Hi! I'm Stephanie! I'm passionate about building impactful partnerships, enabling businesses to grow, and making sure the social impact community thrives. With over a decade of consistently generating seven and eight figure annual revenue for companies, I understand what it takes to drive success.

Over the last 15 years working with non-profit, government and for profit businesses, I've developed a unique process for building community and generating revenue through a partnership growth mindset. I've been fortunate to develop programs and partnerships that have touched lives across the globe, from India to the United States and beyond. I've created thousands of ecosystems and opportunities that unite governments, educators, employers, and donors to make tangible change.

I believe that together we can achieve great things and am committed to paving the way for a more inclusive, impactful future.

Stephanie Wilson

This weekend I’m spending time at the ISET National Gathering, and I want to name how meaningful it is to be here.

Being in this space is a reminder that workforce development is not just about programs, funding, or outcomes on paper. It’s about people, place, and self-determination. Indigenous communities have been doing this work for generations, building pathways rooted in culture, community knowledge, and lived experience.

What stands out most is the care and intentionality behind the conversations. 

Listening comes first. 
Relationships come before solutions. 
Progress is measured not just by numbers, but by trust, relevance, and long-term impact.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn, to listen, and to be present in a space led by Indigenous voices and priorities. 

Moments like this quietly reshape how you think about the work and how you show up when you return home.

#ISETNationalGathering #ISETGathering2026 #Indigenous #WorkforceDevelopment #Community

Thanks to Jelly Academy for organizing such a collaborative space and to Digital Moment | Moment numérique for the opportunity.

Cross-Sector Growth Strategist | $100M+ in Government & Partner Funding Secured | Nonprofit • Tech • Education • SaaS | Founder – The Uplift Collective

The last five days have been full.

Full in the sense of listening carefully, asking questions, and sitting in rooms where people are genuinely trying to figure out how we do this work better.

Across different events, sectors, and conversations, the thread has been consistent.

How do we build systems that actually serve people, not just programs?

How do we prepare for the future of work without losing sight of the humans navigating it right now?

How do we move past performative solutions and into ones that are grounded, inclusive, and durable?

There’s also a reality I’m hearing more clearly now than ever.

Funding is tight. Budgets have been cut. Teams that once sent three or four people to conferences are now sending one. Many are attending virtually, not by choice, but by necessity.

I’m genuinely grateful to conferences and organizers who make that possible. Access matters. So does recognizing that for many organizations, showing up at all right now takes intention and sacrifice.

What that’s changed is the weight of being in the room.

More people are carrying insights back to their teams. 

More responsibility to listen well, synthesize, and translate what matters into action. Fewer spectators. More stewards.

The conversations I’ve been part of haven’t been about trends for the sake of trends. They’ve been about tradeoffs. Priorities. What we protect when resources are constrained.

Spending this time with practitioners, funders, educators, Indigenous leaders, and workforce builders has been a reminder of why this work matters to me.

Not because the answers are easy.

But because when conditions are tight, clarity matters even more.

It was so great to reconnect, meet new people and learn from so many amazing individuals! Until next time friends!
Wendy Baker Darian Kovacs ♾️ Allain Lauzon Mary Stack, BA, CPHR Jasmeen Sidhu, Ph.D. Allan Govender Virginia Gluska Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia Eleanor Hawkins Nausheen Ali Fatima Saadeddine, MBA,PMP,CHRP,ESPT  Jade (Jadelyn) Psutka Allison Bear BComm Barbara Wilson,🍁CCDP® Lisa Stephenson-MBA, CRSP Kelly Johnson

It was unfortunate that so many people had travel cancelled so they couldn't attend after all - I see you!

#Cannexus2026 #ISETGathering2026 #Community #NonProfit #EmploymentServices #Indigenous #Learning

We have a beautiful owl that lives in the trees near our driveway. Usually across the way. Easy to admire from a distance.

Last night, I went out to grab wood for the stove before bed and nearly jumped out of my skin. 

He was sitting right on the front porch railing. Completely still. Just watching. Probably hunting. Definitely unbothered by me.

I froze. Slowly backed into the house. Turned off the lights.

Then I stood in the dining room, in the dark, and watched him for a while.
No noise. 

Just this quiet, unexpected moment of sharing space with something wild and calm and entirely unconcerned with my plans for the evening.

It was incredible.

Sometimes the best moments are the ones that do not mean anything more than exactly what they are.

#Wildlife #NotAPhotographer #CountryLife 

Alyx Parks and Stephanie Martin - I thought of both of you immediately after it happened.

