🌻 Chapter 7: The Path to Building Offers We Love

(from The Compassion Reset Quest)

I was stuck on trying to figure out what chapter 7 would be on so I continued to engage the field as I was taught by Scott Perry and Joseph Robertson.

I was determined to run my workshops even if no one or one person showed up. I remained encouraged as Scott Perry often talks about:

“I know what it’s like to play and only hear the sound of one fan clapping.”

That statement lands every time.

He’s a musician and a solopreneur guide, and that one sentence says everything about persistence, humility, and presence.

Self-compassion’s common humanity principle (Kristin Neff) really helps here — the reminder that we’re not alone in the quiet moments.¹

🪴 My First Offer

In my first business (counseling) building an offer was simpler.
There was already a sort of map.

I was trained to help people, earned my license, and wrote about how I could help on my website and blog. I shared my posts across social media, and people found me because society already understood why therapy mattered (what I now see was a form of problem awareness).

Friends told friends.
Pastors made referrals.
People knew counseling could help with things like:

• Relationships

• Trauma

• Depression

• Anxiety

That built-in awareness, plus doing good work and networking with intention, helped the practice grow.

So of course, building a private practice isn’t “easy.”
But at least the trust bridge already exists.

When I Tried to Build My Coaching Offer

Then came Business for Nerds, born from our LLC.

I figured, “I’ll just do what worked before.”
I talked about what I did, earned certifications, built systems, designed a program, and launched it into the world.

And… dun dun dun!

Crickets.

Business coaching is a different animal

COMPLETELY!!!

People don’t always know why they need it, or what “coaching” even means.
And the space is crowded with spammy, overpriced, overpromising offers — so trust is thin.

I need a holiday too, Bilbo.

In hindsight, I realize I was overbuilding instead of engaging.

I made my first course before talking to the people I wanted to help.
There was some resonance — therapists do want a map for building a private practice — but I built for them, not with them.

Lesson learned. (Hindsight really is 20/20.)

Why Offers Fail

Scott Perry says offers fail when we build them in isolation.²

We dream, design, and polish, and then go looking for people who might want what we made.

It’s like buying our friend yellow flowers because we love yellow, and realizing later they don’t.

We build what we think they need, (or maybe even something WE want) instead of building something that works for both of us.

And sometimes, we do the opposite, we build entirely for others, forgetting ourselves. That doesn’t work either.

🌱 Building With People, Not For Them

Now I’m doing it differently.
I’m building with people — in public, in community, and in conversation.

I’m engaging the field,³ collecting data, reflecting, simplifying, and iterating while removing unnecessary pieces (even the fun rabbit trails) and seeking feedback again and again.

That’s how The Offer Lab is evolving: slowly, organically, through shared exploration.

I noticed resonance around this topic and people are asking:

“What even is a Forever Offer?”
“How do I build one that fits me?”

So I started following that thread.
I don’t fully know what The Offer Lab will become yet, that depends on the people who engage the field with me.

What I do know is this:

• Many of us overbuild before checking for resonance.

• We hate follow-ups, but crave connection.

• We want to sell ethically, but feel icky about selling at all.

• We want structure, but not rigidity.

That’s the messy middle⁴ we’re exploring together.

My Forever Offer

If you ask me what my Forever Offer is, the answer is simple: Me.

Everything I create — the workshops, the writing, The Compassion Reset Quest — is just a different container for that same work: helping people rebuild clarity, courage, and connection.

I don’t have to chase formulas.
I just have to keep listening, testing, and engaging the field with curiosity and compassion (self-compassion too).

That means talking to potential participants, asking for feedback, and reimagining the offer as I go.

The Rhythm of Building

The more I do this, the more I realize:
We have to build around our own rhythms⁵ — not someone else’s hustle.

Some days that looks like hosting a workshop for one person or even just for me!
Other days, it’s writing a meme about crickets and remembering that silence isn’t failure. It’s feedback.

And it may not mean that people aren’t interested, it may just mean that I need to ask the question better.

Speaking of questions:

🧪 Field Notes: The Offer Lab

As I write this chapter, I’m testing these principles in real time through something I might be naming something like The Offer Lab.

I’m imagining it as a working space for therapists, coaches, creatives, and fellow business nerds who are navigating their own messy middle.

In the Lab, we’re experimenting with offers that feel alive — testing what creates resonance and what doesn’t, learning to build with each other instead of for each other.

It’s not a finished program; it’s a shared practice.
I can’t guarantee outcomes, but I can promise support — and honest space to build offers you actually love delivering.

For now, think of the Offer Lab as a living example of everything this chapter explores:
building around your rhythms, engaging the field, and learning through connection rather than control.

✍️ Reflection, Workshops and Final Thoughts

Take a moment and write:

1. When have you heard “crickets” after putting your work out there?

2. What did you learn from that moment?

3. What would building with people — not for them — look like for you?

Workshops:

Build an Offer You Love (Part One)⁶

Build an Offer You Love (Part Two)⁷

The path to building an offer you love isn’t paved with formulas or clunky funnels. It’s shaped by resonance, rhythm, and real connection.

And even if only one fan claps, that’s still applause. 🌻

-Dr. Brie

1. Neff, K. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309032

2. Scott Perry (2023). Getting the Word Out which is a brilliant piece explaining these concepts. Also check out Transcendent Solopreneurship.

3. The Guardian Academy and Joseph Robertson. Engage the Field. This is another one of my favorite posts of all time. Also check out Growing Trees.

4. This refers to the middle of Seneca’s Barbell. Here is a replay from Scott Perry (2025) where he answers a question I asked about stick-to-itiveness through the messy and somewhat boring middle: The Barbell Strategy for Solopreneur Success.

5. This is a podcast episode I didn’t email:

6. Here’s part 1 of Build an Offer You Love:

7.