{"webUser":null}
Audioboom logo
{"flashNotices":[]}
Podcast logo
Listen & subscribe

Messy Business helps solo business owners think better, not just know more.

Every week, host Libby Langley takes a piece of conventional business wisdom, internet advice, or entrepreneurial aspiration and explores the messy truth behind it.

From 10K months and niching down to hiring, scaling, productivity, confidence, and business coaching, each episode examines where these ideas came from, why they've become accepted wisdom, what makes them appealing, and what often gets overlooked.

The goal isn't to tell you what to do.

It's to help you make better decisions about what's right for you and your business.

If you're tired of conflicting advice, overthink every decision, and want to find your own way of doing business, you're in the right place.

New episodes every week.

Want more?

šŸŸ” Visit libbylangley.com
šŸ“™ Read Life In Business
šŸ’¬ Find me on LinkedIn or Instagram (@libbylangley)

libbylangley.com

Messy Business - with Libby Langley

Libby Langley - Business Consultant
Entrepreneurship
196 episodes
195: The Messy Truth About Business Advice | #195
There is no shortage of business advice. Scale your business. Build passive income. Automate everything. Charge your worth. Invest before you're ready. Post more content. Build a personal brand. The problem isn't that any of these ideas are automatically wrong, the problem is that they're often presented as universal truths when they're anything but. In this episode, I explore some of the mo...
28m • Jun 18
28m
194: The Messy Truth About Being a Capable Business Owner | #194
Smart people have a unique talent. We can see opportunities everywhere, absorb huge amounts of information, understand multiple sides of an argument, and build a very convincing case for almost anything. Useful? Absolutely. But it can also create some unexpected problems. In this episode, I explore why capable business owners often end up making decisions that look a little strange from the...
27m • Jun 11
27m
193: The Top 10 Mistakes Small Businesses Make | #193
After working with more than 7,500 business owners over the years, I've noticed that most business problems aren't nearly as unique as we think they are. People often come to me convinced they need more clients, better marketing, a new website, or a completely different strategy. Sometimes that's true. More often, the real issue is hiding somewhere else. In this episode, I'm sharing 10 of the...
27m • Jun 04
27m
192: Work That Looks Good v Work That Gets Results | #192
I've spent an embarrassing amount of time moving things one pixel to the left in Canva. I've rewritten websites. Reorganised systems. Created new things. Tweaked old things. Rearranged business furniture that didn't actually need rearranging. The problem is that a lot of business activities feel productive. You can spend an entire day doing them and finish feeling busy, diligent and hardwork...
26m • Jun 01
26m
191: When Business Noise Is Making You Doubt Yourself | #191
Do you ever get that nagging feeling that everyone else in business is somehow further ahead than you? Like theyā€™ve figured something out that youā€™ve missed? Maybe theyā€™re launching shiny new things, talking about big numbers, showing up everywhere online, and meanwhile youā€™re wondering whether your own business is a bitā€¦ behind. I want to talk about that this week, because I think this feel...
27m • May 28
27m
190: Why More Clients Isn't the Answer | #190
Do you more clients, or do you actually need a better business structure? This episode is for the business owner who thinks the answer is more people through the door, when the real issue might be pricing, delivery, boundaries, or the clients already in the business. More clients sounds like the obvious answer. More clients means more money. More money means everything gets easier. Lovely ide...
27m • May 21
27m
189: Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should! | #189
Just because you can do something in your business, does not mean it belongs there. This episode is for capable business owners who can turn their hand to loads of things, then wonder why their business has become harder to explain, sell, and run. Being capable is useful, obviously. But it can also be a massive nuisance. You learn quickly. You can build the tech. You can create the workshop. ...
27m • May 14
27m
188: Are You Stuck, or Are You Avoiding Something? | #188
Are you really stuck in your business, or are you avoiding the thing you already know you need to do? This episode is for the business owner who keeps saying they feel stuck, when the real issue might be a decision, a conversation, or a change theyā€™d rather not face yet. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about stuckness. That horrible feeling of not knowing what to do next, not knowing how to move...
26m • May 07
26m
187: AI Isn't the Problem. Sounding Like Everyone Else Is | #187