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The Uplift Collective

https://www.upliftcollective.ca/the-partnership-blueprint-five-proven-steps-for-forging-successful-partnerships

the-uplift-collective

I grew up in a small town in rural eastern Ontario.

When I finished high school, I had no idea what I wanted to be. I just knew one thing very clearly. I did not like school the way it was structured. Sitting still. Being talked at. Memorizing instead of doing.

So I took a year off after high school to try to find my way.

It felt uncomfortable. Most of my friends knew exactly what they wanted to do. Everyone was heading off to university. I felt behind. A little lost. Like I had missed some memo everyone else received.

After that year, I still did not know what I wanted to be “when I grew up.” But I did know I needed some form of post secondary education. I needed skills. I needed momentum.

I chose college and enrolled in executive administration.

It was hands on. Practical. I learned a lot. I worked three jobs to cover rent and school. I learned how to manage money because I had to. Those years shaped my work ethic and my sense of responsibility in ways I still carry with me.

After graduating, I got a job working for a municipal councillor. What started as a role turned into six formative years. It exposed me to government, policy, community, and how decisions actually get made. That path eventually led me into the nonprofit world, where I found my purpose. That part of the story is for another day.

For a long time, I was embarrassed to say I did not have a university degree.

I was screened out of jobs automatically because it was mandatory. I questioned myself more times than I can count.

Do I regret not going to university?

Yes and no.

No, because I do not think I would have thrived there at that point in my life.

Yes, because there were real opportunities I never got access to because I did not have that piece of paper.

Both things can be true.

I am sharing this because I see so many people feeling pressure to follow a single definition of success. A single path. A single timeline.

Education matters. Credentials matter. But lived experience matters too.

Learning by doing counts. Working your way through school counts. Taking a longer or different route counts.

There is no one right way to build a career.

Chart your own path. Pay attention to what energizes you, not just what looks good on paper. 

Choose the pathway that works for how you learn, how you move, and who you are becoming.

#CareerPath #Employment #FindYourOwnPath #NonProfit #Education

Photo is me from 2008, still trying to figure things out.

Some of the most valuable parts of my work live in the things I no longer consciously think about.

After years of building, reviewing, defending, and negotiating government budgets, so much of what I do has become instinctive. 

You stop noticing the hundreds of small decisions you make because you have internalized how funders think, where flexibility actually lives, and which details quietly matter most.

Recently, I had the chance to sit with that experience and write it all down. 

Not the big frameworks or the obvious rules, but the small things you only learn by doing the work. 

The wording choices that reduce scrutiny. 

The assumptions that do not need to be over engineered. 

The places where people think they are locked in, but are not.

There was something unexpectedly grounding about translating years of lived experience into something clear and usable for a client. 

Not to impress. 
Not to overcomplicate. 
Just to make the work easier and less stressful for the people doing it.

This kind of work reminds me why I enjoy what I do. 

Helping smart teams feel more confident, more capable, and less constrained by rules that often feel heavier than they actually are.

If you have ever felt weighed down by process or rules that seemed immovable, I promise there is often more room to breathe than it appears.

#BudgetDevelopment #ProposalDevelopment #NonProfit #GovernmentFunding

One thing I think everyone should try at least once is learning someone else’s job.

Not the polished version. The real, day to day work. The setup. The decisions no one talks about. The small things that keep everything moving quietly in the background.

When you work in teams, so much of that effort becomes invisible. Systems run. Tools connect. Processes exist. You rarely stop to think about how much experience and judgment it takes to make things feel that seamless.

Until those people are not there.

And you have to do one small piece yourself.

You realize how many choices live inside what once looked simple.

Lately, I am spending an absurd amount of time learning tools.
Not the exciting kind. The tiny, fiddly ones. Payment systems. Tool connections. Settings I did not even know existed.

Learning to do something you have never done before, or something that was always someone else’s role, builds more than skills.

It builds appreciation.

It changes how you show up the next time.

#ProfessionalDevelopment #GrowthMindset #Entrepreneurship

I really hate getting a no.

Not because I expect everything to work out, but because I put a lot into the work. Time. Thought. Energy. And more than that, belief. I care deeply about what I do and about the teams and ideas behind every proposal. That makes the no’s land harder than people realize.

Early on, I took them personally. Every declined submission felt like a judgment, not just of the work, but of the care behind it. And honestly, I still feel that sometimes. Loving the work makes you more exposed, not less.

What changed over time was not the feeling. It was what I did with it.

I started sitting with the no’s longer. Looking for patterns. Paying attention to what funders questioned, what they ignored, and what clarity actually meant in practice. Every no taught me something I could not have learned any other way.

