đż Starting from the inside out
Meg Roundell Greene on selling with belief, walking away from what works, and building a business that feels right
Most selling advice starts with what to do. Meg Roundell Greene starts with what youâre thinking.
Itâs an approach that came from experience - including a year of live launches she walked away from, not because they werenât working, but because they didnât feel right. Her Quiet Founder story is about what happens when you stop doing things the ârightâ way and figure out your own.
I had the pleasure of having Meg speak in Your Digital Garden last year, and Iâve wanted to share her story here ever since. đż
đŹ How would you describe what you do now to a friend?
I help business owners figure out whatâs stopping them from selling so they can do more of it
đŹ Looking back, what shaped how you work now?
I think there were two turning points I can recall - the first being in the my first year of business when I realised that Iâd have to learn how to communicate the value of what I do - a potential client asked âwhat do I get for that moneyâ on a sales call and I realised I didnât have a good answer!
This led me to figuring out how I could explain what I do and the impact it has on my clients - in a way they understand. I realised there was so much that I needed to learn and I couldnât rely on the traditional âstrategy-firstâ method of growing a business if I couldnât sum that up for my clients.
The next one was when I started doing live launches in the second year of business and realised through a lot of trial and error that the way I was doing it didnât fit with my values at all. Whilst I took all the actions - and saw a lot of success doing it that way- it didnât feel right, I didnât enjoy it, so I stopped. And I realised Iâd have to figure out a different way of delivering value in a way that really energised me and inspired me.
I now teach my clients how to do exactly this - so itâs been so worth going through all of those experiences so I can give them tools to do the same for themselves.
đŹ What matters to you about the way you run your business now?
The first thing that has to happen for me is enjoyment! If I donât love what I do, or feel really strongly about it, then itâs so hard for me to show up with the consistency required. So my daily work is finding ways to tap into that enjoyment - even with the âboringâ daily tasks I need to do.
The second value I really guide my business by is delivering excellence - always thinking about the experience for the clients I help and how that can be better, faster and simpler for them. Iâve had to learn this the hard way in the beginning when I was âbuilding as I wentâ and had a lot of feedback from clients - not all good! Iâm so glad because now itâs one of my most important values.
The only way to learn to trust your own decisions is by making a lot of them - and being really compassionate to yourself if it doesnât turn out the way you expect - because things donât always go to plan. It doesnât mean the decision was wrong, but itâs really useful information on what the decision making process should look like - and what criteria I use for myself. As Iâve made more decisions, Iâve grown a more robust process and it helps me to run everything through that first.
đŹ What does a âquiet businessâ look or feel like for you at this stage?
I think a quiet business is one that doesnât create anxiety or stress! A business that I can show up for and grow on my own terms, with my own rules and ignoring any hype or advice that doesnât fit with my lane. It means going for my goals at my own pace which might be faster or slower than other peopleâs and that being totally OK. My definition of success is being able to set my own rules, create my own freedom and generate value for other people whilst creating my own goals.
đŹ What feels meaningful or rewarding about your work these days?
The most meaningful part of my work is seeing transformation in my clients or knowing that my message or insight has helped someone even if theyâre not a paying client. I love that - and it makes showing up easy and fun for me. I have strong boundaries around working hours and availability which makes it so enjoyable - and when Iâm âoffâ Iâm totally off which I love. But I also love being able to break my own rules because I want to.
đŹ Is there anything about your journey or working style youâd like people to understand better?
I think people hear âsalesâ and think that the work is going to be really strategic and theyâll have to learn a lot. And that can be true - but the real work is figuring out whatâs stopping my clients from asking the question or taking the action step. Thatâs the part that creates the biggest impact.
For example if they figure out whatâs going on in their thoughts and feelings and naming it - maybe fear, or doubt, or risk aversion - then we can work on it. That solves way more sales problems than any specific step they could learn or action they could take.
My work goes a lot deeper, so my clients start exploring how they respond and interact with the selling process itself and how to show up with more belief and confidence as they do it - and why thatâs important for the buyer.
đŹ How do you know when itâs time to rest, pause, or change direction?
I listen to my intuition! Having a daily practice of slowing down and listening to whatâs going on inside so I can get clear on my next steps and whether this direction still âfitsâ. Itâs an ongoing process.
đŹ Stay connected
You can connect with Meg through her website or on LinkedIn
Would you like to join us in the Quieter Business Community? Itâs a calm, free space for thoughtful women business owners who want to grow without the noise, pressure, or performance đż