Starting to notice that everyone sounds the same online? Same tone, same structure, same slightly polished way of saying things that all blur into one? This episode is for anyone using AI in their business who doesnā€™t want to disappear into that. The issue isnā€™t AI itself, itā€™s how itā€™s being used. Thereā€™s a lot of content out there now that reads the same. Emails, posts, even podcasts that f...
27m • Apr 30
27m
186: When Your Business Is Doing Your Head In | #186
Is your business starting to do your head in, even though it looks like itā€™s all going fine? This episode is for the business owner whoā€™s getting more and more irritated by how their business runs. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about that point where things just start to grate. Nothing is obviously wrong. Youā€™ve got clients. Money is coming in. From the outside, it all makes sense. But day to ...
27m • Apr 23
27m
185: Before You Start Something New, Listen to This! | #185
Always starting new things in your business? New offer, new lead magnet, new niche, new plan, new idea that feels absolutely genius at 10pm? This episode is for the business owner whose brain is full of ideas, but whose business is starting to feel cluttered, scattered, and harder to run because of them. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about the habit of starting something new every time somethin...
27m • Apr 16
27m
184: Your Business is Working. So Why Do You Hate It? | #184
Ever found yourself thinking, my business is technically working, so why do I resent half of it? This episode is for the solo business owner who looks fine on paper but feels fed up, boxed in, or just irritated by the way their business actually runs. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about something that can feel quite hard to admit out loud: sometimes a business can be successful enough, busy eno...
27m • Apr 09
27m
183: Debunking the Internet's Favourite "Business Success" Myths | #183
Do you ever feel like youā€™re doing business wrong because youā€™re not up at 5am, posting non-stop, buying every course, or building some ridiculous funnel with 47 moving parts? This episode is for anyone whoā€™s tired of being told thereā€™s one right way to run a successful business. In this episode, Iā€™m pulling apart some of the internetā€™s favourite business success myths and saying what probably...
27m • Apr 02
27m
182: Why I Walked Away from "Success" | #182
In business, weā€™re taught that success should look like constant growth. Bigger offers, bigger programmes, more clients, more moving parts, more visible proof that things are working. And sometimes that does work. Until it doesnā€™t. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about a version of success I built, lived, and eventually walked away from. Because from the outside it looked impressive. The money w...
27m • Mar 26
27m
181: Do Less but Better | #181
Thereā€™s a lot of noise in business telling you to do more. More content, more platforms, more effort, more everything. And at some point, it just becomes exhausting. In this episode, Iā€™m bringing it back to something much simpler. Doing less, but doing it better. Not as a shortcut, and not as an excuse, but as a deliberate way of running a business that actually works for you. Weā€™re talking a...
27m • Mar 19
27m
180: When Your Income Drops, is it a Money Problem or a Decision Problem? | #180
When income dips in business it is very easy to assume the problem is money. But often the real issue sits somewhere else entirely, often in the decisions behind the income. In this episode I look at the chain of decisions that impact revenue in a small business. Offers, pricing, marketing, and consistency. When those decisions become tangled or uncertain, income tends to wobble as well. I a...
26m • Mar 12
26m
179: #179 Overthinking is Costing You More than You Realise
Overthinking can look like diligence. It can feel responsible. Like youā€™re being careful, thoughtful, strategic. But in reality, it often becomes one of the most expensive habits in business. Not just in money, but in time, energy, momentum, and confidence. In this episode I talk about the hidden cost of overthinking and why it can slow down capable business owners who already know far more ...
27m • Mar 05
27m
178: #178 Why JOMO Beats FOMO in Business
FOMO - the fear of missing out - has become so normal in business that most of us barely question it. It shows up as that low-level pressure to post more, launch more, join more things, and generally keep up with everyone else. But all it really does is scatter your attention and disconnect you from yourself. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about JOMO - the joy of missing out - and why deliberat...
28m • Feb 26
28m
177: #177 10 Ways to Simplify Your Business that Actually Make a Difference
Complexity has somehow become a badge of honour in business. More tools, more plans, more content, more ideas - and then more guilt when you canā€™t keep up with the very thing you created. In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m talking about why most capable business owners donā€™t need more strategy, they need less friction. This isnā€™t about stripping everything back to some unrealistic minimal...
