Strategy Starts With Self-Leadership
Clients tell me all the time that the word strategy feels intimidating - too rigid, too corporate, or overly complicated.
Earlier this week, I spoke with a woman who literally cringed when I mentioned strategic planning. She said, “I don’t want my business to stop feeling joyful. It’s not a machine that’s only about money.”
I get it. Strategy was never meant to feel like a cage.
Real strategy is simply a reflection of how you think, what you value, and the choices you make every day. When your plan reflects who you are, it starts to flow. You feel lighter, more focused, and more in control of your time and energy.
Here are four ways to build a strategy that feels grounded, genuine, and true to you.
#1: Know What You Actually Want and Why
Creating a strategy starts by knowing who you are, what you want, and why.
When we were kids, our dreams were limitless. One day you might have wanted to be a teacher or an astronaut. I wanted to be a singer. We didn’t think about what was realistic; we just allowed ourselves to imagine.
Somewhere along the way, we started asking what was practical instead of what was possible. But when you build your strategy around safety, you keep yourself boxed in.
A few months ago, I was working with a client named Sarah, a brand designer who had built a beautiful business but was completely burned out. She kept saying she wanted to “grow,” but when we unpacked it, what she actually wanted was space: time for creative projects, slower mornings, and weekends with her family.
It’s a pattern I see often. We chase goals that look impressive but don’t align with what we truly want.
Before you map out any plan, pause and ask yourself: What am I really working toward? And more importantly, why does it matter to me?
Takeaway: Your first job in self-leadership is to give yourself permission to want what you want and believe it’s worth building.
#2: Build Structure That Supports You
So many people believe structure will make them feel confined. But structure isn’t about control. It’s what actually creates flow.
When you lead yourself well, you design systems that take the millions of things spinning in your head and organize them into something that supports your vision and gives you room to breathe.
Recently, we created a new process in my business that moves seamlessly from idea to planning to podcast and beyond. Everyone knows their role and what to focus on. That structure gives me freedom to focus on what I love most - creating content that serves and supports you.
And the same goes for life outside of work.
I mark myself out of the office every evening so I can make dinner and spend time with my family. I block certain mornings for exercise, and I walk with a friend once a week. If you haven’t prioritized it and it’s not on your calendar, it won’t happen.
Takeaway: Supportive structure transforms chaos into calm that makes everything feel lighter and more doable. When everything has a place and a rhythm, you free yourself to show up fully for what matters most.
#3: Set Goals That Match Your Desire and Capacity
Think back to the last time you set goals for your business. Maybe you created a beautiful vision for the year ahead, but then realized you weren’t sure you actually had the time or energy for all of it.
When I run Strategic Planning for Solopreneurs, my upcoming goal-setting workshop in December, we always start with desire. What do you most want for your life and your business? Then we layer in capacity.
We have to understand the time, energy, and bandwidth you realistically have to bring that vision to life. That combination - desire and capacity - is the first step to creating sustainable success.
Over the past two years, living through a war here in Israel, there were times when my capacity was limited. Acknowledging that allowed me to prioritize what mattered most.
First, showing up for my family, then showing up for my paying clients. That was my strategy. In other seasons, I’ve had more energy and longer days, and my strategy reflected that.
This kind of self-honesty is leadership. It keeps your business aligned with your real life, not some imaginary version of it.
Takeaway: When your goals match both your desire and your capacity, you lead yourself with truth.
#4: Choose Marketing That Feels Genuine
Your marketing should feel like you.
I often talk about what I call your communication love language, or the natural way you express yourself and connect with others. When your marketing aligns with how you genuinely like to communicate, it stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like connection.
If you love teaching, create workshops where you can walk people through practical frameworks.
If you’re a storyteller, try podcasting, blogging, or writing articles.
If you thrive on connection, focus on community and networking events.
When you build relationships from an authentic place, your marketing begins to grow naturally. You stop showing up to sell and start showing up to serve, to connect, and to let people see who you really are.
Takeaway: You don’t have to be everywhere. You just have to be where your people are and where you feel most like yourself.
Getting to the Heart of a Strategy That Works
Strategy is about having clarity and confidence to make decisions that fit your life and your business.
When you lead yourself well, business feels steadier, clearer, and more energizing. You create from confidence instead of comparison, and everything starts to fall into place.
If you’re ready to bring this kind of approach into your business, join me for Strategic Planning for Solopreneurs. This live, hands-on workshop will help you create your roadmap, align your strategy with your life, and build momentum that lasts.
You can save your seat at rachel-lubchansky.com/strategic-planning.
Because when your strategy grows from self-leadership, it doesn’t just change your results. It changes how you feel leading your business.
Want to dive deeper into self-leadership?
Tune in to the podcast episode where I unpack self-leadership and share more stories and practical examples.
Listen now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.