How to Explain What You Do (When You Do Many Things)
You're at a gathering, talking to someone new, and then it comes. The question that makes your stomach do a little flip: "So, what do you do?" Your mind instantly becomes a tangled knot. Do you mention the coaching? The design work? The course you built? The community you manage?
Each one is a piece of you, but none of them is the whole you. So you default to the safe, vague answer: "I have an online business." The words hang in the air, hollow and unsatisfying. You see the flicker of confusion in their eyes before they politely nod and change the subject.
And you're left with that familiar, frustrating feeling: I sound like I don't know what I'm doing. For years, I believed this was a personal failing. I thought my "graveyard of past attempts" was proof I lacked focus.
But I've learned the truth: The problem isn't that you're multi-passionate. The problem is you're trying to explain your activities instead of your purpose. You don't need a narrower niche. You need a wider lens. You need to find the one common thread that weaves through everything you do.
The Shift: From Job Title to Core Problem
The most successful, quietly confident people I know don't lead with their job title. They lead with the problem they are obsessed with solving. This is the key. Your "Onlyness" isn't a single skill; it's the unique way you see and solve a specific, recurring problem for others.
When you can name that problem, you give people a hook to hang all of your various skills on. You give them a story they can understand. As I've learned from watching the quiet experts: "Simple systems beat complicated strategies. This applies to your business model, and it applies to your message." Instead of adding more labels, we need to eliminate the noise and find the signal.
Quick Win: Find Your Unifying Thread
Let's find your core problem right now. This isn't about choosing one passion over another. It's about finding what they all have in common. Ask yourself these three questions:
The "Friend Test": What problem do your friends, family, or past clients consistently bring to you, no matter what your job title is at the moment? (Is it tech confusion? Creative blocks? A lack of confidence?)
The "Common Enemy": Across all your skills--writing, coaching, designing, creating--what is the common frustration you help people fight? (Examples: Overwhelm, Complexity, Confusion, Procrastination, Invisibility).
The "Energy Test": Which transformation gives you the most satisfaction to witness? What "after" state makes you feel most alive? (Examples: from confused to clear, from stuck to started, from hesitant to confident).
Your answer is the unifying thread. It's the core problem you were put here to solve. For me, the thread is complexity. I help people fight complexity. Whether I'm teaching AI, building a course, or outlining a business plan, my core purpose is to make the complex feel simple and actionable.
Your Turn: Craft Your "Problem-First" Answer
Look at your answers. Now, the next time someone asks what you do, try this simple formula:
“You know how [people you love to help] struggle with [the core problem]? Well, I help them solve that."
“You know how talented artists struggle with feeling overwhelmed by the business side of things? Well, I help them solve that."
"You know how smart women over 50 often feel invisible online? Well, I help them solve that."
It's clear. It's confident. And it invites a follow-up question: "Oh, how do you do that?" And that is when you can share the specific ways you help--your coaching, your courses, your community. You haven't caged yourself. You've built a front door.
Having this clear, confident answer is a huge relief. But the real magic happens when that clarity infuses everything you do. What if this "unifying thread" became the DNA for your entire brand? Next week, we're going to do exactly that. We'll build your Content DNA—the foundational message that ensures you never have to wonder what to write about or how to explain your value ever again.
P.S. Know another brilliant, multi-passionate entrepreneur who struggles with this question? Please forward this email. Clarity is a gift we can give each other.