Wow, Claire, I love this piece. I absolutely agree with everything you said. The Instagram tradwives are truly their own category — they’re either already wealthy or quietly running full-scale businesses behind the scenes, just as you described. Yet people still romanticize the 1950s as if it were the happiest era of humanity.
And yes, the Substack “gurus” are no better — the ones preaching constant posting, endless engagement, and community building while never actually engaging with anyone themselves.
I’m with you that there is genuinely helpful advice out there, but a lot of what circulates is pure BS Thank you for writing this! It's honestly a must-read for every creator here.
Thank you!’ It was just starting to really wind me up that all this info is out there but so much of it is at best misleading and at worst down right deceiving.
Hard agree - I get so bloody mad with this effortless success bullshit. And I've fallen for some terrible advice over the years, too, from people who present themselves as knowing so much more
"But telling people how to growth hack their way to a successful business is only effective if the business works in the first place. Otherwise you’re just pouring water into a leaky bucket."
100% building a business is hard!!!!!! and not always exciting or sexy!!!
while i'm also not for glorifying blood, sweat, and tears -- it's also important to recognize that building a business needs more muscle than it does thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for sharing this. I hate how everything today feels “inshittified” by social media.
For example, I was watching a popular local YouTube channel about a couple who bought a farm and decided to live “the old-school way”, growing their own food, living off the grid, all that.
At first, I was intrigued. But then I started wondering: how the hell do they actually finance this?
No mention of savings or background.
Then, in one scene, I spotted a MacBook in the blurred background, and suddenly, I saw exactly where this was going.
Turns out, they make their living by documenting their “simple life” on social media.
WTF.
Nothing wrong with having to earn an income, even with social media (hey, I'm also here), but at least don’t spend 20 minutes talking about “disconnecting,” how you’ve been living without a phone for years, or how you’re not “commercial.”
Just be honest about it.
I wish one day someone would talk about the people who really don’t want to be part of the circus. But then, they would probably get popular and get onboard.
Yes - exactly it’s all just so much bullsh*t. I know that’s not true of everyone but there is really a lot out there now and it’s so easy to subscribe to their views and then feel really bad about yourself.
I experienced the same when I started writing on LinkedIn. All I saw in my feed were the people who were successful and thought you how to do the same. They were always on vacation, travelling the world, enjoying life, and making more money they could spend.
One of them got me into a sales call, promising fast success. But I noticed things didn't add up. Her calendar was almost empty despite telling me she had so many sales calls. She spent 30 minutes with me to get a fraction of what she apparently closed the day before. And when I looked into her older content she kept changing her offers and messaging constantly.
So many signs that this is deception, and to some point it might be necessary. Why would you work with someone who hasn't figured it out yet either?
What I have learned is that success is so complex nobody can give you a plan. And most of the advice you hear repeated over and over will actually hurt you more than it helps. I care more about finding my own way.
Wow, Claire, I love this piece. I absolutely agree with everything you said. The Instagram tradwives are truly their own category — they’re either already wealthy or quietly running full-scale businesses behind the scenes, just as you described. Yet people still romanticize the 1950s as if it were the happiest era of humanity.
And yes, the Substack “gurus” are no better — the ones preaching constant posting, endless engagement, and community building while never actually engaging with anyone themselves.
I’m with you that there is genuinely helpful advice out there, but a lot of what circulates is pure BS Thank you for writing this! It's honestly a must-read for every creator here.
Thank you!’ It was just starting to really wind me up that all this info is out there but so much of it is at best misleading and at worst down right deceiving.
Amen to this, influencers lie.
I love reality, and your words are exactly that. Eliminate the fake.
I’m here to write and publish and engage and grow organically. That goes for my own evolution but also whatever I have going on here.
I’ve quickly found “the real” on this site. Clearly, after reading only one piece of yours, that’s you.
Thank you!
There’s a lot of real out there but sadly quite a lot of fake too. The funny thing is you often feel at the beginning like to feel
Real you need to emulate the Fake and that was what I learnt a lot - to my cost - this year
Way more fake than real. I’m always refining, and that includes with people I engage with here. Really nice to meet you!
Gurus are the worst….All they do is prey on desperate writers.
Hard agree - I get so bloody mad with this effortless success bullshit. And I've fallen for some terrible advice over the years, too, from people who present themselves as knowing so much more
"But telling people how to growth hack their way to a successful business is only effective if the business works in the first place. Otherwise you’re just pouring water into a leaky bucket."
100% building a business is hard!!!!!! and not always exciting or sexy!!!
while i'm also not for glorifying blood, sweat, and tears -- it's also important to recognize that building a business needs more muscle than it does thoughts and prayers.
Ha yes - it’s the deeply unsexy middle of not subscribing to the hustle bro culture and also rejecting the idea it should be easy
If only it was so easy and effortless. And instantaneous. But then that would actually be boring.
Yes but as much as boring might not be viral it is generally the best way!
Thank you for sharing this. I hate how everything today feels “inshittified” by social media.
For example, I was watching a popular local YouTube channel about a couple who bought a farm and decided to live “the old-school way”, growing their own food, living off the grid, all that.
At first, I was intrigued. But then I started wondering: how the hell do they actually finance this?
No mention of savings or background.
Then, in one scene, I spotted a MacBook in the blurred background, and suddenly, I saw exactly where this was going.
Turns out, they make their living by documenting their “simple life” on social media.
WTF.
Nothing wrong with having to earn an income, even with social media (hey, I'm also here), but at least don’t spend 20 minutes talking about “disconnecting,” how you’ve been living without a phone for years, or how you’re not “commercial.”
Just be honest about it.
I wish one day someone would talk about the people who really don’t want to be part of the circus. But then, they would probably get popular and get onboard.
Yes - exactly it’s all just so much bullsh*t. I know that’s not true of everyone but there is really a lot out there now and it’s so easy to subscribe to their views and then feel really bad about yourself.
I experienced the same when I started writing on LinkedIn. All I saw in my feed were the people who were successful and thought you how to do the same. They were always on vacation, travelling the world, enjoying life, and making more money they could spend.
One of them got me into a sales call, promising fast success. But I noticed things didn't add up. Her calendar was almost empty despite telling me she had so many sales calls. She spent 30 minutes with me to get a fraction of what she apparently closed the day before. And when I looked into her older content she kept changing her offers and messaging constantly.
So many signs that this is deception, and to some point it might be necessary. Why would you work with someone who hasn't figured it out yet either?
What I have learned is that success is so complex nobody can give you a plan. And most of the advice you hear repeated over and over will actually hurt you more than it helps. I care more about finding my own way.