106: Why Your Business Has a Ceiling
The most important work in your business is the work nobody sees
For almost 3 years, I had a “successful” business that was actually keeping me small.
I was so identified with my tools - with the energy work as the thing I did - that I forgot to shine the transformation I was actually passionate about creating.
I was hiding behind my technique instead of owning my gift.
People came to me because the technique worked. And because it worked, I could keep hiding. I could stay safe behind the science, the methodology, the proven results.
I didn’t have to risk being seen for who I really was or what I truly offered.
But hiding behind your tools comes with a cost.
Mine looked like this: not wanting more clients because of time constraints, but also not being able to expand financially. No bigger vision to orient my present actions, so I was always dealing only with what was right in front of me.
The feeling of being stuck in the same cycle instead of watching my business evolve.
I was helping people, sure.
Getting results, definitely.
But I was serving whoever showed up instead of being clear about who I was meant to serve. And deep down, I knew something was off.
The Building Rising Slowly
From one of my windows, I can see a construction site where they’ve started building a high-rise. I’ve never had the chance to watch construction daily like this. It’s been fascinating.
They started months ago. The building is still mostly underground.
At first, I wondered what was taking so long. But the more I watched, the more I saw the order of operations. The way they organize materials so they don’t block passage for other work. The teams working in different areas simultaneously, each task supporting the others. The synergy of it all.
Some days it looks like nothing is happening. Workers are in one area doing something I can’t see, and at the end of the day, there’s no visible progress. But then the next day, a bigger structure appears above ground - something I can actually see.
All that invisible work was preparing for what would become visible.
And my mind connected it immediately to how we build businesses.
The foundation work happens underground. It’s not pretty. Nobody sees it. It doesn’t make for good Instagram content. But without it, everything that comes later will crack.
What Foundation Actually Means
I spent six plus months in deep conversation with Phil building the foundation of Sacred Business Flow.
Six months that felt very little was moving.
But underneath, we were building:
Clarity about the transformation we provide - not the tools we use, but the actual end result we help people reach.
The people we serve - knowing our audience with clarity
A pricing structure that serves the business - not just covers costs, but actually supports the vision we’re building toward.
Simple offers that talk to each other - not random services, but an ecosystem where each part supports the whole.
Understanding timing - knowing some desires aren’t meant to manifest right now. They need the right order of operations. There are things to build before you launch your book or your first retreat.
This is the work nobody wants to do.
It’s not sexy.
It doesn’t feel productive.
Your mind wants to see results - the building rising up, the clients coming in, the money flowing.
But your soul isn’t rushing.
It’s whispering: Pause. Breathe.
What’s your unique take on this?
Look within - you are enough.
Look at all the experiences you’ve had and how qualified you are to serve.
The Frankenstein Business
Here’s what happens when you skip the foundation work:
You end up with what we call a Frankenstein business. Multiple offers that don’t talk to each other. They’re not a continuation, not part of an ecosystem.
I do energy work here. I teach yoga there. I also sell a tarot deck. I coach on health stuff over here.
All beautiful things. All YOUR pieces.
But fragmented.
And that fragmentation? You feel it in your body.
That scattered energy, that sense of doing a lot but not really building anything. That exhaustion from switching between too many identities.
The market sees it too. They can’t understand what you do or who you help because you haven’t connected the dots yourself.
I see this constantly - talented practitioners with multiple certifications, offering six different services, wondering why nothing is getting traction.
They’re decorating the building before the foundation is set.
They’re choosing colors for the lobby while the ground beneath is still unstable.
Going Back Down
When I finally asked for help - three years into my “successful” business - I had to go back down to the foundation level.
I had to get honest about what I was actually building. Not what I thought I should be building, or what would be easiest to sell, but what was trying to emerge through me.
That meant looking at the ceiling I’d hit and asking: Why can’t I grow beyond this point?
The answer wasn’t about better marketing or more clients.
It was about not having a strong enough foundation to support anything bigger.
My pricing couldn’t scale because it wasn’t built on my worth - it was built on what felt “reasonable.” My offers couldn’t expand because they weren’t rooted in a clear transformation - they were rooted in my techniques. My vision couldn’t grow because I had a shallow one - I was just responding to whoever needed help.
The foundation work isn’t just strategy. It’s the continuation of your inner work.
It requires feeling into what’s true. Talking to your higher self. Letting your essence guide the structure. Opening your heart enough to dare to build something that matters to you. Having faith to hold a beautiful vision and take action with the information you have now.
The Work Underneath
I won’t lie - foundation work is hard.
From the outside, nobody sees much progress. You’re not launching anything. You’re not making sales. You’re just... thinking, feeling. Asking questions. Getting clear.
It can feel frustrating, especially when you see others posting about their big launches or how fast they grow their audience.
But here’s what I learned: I thought I was saving money by not asking for help. But the cost of not doing this work first was higher than if I’d gotten support from the beginning.
The time I spent stuck at that ceiling. The clients I served who weren’t fully aligned. The energy I wasted on offers that didn’t connect. The vision I couldn’t see because I was too close to my own blind spots.
That cost more than any investment in getting it right from the start.
Different Buildings, Different Foundations
Each business requires a different foundation.
It depends on how big you’re building. How many people you want to serve. What kind of transformation you’re creating. What audience you’re meant for.
Are you a leader expanding the limits of what’s possible? Or are you playing it safe within the existing neighborhood?
Even before putting it all into a plan, creative thinking is required. And creative thinking takes energy.
It’s the silence. The questions that arise. The doubt in your own mind. The gaps you start to close.
This is the work. It’s in the foundation.
