🍄 Overcome comparison with cake theory

Transforming comparison into your secret solopreneur ingredient

In the bustling world of solopreneurship, where never-ending content and success stories flood our feeds, there lurks a silent dream-snatcher—comparison.

*your dreams getting trapped by comparison*

Everywhere you look, everywhere you turn, there’s always someone else doing what you want to do, seemingly doing it better and often looking like they’ve got it all figured out.

It's a common pitfall capable of not just stalling your journey but potentially derailing it all together.

Many solopreneurs get caught in the trap of thinking success is a pie with limited slices – see someone else’s win, and it feels like there’s less for you. That mindset, where success seems scarce, only gets bigger and badder with every scroll through social media, leaving you feeling left out and scrambling for what's left.

Stuck in that headspace, it's easy to freeze up. You see everyone else’s highlights and start thinking, “They’ve got it made, so what’s the point of me even trying? Looks like I missed the boat.” It’s as though they grabbed the whole cake, and there’s none left for the rest of us.

The bad news? There is no avoiding comparison.

The good news? What if I told you there's a way to not only sidestep this pitfall but use it as a catalyst for growth?

Enter cake theory:

The cake theory offers a deliciously simple reframing: envisioning success as not just a single cake meant to be divided among the lucky few, but a whole bakery, chock-full of every kind of cake imaginable.

This isn’t about fighting over scraps; it’s about realising there’s a whole delicious cake with your name on it, waiting for you to claim it. Your unique blend of flavours—your skills, your passions, your experiences—is something no one else can offer.

I recently stumbled upon

Emma Gannon

‘s article on ‘Green slime feelings,’ where Emma speaks about creative envy stating:

“There’s this deeply embedded idea that if someone has a slice of cake, that means there isn’t enough cake to go around. It happens mainly between women. But there isn’t just one cake. We can actually have a WHOLE delicious cake each, but it’s like one of those magic tricks, you can only see it if you look a certain way.”

And that’s the key: It's about recognising our power to choose how we view the world around us. The abundance is there, it just needs us to shift our perspective to see it. By focusing on our own trajectory and embracing our unique take, we unlock the magic of abundance that's been waiting for us all along.

Just this week, I was piecing together my new business project—an idea I thought was quite unique—until, of course, I was served an Instagram ad for a very similar business idea. This business was offering what I planned to sell and in a similar aesthetic.

They had just launched and already had 200+ customers.

In the past, this would have led to potentially hours of doom scrolling and a complete overwhelm spiral, telling myself there’s no space left, I’ll never be able to do all that that well.

And I won’t lie, I did have a moment where I felt like, “Uh oh, I really should have been building this new business months ago.”

But with cake theory in place, I took this as a positive. It was validation that there was an audience out there for my product. And my offering had its own unique spin, value proposition, and of course, my unique skills and expertise.

I had my own WHOLE delicious cake right in front of me.

There’s a cake for everyone:

Stepping into the online business space might make your own niche feel overwhelmingly cramped, as if there's barely room to breathe, let alone grow.

Yet, consider this: in 2020, over 2 billion consumers purchased digital products in the US alone. Yes, 2 billion! That staggering statistic underscores the immense appetite for digital offerings, highlighting an ever-expanding market.

Instead of viewing someone else’s success as a slice taken from your potential, choose to see it as evidence of a flourishing marketplace, a grand banquet hall where your unique flavour of cake has it’s own place of honour—and it’s a flavour only you can provide.

Remember, just because someone is enjoying their slice doesn’t mean yours isn’t baking to perfection as we speak.

Suzy Ashworth, author if Infinite Receiving put it succinctly:

“What is true now has been true for the last decade of being in online sales, whilst your piece of the internet might feel like the entire world, the truth is it’s a tiny slice of a huge pie. And with that huge pie, everyone is making money and impact in EVERY way possible.”

🍄 mindset shift: when you next spot a success story that triggers comparison, applaud their milestones as you would a best friend's. Imagine the hurdles they’ve had to overcome. This isn't just about celebrating others but transforming envy into admiration, and competition into camaraderie.

It's a powerful reminder that in the world of online business, the table is long, and there is indeed cake for everyone.

The joy of your own WHOLE delicious cake:

The world of solopreneurship might seem saturated, every idea already conceived, every niche filled. Yet, there's always room for your distinct vision—your WHOLE delicious cake.

Begin by embracing your unique blend of skills, experiences, and passions. There is NO ONE else like you in this world. Your journey, your insights, no one else shares those. This unique mix is your first step toward crafting success that only you can achieve.

Your cake, complete and unshared, is there for the making.

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Moving forward, choose to embrace the joy of creating over the fear of missing out. See comparison not as a setback but as confirmation you're on a journey worth following, one that resonates with an eager audience.

And whenever you find yourself measuring your progress against someone else's, remember, you're not missing out on a piece of the cake. You're in the process of baking your own, rich with flavours and toppings only you can bring to the table.

Your venture is a masterpiece in the making, distinctively yours, poised to captivate and influence.

So, hold onto your distinctive blend of ideas and passion, and above all, relish the act of bringing them to life. Because in the world of solopreneurship, the real satisfaction comes from savouring your own creations, one delicious bite at a time.

Let’s get this cake parade rolling.

Until next time,

cultivate quietly, bloom wildly 🍄

—Hannah