27m • Feb 19
27m
176: #176 You Don't Have to Pretend Everything's Perfect
If youā€™re the "Iā€™m fine" one (even when youā€™re falling apart inside), this episode is for you. Iā€™m talking about the exhausting pressure to perform competence in business - always sounding sorted, always polished, always upbeat - and why that performance layer is one of the fastest routes to burnout (even when nothing is technically wrong). This episode is about presence over polish, honesty ...
27m • Feb 12
27m
175: #175 Running a Business When the World Feels Too Much
In this extra episode, I talk openly about what it really looks like to run a business when the world feels overwhelming, frightening, and chaotic. This isnā€™t about ā€œbeing resilientā€ or pushing through; itā€™s about steadiness, sanity, and staying connected to yourself when everything around you feels shaky. I reflect on how global events seep into our nervous systems, why this affects our capac...
27m • Feb 10
27m
174: #174 The Problem with Motivation
Motivation gets an unhealthy amount of hype. In this episode, Iā€™m discussing why motivation is an unreliable (and often unhelpful) thing to chase, and what to pay attention to instead if you want to actually move forward in your business without forcing yourself into a performance. This isnā€™t about ā€œtry harderā€ or ā€œpush throughā€. Itā€™s about realistic positivity, a bit of readiness, and buildin...
27m • Feb 05
27m
173: #173 When Your Capacity (and Energy) are Low
In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m talking about capacity - what it actually is, how it feels when itā€™s low, and why pushing through isnā€™t always the answer. šŸŸ  Motivation and capacity are not the same thing. You can want to do the work and still not have the mental, physical, or nervous-system capacity to hold it - and that doesnā€™t mean youā€™re uncommitted or doing anything wrong. šŸ§” I shar...
27m • Jan 29
27m
172: #172 Finding Your Sweet Spot in Business
People talk a lot about ā€œfinding your sweet spotā€ in business, as if itā€™s a destination you eventually arrive at once youā€™ve tweaked enough, learned enough, or built the perfect offer. In this episode, I talk honestly about why that idea kept me stuck for years, and how Iā€™ve come to understand my own sweet spot not as something I had to create, but something that was revealed once I stopped fo...
28m • Jan 22
28m
171: #171 The Mental Weight of Digital Clutter
Digital clutter isnā€™t just a bit annoying. Itā€™s cognitively demanding - the invisible weight you carry around in the background that slowly drains your focus, decision-making, and energy. In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m talking about the mental load of digital clutter: the tabs you never close, the old offers you donā€™t run anymore, the Canva designs youā€™ll never use, the dusty folders c...
27m • Jan 15
27m
170: #170 Starting Again When You Don't Know What's Next
Itā€™s January 2026 and the internet is screaming fresh start! and big year energy! - but this episode is the quieter truth underneath that. Because sometimes the most honest place you can be in business is this: you know what canā€™t continueā€¦ but you donā€™t yet know whatā€™s replacing it. In this episode of Messy Business, I share what itā€™s actually felt like to close my main programme at the end ...
27m • Jan 08
27m
169: #169 The Return to Creativity: Letting Joy Lead Your Work
This isnā€™t a strategy episode. Itā€™s a wondering-out-loud episode. An episode about curiosity, colour returning to things that felt grey for far too long, and what might happen if we let joy, not pressure, lead the way. In this episode of Messy Business, I talk honestly about how fun kind of left the business room. How work became performance, value became output, service became self-sacrifice,...
27m • Jan 01
27m
168: #168 Making Space for What Matters
This episode is being released on Christmas Day - and if youā€™re listening today, Iā€™m really glad youā€™re here. Whether youā€™re hiding from chaos, peeling potatoes, avoiding small talk, or simply enjoying some quiet, this one is for you. This isnā€™t an episode about planning, goal-setting, or using the time between Christmas and New Year wisely. Thereā€™s no strategy here. Instead, this is a breathi...
26m • Dec 25, 2025
26m
167: #167 A Really Honest Review of 2025
This isnā€™t a shiny year-in-review. Itā€™s the truth. Iā€™m sharing the most honest reflection Iā€™ve ever recorded - a look back at a year that stretched me, broke me open, and forced me to finally accept myself in ways Iā€™ve been talking about for years but hadnā€™t truly lived. I talk candidly about the emotional, physical, and practical weight of 2025 - from a country that feels heavier and more di...
27m • Dec 18, 2025
27m
166: #166 What Happens When You Stop Forcing It?
