How to Grow a Business You Love with Lindsay Dotzlaf
- Amy Traugh
- Jul 11
- 18 min read
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You Get to chose to Bulild a Business You Love
How to Build a Business That Actually Feels Good (Instead of One That Just Looks Good)
You didn’t start your business to feel stuck in strategies that drain you. But somewhere along the way, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that you’re the one in charge. In this episode of The Metrics Maven Podcast, I had a conversation with certified master coach Lindsay Dotzlaf about what it really looks like to build a business that fits you—not just what the industry says “should” work.
Here’s what came up during our honest and refreshing conversation.
1. The “Shoulds” Are Loud—but You Get to Choose
So many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of following someone else’s blueprint—even when it doesn’t feel good. Lindsay shared this reminder that hit home:
“I didn’t start a business just to do things every day that I don’t like.”
Truth is, if the strategy you're using feels like a chore, it’s a sign to pause and reassess. You don’t need to force your business to fit someone else’s mold.
2. Slow Down Before You Say Yes
That adrenaline rush you get from a sales page? It’s not always your intuition—it might just be pressure. Lindsay encourages us to slow down and ask:
Does this actually align with what I’m working on right now?
Is this the way I like to work?
Am I making this decision from pressure or from possibility?
Being intentional before you invest your time, money, or energy can save you from a lot of second-guessing later.
3. Not Every Strategy Is Your Strategy—and That’s Okay
What works for someone else might not work for you. And that’s not a problem—it’s the point.There’s no universal “best way” to grow a business. There’s just the way that works for you.
Trying to fit into someone else’s strategy can actually slow down your growth. The real power comes from leaning into your strengths and designing systems that feel sustainable—because simple is what’s sustainable.
4. Take What Serves You, Leave the Rest
Lindsay shared a mindset shift that can take the pressure off when joining programs or consuming new content:
“I’m going to find what’s for me and leave the rest.”
You don’t have to follow everything to the letter. And if a part of a strategy doesn’t feel aligned, it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong—it just means it’s not your way. Use what fits and let go of the rest.
Final Thought
The most successful, sustainable businesses aren’t built from copying someone else’s strategy. They’re built by entrepreneurs who trust themselves enough to make intentional decisions—even if those decisions go against the industry grain.
So the next time you find yourself wondering, Should I be doing it like her?, flip the question:Do I even want to?
You’re not here to follow someone else’s path. You’re here to create your own. One that feels good, grows sustainably, and actually supports the life you’re building.
You’re the CEO. You get to choose. And that’s a beautiful thing.
If this post resonated with you, this is exactly what I help clients with inside Metrics Mastery. Get started for free at amytraugh.com.
Until next time, stop guessing and start growing.
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Transcript for Episode 425. Ditch the “Shoulds” and Grow Your Business
@0:17 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
You get to choose. Building a business on your terms is something that we forget so often as entrepreneurs that we have the choice.
There's so many things that we see in the online space that we should be doing this. We should be doing that.
But at the end of the day, it really comes back to building a business that you love and on your terms.
And in today's episode, our special guest, Lindy dot left, is a certified master coach who helps coaches be amazing at what they do while designing a business they love.
And Lindsey, I'm excited for this conversation because I feel like This is something you said you've noticed in the online space.
I've noticed it too. There's all these shoulds out there. But yet we forget at the end of the day that we actually have a choice to build a business that we love.
@1:16 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
Yes. Oh my gosh. First, thank you for having me on. This is so fun. And can we just talk about your podcasting voice?
How great it is? Thank you. Not this morning while listening to one of your episodes. I was like, your voice is made for podcasts.
Yes, it's so good. Just had to throw that in there. But yes, I, this is something that I talk to my clients about so often.
Literally this morning I had a call, a short session with a client. one of the things that we, that I said to her during the session was, you know, I didn't start a business and put all of this work into it to just do things every single day that I don't like to do.
Like that doesn't make any sense, right? It's my business. I'm the one running it. And that was really it.
It's so. Yes, but I think just me saying it when she was talking about like, here's the strategy, I'm thinking of using for this, you know, she's building something new, and it was like, here's the strategy, and she was already not looking forward to every single piece of it.
And so I just had to kind of pause her and say, like, wait a minute, why are you doing something that you already have decided you're not going to like to do every day?
@2:23 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah, definitely. We forget all too often that we do have a choice and that there really are no rules when it comes to there being a right way and a wrong way to build a business.
Why do you think that is that we lose the fact that we do have a choice?
@2:39 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
That's a great question. I think probably a couple of things happening all at the same time. One piece of it probably is when you start a business, especially if you've ever owned a business before, there's so much to learn all at once, right?
