Powerful Women Rising - A Business Podcast for Female Entrepreneurs
Welcome to Powerful Women Rising, the no-nonsense, laugh-out-loud podcast for heart-centered female entrepreneurs ready to make an impact (and a profit) while staying true to themselves!
Forget cookie-cutter, one size fits all advice. Each episode provides customizable advice and strategies to help you grow and scale your business - from leveraging authentic connections to mastering the art of marketing without feeling like a salesy weirdo. Plus, you'll hear insightful interviews with experts who shed light on those sneaky blind spots in your businessand dish out practical, no-BS advice for making more money in a way that feels good.
Tune in and transform the way you do business – because when women rise together, the sky's the limit!
Powerful Women Rising - A Business Podcast for Female Entrepreneurs
Shiny Object Syndrome: How to Stay Focused on Your Goals
In this eye-opening episode I'm gonna ruffle some feathers by confronting a challenge that many entrepreneurs face but seldom talk about — Shiny Object Syndrome.
Have you ever found yourself feeling overwhelmed and confused, thinking:
- I should start doing reels!
- I need to write a book!
- I should hire a video confidence coach!
- I'm going to start a podcast!
You're not alone. As women in business, we encounter new ideas, tools, courses, etc. every day that promise quick success but actually end up being a waste of time and money.
In this episode, I share my personal journey of overcoming these distractions and the tools I use to help me decide what's a good idea and what's actually just another shiny object. I'll also share some of the strategies I use that help me stay focused on what truly matters in business.
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Our next PWR Virtual Speed Networking Event is the perfect place to practice showing up authentically AND allowing others to be human too! https://powerfulwomenrising.com/events
For even deeper connections, check out the Powerful Women Rising Community here: https://powerfulwomenrising.com/community/
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Mentioned in This Episode:
- Episode #14 - Strategic Planning for Business Success With Connie Kercher
- To learn more about Jessica Millhiser's 12-Month Strategic Planning Program, check out her website or schedule a call with her HERE!
Welcome to Powerful Women Rising, the podcast where we ditch the rulebook and build businesses with authenticity, integrity and a whole lot of fun. Join host Melissa Snow, business relationship strategist and founder of the Powerful Women Rising community, as she interviews top experts and shares candid insights on business strategy, marketing, mindset and more. Let's get real, get inspired and rise together. This is Powerful Women Rising.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Powerful Women Rising podcast. I'm your host, melissa Snow. I am coming to you live. Well, okay, I'm alive. This is live. You're listening to it on a recording. I got to tell you. I record these intros over and over again and every time I say something equally ridiculous, and so sometimes I'm just like, okay, we're going with that. I am coming to you from Colorado.
Speaker 2:It is the first snow of the season. I do not like snow, even though it's my last name. I do not like winter. I do not like wind. I do not like snow, even though it's my last name. I do not like winter. I do not like wind, I do not like being cold, and today has all of those things. Also, for some reason, I can't find my freaking ballot, so I have to go, actually leave my house and vote, like it's the olden days, and I'm not happy about that either, but I will happily go and cast my vote. God bless America, all right.
Speaker 2:So today we are talking about shiny object syndrome. Is this like the story of my life? Or what If you are tuning into this episode and this is the first episode you've ever listened to and you're like. Is she always this weird and all over the place? Yes, I am, and shiny object syndrome is something that has plagued me for years and years, and I know that I am not alone. Almost every entrepreneur I know has suffered with shiny object syndrome, and so we're going to talk about it today because it's important.