That learning adds up. Today, more than 40 percent of what I work on gets approved. Not because the no’s stopped hurting, but because I stayed curious instead of shutting down.

Lately, there have been a lot of yes’s for clients. And I feel genuinely excited for them every single time. 

I also know the no’s will come again. They always do.

When they do, I will feel them. And then I will learn from them.

Because caring about the work is not a weakness. It is the reason the yes’s mean so much when they arrive.

#GovernmentFunding #BusinessDevelopment #ProposalDevelopment

I’ve learned that authenticity isn’t about having a fixed identity. It’s about staying honest as things shift.

I have spent years being the reliable one. 

The person who could hold a lot, absorb uncertainty, and keep moving anyway.

That works. Until it does not.

Because eventually you realize how much energy it takes to live up to a version of yourself that was built for other people’s expectations.

Letting go of who you think you are supposed to be does not mean losing drive or ambition. It means releasing the pressure to look a certain way while you are building something real.

Authenticity is not a reveal or a brand decision.

It is a daily choice to show up aligned, even when that alignment keeps evolving.

And that choice changes everything.

#BeTrueToYourself #Authenticity #Leadership #NonProfit #StartUp

One of the best parts of a panel on AI and the next generation at the AI Policy Conference yesterday was that it did not try to wrap anything up neatly.
Instead, it named the complexity.

AI is already embedded in education, work, and daily life. Young people are forming relationships with systems that shape how they think, learn, and see themselves. Institutions are trying to respond in real time, often without data, shared frameworks, or room to pause.

At the same time, many of the loudest predictions about jobs and disruption have not fully materialized. Change is happening, but unevenly. Slowly in some places. Abruptly in others.

What emerged was a quieter but more useful set of questions.

How do we equip young people to be creators, not just users?

How do we protect without pretending we can stop what is already here?

How do we build literacy, judgment, and human skills that remain valuable no matter how tools evolve?

There was no single answer, and that felt right.

This is long-term work. It requires humility, collaboration across disciplines, and a willingness to sit with uncertainty without defaulting to fear or hype.

If there was a through-line, it was this: the future will be shaped less by the tools themselves and more by how thoughtfully we choose to integrate them.

Panel participants:
Justin Hendrix, Tech Policy Press
Shingai Manjengwa, Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
Namir Anani, P.Eng., ICTC-CTIC
Laurent Charlin, Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
André Côté, The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University 

Thankful to Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute for access to the AI Policy Conference and for putting together such a great event!

#AIPolicy #YouthAndAI #Talent #GovernmentofCanada

Creativity is my word for 2026.

Creativity in how I approach work, rest, and everything in between.

Creative problem solving.
Creative contracting.
Creative time off.
Creative experiences.

Creativity is what lets you ask better questions instead of accepting the default answer. It is how you find options where others see constraints. It is how you design work and life in ways that actually fit.

In 2026, the only box is that there is no box.

More room to experiment.

More permission to rethink how things are done.

More trust in the idea that there is almost always another way.

Here is to a year of curiosity, flexibility, and building something that feels as good as it works.

#Focus #GrowthMindset #HeresTo2026

I never thought I would be an entrepreneur.

In fact, quite the opposite. I was convinced I did not have the “it” that founders and leaders are supposed to have. 

I wanted stability. The person who imagined working for others my whole life and being perfectly content doing that.

And for a long time, that made sense.

What I did not realize then is that entrepreneurship does not always look like taking big risks. Sometimes it looks like taking responsibility. For your values. For your time. For the kind of work you want to put into the world.

I did not wake up one day wanting to start something of my own. I arrived here slowly, through experience, through necessity, and through a growing understanding of what I needed in order to feel grounded and aligned.

Entrepreneurship was not a goal. It was a response.

And maybe that is the part we do not talk about enough. Not everyone sets out to build something. 

Some of us end up here because staying the same stopped being an option.

Did you ever picture yourself doing what you are doing now?

#Entrepreneuship #CareerFocus

Woke up to a weirdly satisfying thing this morning.

I’ve had a watch since July that tracks something called body battery. 

I’ve seen it end the day at five more times than I’d like to admit.

Today I woke up at one hundred. First time ever.

That’s it. That’s the post.

#WeekendVibes #QuietWins #SlowDown

READ THE QUOTE IN THE IMAGE!

Now read it again!

Who. You. TRULY. Are

NOT the version that feels easiest to explain.

NOT the version that keeps everyone comfortable.

NOT the version that fits neatly into a role you learned to play well.

Being yourself is not about being loud or visible all the time.
It is about being honest. With your values. With your limits. With what actually matters to you now, not who you were five years ago.