After 14 years in business, something finally forced me to stop - burnout, shingles, and life all colliding at once. The surprising thing is when you stop pushing, things donā€™t fall apart. They soften, they slow, and you begin to hear yourself again. In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m sharing what truly happens when you stop forcing your business forward and give yourself space to just be....
27m • Dec 11, 2025
27m
165: #165 14 Things I've Learned from 14 Years in Business
Fourteen years in business - and about fourteen thousand lessons along the way. In this milestone episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m sharing the 14 biggest things Iā€™ve learned since starting out in 2011, from burnout and boundaries to creativity, capacity, and what success really means. I talk candidly about my own burnout this year, how easy it is to drift out of alignment even when things look f...
29m • Dec 04, 2025
29m
164: #164 When Progress Feels Boring
Things are going fine. Youā€™ve got clients, your systems are working, and youā€™re not firefighting every five minutes - so why does it all feel a bitā€¦ flat? In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m talking about the part no one ever mentions: the quiet middle of business. The bit that isnā€™t thrilling, but is actually a sign that everythingā€™s working exactly as it should. Weā€™ll look at why your bra...
24m • Nov 27, 2025
24m
163: #163 Why Doing Less Feels So Damn Hard
You know youā€™d feel better if you slowed down - so why do you keep piling more on your plate? In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m exploring the resistance we feel when we try to do less, and why simplicity can feel so uncomfortable (even when we know itā€™s what we need). I talk about where that resistance comes from - the stories weā€™ve absorbed about worth being tied to productivity, the fea...
23m • Nov 20, 2025
23m
162: #162 When You've Outgrown the Way You Work
That feeling when your business still looks successful on paper, but something about it just doesnā€™t fit anymore? This episode of Messy Business is for you. Youā€™ve changed. Your energy, priorities, and boundaries have all evolved - but your business might not have caught up yet. Iā€™m talking about what it means to outgrow your way of working, how to spot the signs (like dreading calls or feelin...
24m • Nov 13, 2025
24m
161: #161 The Messy Business Manifesto
Perfection isnā€™t the goal - peace is. In this final episode of the Messy Business rebrand series, Iā€™m sharing the heart of what this podcast stands for: the Messy Business Manifesto. Itā€™s a collection of ten truths about what it really means to build a business that fits you - and a reminder that success has nothing to do with having it all together. I walk you through each of the ten Messy Bu...
25m • Nov 07, 2025
25m
160: #160 Rethinking the Way You Work
You left your 9ā€“5 for freedom - but does your business now feel just as restrictive as your old job? In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m exploring how we unconsciously recreate the very structures we were trying to escape, and what it really takes to design a business that gives you the life you wanted in the first place. I share the story of how I accidentally built myself another job - c...
26m • Nov 06, 2025
26m
159: #159 The Four Foundations of a Solid Business
If your business feels unsteady, confusing, or like itā€™s taking more than it gives - this episode is for you. Iā€™m walking you through the four foundations of a solid business base: Belief, Alignment, Structure, and Ease. These are the cornerstones of my Rebootcamp (https://libbylangley.com/rebootcamp) framework - and the key to rebuilding your business so it finally fits you. Weā€™ll talk about ...
25m • Nov 05, 2025
25m
158: #158 When Your Business Feels Out of Sync
If your business feels heavy, misaligned, or like itā€™s draining you - itā€™s not you, itā€™s your business. In this episode of Messy Business, Iā€™m talking about what really happens when you and your business fall out of sync (and how to get back on the same page again). Youā€™re not flaky, inconsistent, or lazy - even if it sometimes feels that way. Whatā€™s more likely is that your business simply do...
26m • Nov 04, 2025
26m
157: #157 Welcome to MESSY BUSINESS!
Welcome to Messy Business! It feels so good to say that. After 156 episodes of Life in Business and Unstuck, this new chapter is all about embracing the beautiful chaos of running a business - and finally letting go of the idea that you need to have everything perfectly together to succeed. In this episode, I share why the podcast has evolved, what Messy Business stands for, and how it connect...
24m • Nov 03, 2025
24m
156: #156 You're Not Too Niche - You're Not Niche Enough!
Ever worry that if you niche down too far, youā€™ll scare people off or have no one left to sell to? In this episode of Unstuck, Iā€™m breaking down why thatā€™s a total myth ā€” and why youā€™re probably not niche enough. Weā€™ll talk about the real reason so many business owners resist specificity (spoiler: itā€™s usually fear, FOMO, or people-pleasing) and how broad, vague offers are the reason your mark...
25m • Oct 30, 2025
25m