There's the owning the business, there's running the business, there's just all the pieces of it and managing all of the things.
And so when you see maybe some fancy marketing or some, you know, something that looks like, oh, this could really be useful.
Maybe that's what I need to do. I think it can be really easy to just kind of latch on to it, not in a necessarily bad way, but just in a way that's like, oh, hopefully this is going to be the thing that makes this part of my business work and I can just do it and it's just going to work and it's going to be easy.
And I think sometimes that can lead to forgetting to question, is this for me? Is this the way I want to do things?
Is this the way that makes sense for the way I like to work?
@3:35 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah, it really comes back to the power of why, you know, why am I doing what I'm doing? And when you take the time as a business owner to pause and ask yourself that, isn't it kind of crazy, the things that you realize and see and it's, oh, wait, yeah, and sometimes you need someone like yourself to call you out on this, to be that pure and say, okay, this is what you're saying.
This is the reality. But why? Because that's where we take our power back when we realize that we get to choose and that's powerful.
@4:08 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
Yeah. I think especially in the online space, if you're ever in a group, any kind of group program or group, really anything right where it's like you kind of are in this world, everyone's doing the same things, using the same types of strategies, teaching similar things.
can become like, oh, obviously this is like the way, the right way. And what I promise or anybody listening is that that might be true and it might be true that that way works, right, for people that that way works for them, but you could definitely also find another community that's doing it, doing things in a different way, using different strategies that are also working.
And this is something that I just try to tell my clients all the time is just, you just have to remember that there's not one right way that just works for everybody.
@4:54 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah. Yeah. There's so many hidden opportunities that are right in plain sight that we forget because we get so thick.
stated on that one thing that has to be this way. And like you said, then we start jumping from thing to thing to thing because we're drawn in by a lot of those fancy marketing tactics that you mentioned.
And it's easy to go down that rabbit hole and think that that one thing is going to be the solution to my problems.
How can someone really assess, well, is this maybe the best investment for me? Is this the person that can lead me to the results that I want?
@5:28 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
advice can you give us for that? Yeah, I think let's see. I feel like there's so many rabbit holes.
@5:35 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
can go down to answer this question.
@5:38 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
But one thing first, I'll just say this, this doesn't answer it exactly, but it's kind of a tangent to it.
So I'll go ahead and say it now, because this comes up often in many spaces that I'm in. It's just to consider any, when you do join a program, a coaching program of, you know, strategy program, like whatever it is that you're taking part in to just remember that it could be this.
and things are for you and some aren't. Right? So anytime I'm joining a new program to learn something new or a new course or you know buying a course my thought going in is always I'm gonna find what's for me and leave the rest.
And I think that that can be just a really powerful tool if you're already involved in a program or course that you're like I don't know like you know and maybe shaming yourself because you're not doing it 100% the way that it you know here are the steps and you're not doing all of them or whatever.
To just consider like sometimes some pieces of it may not be for you.
@6:54 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
So I think the biggest thing probably is just to notice. when you have that urge, right? When you see maybe an ad or you get an email about a thing or you, you know, whatever it is, whatever it is that you're learning about this new thing.
And there's that immediate kind of, right? the, whatever the promise result is, you have a kind of reaction to it.
Your body has a reaction to it. And you immediately might like, oh, this is the thing. It's not even a logical thought maybe, right?
It's just like that I have to join this so that I can have these results. And sometimes that might be true.
It might be a great fit. might be the exact program that you're looking for or a course or coach or whatever it is that you're buying.
And sometimes it could just be that urge in the moment. And I think if you can slow down and really question, is this for me?
Is this actually what I'm working on right now? I know I've had that experience where I'm like, oh, I like buy a course and then I'm like, I'm not even really gonna participate in this because it's not even on my schedule until like six months from now.
Like why did I buy this thing? You know, is it what I'm working on right now? Does it align maybe with my values, with the way I like to work?
Does it align with who I am as a human? Does it align with the way I like to learn?
And the way my brain works, right? some people it's like they might buy a course something that just like doesn't align with maybe a particular neurodivergence or a, you know, anything or their values or something like that.
And I think the number one answer to this is so simple, but it's like just slowing down and asking yourself those questions before you hit buy.
@8:38 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah, that's so powerful, slowing down. Because we're living in a world that's going a million miles in a minute and we are constantly inundated and flooded with information.
And it's like, we do, we make these like emotional buying decisions and we question like, why didn't I even, I don't have the time or capacity, even interest to learn this.
Like we're. Yeah. I do not want to learn SEO. That is not my thing.
