enjoyed today's episode, please:
    Leave a positive review or rating at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo

    Subscribe for new episodes every Monday.

    Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
  • Staying Solo

    Capacity Is Currency: Spend It Where It Counts

    14/09/2026 | 20 mins.
    You've optimized your calendar, built the systems, and automated what you could. Yet somehow, you're still stretched too thin.
    So you assume you need a better productivity system—or more discipline, focus or efficiency.
    But what if productivity isn't the problem?
    What if you're simply asking yourself to do too much, under conditions that make everything harder?
    In this episode of the Paid and Peaceful series, we're looking at where your capacity is going, when productivity tips become toxic, and three questions to help you decide what's actually worth your time and energy.
    Topics discussed in this episode include:
    Why productivity isn't the problem—and how overcommitting drains capacity.

    Supportive productivity vs. "toxic productivity".

    Why capacity includes energy, emotions, sensory needs and work conditions.

    How boundaries, margin and agency create better working conditions.

    Why every "yes" has a cost and how to decide what's worth it.

    Three questions to decide what deserves your time and energy.

    For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. 
    If you enjoyed today's episode, please:
    Leave a positive review or rating at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo

    Subscribe for new episodes every Monday.

    Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
  • Staying Solo

    You Can't Keep Working This Hard Forever: Inside the Paid & Peaceful Mastermind (Pop-Up Episode)

    09/09/2026 | 15 mins.
    You've built a service business that works. Your clients are happy, the money is coming in, and you're damn good at what you do.
    BUT you're working harder than you want to, carrying every decision alone and wondering how long you can keep doing business this way…

    So what kind of support do you need at this stage—and is the Paid & Peaceful Mastermind the right place to get it?
    In this episode, I'm giving you the real story about what happens inside the mastermind, who's already in the room and what we'll work on together.
    In this episode, we cover:
    Who the Paid & Peaceful Mastermind is built for—and who shouldn't join

    The problems experienced service business owners bring into the room

    How we work on your salary, space and strategy so the business pays you better without demanding more of your life

    Who's already committed to the group and what members have in common

    What happens during your first 90 days, including creating your Paid & Peaceful Plan

    The one-to-one and group support you'll have throughout the 12-month mastermind


    Links for This Episode:
    Paid & Peaceful Mastermind Details
    Book your consult call
  • Staying Solo

    The Myth of the Obsessed Entrepreneur

    07/09/2026 | 15 mins.
    A lot of us started businesses because we wanted more freedom, flexibility and control over our time.
    So how did we end up with a version of entrepreneurship where the business becomes our identity, our purpose, and basically our entire life?
    I think we've lost the plot.
    In this episode, we're talking about why obsession isn't the price of being a serious business owner, what happens when your business becomes too much of who you are, and how to put it back in its rightful place—so it supports your life instead of taking it over.
    Topics discussed in this episode include:
    Why your business doesn't need to be your entire identity.

    Separating business outcomes from your sense of self-worth.

    The importance of having hobbies, relationships and identities outside of work.

    Why constant growth and optimization aren't always signs of success.

    The difference between being committed to your business and being obsessed with it.

    How to create more space for your life while still building a profitable business. 

    For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. 
    If you enjoyed today's episode, please:.
    Leave a positive review or rating at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo

    Subscribe for new episodes every Monday.

    Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
  • Staying Solo

    What If There's Another Version of Success?

    31/08/2026 | 18 mins.
    What if you've been channelling your ambition towards the wrong thing? 
    We're taught to aim our ambition at more: more money, more success, more growth, more everything.
    But what if you don't actually want more of those things? 
    What if there are other things you'd rather have more of like time, freedom, creativity, connection, ease, or simply a life you actually enjoy?
    In this next episode in the Paid and Peaceful series,  we're talking about what happens when you stop assuming business growth is the obvious place to put your ambition and start asking a much more interesting question: What's actually worthy of my ambition?
    Topics discussed in this episode include:
    Why we're taught to equate ambition with more money, growth and success.

    The difference between desire-driven and proving-driven ambition.

    How hustle culture keeps us chasing an endless finish line.

    Why ambition isn't a meritocracy and the role privilege and circumstances play.

    Redefining success with a new scoreboard focused on your life, not just your business.

    How to decide what's actually worthy of your ambition and what you're willing to trade for it.

    For detailed show notes and links to everything in this episode, please visit bsfreebusiness.com. 
    If you enjoyed today's episode, please:.
    Leave a positive review or rating at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ratethispodcast.com/stayingsolo

    Subscribe for new episodes every Monday.

    Sign up for email updates at www.bsfreebusiness.com/solo
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About 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)
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Staying Solo: Podcasts in Family