Your vision determines what basic structure you need. And going deep into your structure is what allows your vision to expand.
The Invitation
Maybe you’re new to this and feeling overwhelmed by all the things you think you need to do.
Or maybe you’ve been playing this game for years - like I was - and you’ve hit a ceiling. You feel stuck in the same cycle. Your business isn’t evolving the way you thought it would.
Either way, it’s probably time to revisit your vision and your structure.
Not your website design. Not your social media strategy. Not your email funnel.
Your foundation.
Ask yourself:
What am I actually building?
Am I clear about the transformation I provide, or am I hiding behind my techniques?
Are my offers fragmented pieces of me, or are they part of a cohesive whole?
Do I have a vision big enough to orient my present actions?
Am I decorating the lobby while the foundation is cracking?
Notice in your body:
Where does it feel scattered? Where are you spreading yourself too thin across too many things that don’t connect?
Where does it feel solid? What part of your work makes you feel most alive, most YOU?
Here’s what I know:
You can’t skip the foundation work. You can try - I did, for three years. But eventually, you’ll hit a ceiling that forces you back down to the ground level.
The question is: will you choose to do it now, with intention and support? Or will you wait until the building can’t rise any higher?
The construction workers outside my window aren’t rushing.
They’re building something that will stand for decades. They’re doing the invisible work first, knowing that what comes later depends entirely on what they’re building now.
Your business deserves the same care.
Your vision deserves a foundation strong enough to hold it.
And you deserve to build something that doesn’t require you to hide behind your tools or fragment yourself into pieces.
The real work happens underground. It’s not glamorous. But it’s where everything begins.
With Love,
Carolina
Happenings
Wonder Questions Call
We’d love to invite you to experience something we offer our Sacred Business Network members - our monthly Wonder Question gathering.
This one’s on us.
Each month, we gather to explore the deeper questions of creating sacred business. No typical business talk. No strategy sessions. Just space for authentic conversation about how everything connects in your work.
This month we’re exploring a Wonder Question from “The Way of Mastery” by Jayem. It’s a practice one of our mentors taught us - you drop a question into your awareness like a pebble in still water, then watch what ripples through your experience.
Last month, people showed up and it was powerful. Real conversations. The kind where you remember why this work matters.
We’re opening this call to you because we want you to experience the energy of this community. Come feel what it’s like when heart-centered entrepreneurs gather without agenda, without pressure - just curiosity and connection.
From that space, you can sense if stepping in more deeply with us feels right.
When: Wednesday, Oct 15 at 11:30 AM EDT
Come as you are. Bring your questions, your heart, and your willingness to explore.
See you Wednesday,
Phil & Carolina
P.S. - This is what we create together in the Sacred Business Network. If it resonates, we’d love to have you join us.
Here is what I want to share this week …
Who Are You, Really?
How often do you ask yourself the question Who am I?
Your entire reality — the opportunities you attract, the clients you call in, the results you create — is built upon how you answer that question.
Neuroscience now confirms what mystics have always said: your brain acts in alignment with the identity you believe yourself to be. Once the mind accepts a self-image as true, it automatically filters perception, emotion, and behavior to maintain coherence with that identity.
That’s why people who say “I’m an alcoholic” often relapse — not because they lack discipline, but because their nervous system is wired to stay congruent with that belief.
The same happens in business.
If deep down you believe “I’m the savior,” you’ll attract clients who need saving and situations that drain you.
If you believe “I’m not good with money,” your decisions will unconsciously prove that belief true.
And if you believe “I’m an entrepreneur who creates from alignment,” your actions, habits, and even your biology begin to organize around that truth.
Joe Dispenza says it simply: “Your personality creates your personal reality.”
So this is what I want to share with you — take some time each week to reflect on the identity of the person who already lives the life or runs the business you desire.
Ask yourself: How do they move through the day? What do they prioritize? What do they no longer tolerate?
Then begin to embody that identity gently. Don’t try to add a thousand new habits overnight — you won’t sustain them. Instead, let each small action become an act of remembering.
Because as you shift your identity, your reality shifts too.
Everything Is Connected: This Week’s Threads
This week, a theme kept showing up: the courage to trust what’s emerging when your heart knows there’s more.
🔥 When Your Business Triggers Are Actually Your Breakthrough —
shares why your business challenges aren’t business problems, they’re pattern problems asking you to open your heart.✨ The Invisible Is Real — a love letter to everyone who feels, sees, and hears what others don’t. You’re not crazy. You’re remembering.
💫 Good Is No Longer Enough — what happens when everything is working but your soul is whispering that it’s time to become someone new.
→ Which thread is pulling at you right now?
P.S. You can read all previous editions of the newsletter here, and you can upgrade your subscription here.
What’s next?
Phil and I are ready to support you in creating a business that aligns with your heart’s calling. Here’s how we can help:
Click to Find Your Hidden Business Pattern (Free): The Harmony Map Assessment reveals which inner pattern is blocking your next level - and why strategy alone hasn’t fixed it. For entrepreneurs ready to address both the inner patterns AND outer strategies for breakthrough results.
Read the Sacred Business Manifesto (Free): Learn the core principles of building a Sacred Business through our founding story and framework. See how we transformed our approach to business by understanding that everything is connected.
"The foundation work happens underground. It’s not pretty. Nobody sees it. It doesn’t make for good Instagram content. But without it, everything that comes later will crack."
This is so true. The research and development aspect of anything we are creating in the long hours of... just carving and thinking and writing and reading... can be grueling and downright boring. But if we don't want to be copy/paste versions of each other and if we want to show ourselves more authentically then this is the work that needs to be done!