TLC: The lifeblood of a Sustainable, online Business
When most people try to step back from the crazed bazaar Instagram while building online, they usually hit a wall within weeks.
They stop posting as frequently. Their visibility drops. Their leads dry up. And suddenly they're in a full-blown panic, rushing back to the app because it feels like they have no other choice.
If this is you, the problem isn't that you can't leave Instagram. The problem is that you tried to quiet quit without solving for where your traffic, leads, and customers come from.
TLC: Traffic, Leads, Customers
I learned this framework from James Wedmore, and it's one of the most clarifying models for understanding why your business feels so dependent on social media.
Here's the truth: Without traffic, you cannot generate leads. Without leads, you cannot create customers. Without customers, you don't have a business.
Instagram has been doing all three of these things for you—often without you even realizing it. It's been your traffic source, your lead generation machine, and a core part of your sales process, all rolled into one.
But if you're feeling burned out by the constant demand to show up, post, engage, and perform, you need to start asking: How do I solve for TLC outside of Instagram?
T: Traffic
Traffic is how new people discover you. It's how your audience grows. It's how potential clients find their way into the world you're building.
If Instagram has been your main traffic source, you'll need to get strategic about where traffic comes from when you step back.
Some alternatives:
SEO-optimized blog content that brings people to your website organically
Podcast guesting or collaborations with aligned practitioners
Pinterest for evergreen content discovery
YouTube if video feels aligned
Referrals from past clients (though this alone isn't reliable for consistent growth)
Speaking engagements or workshops that introduce you to new audiences
The key is that you need consistent, sustainable traffic sources that don't require you to be online every day performing for the algorithm.
L: Leads
Leads are people who have expressed interest in your work. They've given you their email address, downloaded your lead magnet, subscribed to your podcast, or otherwise opted into your world.
Traffic becomes leads when you offer something valuable in exchange for their attention. This is where many people get stuck—they have traffic coming to their website or social media, but no clear path for those people to enter their ecosystem.
Your lead generator might be:
A free guide or resource library
A mini-course or workshop
A quiz or assessment
A newsletter with substantial value
The goal is to move people from anonymous visitors (traffic) to known contacts (leads) so you can continue the conversation with them in a space you control—like email.
C: Customers
Leads are beautiful, but they won't pay your bills. You need a way to convert leads into paying customers.
This is where most people get stuck. They have traffic. They even have leads coming in. But those leads just sit on their email list, never converting. Why?
Because there's no journey. There's no intentional path from interested stranger to paying client. There's no world for them to move deeper into.
Your customer journey might look like:
They discover you through a blog post or podcast (traffic)
They download your lead magnet (become a lead)
They receive a nurture sequence via email that builds relationship and demonstrates your approach
They're invited to a low-barrier offer or consultation
They become a paying client
Each step should feel natural, aligned, and in service of their transformation—not manipulative or pushy.
The Flow Must Be Intact
Here's what's critical to understand: TLC is a flow. Each element feeds into the next.
You need enough traffic to generate leads. You need enough leads to convert into customers. And you need to tend to this flow consistently, not just when you're in launch mode or feeling desperate for income.
When people crash after leaving Instagram, it's because they disrupted the flow without replacing it. They stopped generating traffic. Or they had traffic but no way to capture leads. Or they had leads but no clear customer journey.
Before You Quiet Quit
If you're feeling the pull to step back from Instagram, ask yourself:
Where is my traffic coming from right now? If the answer is "only Instagram," you're not ready to leave yet. You need to build alternative traffic sources first.
Do I have a lead generator that actually works? Are people opting into your world? Do you know how to capture leads outside of social media followers?
Do I have a customer journey? When someone joins your email list, do they know where they're going? Are you guiding them toward transformation, or just sending occasional newsletters?
If the infrastructure isn't in place, that's okay. That's what we build together in Worldbuilding School.
Over six weeks, we walk through the 6 Phases of Visionary Praxis, and a core part of that work is building the TLC infrastructure that allows your business to function sustainably—without depending on the whims of the algorithm.
