Experiments That Don’t Land… And What To Do Next
You try something because it looks smart on paper, or because you’re genuinely curious… and then the signals are clear. It’s not it. The skill isn’t quitting or muscling through. It’s deciding what to keep, what to cut, and how to make your next move lighter.
1) Shrink to your zone of genius
Doing “everything” is a fast road to doing nothing well. If the project only works when you become copywriter, strategist, designer, and web dev in one, it’s not a business model, it’s a burnout plan. Trim to the part you can do in your sleep, productize that slice, and let the rest go. The right clients will come for the thing you’re best at.
Try this: list every step you owned in the last big project. Circle the 1–2 steps that felt like breathing. Build your next offer around only those.
2) Let market reality overrule dream math
A premium container still needs a premium fit. If your people don’t value the bells and whistles you’re packaging, don’t force it. Keep the transformation, change the delivery. Often the value is in focused decisions and breathing room, not in pampering features or an unrealistic timeline.
Try this: ask five past clients, “What part of this outcome mattered most, and what could we remove with zero loss?” Then rebuild the container to emphasize that.
3) Rebuild the container, not your credibility
When an idea stalls, you don’t have to start from zero. Keep the insight, change the format. A course that isn’t getting traction might become a short, decision-heavy workshop with coworking baked in. Same expertise, less friction, faster wins.
Try this: turn your next curriculum into a 90-minute “decide and do” session. Teach for 20, decide for 20, work for 40, confirm next steps before anyone leaves.
4) Beta like you mean it
Validation happens with constraints. Cap seats, price for learning, timebox delivery, and collect feedback the moment the session ends. You’re testing the container, not your worth. If it works, stack iterations. If it doesn’t, you just bought clarity at a discount.
Try this: pre-sell 5 spots to your waitlist with a clear promise and a single outcome. No portal. No overbuilding. Debrief within 24 hours.
5) Capacity is a strategy input
Right-fit work at the wrong time still creates drag. Protect the delivery of your new experiment by saying no to overlapping commitments, or by explicitly lowering the polish while you learn. Communicate it, then honor it.
Try this: write a one-paragraph “scope guardrail” you send with confirmations: what’s included, what isn’t, what gets priority if capacity gets tight.
If this resonates, the longer conversation behind it lives in my podcast. This article was inspired by a special mixtape episode featuring designer Rachel Lee and coach Tracy Stanger, plus my own story of scrapping a course and rebuilding the delivery for real momentum. Listen for the full context and guest links at the end of the episode.