155: #155 The Flaw in the ā€˜Know, Like, Trustā€™ Theory
Youā€™ve probably heard the phrase ā€œknow, like, and trustā€ a thousand times ā€” itā€™s the golden rule of marketing, right? But thereā€™s a crucial fourth step that everyone forgetsā€¦ buy. Because no matter how loved, trusted, or respected you are, if no one actually buys from you, you donā€™t have a business. In this episode, I dig into whatā€™s missing from the classic know, like, trust model and how to ...
27m • Oct 23, 2025
27m
154: #154 Has Your Audience Friend Zoned You?
You know that awkward moment when you realise people love your content, open every email, and tell you youā€™re brilliant ā€” but they still donā€™t buy? Yep, thatā€™s the business friend zone. In this episode, Iā€™m unpacking why that happens, what it really means, and how to shift from being ā€œnice to haveā€ to being seen as essential. I share my own experience of building a business full of trust but n...
26m • Oct 16, 2025
26m
153: #153 What to Do When You Hate Marketing Yourself
Do you secretly hate marketing ā€” or feel completely frozen when it comes to putting yourself out there? Youā€™re not alone. For many solo business owners, marketing feels awkward, overwhelming, or downright terrifying. But hereā€™s the truth: thereā€™s no one ā€œrightā€ way to do it, and you can find an approach that actually fits you and your business. In this episode, I break down where the fear of m...
28m • Oct 09, 2025
28m
152: #152 Why 'Go Big or Go Home' is a Trap (and What to Do Instead)
Ever felt like if youā€™re not chasing 10K months, six-figure launches, or scaling at lightning speed, then youā€™re somehow failing? That unspoken pressure to ā€œgo big or go homeā€ is everywhere in the online world ā€” but itā€™s also a trap that can leave you exhausted, paralysed, and disconnected from what you actually want. In this episode, I share why Iā€™ve moved away from the hustle of huge goals, ...
27m • Oct 02, 2025
27m
151: #151 What Happens When You Outgrow Your Clients
What happens when you realise youā€™ve outgrown your clients ā€” or the way you work with them? It can feel scary, uncomfortable, and even disloyal, especially when these are the people whoā€™ve helped you build your business. But sometimes, the truth is that youā€™ve evolved, your needs have changed, and the services or relationships that once lit you up no longer do. In this episode, I share my own ...
27m • Sep 25, 2025
27m
150: #150 How to Combat Boredom Without Breaking Your Business
Feeling bored in your business doesnā€™t always mean itā€™s time to burn it all down. In fact, boredom can be a sign youā€™re craving more creativity, variety, or challenge ā€” not that you need to start from scratch. In this episode, Iā€™m sharing why boredom often has more to do with the way youā€™re running your business than with the work itself, and how small shifts can reignite your interest without ...
27m • Sep 18, 2025
27m
149: #149 The Hidden Cost of Saying "I Should Just be Grateful"
Have you ever told yourself you should ā€œjust be gratefulā€ for what you have? On the surface it sounds positive ā€” even virtuous ā€” but thereā€™s a hidden cost to gratitude when it becomes a muzzle. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about the quiet guilt that can keep you stuck in situations that donā€™t truly make you happy, and why being grateful and wanting change can absolutely coexist. I share the ch...
27m • Sep 11, 2025
27m
148: #148 How I Knew I'd Never Work for Someone Else Again
Do you remember the moment you realised you were never going to work for someone else again? That powerful, spine-tingling moment when you knew you were done with the corporate world for good? In this episode, Iā€™m sharing my own journey ā€” from selling pom poms to the neighbours as a child, to walking out of my last job and starting my business from scratch. I take you through the early signs t...
27m • Sep 04, 2025
27m
147: #147 Why You Don't Need Ā£10k Months (or 10,000 Steps) to Succeed
Weā€™ve all heard them: 10,000 steps a day. Ā£10K months in business. The magic numbers you ā€œmustā€ hit if you want to be successful. But what if these targets are nothing more than marketing myths ā€” and chasing them is actually holding you back? In this episode, Iā€™m breaking down the surprising truth behind the 10,000-step rule (spoiler: it was invented for a 1960s Japanese marketing campaign, no...
27m • Aug 28, 2025
27m
146: #146 How a Fear of Judgement Can Keep You Stuck
Have you ever stopped yourself from doing something in your business because you were worried about what other people might think? Whether itā€™s strangers on the internet, a partner who doesnā€™t quite get it, or family members whoā€™ve always made you feel ā€œless than,ā€ the fear of judgement can be paralysing. In this episode, Iā€™m talking about how that fear shows up ā€” from shrinking your ideas to ...
27m • Aug 21, 2025
27m

Sorry, your browser isn't supported.

We recommend upgrading to the latest Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

You can visit our support center if you're having problems.