I have learned that the more energy you spend trying to meet expectations that are not yours, the dimmer everything feels. The work. The relationships. Even the wins.

The moments where things start to open up again usually come from a small shift. 

Saying no when you would normally say yes. Choosing alignment over approval. 

Letting yourself evolve without needing to justify it.

Your light is not something you manufacture.
It is something that shows up naturally when you stop hiding parts of yourself to fit the room.

And the right rooms do not require you to dim it in the first place.

#BeYourself #BeAuthentic #ISeeYou #Leadership #Teamwork #BetterTogether

One thing I keep coming back to in conversations lately is timing.

A lot of organizations are doing the right work. Strong ideas. Capable teams. Real demand. And still, things are not moving the way they expected.

Not because they are doing something wrong.

Because the system itself is in motion.

Calls are delayed or quietly reworked.
Programs get folded into other initiatives.
Priorities shift before anything ever reaches a public intake.

From the outside, it can feel confusing. Like you misread the landscape or missed a signal. In reality, the rules are still being rewritten.

This is where patience becomes strategic.

Not passive patience. Active patience. The kind where you keep preparing, strengthening, and paying attention while resisting the urge to force momentum.

A lot of the work right now is helping teams sit with that uncertainty without spiraling. Adjusting plans without abandoning them. Staying ready without trying to rush a system that is not ready yet.

Sometimes the smartest move is not to push harder, but to hold steady until the timing catches up to the work.

#FundingStrategy #GovernmentFunding #NonprofitLeadership
 #StrategicPlanning #SystemsThinking

Join an upcoming FREE workshops to better prepare for what's coming!  https://lnkd.in/e_KQt4jg

Stop beating yourself up!!!

Don’t think you do that?
Here’s what it actually looks like in real life:
- Replaying a conversation on the drive home.
- Second-guessing a decision you already made with the information you had.
 - Assuming a mistake says something about who you are, not just what happened.
 - Feeling like you should have known better, been faster, clearer, stronger.

Sound familiar?

We’ve been taught that self-criticism equals accountability.
That if we’re hard on ourselves, we’ll improve faster.
That pressure produces excellence.

But more often, it just produces exhaustion.

Beating yourself up usually shows up when expectations are high, outcomes are uncertain, and you’re carrying more responsibility than anyone sees.

It’s a signal.
The problem is that self-criticism rarely makes us better.
It just makes us smaller.

So how do you stop when you catch yourself doing it?

1️⃣  Name what’s actually happening.
 Instead of “I screwed this up,” try “This didn’t go the way I hoped.”
 Facts calm the nervous system. Stories inflame it.

2️⃣ Separate intent from outcome.
You can have good intentions and imperfect results at the same time.
Both can be true. Only one needs fixing.

3️⃣  Ask one forward-looking question.
Not “What’s wrong with me?”
But “What’s the next small adjustment I’d make if this came up again?”
That’s it. No spiral required.

If you’re trying to be a good person and you try to do the right thing, that's all that matters.

Growth doesn’t require punishment.

It requires honesty, rest, and the willingness to keep going.

And if you’re reading this thinking, “This sounds like me” then it probably is.
You’re not alone, and you’re not doing it wrong.
Be a little kinder to yourself today.

#BeKind #PersonalGrowth #FallingNotFailing #SelfImprovement #Leadership #Teamwork

You may not control the events that happen to you
 but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

That choice is one I see leaders, founders, and builders struggle with more than almost anything else.

Because a setback can quietly turn into a story about who you are.
A hard moment can shrink your confidence if you let it.
One decision, one missed opportunity, one tough season can start to feel permanent.

But it isn’t.

You’re allowed to be impacted without being defined.

You can acknowledge what hurt without letting it harden you.

You can learn from something without carrying it as proof that you’re not enough.

Resilience isn’t pretending things didn’t affect you.

It’s choosing not to let them take more than they already have.

If you’re in the middle of something heavy right now, this is your reminder

You’re still standing.
You’re still growing.

And YOU get to decide what this chapter means next.

#NonProfit #Leadership #StartUp #GrowthMindset #Resilience #NonProfitLeadership

I watched a video and could not stop thinking about how early we learn to edit ourselves.

Kids start out loud, curious, unapologetic. They ask strange questions. They take up space. They are fully themselves without checking the room first. And then, slowly, they learn when to quiet down. When to blend in. When to stop standing out.

What stayed with me is how familiar that feels in the professional world.

At some point, many of us learn the same lesson.

Tone it down.

Stick to the playbook.

Do not be the odd one out.