Speaker 2:And I had somebody ask me recently why do you talk about all of these other topics on your podcast when your thing is business relationships? Right, like I am a business strategist, but my focus is on networking like a human and not like a salesy weirdo. It's on helping you figure out how to grow your business through genuine connections and authentic relationships. And so why do we talk about time management? Why do I interview people who are experts on LinkedIn? Why do we talk about systems and processes and strategies and things like that? And the reason is because networking is not just about attending networking events. Networking is anything that you do that creates a relationship or a connection with another person. So you can do it on social media, you can do it by writing a book, you can do it by being a guest on someone else's podcast, you can do it speaking on stage. All of those things are ways that you can connect authentically with other humans, and it's very difficult to connect with other humans and build your business through relationships without certain foundations in place. You have to have some kind of strategy, you have to have some way to capture leads, you have to have a way to manage your time, you have to have systems and processes in place right. So everything comes back to networking and building your business through relationships, and these are all of the different pieces that you need in order to do that.
Speaker 2:And shiny object syndrome is 100% relevant to this topic, because it's something that distracts people from doing actual revenue generating activities like networking. We get so caught up in so many shiny objects that sometimes we forget that the simplest, easiest and most fun and sustainable way to build a business is just by going out there and talking to other humans. So I want to talk about this today because I think that it is something that affects everyone, but we don't talk enough about it, and this has come up a lot recently, just for me, as it's getting close to the end of the year, and so I've been spending some time evaluating where I have spent my money this year, where I have spent my time this year so that I can make some decisions about what I want to do the same or differently next year. And let me tell you if you're listening to this and you're thinking that you are alone in shiny object syndrome, you are not. Even eight years into entrepreneurship. I still buy things, I still hire people, I still sign up for programs that later make me go. Why did I think that was a good idea? Why did I spend my money on that? Why did I think that was the thing that I needed? And this is what shiny object syndrome is all about. It's those enticing ideas and tools that lure us in with the promise of quick success and endless revenue. It is those Facebook ads that you see from the VA service that will repurpose all the content you've already created into short-term videos that will go viral this week. It is the business coach who posts her client success stories daily and makes you think that hiring her will be the key to your success. It's TikTok Threads Clubhouse Remember Clubhouse? Is anyone still on Clubhouse? That was such a shiny object. It is writing a book. It's starting a podcast, it's speaking on stage.
Speaker 2:Shiny object syndrome can be all of those things, and I want to be clear that none of those things are inherently bad. I'm not saying that all of these things and I want to be clear that none of those things are inherently bad I'm not saying that all of these things are terrible ideas and you shouldn't move forward with any of them, but what happens is we get sucked into things that aren't aligned with our values or our goals. We spend money that we don't have, we give up time that could be better spent elsewhere, and sometimes we hire people who turn out to have no idea what the fuck they're actually doing and we end up worse than when we started. I also want to be clear that the results of shiny object syndrome are not always bad. This is not always about falling for something or getting scammed by some sleazy business coach. It's not about making mistakes or having regrets or decisions that you wish would have been different. Sometimes the results of these things are great the program, the book, the course, the coach. They delivered exactly what they promised, but you realize that it's actually not at all what you needed or what's right for your business, and you could have saved yourself that time and money by not falling for the shiny object to begin with.
Speaker 2:So if any of this resonates with you, I want to tell you number one, you are not alone. And number two, it is okay to release the shame behind the decision that you made. It is okay to let go of your embarrassment related to your shiny object syndrome. You weren't stupid for making that decision. You are not the only one who has gotten distracted by shiny objects, and I think it's safe to say, we have all been there, even the people that you look at on social media and you're like, oh my gosh, she's crushing it. I bet she never did anything dumb like this she did. Sometimes. I think that it is all just part of the process of learning to become a successful entrepreneur, but it's something that we need to talk about more. So today we're going to dig deep into why we are so attracted to these distractions, how to identify if something is actually worth pursuing, and I'm going to give you some practical tips to help you keep your focus where it needs to be, which will not only save you time and money, but also probably some of your sanity.
