Business growth gets uncomfortable when people still expect the access you could offer before your calendar filled up and your work changed and holding a boundary can feel reasonable right up until someone treats that decision as evidence that you’re no longer the person they thought you were.

In the conversation, Bernie and I talk about the tension between being generous and being available, and why criticism lands differently when it questions your character rather than your work.

If you’re changing how you serve people and finding that not everyone welcomes the change, this conversation will feel familiar. It’s an honest chat about the expectations that stay with us as our businesses evolve, and how personal it can feel when those expectations no longer fit.

About your hosts:

Alison Leigh Simmons (The Caffeinated Entrepreneur) is the founder of Lead Smarter Co. She helps established service-based founders clean up their backend, build smart systems, and use AI in a way that actually reduces the day-to-day chaos.

🌐 www.leadsmarterco.com

✉️ alison@leadsmarterco.com

🤝 https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-leigh-simmons/

Bernie DeSantis (The Man Behind the Mustache) is a virtual event producer and owner of Insignia Training Partners. He helps businesses plan and run high-quality virtual events that feel smooth, professional, and human, without making it a whole stressful production.

🌐 https://insigniatraining.com/

✉️ bernie@insigniatraining.com

🤝 https://www.linkedin.com/in/badiii/