Over time, that sparkle does not disappear. It just gets managed. Contained. Brought out only when it feels safe or appropriate.

And yet, the work that actually moves things forward is almost always shaped by people who think differently. 

The ones who question defaults. 

The ones who see patterns others miss. 

The ones willing to sound a little strange before they sound right.

If you have ever felt yourself shrinking to fit a role, a title, or an industry norm, consider this a reminder. 

That part of you is still there. It has just been waiting for space.

BRING BACK THE SPARKLE!!

Step off the well worn path.

Nothing meaningful has ever been built by people who only followed the herd.

https://lnkd.in/emWvkws2 
His Youtube Channel to give him a follow: https://lnkd.in/ehb-AESd [I couldn't find the above video on the channel]

#BringBackTheSparkle #BeYourself #BeAuthentic

If you have ever hit a word limit halfway through answering a funder’s question, this is for you.

One of the hardest parts of writing proposals is answering every part of a funder’s question while staying inside a tight word or character limit.

Especially when appendices or extra attachments are not allowed.

You cannot skip components. You also cannot explain everything.

So when space is tight, here is a rule that helps.

Every sentence must do more than one job. Ideally three.

A strong sentence should:

 1 describe what you are actually going to do

 2 signal eligibility and alignment to the funder’s priorities

 3 imply milestones, outcomes, or credibility

If a sentence only does one of those things, it is a candidate for removal or compression.

This is how you stay compliant and persuasive without running out of room.

It is not about writing less.

It is about making every sentence work harder.

If you have ever hit a word limit and wondered what to cut, start here.

#ProposalDevelopment #GovernmentFunding #NonProfit #Charity

Growth is what you do with what happens.

That is how better decisions get made over time.

#WednesdayWisdom #GrowthMindset

One thing I wish more people understood about funded projects is how messy they usually are behind the scenes.

From the outside, a successful contribution agreement looks clean.

A defined plan. 
A neat timeline. 

It gives the impression that everything is stable and predictable.

That is almost NEVER the case.

Most funded projects are delivered while markets are shifting. 
Project timelines wobble. 
Plans get pulled forward or pushed back. 
Teams make trade offs in real time, often without the luxury of perfect information.

What funders are really assessing in those moments is not whether risk exists. It is how it is understood and managed.

Strong applications and delivery organizations are not the ones pretending everything is fine. 

They are the ones that show judgment.
An ability to adapt without overreacting. 
A plan that can flex while still holding together.

There is a skill in knowing what to surface and what to hold steady. 
In demonstrating resilience without amplifying uncertainty. 
In showing that the work will continue even when conditions are not ideal.

Funding success is rarely about having a flawless story.
It is about proving you can keep moving when the story changes.

#Resilience #NonProfit #GrowthMindset #StartUp #GovernmentFunding

Conversion Copywriting Expert ✍️ | Email Marketing 📩 | Copywriting Mentor

This is the section where you get to find out about me!

Don’t worry, I’ll just stick to the cliff notes. 

I've been a copywriter for over 10 years and still going strong.

I am also a seasoned entrepreneur and a whole bunch of other things that sound accomplished, but I know you don’t really care about.

You’re here for one of 3 reasons:

✍️You need copywriting help for your business
👻 You’re ready to have a LinkedIn ghostwriter
📈 Or, you want my daily business insights

Do these sound like you? Let’s connect!

Here’s a little more about me for the people who prefer stats:

🟢  Earned over 7-figures in the last three years as a copywriter

🟢  Named by TIME Magazine as one of Twitter’s 140 Best Twitter Feeds (my profile was ranked in between Steve Martin and Seth Meyers, and do we really have to call it X now?)

🟢  Written for countless high-profile brands like Shiseido, Blue Diamond, and the Liver King. 

🟢  Written for 7, 8, and 9-figure entrepreneurs who want to grow their personal brands on LinkedIn.

🟢 Certified Taco Bell Mexican Pizza lover (this may or may not be a real thing)

My life and career have not been a success-only journey. The setbacks, failures, and pivots are what have shaped me into the resilient entrepreneur I am today. 

What I’ve learned over the years is that time is my biggest currency, and spoiler alert: It’s yours, too.

So, stop scrolling, and let’s start working together. 😉

Anjeanette Carter

I got a DM from someone I'd never spoken to.

No introduction. No small talk. Just "I've been watching your content for months. I'm ready to work with you."

I had no idea who she was.

She'd never liked a post. Never commented. Never engaged at all.

But she'd been paying attention. Saving posts. Sending them to her business partner. Waiting until the timing was right.

This happens more than you think.