@9:03 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
No interest. Yes, it can generate results. That's not my thing.
@9:08 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
But there's other people that absolutely love that. So really being intentional and slowing down, like you said, it's so simple.
But we need that reminder often because we do get into this impulse buying move because we're looking for that instant gratification.
Now for the business owner that is like, you know what? I've been in business a while and I'm just not getting the results that I want.
What advice would you give them? Because we forget the gratification in the online space isn't necessarily instant like we'd like it to be.
@9:42 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
It would be so much more fun if it was, right?
@9:47 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
But I think probably the biggest thing is first, just remembering. You take your brain with you everywhere. This is one of the coaching and I think it's such a powerful.
Tool, because no matter what strategy you're using, matter what, you know, fancy course program, whatever it is that you're buying in order to solve all your problems, you have to remember you're taking your brain with you.
So to really again, slow down and question, like, why do I really think it's not working? It doesn't usually just come down to like, I'm just using the wrong strategy.
That could be certainly a piece of it or part of it or one that's not, you know, especially if you're using something that's not aligned with how you like to work or who you are.
But to just kind of slow down and say, what, first what does not working mean, right, because for some people that it might really be, sometimes people say that to me, I'm like, okay, let's question this.
Is it really not working? Which pieces aren't working, are there just specific little pieces or is it everything altogether?
So to just question that first, and then to say, okay, what specifically are the pieces that aren't working? and how do I, before you go look outside of yourself and say like okay here are all these hundreds of options that people want to sell me to just kind of question yourself like why do I think it's not working?
Like what are my answers to that? Before going, I think that'll help, that helps people stay out of the like oh I found this thing like this is obviously the magic pill that's going to just turn it all around.
It'll really help you be more purposeful with your search for a solution.
@11:28 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah that's great advice because before looking outside yeah we've got to turn and look within and I find that a really powerful way for me is by turning down the noise.
Like when I'm really like starting to feel overwhelmed to me let's face it. I'm still, I'm five years in at this point and I still go through periods of time where it's like wait a minute should I be doing this?
Should I be doing that? It's like why? So it's such a powerful thing and it sounds so blatantly simple and obvious but it's not.
It's such a powerful thing that he can use. And part of growing this business on our terms that we love is knowing when some signs start to pop up that maybe things are a little bit out of alignment.
Can you give us some insight as to what some of those red flags may be that things are starting to turn in a direction that we really don't love our business and may even start to resent our business.
What are some of those things that would pop up that can kind of oh yeah maybe I do need to slow down.
@12:30 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
Maybe I need to ask myself why. Yeah I see this a lot with my clients. I think it shows up in a few different ways.
One is when clients come to me and say I just really don't feel motivated to show up for my business every day or however you know on the days I'm supposed to be working I just really don't want to do it.
And especially if they're like things they used to like to do I don't like to do anymore or you know coaching my clients for example used to be my favorite thing.
And now it's like I dread, you know, showing up for coaching calls. I think anything like that when you're starting to feel that way is definitely a red flag to take a step back and say like, okay, what's going on here?
Like what's creating this? And then another one is if you feel like there's something you've been trying for a long time, like a certain strategy that you know other people maybe are using that you're like, okay, if I just keep going, eventually it has to work as usually not true from what I've seen in my experience, you know, I've had a lot of clients again come to me with that, that kind of thinking of like, oh, but I just have to keep going.
And they just do the same thing over and over and over. And I think that's just so detrimental to your business maybe, but to you as a human, right?
just do the same things over and over and over and they never work and your confidence eventually is going to start taking a hit every time that you keep doing it and it's just not working instead of really slowing down.
Questioning like how, what are, what's a different way I could achieve these results that I'm, that I'm going for?
@14:07 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah, I mean, it comes down to the definition of insanity.
@14:10 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
It's doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting different results.
@14:14 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah. that's where people like you are really, really helpful in the online space and just in business in general, having that outside perspective of someone that can bring these things to the surface.
lot of times we bury it down in the busy, in the hustle and bustle of every day. Well, if you're traveling a hundred miles an hour down the road, but you're headed in the wrong direction, you're not going to get to your destination any quicker.
So that's why it's so important to have coaches, mentors, even people within masterminds that you trust, that you can get that honest feedback that can reflect back to you that mirror so you can figure out what are those limitations that I
@16:00 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
coach project, which is where I just help people like break things down into project sizes. But one thing I teach is you can turn any goal into a project.
And I think that it's so useful to just take a bigger goal, right? So a lot of people have maybe a yearly business goal or just like an overall like my big business goal.
And when you focus on that, I think it can get really easy to be like, oh, it's just not working.
