I've noticed something interesting lately - whenever I talk about business with creative entrepreneurs, Instagram comes up as a source of both opportunity and anxiety. While some love it and others loathe it, most of us sit somewhere in between, often feeling slightly overwhelmed by trying to manage it alongside everything else in our businesses.

Let me be upfront - I'm not an Instagram expert, far from it. But I have developed a straightforward strategy that works really well for my business without requiring endless hours or resources. Instead of letting it become a core focus, I use it as an additional tool in my marketing toolkit, and I'd love to share how I make that work.

The first thing that made a huge difference was shifting my perspective on Instagram's role in my business. While it's our main social media platform, it's not our main marketing focus - instead, it forms part of a much larger picture. My following has grown not through typical growth strategies like creating viral content or posting multiple times a day, but through word-of-mouth, brand collaborations, customer service, and genuinely enjoying direct engagement with our audience.

For all the solopreneurs reading this - I get it. For many years, I was exactly like you, juggling all the roles within a quickly growing business. Even now, with a small team supporting me, I still personally manage all our marketing, from weekly newsletters to podcast content, website updates, and social media. When you send me a DM or write a comment, that's me replying, and I wouldn't have it any other way.