Speaker 2:Okay, so let's talk first about what shiny object syndrome is and why we are so susceptible to it. According to Wikipedia, which, as we all know, is the source of all true information and fact. Shiny object syndrome is a pop cultural psychological concept where people focus on a new and fashionable idea, regardless of how valuable or helpful it may ultimately be. While at the moment it seems to be something worth focusing one's attention upon, it is ultimately a distraction. So, for example, making reels, creating a Google my Business profile, starting a Pinterest page, when there are other more important revenue generating activities that you could and probably should be focusing on. Another way to look at shiny object syndrome is when people mistake something small and fixate on it to the extent that they lose the big picture. So the examples that I mentioned before still apply here.
Speaker 2:You get so focused on creating your pins for your new Pinterest page that you feel like you're being productive and you feel like you're doing so much good work for your business, and so you never stop to zoom out to look at the bigger picture and maybe realize like, oh, my ideal clients aren't even using Pinterest, or oh, it takes people three to five years to gain traction on Pinterest. Do I actually have that kind of time? I read something once that said. The thing about shiny objects is that when the light is shining on them, it's hard to see anything else. And I thought that was so good, in fact, so good. I'm going to say it again the thing about shiny objects is that when the light is shining on them, it's hard to see anything else. And this is the problem. We get so focused on the distractions, we get so focused on the wrong things without the ability to zoom out and see anything else. We can't see that. It's just a distraction. We can't see that it's just a distraction. We can't see that it's not really aligned with our goals. It's about following the trends, jumping on the bandwagon, joining the next big thing in business. That seems to be what everyone else is doing without really and truly considering if it's the right thing for you.
Speaker 2:I'm seeing this a lot right now with virtual speed networking events, and maybe this is just my network, or maybe it's just like when you get a new car and you think that no one else has that car and then all of a sudden you start seeing that car everywhere. But I've been running my virtual speed networking events for almost two years now, and when I started there were very few events like mine, and the ones that did exist were terrible, and over the past few years I've really perfected it. I have learned what works and what doesn't. My events move quickly and usually seamlessly because I've been doing them for so long, and I attract a type of woman to these events because the word has gotten out over the years about who the event is for and who it's definitely not for. And now it seems that everyone, and their mother, is launching a virtual speed networking event.
Speaker 2:I have seen this with online summits recently too. That seems to be one of the next big things that everyone is doing in business now, and there are several problems that arise when you keep jumping from one big thing to the next big thing. Right, when you're on this one track of like, I'm really focused on my YouTube channel. This is how I'm going to promote myself, this is where I'm going to drive traffic to, this is where I'm going to generate my leads. But then you see, oh, melissa's doing a virtual speed networking event. It's working great for her. I should definitely do one of those. And then you see, oh, elaine did a virtual summit and it went really well for her. I should definitely do a virtual summit. Right, this is what I'm talking about jumping from the next big thing to the next big thing, and we're going to look more later in the podcast about why this is a problem.
Speaker 2:But the overarching theme that I've seen in my own business, in my friend's business, in my client's businesses, is that shiny object syndrome leads to burnout, it leads to wasted money sometimes very large amounts of it it leads to wasted time and it leads to a lot of half-finished projects that drain your energy but don't ever lead to real results. So why are shiny objects so tempting? The first is the promise of a quick win. Many shiny objects play into our desire for instant gratification, which is a totally normal desire. It's that underlying thought of maybe this will be the thing that finally works. We're tired, we're scared, we need to make money right now. Entrepreneurship is hard. See something that is marketed in a way that makes you think this thing can help me make more money faster, in an easier way. Of course you want it. The other reason that we fall for shiny objects so often is that the marketing tactics that are used don't just play on the fears and discomfort you may have as a business owner, but they also are created to trigger your FOMO.
Speaker 2:Lots of modern marketing is about urgency. You'll see this all the time. It's a limited time offer, it's about to sell out. Everyone is jumping on this deal. It's the secret to success that no one is talking about, and I'm gonna share it with you, but only this one time. Messaging like this creates feelings of scarcity and urgency, so you don't have time to stop and think, you don't have time to evaluate Is this a good idea? Is this aligned with my values and goals? Do I have the time and money to make this work? Do I actually even want to do this? You just have to jump at the opportunity and trust that, since everyone else is doing it, it must be a good idea, and that comparison is also one of the reasons that shiny object else is doing it. It must be a good idea, and that comparison is also one of the reasons that shiny object syndrome is so common.