Just a blanket, right? Like it's not working versus when you break it down into a lot smaller pieces and get a lot more specific about here's really what I'm working on right now for the next quarter, for the next three months, for the next however long, even if you're going to still be working on that thing, the next quarter, maybe two, but just to break it down into that chunk and get very specific about what are the steps, what am I working on, what are the goals, like what's, what am I hoping to, you know, where am I hoping to land at the end of this, can be just really useful versus just the bigger overall, like nothing is working.
thoughts.
@17:01 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah, we're really simplifying to amplify. Because when we're focusing on all of the things all around us, it's so easy to do the kind of cute quit.
Like where we're just like, yeah, I'll get to it tomorrow. I don't feel motivated today. I just really don't want to show up today.
And we just start selling ourselves short. But I love how you talk about having these like, let's break them down into these itty, bitty chunks, because that's doable.
And what that does to give us a us that dopamine hit along the way. I know back when I was first starting my business, one of the things that I had to do was really break down that big goal because I had a huge goal.
@17:40 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
Like, I'm one of those people, I'm like, I'm going to dream like these audacious dreams that like everybody looks at me like I'm crazy, but that's okay.
doesn't have to make sense to them.
@17:49 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
But it literally started with something as simple as from the first minute I wake up, what do I need to do?
And I was always a person that would hit this news button. And what was I doing? I was. myself up for failure from minute number one.
Like, oh, this is an important to me. No, I need to show up for myself. If I want to step into this version of myself that I desire to be and have the success that I want, I'm hitting the snooze button.
Like, it's just crazy when you think about those micro chunks and how powerful they are because it's those little things that add up to these big results.
So thank you so much for like shedding some light on that for us.
@18:30 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
Yeah. Yeah. And I think that it's, you know, when you say this news button, I think it's this is such a good example of what we're talking about, right?
That could be such an easy thing for people to hear and think like, oh, okay. So the magic solution is to just get up on time and maybe early or like whatever every day.
That's going to change all the things. And you could replace that example with literally anything, anything when it comes to business that you think like, oh, here's like the magic solution.
And I think the more important question, Other than like, or besides what is the solution, it's like, but why does that like for you, for example, right?
like, what does that do for you when you honor your work when you get up when you say you're going to get up versus hitting snooze?
Like that creates something for you that is then carried on into the rest of your business, the rest of your day, the rest of your, you know, life, like whatever, and you can apply that to anything that you choose to do or anything that you know that any of the listeners like choose to focus on, you always want to just ask that question like, but why?
Like, what's the thing behind it that's creating the results? Because for someone else it might not be not hitting this button, right?
They might be like, yeah, I mean, I get up when my limb goes off every day, like, whatever, but there's a there's something behind that that like drives a lot of other, you know, things throughout the day and the and your weak and all the things.
@19:55 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah, it's so powerful. And have you ever heard of the exercise? I think with Dr. Peterson was the first one to come up with it, and there have been many iterations of it.
It's that asking yourself at the levels of why. Like, okay, so I want to be a seventh-year earner. Okay, but why?
Why is that important to me? And like, that is such a cool exercise that if you were listening to this and you're like, I don't even know what I want and why I want it, like, just start there.
So just Google it. Dr. Jordan Peterson, why exercise?
@20:26 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
And it's really powerful because it gets to that core root. Why?
@20:31 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Yeah. And that's so important on the days where we just don't feel motivated because it's face that, you know, motivation, there's an habit of flow to it.
There's days when you wake up and you're like ready to tackle the world. And there's days and it's like, that's bad.
It's really comfy today. It's one that's nuggle, especially when it's cold.
@20:48 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
The other degree is outside.
@20:50 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
The kids have a snow day.
@20:51 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
Like, I want a snow day, but yeah.
@20:54 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
Oh, Lindsey, this was awesome. You shared so many golden nuggets. That's just... that really help us to stay focused and build a business that we love.
How can we get into your world and learn more about you?
@21:10 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
Several ways. I think probably the best way is to listen to my podcast, Mastering and Coaching Skills. is where most of my work goes, where people interact with me the most.
other than that, you can follow me on Instagram.
@21:23 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
I keep everything simple, just my name. Anywhere you go, it's at Lindsey Dotsloff on Instagram or my website, LindseyDotsloffCoaching.com.
I love it. Lindsey, thanks again for being here today.
@21:36 - Lindsay Dotzlaf (Lindsay Dotzlaf Coaching)
I appreciate you so much.
@21:37 - Amy Traugh (Amy Traugh)
This is a lot of fun. And until next time, stop guessing and start growing.
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