Your most engaged followers aren't always your buyers. The lurkers are.
They're watching. Deciding. Waiting for the right moment.

You'll never know who's paying attention until they're ready to reach out.

Keep posting. Even when it feels like no one's listening.

Someone is.

I help Founders & CEOs grow their personal brands: ➡ LinkedIn Ghostwriting & Management 👻 | Expert Copywriter ✍️ | Freelancing Mentor

I've been demonetized. Algorithm-killed. Platform-burned.

Built $40K/month on YouTube. Watched it vanish overnight when the algorithm changed.

And I lost everything.

I didn't have an email list. I didn't move people off the platform. 

It was years ago, and I didn't know any better. I just assumed the views would keep coming.

They didn't.

That experience taught me something I'll never forget.

Platforms are rented land. Every single one of them. Including this one.

LinkedIn is incredible for visibility. It's how most of my clients find me now. 
But I don't own my followers here. 

The algorithm could change again tomorrow. My reach could disappear.

So here's what I do differently now:

I use LinkedIn to start relationships. But I move those relationships somewhere I own.

My newsletter. My email list. Direct conversations.

I will never again build an audience I can't take with me.

Your personal brand isn't your follower count. It's not your impressions. It's the relationships you can keep if the platform disappears tomorrow.

Build here. But don't build ONLY here.

I learned this one the expensive way.

I thought AI would replace me.

So I did what seemed smart at the time. I positioned myself as an "AI-free writer." 

100% human-written content. No robots here.

I thought clients would love it.
They didn't. They left.

Not because they wanted AI slop. But because my competitors were delivering faster, cheaper, and honestly? Just as good.

I was being stubborn, not strategic.

So I made two changes.

First, I started using AI strategically. I discovered that paired with my expertise, my deliverables improved dramatically.

Second, I stopped selling just writing. I started selling writing plus growth. Strategy. LinkedIn management. The full picture.

Writing became the commodity. Growth became the value.

Now I work 4 days a week. Make more than I did working 7. 

And my clients don't care how the words get written. They care that their business grows.

The tool I feared became the leverage I needed.

My highest-paying client found me through a post with 12 likes.

My most viral post with 2K likes brought zero business.

Let that sink in for a second.

The post that "flopped" reached the exact right person at the exact right time. 

They screenshot it, sent it to their business partner, and DMed me a week later ready to start.

The post that "crushed" got likes from people who would never buy. Felt great. Paid nothing.

I used to obsess over the numbers. 
Refreshing. Watching. Measuring my worth by impressions.

Now I know better.

A post that reaches 500 people in your niche is worth more than a post that reaches 50,000 who will never buy.

The algorithm doesn't know who your ideal client is. It just knows who engaged. 

Those aren't always the same people.

So when your post "flops," ask yourself: Did it flop? Or did it just reach a smaller room of the right people?

You're not trying to go viral. 

You're trying to be discovered by someone with a problem you can solve and a budget to pay for it.

That might only be 12 likes. 
And it might be the most valuable post you ever write.

Job security in 2026:

🟢 Not your employer
🟢 Not your degree
🟢 Not your title
🟢 Your skills + your audience


(and fun fact it was my bday on Sunday 🥳)

The gym is packed the first week of January. By the 4th week, it's empty again.

The same thing happens with LinkedIn.
Everyone's posting this week. Inspired. Motivated. Ready to "finally be consistent in 2026."

By February, they've disappeared. Back to posting once a month. Or not at all.

This is actually great news for you.

Because the algorithm rewards consistency. And most of your competition is about to quit.

The people who win on LinkedIn aren't the best writers. They're not the smartest strategists. 

They're just the ones who keep showing up after the motivation wears off.

While everyone else burns out chasing viral posts, you just need to be there. 

Week after week. Saying something useful.

That's it. That's the whole strategy.

You don't need to post every day. You don't need to go viral. 

You just need to outlast the people who will give up.

Consistency isn't sexy. 

But it's the only thing that actually works.

Two years ago I was mass-applying to freelance gigs.

And honestly? It worked. 

I built a whole business on marketplaces. Made great money. Became one of the top-rated freelancers in my category.

But I was still chasing. Still pitching. 

Still competing with hundreds of other freelancers for every project. 

Still convincing strangers I was worth hiring.

Every new client meant starting from zero. Proving myself all over again.

Today I turn down clients who aren't the right fit.

Not because I got better at pitching. Because I stopped pitching altogether.

I started posting on LinkedIn. Showed up every day. Shared what I knew. Let people see how I think.

Now clients come to me already sold. They've read my posts. They know my approach. 