Speaker 2:When we see the other business owners are doing on social media, it makes us think we are missing something. Wait, she wrote a book. Wait, she was a guest on that podcast. She ran a virtual speed networking event and 100 people signed up. I need to do that too. We assume that if everyone else is doing it, then maybe we're missing out. Spoiler alert we usually aren't.
Speaker 2:Look at cryptocurrency for an example. This is a terrible example for me to use because I cannot, for the life of me, understand how the hell that shit works. But I do know that there are a lot of people who jumped on cryptocurrency in the beginning, when it was the next big thing, and I know there are some people who made a lot of money by doing that. I also know there are a lot of people who lost a lot of money doing that, which tells me not every opportunity is right for every person at every moment. And just because something is working for someone else doesn't mean it's going to work for you too. Mean it's going to work for you too, and that's okay.
Speaker 2:The last common cause of shiny object syndrome, I see and this happens to me a lot is that we just have too many damn good ideas. Does anybody else have this problem? I think I have about 98 podcast episode ideas a day. I come up with about three new lead magnets in one shower. I think of things that I want to post on social media, ways that I want to promote my event, things that I want to do in the Powerful Women Rising community, people that I should reach out to to collaborate with. There's a lot going on up here, and the problem, or maybe part of the solution, is that my ideas come at a way faster rate than my ability to execute them does. Also, sometimes what seemed like a really good idea yesterday doesn't seem like such a great idea today.
Speaker 2:The bottom line is shiny objects are everywhere, including in your mind, and they are designed to pull you in. They thrive on uncertainty, vulnerability, enthusiasm and sometimes the desperation of entrepreneurs, and if you're not clear on what you really need, it's easy to fall for every new thing that comes along. So let's talk about how to recognize a shiny object, because sometimes they will come to you in very good disguises. My husband and I were having a philosophical conversation the other day about what it means to have a higher power, and we got on the topic of people who receive downloads or messages from the universe and say that they've very clearly heard God's voice telling them something, and we were questioning how do these people know the difference between intuition and divine intervention or just a thought that they were having? And people often struggle to know what is a shiny object and what is something that I actually need. Like, how do I trust myself when I think this is a really good idea? I should do this. How do I know if it's really a good idea or a distraction? How do I know if this is worth the investment or this is just another empty promise wrapped in a pretty package? So here are my best tips for detecting shiny objects.
Speaker 2:Number one check your energy and your intentions. Are you looking at this new idea from a space of confidence? Are you feeling good about where you are in your business and thinking this is something that will enhance what you're already doing, or are you feeling insecure? Do you feel like you're trying to prove something to yourself or you feeling insecure? Do you feel like you're trying to prove something to yourself or to other people? Do you feel like there is a missing piece and you are an imposter and everyone else has this missing piece except for you? Anytime you're considering a new tool or strategy, it helps to stop and ask yourself am I chasing this because I feel like I'm lacking something or because it truly complements what I'm doing? So let's say you're considering diving into paid Facebook ads If it feels like a natural progression based on your business growth. If it's well-researched, if you've been considering it for a while, it might be a good fit. But if it's coming from seeing someone else succeed with it and feeling pressure to do the same thing, then it's probably just a shiny object.
Speaker 2:The second tip is questioning the origin of the idea. So if you had never encountered that ad, that post, that sales pitch, that person, would this be something you'd be pursuing anyway? Have you been considering creating Reels for the last six months and now you've come across someone who helps make it easier? Or were Reels never even on your radar until you saw this really great ad? If you're noticing that most of your ideas are coming from social media or from ads, you might be more susceptible to shiny object syndrome.
Speaker 2:What is more helpful is getting business ideas from intentional sources like your goals or the needs of your clients, or just having conversations with your colleagues about what makes sense. As your next right step, it might be helpful for you to think about where some of your most recent ideas have came from. Look at the last two or three things that you invested in, people that you hired, courses that you bought and ask yourself where did the idea for these things come from? Was it part of my plan or was it just a random ad that caught my attention? Was it something that I intentionally sought out because I saw that gap in my business? Or was it because Sally was doing it and it seemed to really be working for Sally so I figured it would work for me too? Number three is doing a gut check. Spend a day or two thinking about the new idea without acting on it, because a lot of times the most compelling shiny objects lose their sparkle when we put a little space between them and us. When you get some space between the initial excitement and the final decision, things can look a lot clearer.
Speaker 2:And don't fall for the urgency of the sales pitch. Don't fall, for this will never come around again. Consider the source that it's coming from, right. If I have something amazing that I am selling that is going to help you so much, why would it make sense for me to only sell it one time? It doesn't make sense, right? Like that would be like if I started the Powerful Women Rising community and I was like, listen, this is going to revolutionize how you do business. This is going to change your life. You're going to feel so supported. You're not going to be lonely anymore, you're not going to be confused and overwhelmed. You're going to have all of these women to bounce ideas off of and ask questions to, and you'll have accountability and co-working and networking. And it's going to be so amazing. But you have to buy it today. I will never sell it to you again, ever again after today, like that doesn't even make sense, right? So be wary of those types of sales tactics and allow yourself to have the space that you need to think about it before making a decision. It's about training yourself to pause and observe where your desires are coming from Nine times out of 10,. If you give yourself some space, you are going to see the shine fade.
Speaker 2:Along those same lines, I want to share some other tools and strategies that I have found that will help you avoid shiny object syndrome. The first is setting clear, specific and measurable goals and then having a strategic plan for how to achieve them. There are several episodes of this podcast where we talk about strategic planning and we talk about goal setting. I will link some of those in the show notes. But I truly believe that goals are not just good business practice. They are essential for staying grounded. If you know what you're trying to achieve and you have a specific plan for how you are going to get there, it becomes much easier to filter out distractions. When you have goals that are specific and measurable and you can actually see step-by-step how I am achieving these goals, it is going to be much easier for you to filter shiny objects by saying is this something that is aligned with my goals? Is this part of my strategic plan or not? That is going to take so much mind drama away from you.
Speaker 2:My dear friend, jessica Millheiser. She's a brilliant businesswoman, she's been on this podcast several times and she is launching a strategic planning program in 2025, which I am so here for. Her strategic planning program includes a two-hour planning session in December. It includes planning and accountability sessions in January, february and March to start your year off right, and then it also includes quarterly planning and accountability sessions in April, july and August. Tracker sheets, metrics and objectives trackers. Quarterly group Zoom calls all the things that you need to stay on track with your goals and the strategy that you set.
Speaker 2:To stay on track with your goals and the strategy that you set to achieve them, and the reason I'm sharing this with you is number one it's freaking awesome and I'm totally doing it because I get distracted, just like you guys do. And number two even if you don't do Jessica's program, having some way to stay accountable to your goals and the strategy that you have created for how you are going to achieve them is going to make your life so much easier. Now, for example, if you have a goal that you want to grow your email list by 25% in the first quarter and you have a really specific strategy for how you want to do that right, for how you want to do that right, you have a lead magnet and you've decided you're gonna run paid ads to it. Or you have a lead magnet and you've decided you are going to promote it in these Facebook groups this many times a week or whatever it is. Now, anything that doesn't help grow that list is a shiny object. It doesn't mean you can never do it, but it means you're not doing it during the first quarter because it's not aligned with your goals. Strategic planning program in the show notes, if you want to check it out.