The DM isn't "what are your rates?" It's "I've been following you for months. I'm ready to work together."

No proposals. No competing on price. No convincing.

The marketplace built my business. The personal brand made it easy.

If you're grinding on platforms and it's working but exhausting, there's another way. 

You can keep pitching. 
Or you can build something that pitches for you while you sleep...

I don't have a sales team. I have a content library.

Every post is a salesperson working 24/7.

While I'm sleeping, someone is reading a post I wrote six months ago. 

While I'm on a call, someone is scrolling through my profile deciding if they trust me. 

While I'm on vacation, a lurker is finally ready to reach out.

I don't chase clients anymore. My content does it for me.

This didn't happen overnight. For months I posted and heard nothing. No likes. No comments. No DMs.

But I kept going. And the library kept growing.

Now when someone DMs me, they've already read 20 of my posts. 

They know how I think. They're not asking "what do you do?" They're asking "how do we start?"

That's the difference between pitching and attracting.

You don't need a sales team. You need a body of work people can find.

Every post you publish is working for you forever. Start building the library.

I've never regretted turning down a bad-fit client.

I've always regretted taking one.

↪ The red flags were there. 
↪ The gut feeling was there. 
↪ But I needed the money. Or I was flattered they wanted to work with me. 
Or I convinced myself it would be different this time.

It was never different.

The scope creeped. The communication was exhausting. 

The project that should've taken two weeks took two months. 

I made less per hour than should be legal.

Meanwhile, I was too drained to pursue the clients I actually wanted.

Bad-fit clients don't just cost you the project. 

They cost you the opportunities you missed while dealing with them. THIS is the true cost most forget.

Now I trust the gut feeling. If something feels off in the discovery call, I pass.

Not every client is your client. And that's not a loss. 

The wrong yes costs more than the right no.

I used to celebrate every new follower.

Now I celebrate the DM that says "I've been watching you for a year."

Because that's where the money actually comes from.

The people who like and comment on every post? Rarely buyers.
The people who never engage but read everything? Those are your clients.

They're watching. Saving posts. Sending them to their business partner. Waiting until the timing is right.

You'll never know they exist until they're ready.

My best clients never liked a single post before reaching out. 
They just said "I've been following you for months. I'm ready."

Stop obsessing over follower counts. Start creating for the lurkers.
They're the ones who actually pay.

To everyone starting 2026 unemployed or miserable at work: 
You don't need another job. You need three clients. 

The fractional economy is waiting for you.

If you want help building your LinkedIn to land clients, tap 'View My Newsletter' for my free guide.

Someone is reading every single post you write.

They've never liked. Never commented. Never shared. 
You have no idea they exist.

But they're there.

They found you three months ago. Maybe six. They've read almost everything since. 
They screenshot the posts that hit. 
They've visited your profile more than once.
They're just not ready yet.

Maybe the budget isn't there. Maybe the timing's off. Maybe they're still convincing themselves they need help.

But when they're ready? You're the only person they're going to call.

This is how it actually works.

The likes don't pay you. The lurkers do.

I've had clients DM me after watching my content for over a year. No engagement. No interaction. Just silence. 

Then one day: "I've been following you for a while. I'm ready."

That message doesn't come if you stop posting.

Every post you publish is a deposit into a trust account you can't see. You won't know it's working until the DM hits.

So when the likes are low and it feels like no one's paying attention...remember someone is.

Keep posting for them.

The hotel leaves a chocolate on your pillow. 

It costs them 10 cents and you remember it for years.

Small touches build loyalty.

A quick check-in email when you're not asking for anything. A voice note instead of a text. Remembering something personal they mentioned three months ago.

These things take seconds. But they're the reason clients stay.

Most freelancers focus on the big stuff. The deliverable. The deadline. The final product.

And then they wonder why clients leave for someone cheaper.

The freelancers who stay booked aren't always the most talented. They're the ones who make clients feel like they actually matter.

Send the random check-in. Remember their kid's name. Celebrate their wins even when it has nothing to do with your project.

Your clients have options. Lots of them.

The little things are why they choose you. And keep choosing you.

I said yes to a project that looked perfect on paper.

Fair rate. Simple scope. One landing page. Easy peasy.

Then I met the founder.

He couldn't get to the point. Every call turned into an hour. He wanted to "think out loud" and "bounce ideas around."

One landing page. But the messaging kept changing. New ideas every call. "What if we tried this angle instead?"

What started as a fair rate turned into free consulting. Because I didn't protect my time.

The scope didn't creep. The conversations did.

I finished the project. Never worked with him again.

Now I watch for the signs. 

The client who "just wants to chat" before every deliverable. 
The founder who treats every call like a brainstorm session. 
The person who can't make a decision without adding three more questions.

Fair rates mean nothing if all your time is spent talking in circles.

Scope your projects. But also scope your conversations.

You'll spend 20 minutes picking a Netflix show.

But won't spend 20 minutes updating your LinkedIn profile.

Your profile is working 24/7. 

People are checking it before they reach out. Before they book a call. Before they hire you.

And most profiles haven't been updated in years. And they usually aren’t even updated for maximum impact.

The good news? It won't even take 20 minutes. 
I’ll help you do it in 10.

I put together a free 10-Minute LinkedIn Fix that walks you through exactly what to change.

Tap "View My Newsletter" to grab it now.

I've reinvented my business three times in five years.

Version 1: Took any project from anyone. Copywriting, emails, websites, whatever paid the bills.

Version 2: Freaked out about AI. Niched down. Became known for one thing. Started charging more.

Version 3: Stopped selling services. Started selling strategy and growth.
Each pivot felt like starting over. Each one scared me.

But the alternative was worse. Staying comfortable while the market moved on without me.

The freelancers who stay stuck aren't less talented. 

They're just holding onto a version of their business that stopped working.
What got you here won't get you there.

The market changes. Clients change. AI changes everything. You either evolve or you get left behind.

Your business isn't supposed to look the same in year 5 as it did in year 1.

AI can write copy. AI can't have coffee with your client.

↪ AI can analyze data. 
↪ AI can build you a website in 10 minutes. 
↪ AI can do 80% of the tactical work faster than you ever could.

But AI can't DM someone who's been following you for a year. 

AI can't remember that their kid just started kindergarten. 

AI can't sense when a client is going through a rough quarter and needs some grace.

Everyone's worried about being replaced by technology. But the things that actually win clients can't be automated.

Trust. Relationships. The feeling that someone actually gets you.

That's your moat.

I've lost count of how many clients told me they chose me because they'd been reading my content for months. 

Not because I was the most qualified. Because they felt like they already knew me.

That's what a personal brand does. 

It builds relationships while you sleep. It creates trust before the first conversation even happens.

Everyone's learning AI. Almost no one's learning how to be more human.
That's the opportunity.

The freelancers who win in 2026 won't be the ones with the best AI tools. 

They'll be the ones who stay human while everyone else automates.

I make money from LinkedIn in four different ways.

Most people think of LinkedIn as a place to find clients. That is 100% true. 

But it's just one income stream. I've built four.

1. Clients who find me through content. They read my posts for months. Then they DM ready to buy. No pitching. No convincing. Just "I've been following you. Let's work together."

2. Sponsored posts. Brands pay me to talk about their products to my audience. The bigger your reach, the more you can charge.

3. My newsletter. LinkedIn grows my email list. My email list has paid subscribers plus sponsors. That's recurring revenue I own.

4. Referrals from people who share my posts. Someone shares my post. Their network sees it. One of them needs what I offer. I get a client from someone I've never met.

Same platform. Same content. Four different ways it pays me.

One platform. Four income streams. 
And I'm probably leaving some on the table I haven't figured out yet.

2023 I was scared to post. 
2024 I posted inconsistently. 
2025 I showed up every day. And it worked. 
2026 I'm doing it again.

The only thing that changed was consistency.

Not my talent. Not my offer. Not some secret strategy.

I just stopped disappearing.

Most people post for two weeks, see nothing happen, and quit. They don't realize the algorithm needs time to learn who you are.

The people winning on LinkedIn aren't better than you. They just didn't stop.

2026 is the year to outlast everyone who's going to give up in February.

I've posted every day for 2 years. Still haven't run out of ideas.

The number one thing I hear from founders is "I don't know what I'd even post about."

You do. You just don't see it yet.

Every client conversation is content. The question they asked you last week? Post about it.

Every mistake is content. The project that went sideways? Post about it.

Every win is content. The result you got for a client? Post about it.

Every opinion is content. That thing you believe about your industry that others disagree with? Post about it.

You're sitting on years of experience, insights, and lessons. 

That's not an empty tank. That's a goldmine you haven't tapped.

You're not lacking ideas. You're lacking the habit of seeing your work as content.

Start paying attention. 

You'll never run out.

And I’m here to help prove it to you.

taplio

The Battle

Stephanie Wilson

Anjeanette Carter

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreStephanie Wilson's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAnjeanette Carter's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Stephanie Wilson

Anjeanette Carter

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Stephanie Wilson's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAnjeanette Carter's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreStephanie Wilson's LinkedIn Performance