Speaker 2:I am not an affiliate. I am her friend, I am her former client, I will be her client next year and I'm a big fan, but I'm mostly just sharing it with you because I know it will be super helpful for many of you. The second way that I have found that helps me avoid shiny objects is creating some kind of a decision-making framework, so setting criteria for any new opportunities that come up that have to be met before I will even consider them. So I named some of those questions earlier in the podcast too, but they're things like does this align with my current business goals? Do I have the resources to make this work? Do I have the time, the money, the energy that needs to be put in to make this thing work? If I put the energy into this, will it distract me from something more important? I like to remind myself this mantra I am focusing on what I know will grow my business, not what might grow my business right. That is very helpful for me, because there are specific things that I know that are going to help me grow my business, and I would rather focus on the things that are for sure than the things that are possibilities.
Speaker 2:I also recommend setting up some kind of a regular review process, and this is one of the things that I like about Jessica's program, too, is because it allows you and forces you to regularly look back on your goals and remind yourself what you're working towards and evaluate if the decisions that you're making and the things that you've been doing are moving you in the right direction or if there's something that you need to tweak or a way that you need to course correct. You need to give yourself the opportunity to evaluate how is what I'm doing right now getting me closer to my main goal, and if it's not, what do I need to change? What do I need to tweak? I also recommend having some sort of an accountability partnership. This is also something I love about Jessica's program, but you can do this yourself, too, just by finding an accountability partner. This is somebody who can help you make objective decisions.
Speaker 2:I have a friend who also has made a lot of decisions without talking to me first and then be like hey, I hired so-and-so for X number of dollars and I'm like what are you doing? Why would you do that? And so we made an agreement that we were not going to invest over X number of dollars without talking to each other first, because you need that other person to remind you what you've already committed to and to give you that outside perspective. Sometimes in your mind, when the light is shining on the shiny object, that's all you can see and it seems like such a great idea. But when you have a conversation with someone and the light is not shining on the shiny object for them and they can see the bigger picture, they might have a different perspective. That is going to be really helpful for you to hear.
Speaker 2:The last thing I recommend is creating some sort of a parking lot for your bright ideas, like my VA actually created a Slack channel called Brain Dump and she made it for me one day and she was like hey, anytime you have a great idea, why don't you put it here? And it's actually been really helpful because I have a lot of ideas that I think are great at the time and sometimes, when I look at them again, I don't think they're that great. Sometimes, when I look at them again, I think this is a great idea for two years from now, not right now and sometimes I think this is a great idea and we should definitely execute on it next month. So it helps me to keep track of all my great ideas but also realize I don't have to act on them immediately. So let's do a quick recap here.
Speaker 2:Shiny object syndrome is all about the pull towards new ideas that can derail our progress. The best way to protect yourself is setting clear goals, creating a decision-making framework, checking in with an accountability partner and making space for your new ideas without having to act on them immediately. Making space for your new ideas without having to act on them immediately. Remember, not every shiny new thing is a real opportunity. Not every shiny new thing is a good idea for you. So give yourself grace, stay grounded and remind yourself that staying consistent on the right path is what is going to get you to your goals.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I hope it was helpful for you. I would love to connect with you to your goals. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I hope it was helpful for you. I would love to connect with you over on Instagram. I'm at Powerful Woman Rising and I love it when you guys pop over there and share your feedback on the podcast with me. I love to hear what resonates with you, if you have ideas for things you'd like for me to talk about in the future, if there's things that you relate to and you're just like. Thank you for letting me know that I'm not alone. I just love that we have this community here together, where we are growing together and we are staying focused. We hope today's episode inspired you to keep rising.
Speaker 1:If you love the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review. It's like giving us a virtual hug and helps more awesome women like you find the show. Click the link in the show notes to get your free list of top virtual networking events for female entrepreneurs. It's time to make real connections and grow your business with integrity and authenticity. Until next time, keep rising and stay powerful.
